Country singer Joe Diffie dies of coronavirus complications

NEW YORK (AP) — Country singer Joe Diffie, who had a string of hits in the 1990s with chart-topping ballads and honky-tonk singles like “Home” and “Pickup Man,” has died after testing positive for COVID-19. He was 61. Diffie on Friday announced he had contracted the...

Longtime soap opera actor John Callahan dies at 66

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor John Callahan, known for playing Edmund Grey on “All My Children” and also starring on other soaps including “Days of Our Lives,” “Santa Barbara” and “Falcon Crest,” has died. He was 66. His ex-wife and former “All My...

Les Hunter, star on Loyola Chicago championship team, dies

CHICAGO (AP) — Les Hunter, a star on Loyola Chicago's barrier-breaking 1963 NCAA championship team, died Friday. He was 77. The university announced Hunter's death, saying he battled cancer. Hunter helped Loyola — with four black starters — break down racial barriers and capture what remains...

Former Astros star Jimmy 'The Toy Cannon' Wynn dies at 78

Jimmy Wynn, the diminutive Houston slugger whose monster shots in the 1960s and '70s earned him the popular nickname “The Toy Cannon," has died. He was 78. The Astros said the three-time All-Star outfielder died Thursday in Houston, but did not provide further details. Just 5-foot-9, Wynn was packed with...

Buffalo Bills AFL star linebacker Mike Stratton dies at 78

Former Buffalo Bills star linebacker Mike Stratton, who was a key member of the franchise’s American Football League championship teams in the mid-1960s, has died. He was 78. The Bills announced Stratton died Wednesday because of heart complications stemming from a recent fall. Stratton was living in his...

Grieving and saying goodbye in the time of coronavirus

CHICAGO (AP) — Tucked deep in the obituary for Charles Recka was an announcement that a Mass celebrating his 87 years of life “will be held at a later date.” Such notices are increasing amid the coronavirus pandemic, as an untold number of burials around the globe go forward with nothing more...

Henley, Tucker, Cyrus and others mourn the death of Rogers

Some reactions from the world of music and beyond to the passing of Kenny Rogers, who died Friday night at age 81. "In addition to his tremendous talent, Kenny was a generous and caring man, a wise mentor to so many of us. He loved his friends, his family, his fellow musicians and his fans, and they loved him,...

Phone call between Kanye West, Taylor Swift again roils net

NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift may have ended her feud with Katy Perry but the one with Kanye West seems simply not to want to die. New leaked video clip of the entire four-year-old phone call between the rapper and pop superstar about his controversial song "Famous" have been posted online and further...

Crossover country superstar Kenny Rogers dies at 81

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Kenny Rogers, the smooth, Grammy-winning balladeer who spanned jazz, folk, country and pop with such hits as “Lucille,” “Lady” and “Islands in the Stream” and embraced his persona as “The Gambler” on records and on TV, died...

Kenny Rogers, whose husky voice carried him as a TV and music star across genres, has died at 81, a representative says

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (AP) — Kenny Rogers, whose husky voice carried him as a TV and music star across genres, has died at 81, a representative says.