Former Sen. Conrad Burns dead at 81

• By MATT HUDSON and TOM LUTEY mhudson@billingsgazette.com tlutey@billingsgazette.com

Phil Kives, K-Tel International founder, dies at 87

Papa Wemba

oh. now I understand. crap.. 

we lost a good friend this year too..  

maybe it is the year. 

 Somebody made this on January 14. 

ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
Just scroll back through these two threads... ridiculous.

Farewell to Zaha Hadid, the great dame of architecture

Ah, Facebook. Sort of a six degrees thing, several years ago I was thinking about a song by Radio Birdman, the Australian punk band from the 70s with occasional reunions since, and remembered the time I was listening to it on the way to visit our new baby in the hospital. When I walked in, Justine was talking to a nurse and they both looked at me and I said "what" and they said I looked funny and I said what else is new? Oh that's right: I got a new CD today of Australian punk bands from the 70s. The nurse said Oh that's funny. We have an ER doc who used to be in a punk band in Australia in the 70s! I thought of course. Then she said "Deniz Tek" and I almost passed out. Well it was hot that day. But really the odds. Are long. So anyway years later I was facebooking and saw something someone posted in California about music and I told that Deniz Tek story and someone else thought that was interesting so they clicked "add friend" and it was a guy in Bozeman Montana who I've still never met but has been involved in a lot of music over the years and still is. Anyway, he's friends with Deniz and they're in a band together so I'm Facebook friends with Deniz now too. So anyway I was talking with the guy in Bozeman (where "talking" means "posting on the internet, just like here") and one day another guy clicked the ol' Add Friend button and I was "wha?" but it was Joe Skyward, who spent a lot of time in Bozeman working and recording so he saw me talking to Ron the Bozeman guy. Joe, though was in the Posies (as Joe Bass), a great power pop band, and Sunny Day Real Estate too. Well a couple of years ago he started posting some really powerful thoughts and positive, always super positive and I thought Oh, he's joined a cult! But no, it was cancer. 

Joe Skyward.

Creator of ‘The Waltons’ Earl Hamner Jr. dead at 92

The life and death of DJ Derek, an unlikely reggae legend
Derek Serpell-Morris was a cardigan-wearing ex-accountant who became ‘the blackest white man in Bristol’ and a hero to Don Letts and Massive Attack. After going missing in July 2015, his body was finally discovered earlier this month. This is the story of his mysterious disappearance and extraordinary life

Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford dies at 46 after battle with cancer, family says

Frank Sinatra Jr. dies at 72

Ben H. Bagdikian, Reporter of Broad Range and Conscience, Dies at 96
Ben Bagdikian, Visionary — FAIR

 Coaxial wrote: 
I just went back and saw the update about the cause. That link was not there earlier.

 n4ku wrote: 
Sad, sad story indeed.

We need to change the thread title to Dropping Like Flies.

---

 
Ben Edmonds: Writer for Creem, Rolling Stone, Mojo
 
 

 DaveInVA wrote: 
Good for you.

 n4ku wrote: 
I beat him by a couple of hours in the Celebrity Deaths thread...
 

 n4ku wrote: 
damn 

rip keith

BillG just announced the death of Keith Emerson.

Ken Adam, 1921-2016: a tribute in pictures | BFI
Sir Ken Adam, Oscar-winning production designer, dies aged 95