2025

The Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne died July 22, 2025

Ozzy Osbourne: A Life in Heavy Metal 1. Early Life John Michael Osbourne, known to the world as Ozzy, was born on December 3, 1948, in Marston Green near Birmingham, England. Raised in a working-class family as one of six children, Ozzy experienced a modest and often difficult upbringing. School was a struggle, particularly due to undiagnosed dyslexia, and he left formal education in his mid-teens. After bouncing between jobs—including a stint in a slaughterhouse—he was briefly incarcerated for petty theft. The name “Ozzy” was a childhood nickname that stuck, eventually becoming synonymous with heavy metal itself. 2. Black Sabbath…
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‘X-Files’ Composer Mark Snow died July 4, 2025

Mark Snow: The Sonic Architect of the Paranormal and Beyond Mark Snow, born Martin Fulterman on August 26, 1946, in Brooklyn, New York, was a prolific American composer whose name became synonymous with atmospheric suspense, mystery, and emotional depth in television scoring. With a career spanning more than five decades, Snow created unforgettable musical landscapes for some of the most beloved and culturally significant shows in modern television history. While his body of work encompassed a wide variety of genres and series, Mark Snow is best remembered for his ethereal and otherworldly theme for The X-Files, which became an iconic…
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Lalo Schifrin: The Fusion Maestro of Cinema Music died June 26, 2025.

Lalo Schifrin: The Fusion Maestro of Cinema Music Boris Claudio “Lalo” Schifrin, who passed away on June 26, 2025, at the age of 93, left behind a monumental legacy as one of the most versatile and inventive composers in film and television history. An Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor, Schifrin carved a unique niche in the music world by fusing jazz, classical, and Latin American idioms into cinematic scores that defined an era. His works have become part of the cultural lexicon, with themes like Mission: Impossible continuing to resonate with audiences across generations. With a career that spanned…
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Mick Ralphs died June 23, 2025.

Mick Ralphs: The Guitar Architect of British Rock(Michael Geoffrey Ralphs, March 31, 1944 – June 23, 2025) Michael Geoffrey Ralphs—better known to the world as Mick Ralphs—was a foundational figure in British rock, whose distinctive guitar work and songwriting laid the groundwork for two of the most enduring bands in rock history: Mott the Hoople and Bad Company. Born on March 31, 1944, in Herefordshire, England, Ralphs rose to prominence during the late 1960s and 1970s, when British rock was defining itself as a global force. With a career spanning over five decades, Ralphs left an indelible imprint on classic…
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Lou Christie died June 18, 2025

Lou Christie: The Falsetto of the Sixties Lou Christie was born Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco, and was an American pop and soft rock singer-songwriter whose career soared in the 1960s with hits that defined an era of romantic angst and melodic invention. Born on February 19, 1943, in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania, Christie developed an early passion for music, rooted in Italian-American traditions and shaped by the vibrant doo-wop and rock ‘n’ roll movements of the 1950s. His unique voice — marked by a soaring, operatic falsetto — set him apart in the pantheon of male vocalists and earned him chart-topping hits…
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Beach Boy Brian Wilson died on June 11, 2025

Brian Wilson (1942–2025): The Troubled Genius Who Changed the Sound of American Music Brian Wilson was born Brian Douglas Wilson on June 20, 1942, in Hawthorne, California, and died on June 11, 2025, just days before his 83rd birthday. He was a towering figure in American popular music. As the co-founder of The Beach Boys, Wilson shaped the sound of the 1960s and beyond, crafting lush, complex arrangements and emotionally resonant lyrics that elevated pop music to an art form. His life was one of paradoxes—enormous commercial success coupled with profound personal struggles. Yet through it all, Wilson’s musical genius…
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Sly Stone died on June 9, 2025.

Sly Stone: The Funk Architect Who Changed Music Forever Sly Stone, born Sylvester Stewart in Denton, Texas, on March 15, 1943, was a revolutionary figure in American music. Known primarily as the enigmatic frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, Stone’s impact on funk, soul, rock, and pop is almost incalculable. He was a prodigious musician, a boundary-pushing songwriter, and a deeply influential producer. His band’s music spoke to the soul of the civil rights era and laid the foundation for decades of genre-blending experimentation in popular music. On June 9, 2025, Sly Stone passed away at the age of…
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Alf Clausen composer for The Simpsons died May 29, 2025

Alf Clausen: The Orchestral Genius Behind Television’s Most Iconic Scores Alf Clausen was one of the most accomplished and prolific composers in American television and film history. Best known for his long-standing role as the principal composer for The Simpsons, Clausen’s musical career spanned several decades and showcased his unique ability to blend classical orchestration with contemporary humor. His contributions to television music not only helped define the sound of some of America’s most beloved shows but also elevated the role of television scoring to an art form in its own right. Early Life and Education Alf Heiberg Clausen was…
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Freddie Aguilar died May 27, 2025

Freddie Aguilar (February 5, 1953 – May 27, 2025): The Voice of a Nation Freddie Aguilar, born Ferdinand Pascual Aguilar in Santo Tomas, Isabela, was a towering figure in Filipino music and a cultural icon whose voice captured the soul of a nation. Best known for his timeless hit “Anak” and his stirring rendition of “Bayan Ko,” Aguilar was more than a musician—he was a storyteller, a patriot, and a conscience for the Filipino people. His music, steeped in themes of family, nationalism, and social justice, earned him a revered place in the pantheon of Original Pilipino Music (OPM). Early…
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Rick Derringer died May 26, 2025.

Rick Derringer (1947–2025): A Life in Rock and Roll Rick Derringer, born Richard Dean Zehringer on August 5, 1947, in Fort Recovery, Ohio, and was a seminal figure in American rock and roll. As a singer, guitarist, songwriter, and producer, Derringer’s influence spanned decades, from the garage rock of the 1960s to hard rock, blues, and Christian music in later years. His career was marked by an extraordinary versatility and a profound impact on American rock culture, both in front of the microphone and behind the scenes. The McCoys and the Rise to Fame Rick Derringer first achieved national recognition…
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