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    Keeping The Music Alive

    The music lives on from these special performers who left us in 2015

    Bill Van Rysdam
    Dec 30, 2015 | 1:16 pm

    The author Thomas Campbell once said, “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” That is certainly rings true when it comes to some of the musicians who left us in 2015. From rock, to rap, to gospel, to jazz; we will mourn their loss, but can also take comfort that their music lives on.

    Below are just some the amazing talent that will live in hearts forever…

    Andrae Crouch

    The Grammy award winner was a celebrated singer, songwriter and pastor who served in Los Angeles and was known as the father of modern gospel music. Crouch performed with such stars like Quincy Jones, Diana Ross, Elton John and conducted the choirs for Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” and Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” Crouch died after suffering a heart attack. He was 72.

    Lesley Gore

    Best known for her smash hit “It’s my Party,” singer/songwriter was discovered by Quincy Jones. Gore followed it up with “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” You Don’t Own Me” and “California Nights.” Gore also performed on two consecutive episodes of the Batman television series (January 19 and 25, 1967), in which she guest-starred as Pussycat, one of Catwoman's minions and was nominated for an Academy Award for her work in the 1980 film, Fame. Gore died at the age of 68.

    Jimmy Greenspoon

    While best known as the keyboardist for Three Dog Night, Greenspoon, also performed and recorded with Linda Ronstadt, Jimi Hendrix, Beck, Cheech & Chong, Eric Clapton, Buddy Miles and many more. Greenspan also composted original music for movies including Field of Dreams, Hellboy and Die Hard. Greenspan lost his battle with cancer at the age of 67.

    Percy Sledge

    "When a Man Loves a Women” was Percy Sledge’s first song recorded under contract. The inspiration for the song came when his girlfriend left him for a modeling career after he lost his job. The song topped the U.S. charts for two weeks in 1966 and was than “rediscovered” in the 1980s and 1990s when it was in films like Platoon, The Big Chill, and The Crying Game. The song was adopted as the title of a Meg Ryan romance movie in 1994. It reached the top of the charts again in 1991 when it was covered by Michael Bolton. Sledge died at the age of 74.

    B.B. King

    B.B. King got his big break when he was invited to appear on the Sonny Boy Williamson’s radio program in 1948. King earned numerous awards and recognition garnering 30 Grammy nominations, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a Presidential Medal of Freedom. “There's not a lot left to say because his music is almost a thing of the past now and there are not many left that play it in the pure way that B.B. did,” said Eric Clapton, a close friend and great admirer. King died at the age of 87 leaving behind his daughter, Patty King and his cherished guitar, Lucille.

    Allen Toussaint

    Legendary Jazz great Allen Toussaint was the man behind “Working in a Coal Mine” and “Lady Marmalade” as a writer/producer before gaining new fame as a performer. Toussaint worked with Lee Dorsey, Art and Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas, Joe Cocker and many others. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, Toussaint was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2013. Toussaint died at the age of 77 following a performance in Spain.

    Scott Weiland

    The former front man for the Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, Scott Weiland helped forge the grunge sound into main stream radio. The album Core made it to No. 3 on the Billboard album charts and produced four hit singles: “Sex Type Thing,” “Plush,” “Creep,” and “Wicked Garden.” Later Weiland joined forces with members of Guns N’ Roses and Wasted Youth to form Velvet Revolver and had their first album “Contraband” debut at No. 1 with singles “Fall to Pieces” and the Grammy-winning “Slither”. Weiland was 48.

    Cynthia Robinson

    A trumpet player and original member of Sly and the Family Stone, Robinson helped create the groundbreaking soul-funk-psychedelic sound for a band whose collection of black and white musicians of both sexes and its hippie vibe helped mirror the ideals of the times. Their second album Dance to the Music was loaded with hits like “Every Day People,” “Stand,” “Hot Fun in the Summertime,” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again).” Robinson was 71.

    Chris Squire

    A co-founder and bassist for the rock band Yes, Chris Squire. Squire was the group’s only member to have performed on every Yes studio album and heavily influenced bass players world-wide. Wielding his trademark Rickenbacker 4001, Squire was a leader among the English progressive rock bands showcasing a clear and distinct style of play. Squire died at the age of 77 following a brief battle with leukemia.

    Andy White

    Best known as the replacement drummer for the Beatles first single U.S. single release “Love Me Do,” Andy White went on to play with many prominent musicians including Chuck Berry, Herman’s Hermit’s, Billy Fury and drummed on Tom Jones’ smash hit, “It’s not Unusual.” White moved to the U.S. in the late 1980s and became a drum instructor. He was 85.

    Sean Price

    Born in Brooklyn, rapper Sean Price performed under the name Ruck with Heltah Skeltah and Boot Camp Clik before going solo. Price went back to his birth name to release Monkey Barz which received critical acclaim. Price also teamed with Guilty Simpson and producer Black Milk for their acclaimed 2011 LP Random Axe. Price had been working on a new mixtape “Songs in the Key of Price” that was due out last August at the time of this death. He was 43.

    B.B. King.

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    Movie Review

    Star TV producer James L. Brooks stumbles with meandering movie Ella McCay

    Alex Bentley
    Dec 12, 2025 | 2:30 pm
    Emma Mackey in Ella McCay
    Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios
    Emma Mackey in Ella McCay.

    The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.

    The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).

    Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.

    Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).

    Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.

    What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.

    Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.

    Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.

    ---

    Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

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