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Multi-award-winning guitarist, producer, songwriter and studio owner Randy Scruggs died Tuesday, April 17th, following a brief illness, according to. He was 64.A four-time Grammy winner who earned trophies for his instrumental work from 1989 to 2001, Scruggs was named CMA Musician of the Year in 1999, 2003 and 2006. As a producer he led recordings by Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, Levon Helm, Toby Keith, Alison Krauss and many others. The staggering list of artists on whose records he played included Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, George Strait, Bobby Bare, Charlie Daniels, Randy Travis, Vince Gill, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Ricky Skaggs, Tom T. Hall, Billy Joe Shaver, John Hartford, Vern Gosdin,Rosanne Cash, Pam Tillis, Marty Stuart, Bruce Hornsby, Miranda Lambert, Wilco and the Dixie Chicks.Randy Scruggs was born in 1953, the younger brother of musician Gary Scruggs and older brother to Steve Scruggs, who died in 1992. Their parents were banjo great Earl Scruggs and pioneering business manager Louise Scruggs, who passed away in 2012 and 2006, respectively.
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A 2 song write with Mo Pitney makes for a good day! Can’t wait for y’all to hear these. Be sure to keep close tabs on Mo’s camp, as he’s got a brand new record dropping in the very near future and I think it’s one you’re gonna wanna pick up. @mopitney # nashville # songwriting # newmusic.
At just 9 years old, Scruggs appeared alongside his father and partner Lester Flatt on the pair’s popular syndicated TV series. Only four years later he was participating in his first recording session. In the early Eighties, when Earl Thomas Conley became the first-ever artist to top the country chart with four consecutive singles from the same LP, three of those songs were co-written by the artist with Scruggs. The pair also notched two additional Number Ones as co-writers. Others who cut his songs included Sawyer Brown (“Shakin’,” “Out Goin’ Cattin'”), Billy Joe Royal (“Love Has No Right”) and Deana Carter (“We Danced Anyway” and “There’s No Limit”). In the Eighties and Nineties, more than 100 of his songs were cut by major acts from Martina McBride to bluegrass band the Seldom Scene.The 1989 recording of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will the Circle Be Unbroken II, recorded at the musician’s Scruggs Sound facility in Nashville, earned him another CMA award, for Album of the Year. Don Williams, Jason & the Scorchers, Charley Pride, Tanya Tucker, Andy Williams, Ronnie Milsap and Anne Murray were among those who also cut material there.In 1998, Reprise Records released the exceptional all-star album Crown of Jewels.
Credited as Scruggs’ solo effort, the LP featured contributions from several artists with Emmylou Harris, Iris DeMent, John Prine, Joan Osborne, Trisha Yearwood, Amy Grant, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Delbert McClinton and Earl Scruggs among them.Scruggs’ guitar playing can be heard on the Johnny Cash: Forever Words project and on recent recordings by Loretta Lynn, Mo Pitney, Pistol Annies, Kellie Pickler, Bobby Bare and many others.Scruggs is survived by his wife Sandy, his daughter, Lindsey, and his brother, Gary. No funeral service is planned but details of a memorial event are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Contributions in Randy Scruggs’ name may be made to MusicCares or the T.J. Martell Foundation.
U.S. singing star Pitney at the height of his fame in 1966.
LONDON, England -- Singer Gene Pitney has died in the middle of his UK tour, his agent said.
The 65-year-old American star was found dead just after 10 a.m. Wednesday (0500 ET) at the Hilton Hotel in Cardiff, Wales.
Jene Levy told Reuters Pitney had died on Wednesday morning in the Welsh capital.
There was no immediate word on the cause of death. Friends said he was in apparent good health and his death came as a shock.
South Wales police said they had been called to a hotel at 9.50 a.m. on Wednesday morning and that the death was not being treated as suspicious.
His 40-year career included the massive hit 'Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa' in 1963, his most famous song.
His last U.S. hit was 'She's a Heartbreaker' in 1968.
Pitney was found in his bed by his tour manager, Mark Hawes of In Touch Music told the BBC.
'He did a good show last night at St. David's Hall and it was wonderful,' he said.
'I've seen him quite a few times on this tour and he was fit and well. He said it was the best tour he had done for quite a few years.'
Pitney rose to fame in the 1960s and was introduced to a new generation of fans in 1989 when he duetted with Marc Almond on 'Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart,' the UK's Press Association reported.
The single gave Pitney his first UK number one -- 22 years after its first release, PA added.
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He had 11 top 10 hits in the UK including 'That Girl Belongs To Yesterday' and 'Looking Thru The Eyes of Love.'
His songs have been recorded by some of the world's biggest stars -- 'Hello Mary Lou' was released by Ricky Nelson, 'Today's Teardrops' by Roy Orbison, and 'Rubber Ball' by U.S. singer Bobby Vee and British artist Marty Wilde.
He worked with the Rolling Stones and was credited with helping them find fame in the U.S., according to PA.
In 2002 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
A spokeswoman for Cardiff coroner Mary Hassell told PA she had been officially informed of the star's death. The spokeswoman said a post mortem examination will take place to establish whether an inquest will be necessary.
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