Jody Reynolds, whose tragic musical tale of a suicidal lover, 'Endless Sleep,' kick-started the "death rock" craze of the late '50s and early '60s, had died in Palm Desert, Calif. He was 75 years old.

In 'Endless Sleep,' an appropriately dirgelike rockabilly ballad written by Reynolds, the singer's girlfriend attempts to drown herself in the ocean after a quarrel. At the song's conclusion, our hero rescues his distraught lady from "an angry sea." Later songs in the teen tragedy genre, such as Mark Dinning's 'Teen Angel,' Ray Peterson's 'Tell Laura I Love Her' and the Shangri-Las' 'Leader of the Pack' felt no such need, happily killing off its protagonists.

The song, which peaked at No. 5 in 1958, was the only hit for the Denver native, who grew up in Oklahoma and Arizona before relocating to California, where he based his career. Reynolds was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 1999.

Mitch Mitchell, the drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, has been found dead in a hotel room in Portland, Ore. Mitchell, 62, was in Portland performing as a member of the Experience Hendrix tour.

The jazz-influenced drummer was born John Mitchell in Ealing, England, playing with Hendrix and bassist Noel Redding, who died in 2003, in the legendary rock trio from 1966 through 1969. After the trio disbanded, Mitchell was involved in several post-Experience projects with the innovative guitarist in 1970, the year of Hendrix's death.

Read more details on Mitchell's death here.

Miriam Makeba, who emerged from the repressive apartheid system of her native South Africa to become an international sensation, has died in Italy. The folk-jazz vocalist reportedly succumbed to a heart attack that occurred immediately following a performance at an anti-Mafia concert held outside Naples. She was 76 years old.

Born in Johannesburg, the Grammy Award-winning singer nicknamed Mama Africa was best known for her song "Pata Pata," sung in the Xhosa language, which reached No. 12 on the Billboard singles chart in 1967. Her husbands included trumpeter Hugh Masekela, a fellow countryman, as well as African-American activist Stokely Carmichael.

Jimmy Carl Black -- drummer for Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention -- passed away on Saturday, November 1. Black was known as "the Indian of the group" when he proclaimed the satirical nickname on the Mothers of Invention's famed album, 1968's 'We're Only in It for the Money.' He was 70.

Black, a Texas native, moved to California in the mid-'60s, where his amateur band, the Soul Giants, drafted Frank Zappa as a replacement for their original guitarist. Before long, Zappa took charge and changed the band's name to Mothers of Invention. Playing drums under this moniker, and under Zappa's direction, Black shared the stage with legends from the era including Jimmy Hendrix, the Doors, Cream, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and countless others.

Frank Navetta, co-founder and original guitarist with the influential punk-pop group the Descendents, died Friday. Navetta played guitar with the band during its first six years, writing and performing on the band's 1979 debut single 'Ride the Wild/It's A Hectic World,' the 1981 EP 'Fat,' 1982's classic 'Milo Goes to College' and parts of 1985's 'I Don't Want to Grow Up.'

"We're very sorry to announce that founding member of the Descendents, and close friend Frank Navetta passed away on October 31, 2008 after becoming ill over the course of a few days," reads an announcement on the band's official website. "This is obviously a huge loss for the Descendents family. His contribution to the band, and to music in general can not be overstated. Frank will be truly missed. We will share information about memorial services when we find out."

Navetta, drummer Bill Stevenson and bassist Tony Lombardo formed the band, with vocalist Milo Aukerman joining on in 1981. Before exiting the band in 1985 and moving to Oregon to become a fisherman, Navetta penned such early Descendents favorites as 'My Dad Sucks,' 'Parents,' 'Statue of Liberty' and 'Marriage.'

Hippie-jazz icon and legendary keyboardist Merl Saunders passed away at San Francisco's Kaiser Hospital Friday morning from complications relating to his 2002 stroke.

Saunders rose to national prominence in the 1970s after recording and performing with Jerry Garcia in a number of that guitarist's Grateful Dead side-projects, including Legion of Mary and the Garcia/Saunders Band. Gaining a name for himself in the Deadhead scene, as well as maintaining his reputation as a jazz player, Saunders' long list of credits include collaborations and/or stints with Miles Davis, BB King, Bonnie Raitt, Frank Sinatra, Phish and of course, the Grateful Dead. In addition to his contribution to the Dead's 1971 self-titled album, Saunders worked with them in his role as musical director for the television series 'The Twilight Zone' in the 1980s.

Darnelle Donerson and Jason Hudson, the mother and brother of Oscar-winning actress/singer Jennifer Hudson, were found dead on Friday afternoon. Multiple reports state that Darnelle and Jason were shot to death inside a house in the Chicago's South Side. The house appears to be Darnelle's and Jennifer's permanent residence, according to public record.

Police have said the shooting seems to be a case of domestic violence. Chicago local news reports that a search is under way for a young boy, possibly Jennifer's 7-year-old nephew, who is missing from the home.

In the meantime, Jennifer is en route back to Chicago from Tampa. Her self-titled debut album was just released on Arista in September, but the 2004 'American Idol' finalist is most famous for her role in the 2006 film 'Dreamgirls,' for which she won both a Golden Globe and an Oscar.

Read the full story.

Levi Stubbs, the gruff-voiced yet exceedingly expressive frontman of soul music giants the Four Tops, has passed away at age 72 in his Detroit home. The powerful lead singer on hit singles including 'I Can't Help Myself,' 'It's the Same Old Song,' 'Reach Out I'll Be There,' 'Standing in the Shadows of Love' and 'Bernadette' in the 1960s, Stubbs had been ill in recent years, having recently been debilitated by a stroke and cancer that forced his retirement in 2000.

The Four Tops began their career around 1953 in Detroit as the Four Aims and, after a name change, signed to Berry Gordy's Motown label in 1963. After a commercially and creatively fertile career at the legendary hitmaking factory, in which they were under the care of the acclaimed songwriting and production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, the Tops' hit string continued in the '70s on ABC-Dunhill with songs such as 'Keeper of the Castle' and 'Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got).' The original quartet remained together for an astounding 44 years, until the death of Lawrence Payton in 1997. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Rocksteady star and reggae pioneer Alton Ellis passed away in London on Friday. He was 70 years-old. Ellis had been in the care of Hammersmith hospital in the weeks leading up to his death, although his family wished for the details to remain quiet, respectfully.

Ellis first enjoyed breakout success in his homeland of Jamaica in the late '50s and early '60s, during the country's ska phase (which, soon after, gave rise to Bob Marley and the Wailers). However, Ellis found his true calling with reggae's rocksteady movement, arguably even inventing the subgenre with his hit, 'Get Ready -- Rock Steady.'

Disillusioned by the notoriously corrupt Jamaican music business, and perhaps tired of having his early success overshadowed by Bob Marley, Ellis relocated to England in 1973. It was in England where he formed his Alltone label, and where he continued to record, produce and even repackage.

Although his family kept details scarce, Ellis had been battling lymphatic cancer and had collapsed onstage in August. While many young reggae fans may not know Ellis as a legend, certainly the reggae world will forever remember him as the "Godfather of Rocksteady."

Nick Reynolds (pictured front), singer and multi-instrumentalist for the Kingston Trio, has died at age 75 in San Diego. The folk group, which formed in Southern California in 1957, was one of the most successful acts on Capitol Records in the pre-Beatles era.

The diminutive Reynolds' high harmonies and skill on a variety of stringed instruments, along with congas and bongos, were a trademark of these mostly apolitical folkies. While the group had a series of hit singles in the late '50s and early '60s, including 'Tom Dooley,' 'M.T.A.,' 'A Worried Man' and a rare foray into politics, 'Where Have All the Flowers Gone,' they had even greater success as an album-oriented act, at one time in the early '60s having four LPs in the Top 10.

Read a full appreciation of the life of Nick Reynolds by the San Diego Union-Tribune.