ARTISTS, WRITERS AND PRODUCERS:

Veteran blues guitarist Luther Allison, in Los Angeles. Originally from Arkansas, Allison
initially made his mark in Chicago, releasing his first album, "Love Me Mama," in 1969.
He recorded for such labels as Delmark, Alligator and Blind Pig and freely mentored
younger bluesmen, among them newcomer Jonny Lang.

Richard Berry, author of "Louie Louie" and longtime R&B musician, in Los Angeles.

Tenor vocalist Louis A. Botto, in San Francisco. Botto founded and directed the male
vocal ensemble Chanticleer.

Jazz guitarist Zachary Breaux, in Miami Beach, Fla. Last January, Breaux released his
debut Zebra/All American Records album, "Uptown Groove," which charted on
Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. Breaux also played with Roy Ayers,
Donald Byrd, A Tribe Called Quest and George Benson.

Singer/songwriter Jeff Buckley, in Memphis. Buckley's first album, "Grace," spawned
the single "Last Goodbye," which peaked at No. 19 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in
1995.

Beat writer William S. Burroughs, in Lawrence, Kan. Burroughs released a number of
spoken-word records, including "Call Me Burroughs" and "Dead City Radio,"
collaborated with Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and published numerous innovative books,
including "Naked Lunch" and "The Soft Machine."

Guitarist Glen Buxton, in Clarion, Iowa. Buxton was a founding member of Alice Cooper
and co-writer on hits "School's Out," "Eighteen" and "Elected."

Songwriter Saul Chaplin, in Los Angeles. Best-known for his collaborations with
Sammy Cahn, "Until The Real Thing Comes Along" and "Please Be Kind," Chaplin also
wrote English lyrics to the Yiddish score "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon," a worldwide hit for
the Andrews Sisters. He was a three-time Oscar-winning film scorer, for "West Side
Story," "An American In Paris" and "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers."

Legendary jazz trumpeter Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, in Washington, D.C. Cheatham
played vaudeville and jazz, working with Ma Rainey, Cab Calloway and Benny
Goodman, among many others.

Johnny Coles

Singer Brian Connolly, in Slough, England. Connolly was the lead singer for '70s
glam-pop band Sweet, whose hits included "Fox On The Run."

Floyd Cramer

Recording artist Johnny Darrell, in Kennesaw, Ga. Darrell released records on U.A.,
Monument and Capricorn and charted regularly for five years. Some of his songs, like
"Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town," became hits again later when covered by other
artists.

Vocalist Eadie Del Rubio, in Torrance, Calif. Del Rubio was one of the Del Rubio
Triplets, who performed for 60 years in the L.A. area.

Singer-songwriter John Denver, near Monterey, Calif. Denver enjoyed international
prominence in the '70s with such songs as "Take Me Home Country Roads" and
"Rocky Mountain High." His "Greatest Hits" album, released in 1973, has sold more
than 10 million copies and dominated Billboard's album chart.

Songwriter and producer, Keith Diamond, in New York. Diamond co-wrote for a
multitude of artists, including Michael Bolton, Donna Summer, Anne Murray, Mick
Jagger and Billy Ocean. "Suddenly" and "Caribbean Queen" were among his hits.

Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, in New York. His five-decade literary career spawned
numerous records and bred such iconoclastic work as "Howl" and "Kaddish." Paul
McCartney and Philip Glass accompanied this political, poetic trailblazer on his last
album, 1996's "The Ballad Of The Skeletons."

Harry Goodman, sideman to brother Benny Goodman, in Gstaad, Switzerland.
Goodman co-founded Regent Music and Jewel Music in 1940 with his brother Gene
Goodman, where he published the hits "Flying Home," "Air Mail Special" and "Soft
Winds."

Jazz violinst Stephane Grappelli, in Paris. Grappelli first gained attention as a swing
player during the '30s alongside legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt and later
performed with jazzman George Shearing and Gary Burton and classical violinist
Yehudi Menuhin.

Hagood Hardy, in Ontario. A composer, arranger, vibraphonist, pianist and
percussionist, Hardy was honored with two Juno Awards and a Billboard Award.

Drummer Randy Hauser, in Nashville. Hauser played drums for Chet Atkins for 20 years
and had played for Jim Ed Brown, Ray Price, Charlie Rich and Steve Wariner.

Bluesman Johnny Heartsman, in Sacramento, Calif. Heartsman recorded six solo
albums and was a sideman on numerous blues and R&B records.

Michael Hedges

Singer/songwriter/guitarist Robert "Bobby" Lee Helms, in Martinsville, Ind. Helms' list of
hits includes his rendition of "Jingle Bell Rock," "Fraulein" and "My Special Angel."

Upright-bass player Roy Huskey, Jr., in Nashville. Husky was a staff member of the
Grand Ole Opry, bassist for the Nash Ramblers and a player for Chet Atkins, Garth
Brooks, Johnny Cash, Vince Gill and Dolly Parton, among other artists.

Michael Hutchence, lead singer of Australia's INXS, in Sydney. The group enjoyed
international success throughout the late '80s, scoring such single hits as "What You
Need" and "New Sensation" and the multiplatinum "Kick" album.

Burton Lane, songwriter, in New York. While Lane wrote a tremendous quantity of work,
his masterwork was "Finian's Rainbow."

Ronnie Lane, songwriter, bassist and founding member of the Small Faces, in Trinidad,
Colo. Lane co-wrote several of the Small Faces' best songs and played on such hits as
"Maggie May."

Nicolette Larson

Spoken-word record producer Paul Kresh, in New York. Kresh produced for Spoken
Arts and Caedmon labels, recording poets reading their own works. He was also a
broadcaster and author.

Songwriter Irwin Levine, in Livingston, N.J. Levine co-wrote a series of hits in the '70s,
including "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree" and "Knock Three Times."

Engineer/producer Joe Lopes, in New York. Lopes engineered hits by Evelyn
"Champagne" King and Vicki Sue Robinson's "Turn The Beat Around."

Singer Maria de Lourdes Perez Lopez, in Amsterdam. Known as "the Voice of Mexico,"
the vocalist had just completed an extensive European tour.

Jazz pianist Dick Marx, in Highland Park, Ill. Marx worked for Joe Cocker, Yoshiki and
his son, Richard Marx. He also produced jingles and film soundtracks, such as "A
League Of Their Own," "Awakenings" and "Fudge."

Singer/songwriter Laura Nyro, in Danbury, Conn. Among Nyro's hits are "Wedding Bell
Blues" and "Blowing Away" for the Fifth Dimension and "And When I Die" for Blood,
Sweat & Tears.

Lawrence Payton, singer and arranger for the Four Tops, in Southfield, Mich. The Four
Tops had 18 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1964 and 1988.

Jesse Plumley, engineer, producer and sound designer, in New York. Plumley won a
W.C. Handy Award for Best Blues Record for his 1988 production work on "Old Maid
Boogie," by Blues Deluxe. He also designed sound for several off-Broadway shows.

Arthur Prysock, 50-year R&B and jazz ballad singer, in Hamilton, Bermuda. Prysock
recorded about 40 albums on Old Town, PolyGram, MGM, Mercury, Polydor, King and
Decca, among others.

Mandolin player and songwriter James "Yank" Rachell, in Indianapolis. Rachell enjoyed
a 60-year recording career, playing both as a solo artist and sideman for labels such as
Victor, Decca, Bluebird and Blind Pig.

Grammy-winning lyricist Ben Raleigh, in Hollywood. Raleigh wrote lyrics for the Lou
Rawls hit "Love Is A Hurtin' Thing," "Tell Laura I Love Her" and "Scooby Doo Where Are
You?"

King Sisters singer Luise King Rey, in Sandy, Utah. The four-part-harmony sibling act
appeared on numerous TV shows, including "The Ed Sullivan Show" and its own "The
King Family," as well as in numerous films. They released several records, the most
popular of which included "The Hut-Sut Song," "My Devotion," "I'll Get By" and
"Saturday Night (Is The Loneliest Night Of The Week)."

Conjunto vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Cornelio Reyna, in Mexico City. Considered
the godfather of norteno/conjunto music, Reyno penned such hits as "Mil Noches,"
"Callejon Sin Salida" and "Hay Ojitos."

Brazilian singer/songwriter Chico Science, in Recife, Brazil. Science was the leader of
critically hailed band Nacao Zumbi, which released two albums on Sony Brasil and is
credited for re-popularizing Brazilian pop.

Songwriter Fritz (Fred) Spielman, in New York. With a 60-year career of songwriting,
Spielman wrote more than 900 songs, including such hits as "Paper Roses."

Preeminent studio guitarist Tommy Tedesco, in Northridge, Calif. In his 35 years of
playing professional guitar, the "king of studio musicians" was featured on countless TV
theme songs, including "M*A*S*H," "Bonanza" and "Green Acres," on film soundtracks
such as "The Godfather" and on records by the Beach Boys, Phil Spector, Ella
Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra.

Vocalist Arthur Tracy, in New York. Tracy is best-known for his recording of songs such
as "Marta," "Rambling Rose Of The Wildwood" and "Pennies From Heaven."

Gospel music artist Donald Vails, in Clinton, Md. During his 25 years in gospel music,
Vails was nominated for several Grammy Awards, topped the Billboard gospel charts
and earned gold-record status.

Artist and songwriter Townes Van Zandt, in Mount Juliet, Tenn. A prolific writer/artist,
Van Zandt released some 15 albums in his career and wrote such country hits as the
Emmylou Harris/Don Williams duet "If I Needed You" and the No. 1 duet "Pancho And
Lefty," recorded by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.

Rapper Christopher Wallace, in Los Angeles, known as Notorious B.I.G. and Biggie
Smalls. Wallace's debut album sold more than 1.5 million units.

Drummer Anthony (Tony) Williams, in Daly City, Calif. Williams played with the Miles
Davis Quintet and was a major force in jazz-rock fusion with his group Lifetime.

Blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon, in Los Angeles. Witherspoon's career break came
when he joined Oklahoma bandleader Jay McShann's band in 1944-and subsequently
enjoyed a No.1 R&B hit in "Ain't Nobody's Business." He recorded in various blues and
jazz formats, recording well into 1997.

Dr. Hook drummer/vocalist John C. Wolters, in San Francisco. Among its hits, Dr.
Hook recorded "Sylvia's Mother" and "The Cover Of Rolling Stone." Wolters was also
the manager of production and product movement at Hearts Of Space Records.

(NASHVILLE) - Carl Perkins suffered a severe stroke Dec. 16 following two milder ones
Nov. 20 and Dec. 2. Perkins is in intensive care at a Jackson, Tenn., hospital. His son,
Stan Perkins, said, "He's not in good shape now. It's very serious." (Amusement
Business)