Chuck Brown, pioneer of ‘go-go’ funk music, dies at 75

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chuck Brown, who styled a unique brand of funk music as a singer, guitarist and songwriter known as the “godfather of go-go,” has died after suffering from pneumonia. He was 75.

Brown died Wednesday at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. Hospital …

Kevin Hickey, pitched for Sox after open tryout, dies at 56

Kevin Hickey was the South Side’s Natural — a punk kid from Burroughs Playground in Brighton Park who by sheer will, talent and a little luck of the Irish made it to the big leagues to pitch for the Chicago White Sox, his favorite team. Hickey, a batting practice pitcher for the club, died on Wednesday. He was 56.

Carlos Fuentes, 83, pre-eminent Mexico novelist

MEXICO CITY — Author Carlos Fuentes, who played a dominant role in Latin America’s novel-writing boom by delving into the failed ideals of the Mexican revolution, died Tuesday in a Mexico City hospital. He was 83.

Fuentes died at the Angeles del Pedregal hospital where …

Owner of the former Quiet Knight club dies

Richard Harding danced to all kinds of music. The effervescent owner of the Quiet Knight music room was the first to bring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, the Talking Heads and Jimmy Buffett to Chicago. He loved Bob Marley as much as he …

‘Swamp People’ cast member Mitchell Guist dies

PIERRE PART, La. — A cast member of the reality TV show “Swamp People” died Monday, a Louisiana sheriff said. Assumption Parish Sheriff Mike Waguespack said Mitchell Guist was pronounced dead at a hospital. He had fallen while aboard his boat on the Intracoastal Waterway, …

Frank Knight, 103, fought to save New England’s tallest elm

PORTLAND, Maine — Frank Knight’s decades-long battle to save New England’s tallest elm served as an inspiring tale of devotion, so it is fitting that he will be laid to rest in a coffin made from the tree he made famous. Mr. Knight, who died …

Nolan Richardson III, 47, son of famed Arkansas coach

TULSA, Okla. — Nolan Richardson III — the son of former Arkansas and Tulsa basketball coach Nolan Richardson — was found dead in his home Sunday afternoon, Tulsa Police said Monday. Police said his death apparently was from natural causes. He was 47. Known as …

James Eriotes, 88, Elmhurst man loved, played baseball into his 80s

James Eriotes didn’t let old age keep him from the game he loved best: baseball.As a regular at the batting cages throughout his senior years, the Elmhurst man would step fearlessly in to the batter’s box and, to the awe of bystanders, swing away at …

Paul Dee, 65, University of Miami athletic director

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Paul Dee, who was Miami’s athletic director from 1993 through 2008 and continued serving the school as a member of its faculty, died Saturday night, university officials announced on Sunday. He was 65. During his tenure as athletic director, Mr. Dee …

Booker T. and the MGs, Blues Brothers bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn dies at 70

NEW YORK — Donald “Duck” Dunn, the bassist who helped create the gritty Memphis soul sound at Stax Records in the 1960s as part of the legendary group Booker T. and the MGs and contributed to such classics as “In the Midnight Hour,” “Hold On …

James A. Felling, imported foods to hottest restaurants in Chicago

Oil from Arbequina olives kissed by the sun of Catalonia, Spain. Forty-year-old sherry vinegar that was the astringent equivalent of a good Chateau Lafite. Fresh truffles from Manjimup, Australia. White soy sauce from Japan. When James A. Felling showed up at the hottest restaurants in …

Legendary race driver, car designer Carroll Shelby dies

DALLAS (AP) — Legendary race driver and Shelby Cobra sports car designer Carroll Shelby has died at age 89.

Shelby’s company Carroll Shelby International says Shelby died Thursday at a Dallas hospital. He had received a heart transplant in 1990 and a kidney transplant in …

Award-winning combat photographer

NEW YORK — As chief of photo operations for the Associated Press in Saigon for a decade beginning in 1962, Horst Faas didn’t just cover the fighting — he also recruited and trained new talent from among foreign and Vietnamese free-lancers. The result was “Horst’s …

Baby defied odds, lived 9 months

BUCHAREST, Romania — A Romanian baby born with virtually no intestines, and who confounded doctors by tenaciously clinging to life and captured international attention and offers of medical help, died on Thursday. He was 9 months old. In April, following an Associated Press article, people …

Harlan High teacher ran for president as a Socialist

With his bushy whiskers and jaunty Western string tie, J. Quinn Brisben was mistaken at times for Col. Sanders or Orson Welles. But he was more than a celebrity lookalike. In 1992, Mr. Brisben ran for U.S. president as the Socialist Party’s candidate, finishing 15th, …