NATALIE COLE

R. Kelly has long faced allegations of lurid sexual behavior and abuse, some of which have been made public through documentaries or court documents.

Authorities on Tuesday were looking for a hit-and-run driver who killed three young girls — two of them in wheelchairs — and left a fourth with life-threatening injuries as they walked along a Southern California desert highway. Willow Sanchez, 11, Daytona Bronas, 12, and Sandra Mizer, 13, all of Lucerne Valley, were struck shortly before 10:30 p.m. Saturday as they walked on Camp Rock Road and were struck by a white Chevrolet Silverado that drifted onto the shoulder of the road and struck them from behind, the California Highway Patrol said.

One of the world’s most honored musical producers and engineers has died.

The world also said goodbye to U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a lion of the civil rights movement who died in July. Other former political figures who died this year include Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, New York Mayor David Dinkins, Arizona Gov. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2020 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___David Stern, 77. The guitarist who supplied the scratching, seething sound that fueled the highly influential British punk band Gang of Four. He fused African rhythms with funk to become one of the most influential musicians in world dance music.

FILE - Johnny Mandel appears at the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Awards Ceremony and Concert in New York on Jan. 11, 2011. Mandel, the Oscar- and Grammy- winning composer, arranger and musician, died Monday, June 29, 2020, of a cardiac ailment at his home in Ojai, Calif. There are many ways to describe the legendary composer Johnny Mandel. I just work with whats there and try to do the best with whats there.As an arranger, Mandel worked with some of the greatest singers of his time. Why didnt you write the lyrics to The Shadow of Your Smile? Mandel told the NEA.

That is the conclusion of Black History Month. Hopefully it will educate or jog your memory on the legacy of our Black pioneers! Natalie Cole was the phenomenal daughter of Nat King Cole and former Duke Ellington Orchestra singer Maria Hawkins Ellington. Most people dont know she was a proud member of the sisters of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. In 2001, she starred as herself in Livin for Love: the Natalie Cole Story, for which she received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress.