The musical world has lost a giant.

Linda Deutsch, a special correspondent for The Associated Press who for nearly 50 years wrote glittering first drafts of history for many of the nation’s most significant criminal and civil trials died Sunday.

The assignment was daunting: Write a song for an onstage moment of transcendence.

“All I Want for Christmas is You,” Mariah Carey's hit from 1994, has grown over the last three decades into the Christmas colossus.

Forensic scientist Henry Lee is defending his work after a court ruling found him liable for fabricating evidence in a Connecticut murder trial that sent two innocent men to prison for decades.

Cynthia Weil, a Grammy-winning lyricist of great range and endurance who enjoyed a decades-long partnership with husband Barry Mann and helped write "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," "On Broadway," "Walking in the Rain" and dozens of other hits, has died at age 82.

Ronnie Spector, the cat-eyed, bee-hived rock ‘n’ roll siren who sang such 1960s hits as “Be My Baby,” “Baby I Love You” and “Walking in the Rain” as the leader of the girl group the Ronettes, has died.

They both carved out sterling reputations as military and political leaders over years of public service.

A criminal conviction may be able to do to R. Kelly’s music what years of allegations couldn’t.

This Nov. 19, 2019 booking photo provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Phil Spector. Spector, the eccentric and revolutionary music producer who transformed rock music with his "Wall of Sound" method and who later was convicted of murder, died Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021. But while Spector made his mark as a revolutionary music producer, the stories of him waving guns at recording artists and being convicted of murder overshadowed his artistry. The reaction to Spector’s death resurrected some mixed feelings about his life and legacy. Some lauded his early contributions to rock music, while others struggled to forgive his volatile past.

FILE - In this May 29, 2009 file photo, music producer Phil Spector sits in a courtroom for his sentencing in Los Angeles. Spector, the eccentric and revolutionary music producer who transformed rock music with his Wall of Sound method and who was later convicted of murder, died Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, at age 81. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool, File)LOS ANGELES – Phil Spector, the eccentric and revolutionary music producer who transformed rock music with his “Wall of Sound” method and who later was convicted of murder, has died. The volume, and violence, of Spector’s music reflected a dark side he could barely contain even at his peak. The Spector murder trial was one of many sensational cases she covered during her 48-year career as a Los Angeles-based trial reporter.