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Died in 2019

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Jan 10, 2020

RIP: Who We Lost in December 2019

Read the full Legacy obituaries for the life stories of the people featured in this video: , “Alice” star , Chicago rapper , controversial radio “shock jock” , Inuit-Canadian pop singer , character actor known for “Do the Right Thing” , NASCAR legend , bestselling romance novelist , one of the first black mayors of a major U.S. city , star of “Lolita” , Auburn college football legend , longtime University of Iowa football coach , costar of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “Benson” , Sesame Street’s beloved Big Bird , spiritual guru , Roxette singer and keyboardist

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Mar 19, 2019

Andre Williams (1936–2019), R&B singer known as the "Godfather of Rap"

Andre Williams was an R&B singer who had hits in the 1950s with "Bacon Fat" and the too-raunchy-for-radio "Jail Bait." Known as the "Godfather of Rap" for the spoken-sung style he adopted when he wanted to be a recording star but knew he couldn't sing well enough, Williams recorded with labels including Detroit-based Fortune Records and Chicago's Chess Records. His most enduring composition is "Shake a Tail Feather," which became an R&B standard after he co-wrote it, recorded first by the Five Dutones and more famously by Ike and Tina Turner as well as by for the 1980 movie "The Blues Brothers." He wrote songs for , and produced for musicians including Ike Turner and , but he also continued recording and performing his own music all his life, including his 2017 album "Don't Ever Give Up."

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