Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of the Irish rock band the Cranberries, died suddenly on Monday at age 46. She died in London, where she was recording, publicist Lindsey Holmes said.
Formed in Limerick, Ireland, at the end of the 1980s, the Cranberries became international stars in the '90s with hits including "Zombie" and "Linger" that fused the alternative rock edge with Celtic-infused pop tunefulness.
Irish President Michael Higgins said O'Riordan and the band "had an immense influence on rock and pop music in Ireland and internationally."
O'Riordan was the Cranberries' chief lyricist and co-songwriter, and her powerful, sometimes wailing, voice was key to the band's distinctive sound. The group's 1993 debut album "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?" sold millions of copies and produced the hit single "Linger."
In 2014, she was accused of assaulting three police officers and a flight attendant during a flight from New York to Ireland. She pleaded guilty and was fined $6,600. Medical records given to the court indicated she was mentally ill at the time of the altercation. After her court hearing, O'Riordan urged other people suffering mental illness to seek help.
The Cranberries had been due to tour Europe and North America in 2017, but it was cut short because she was suffering from back problems. Minneapolis was one of several cities in recent years to endure an abruptly canceled Cranberries gig. She refused to go on stage at Mill City Nights in 2012, and the show was canceled after the opening band played.
She is survived by her ex-husband, the former Duran Duran tour manager Don Burton, and their three children.
Gospel singer Hawkins dies at 74
Edwin Hawkins, the gospel star best known for the crossover hit "Oh Happy Day" and as a major force for contemporary inspirational music, died Monday at age 74. He had been suffering from pancreatic cancer. Along with Andrae Crouch, James Cleveland and a handful of others, Hawkins was credited as a founder of modern gospel music. Hawkins stood out for enjoying commercial success while still performing music that openly celebrated religious faith. An Oakland, Calif., native and one of eight siblings, Hawkins was a composer, keyboardist, arranger and choir master. He had been performing with his family and in church groups since childhood and in his 20s helped form the Northern California State Youth Choir. Their first album, "Let Us Go into the House of the Lord," came out in 1968 and was intended for local audiences. But radio stations in the San Francisco Bay Area began playing one of the album's eight tracks, "Oh Happy Day," an 18th-century hymn arranged by Hawkins in call-and-response style. "Oh Happy Day," featuring the vocals of Dorothy Combs Morrison, was released as a single credited to the Edwin Hawkins Singers and became a million-seller in 1969.
