Notable deaths: Sports and music

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, December 27th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Counting today, we have five days remaining in our December Grassroots Giving Drive. Last I checked, we were around 90 percent. It is so important that we get to 100 or better. We are listener supported. We say it every day because it’s true. Your gifts are the reason we’re able to be here every weekday. If you’ve not given yet, I hope you’ll do it today. Just ask yourself what WORLD Radio is worth to you, and if you can, please give that amount at WNG.org/donate.

REICHARD: Alright then. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Significant deaths in sports and music.

WORLD’s Josh Schumacher takes us through some of the major figures in the world of music and sports who passed away in 2022.

AUDIO: We have one more drummer who’s going to come up and play for us tonight ... Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Mr. Shane Hawkins on the drums.” [Cheering]

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: 16 year old Shane Hawkins sat behind the drum set. It was late September 2022, and the Foo Fighters were performing at a tribute concert to their longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins—16-year-old Shane’s dad.

A photo of Shane and his dad appeared on the massive screen behind him.

AUDIO: [Shane starts this song...]

Taylor Hawkins died at the age of 50 at a hotel in Columbia in March while the Foo Fighters were on tour. A toxicology report showed ten different drugs in his system.

AUDIO: [There goes my hero! Watch him as he goes.]

Hawkins leaves behind his wife of 17 years—Alison—and their three kids.

AUDIO: [“My Story” by Big Daddy Weave]

While he wasn’t in one of the biggest rock bands in the world, Jay Weaver was frontman of one of the biggest Christian bands around: Big Daddy Weave…

Weaver died at the age of 42 in January. Cause of death: complications due to COVID-19. He had both his feet amputated in 2016 after struggling with diabetes and a weakened immune system.

AUDIO: [When the night has come…]

That’s country singer and songwriter Mickey Gilley’s cover of “Stand By Me.” He died in May at the age of 86. Gilley garnered 17 No.1 Billboard hits throughout his career… And founded the nightclub that would inspire the movie “Urban Cowboy” starring John Travolta and Debra Winger.

Gospel singer LaShun Pace died in March at the age of 60. Stop-you-in-your-tracks vocals and a love of the Lord propelled her into a life of praise and worship.

PACE - “I Know I’ve Been Changed.”

Pace started singing as a child with her siblings in a group called the Anointed Pace Sisters. Her marriage to a gospel music producer with a lengthy list of closeted homosexual affairs fell apart, even as her career as a gospel recording artist began to take off. Pace struggled with her health over the past few decades before she passed away this year.

Rock n’ roll star Jerry Lee Lewis also died this year at the age of 87. He’s most well known for his song “Great Balls of Fire.”

SOUND - “Great Balls of Fire”

Lewis was probably Elvis’s biggest competition for the title of the King of Rock and Roll.

But his legacy was marred by scandal…including his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin…Even before officially divorcing his previous wife. He was 22 at the time. He and his cousin divorced more than a decade later… After, she described their marriage as abusive.

[CHARIOTS OF FIRE THEME]

You probably recognize that movie theme. Greek Composer Vangelis—the man behind the music—passed away in May at the age of 79. The prodigy taught himself how to play the piano…Vangelis began his career as a rock star before turning to writing movie scores. He is best known for the score of Chariots of Fire—a film about the lives of British runners Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams. The score won an Academy Award.

[007 Theme]

British Composer Monty Norman, the mastermind behind this signature James Bond movie theme. The theme first appeared in the 1962 Sean Connery James Bond Movie “Dr. No.” A Times of London article in 1997 alleged that he wasn’t actually the author of the 007 theme—it said that the real author was the arranger of the piece, John Barry. Norman sued the newspaper for libel and won 30,000 pounds in damages and court costs in 2001. Norman died in July at the age of 94…

The Rapper Coolio—the performer behind “Gangsta’s Paradise”—died this year at the age of 59.

SOUND - “I’m the kinda G that little homies want to be like/On my knees saying prayers under the streetlights.”

As one of the bigger, and older, names in hip-hop, many younger rappers looked up to him. Some of those rappers may have been Takeoff, PnB Rock, JayDaYoungan, and others. All of who were 30 years old or younger and were killed this year by gunfire.

Shifting now to the world of sports: Mike Leach, renowned college football coach, died earlier this month at the age of 61. He revolutionized the college football passing offense, and was one of very few college football head coaches who never played college football. He held a law degree, and withheld almost no opinions on political and social topics.

On New Year's Day, 2022, NFL coach and former NFL running back Don Reeves died of complications due to dementia. He was 77. He is one of a small group of people who appeared in the Super Bowl—as both a player and later a coach. The Associated Press named him their coach of the year twice during his time on the sidelines.

He was also a Christian. Audio courtesy of Tele-missions.

REEVES: You know, I think a lot of times the loneliness that you read about or hear about from our young people, sometimes it's just a shame that they don't understand that He's just as far away as you getting on your knees and just start talking to Him. That he's real and He does. Listen to you.

Moving now to womens sports. Shirley Spork was one of 13 women who founded Ladies Professional Golf Association—or LPGA. Spork helped found the group while working as a public school teacher in Detroit. She died this year at the age of 94.

Spork also formed a teaching program to help women learn to play the game.

She described these accomplishments quite humbly in this interview with Jennie McAfferty.

SPORK: Through my education, I was able to do a lot in the teaching and coaching of golf and along with it got to play a little bit of the tour and had fun out there. But in the early days, there wasn't much money and there weren't a lot of tournaments. So I thought I should use my teaching credential.

A few weeks before her death, the LPGA announced that it would induct her and its other founders into the Hall of Fame. Sports Illustrated describes the LPGA Hall of Fame as one of the hardest-to-enter in the world of sports.

Finally, basketball star Bill Russell played as the center for the Boston Celtics. As a 12-time All Star, and 5-time MVP, he helped lead the team to 11 championships in 13 years. He also served as the first black coach for any integrated major American sport. He was one of only a few black athletes in the NBA when he first started. The Hall of Famer died at the age of 88.

Some considered him to have had the greatest career ever in team sports. Many called him the best basketball player of all time until a young kid by the name of Michael Jordan began to showcase his skills in the 1990s.

Russell said that he intentionally tried to use his platform as an athlete to speak out against social issues.

RUSSELL: Being a high-profile athlete, there was a forum there for me should I choose to use it. And… I choose to use it.

He received the Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2011. And the NBA awarded him its lifetime achievement award in 2017.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, December 27th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Counting today, we have five days remaining in our December Grassroots Giving Drive. Last I checked, we were around 90 percent. It is so important that we get to 100 or better. We are listener supported. We say it every day because it’s true. Your gifts are the reason we’re able to be here every weekday. If you’ve not given yet, I hope you’ll do it today. Just ask yourself what WORLD Radio is worth to you, and if you can, please give that amount at WNG.org/donate.

REICHARD: Alright then. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Significant deaths in sports and music.

WORLD’s Josh Schumacher takes us through some of the major figures in the world of music and sports who passed away in 2022.

AUDIO: We have one more drummer who’s going to come up and play for us tonight ... Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Mr. Shane Hawkins on the drums.” [Cheering]

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: 16 year old Shane Hawkins sat behind the drum set. It was late September 2022, and the Foo Fighters were performing at a tribute concert to their longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins—16-year-old Shane’s dad.

A photo of Shane and his dad appeared on the massive screen behind him.

AUDIO: [Shane starts this song...]

Taylor Hawkins died at the age of 50 at a hotel in Columbia in March while the Foo Fighters were on tour. A toxicology report showed ten different drugs in his system.

AUDIO: [There goes my hero! Watch him as he goes.]

Hawkins leaves behind his wife of 17 years—Alison—and their three kids.

AUDIO: [“My Story” by Big Daddy Weave]

While he wasn’t in one of the biggest rock bands in the world, Jay Weaver was frontman of one of the biggest Christian bands around: Big Daddy Weave…

Weaver died at the age of 42 in January. Cause of death: complications due to COVID-19. He had both his feet amputated in 2016 after struggling with diabetes and a weakened immune system.

AUDIO: [When the night has come…]

That’s country singer and songwriter Mickey Gilley’s cover of “Stand By Me.” He died in May at the age of 86. Gilley garnered 17 No.1 Billboard hits throughout his career… And founded the nightclub that would inspire the movie “Urban Cowboy” starring John Travolta and Debra Winger.

Gospel singer LaShun Pace died in March at the age of 60. Stop-you-in-your-tracks vocals and a love of the Lord propelled her into a life of praise and worship.

PACE - “I Know I’ve Been Changed.”

Pace started singing as a child with her siblings in a group called the Anointed Pace Sisters. Her marriage to a gospel music producer with a lengthy list of closeted homosexual affairs fell apart, even as her career as a gospel recording artist began to take off. Pace struggled with her health over the past few decades before she passed away this year.

Rock n’ roll star Jerry Lee Lewis also died this year at the age of 87. He’s most well known for his song “Great Balls of Fire.”

SOUND - “Great Balls of Fire”

Lewis was probably Elvis’s biggest competition for the title of the King of Rock and Roll.

But his legacy was marred by scandal…including his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin…Even before officially divorcing his previous wife. He was 22 at the time. He and his cousin divorced more than a decade later… After, she described their marriage as abusive.

[CHARIOTS OF FIRE THEME]

You probably recognize that movie theme. Greek Composer Vangelis—the man behind the music—passed away in May at the age of 79. The prodigy taught himself how to play the piano…Vangelis began his career as a rock star before turning to writing movie scores. He is best known for the score of Chariots of Fire—a film about the lives of British runners Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams. The score won an Academy Award.

[007 Theme]

British Composer Monty Norman, the mastermind behind this signature James Bond movie theme. The theme first appeared in the 1962 Sean Connery James Bond Movie “Dr. No.” A Times of London article in 1997 alleged that he wasn’t actually the author of the 007 theme—it said that the real author was the arranger of the piece, John Barry. Norman sued the newspaper for libel and won 30,000 pounds in damages and court costs in 2001. Norman died in July at the age of 94…

The Rapper Coolio—the performer behind “Gangsta’s Paradise”—died this year at the age of 59.

SOUND - “I’m the kinda G that little homies want to be like/On my knees saying prayers under the streetlights.”

As one of the bigger, and older, names in hip-hop, many younger rappers looked up to him. Some of those rappers may have been Takeoff, PnB Rock, JayDaYoungan, and others. All of who were 30 years old or younger and were killed this year by gunfire.

Shifting now to the world of sports: Mike Leach, renowned college football coach, died earlier this month at the age of 61. He revolutionized the college football passing offense, and was one of very few college football head coaches who never played college football. He held a law degree, and withheld almost no opinions on political and social topics.

On New Year's Day, 2022, NFL coach and former NFL running back Don Reeves died of complications due to dementia. He was 77. He is one of a small group of people who appeared in the Super Bowl—as both a player and later a coach. The Associated Press named him their coach of the year twice during his time on the sidelines.

He was also a Christian. Audio courtesy of Tele-missions.

REEVES: You know, I think a lot of times the loneliness that you read about or hear about from our young people, sometimes it's just a shame that they don't understand that He's just as far away as you getting on your knees and just start talking to Him. That he's real and He does. Listen to you.

Moving now to womens sports. Shirley Spork was one of 13 women who founded Ladies Professional Golf Association—or LPGA. Spork helped found the group while working as a public school teacher in Detroit. She died this year at the age of 94.

Spork also formed a teaching program to help women learn to play the game.

She described these accomplishments quite humbly in this interview with Jennie McAfferty.

SPORK: Through my education, I was able to do a lot in the teaching and coaching of golf and along with it got to play a little bit of the tour and had fun out there. But in the early days, there wasn't much money and there weren't a lot of tournaments. So I thought I should use my teaching credential.

A few weeks before her death, the LPGA announced that it would induct her and its other founders into the Hall of Fame. Sports Illustrated describes the LPGA Hall of Fame as one of the hardest-to-enter in the world of sports.

Finally, basketball star Bill Russell played as the center for the Boston Celtics. As a 12-time All Star, and 5-time MVP, he helped lead the team to 11 championships in 13 years. He also served as the first black coach for any integrated major American sport. He was one of only a few black athletes in the NBA when he first started. The Hall of Famer died at the age of 88.

Some considered him to have had the greatest career ever in team sports. Many called him the best basketball player of all time until a young kid by the name of Michael Jordan began to showcase his skills in the 1990s.

Russell said that he intentionally tried to use his platform as an athlete to speak out against social issues.

RUSSELL: Being a high-profile athlete, there was a forum there for me should I choose to use it. And… I choose to use it.

He received the Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2011. And the NBA awarded him its lifetime achievement award in 2017.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

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