Elvis Presley

ATLANTA — Sherrill “Shaun’’ Nielsen, a gospel singer who performed with Elvis Presley, has died at age 68. Mr. Nielsen’s publicist, Aaron Crisler, said he died Friday of lung cancer. Mr. Nielsen sang with Elvis on the Grammy-nominated song “Softly as I Leave You’’ and performed with a number of gospel groups during his career, including the Speer Family and Voice. Mr. Nielsen leaves his wife, Brenda Hall Nielsen. A funeral is scheduled for today in Cullman, Ala.

► Wednesday is April 4, the 95th day of 2012. There are 271 days left in the year. ►Today's birthdays: Actress Elizabeth Wilson is 91. Author-poet Maya Angelou is 84. Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), is 80. Recording executive Clive Davis is 80. Bandleader Hugh Masekela is 73. Author Kitty Kelley is 70. Actor Craig T. Nelson is 68. Actor Walter Charles is 67. Actress Christine Lahti is 62. Country singer Steve Gatlin (the Gatlin Brothers) is 61. Actress Mary-Margaret Humes is 58. Writer-producer David E. Kelley is 56. Actor Phil Morris is 53. Actress Lorraine Toussaint is 52. Actor Hugo Weaving is 52. Rock...

LOS ANGELES -- Ben Weisman, a classically trained pianist who helped write nearly 60 songs for Elvis Presley, including many for his movies, has died. He was 85. Mr. Weisman died Sunday at a long-term care hospital in Los Angeles, said Barbara Gleicher of New York, who is married to Mr. Weisman's nephew. He died of complications of a stroke and pneumonia, said his niece Joy Auerbach in Santa Monica. Mr. Weisman, whom Presley dubbed "the mad professor," wrote or co-wrote a string of gold- and platinum-selling songs for Presley, including "Follow That Dream" and "Fame and Fortune.

PICK OF THE DAY Sweet comedy If your neighborhood is like ours, there's a Dunkin' Donuts on every corner. If that makes you glum, head to the theater for nostalgia and laughs. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts's ‘‘Superior Donuts" is set in a Chicago donut shop, one of the dying breed of independent establishments. Much-needed help arrives in the form of a new employee, a street-smart young writer with big ideas. The Lyric Stage production features veteran Boston actors including Will LeBow, Karen MacDonald, and Steven Barkhimer.

It’s an American icon, the sign welcoming the world to ‘‘Fabulous Las Vegas.’’ But until you actually stand beneath it, in all its flashy neon fabulousness, you can have no idea how hard it is to get to. It rises from a median on what is essentially a six-lane highway at the southern end of Las Vegas Boulevard —better known as the Strip. It’s 3:30 on a Thursday afternoon and we’ve just made the mad dash to the sign across three traffic lanes in the company of Steve Connolly, a Massachusetts native and the man recognized as the top Elvis Presley tribute artist in Sin City.

LOS ANGELES - Hal Kanter, an Emmy-winning comedy master who wrote for Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, directed Elvis Presley in "Loving You," and created Diahann Carroll's ground-breaking television sitcom, has died. He was 92. Mr. Kanter died Sunday, according to the Writers Guild of America, where he had been a member since 1950 and served on the union's board of directors. Daughter Donna Kanter told the Los Angeles Times he died of complications of pneumonia at Encino Hospital. His three Emmys included back-to-back wins for 1991-92 as a writer for the Academy...

OLDWICK, N.J. — George David Weiss, who helped write chart-topping pop hits including “Can’t Help Falling in Love’’ and “What a Wonderful World,’’ has died. He was 89. He died Monday of natural causes at his home in Oldwick, said his wife, Claire. Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and many other big-name artists recorded compositions written or co-written by Mr. Weiss, whose career choice greatly disappointed his mother. She wanted him to become a lawyer. A Juilliard School of Music graduate who played the violin, piano, saxophone, and...

LAS VEGAS - Freddie Bell, a forerunner in the 1950s rock 'n' roll era whose toe-tapping versions of "Giddy Up A Ding Dong" and "Hound Dog" inspired Elvis Presley to cover the songs, has died. He was 76. Mr. Bell died late Sunday in a Las Vegas hospital of complications from cancer, said his publicist Norm Johnson. Mr. Bell was performing at the Sands casino-hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in the mid-1950s when Presley was just an opening act across the street at the New Frontier.

TUPELO, Miss. -- Rockabilly singer and songwriter Jumpin' Gene Simmons, who worked with Elvis Presley and had a top 20 hit in 1964 with the bouncy "Haunted House," has died. He was 69. He died Tuesday at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo after a long illness, according to Holland-Harris Funeral Directors. Mr. Simmons -- not to be confused with the Kiss bassist with the same name -- was in show business for more than 50 years, working with such names as Sam Phillips and the Bill Black Combo.

Every year, thousands of Elvis Presley devotees flock to Memphis to remember the singer's death on Aug. 16, 1977. The main event of "Elvis Week" is the candlelight vigil at Graceland, his longtime home, at midnight Tuesday. This year, fans have something else to commemorate. It was 55 years ago - 1956 - when the first two Elvis albums were released, launching an international music career that brought Elvis's mix of country, rhythm & blues, and gospel to millions of fans around the world.

Elvis Aaron Presley (1935-1977) was a rock 'n' roll pioneer, with fans worldwide that refuse to forget him. His unique sound was influenced by country music, gospel singing, and rhythm and blues. Find out why he's still the King of Rock 'n' Roll at the following sites. Elvis.com: The Official Site www.elvis.com "Welcome to Elvis Presley's official web site, home of the undisputed King of Rock 'n' Roll and his beloved Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tennessee!" Although much of the site deals with visiting Graceland, there are great clicks for virtual visitors in About the King.

LOS ANGELES - Hal Kanter, an Emmy-winning comedy master who wrote for Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, directed Elvis Presley in "Loving You," and created Diahann Carroll's ground-breaking television sitcom, has died. He was 92. Mr. Kanter died Sunday, according to the Writers Guild of America, where he had been a member since 1950 and served on the union's board of directors. Daughter Donna Kanter told the Los Angeles Times he died of complications of pneumonia at Encino Hospital. His three Emmys included back-to-back wins for 1991-92 as a writer for the Academy Awards.

Tom Waits, "Bad as Me" (ANTI-) Tom Waits' first album of new music in seven years is a satisfying treat spanning his various sounds and styles. The 61-year-old musician is in peak form, working his voice like another one of his instruments — spitting and wailing on some tracks, charming with his haunting falsetto on another. Waits brings in a host of celebrated musicians to help him tell stories about heartache, war, life and living on "Bad as Me. " Bluesman Charlie Musselwhite contributes harmonica to several tracks; veteran keyboardist Augie Meyers plays...

NEW YORK - David Hess, a songwriter for Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, and others in the 1950s and 1960s who went on to play murderous movie villains, died Oct. 7 in Tiburon, Calif. He was 75. The cause was a heart attack, said his brother, Jeremy. Mr. Hess became a professional songwriter, using pseudonyms including David Hill, for Shalimar Music in 1957. He wrote or co-wrote songs Presley recorded, including "I Got Stung" and "Make Me Know You're Mine," and scored a Top 10 hit in 1962 when Pat Boone sang "Speedy Gonzalez," which Mr. Hess...

Every year, thousands of Elvis Presley devotees flock to Memphis to remember the singer's death on Aug. 16, 1977. The main event of "Elvis Week" is the candlelight vigil at Graceland, his longtime home, at midnight Tuesday. This year, fans have something else to commemorate. It was 55 years ago - 1956 - when the first two Elvis albums were released, launching an international music career that brought Elvis's mix of country, rhythm & blues, and gospel to millions of fans around the world.

WASHINGTON — Elvis has left the list. Ending a run that started in 1955, Elvis did not make the list of 1,000 most popular baby names compiled by the Social Security Administration. The name never topped the charts, peaking at No. 312 in 1957 and making a slight comeback after Elvis Presley died in 1977. But The King’s first name was in the top 1,000 for 55 straight years. “I was all shook up,’’ Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue said. “It’s been a tradition tracking his ups and downs, and to see him drop off the top 1,000, I have to be honest, we took that very hard...

TUPELO, Miss. -- Rockabilly singer and songwriter Jumpin' Gene Simmons, who worked with Elvis Presley and had a top 20 hit in 1964 with the bouncy "Haunted House," has died. He was 69. He died Tuesday at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo after a long illness, according to Holland-Harris Funeral Directors. Mr. Simmons -- not to be confused with the Kiss bassist with the same name -- was in show business for more than 50 years, working with such names as Sam Phillips and the Bill Black Combo.

NEW YORK - David Hess, a songwriter for Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, and others in the 1950s and 1960s who went on to play murderous movie villains, died Oct. 7 in Tiburon, Calif. He was 75. The cause was a heart attack, said his brother, Jeremy. Mr. Hess became a professional songwriter, using pseudonyms including David Hill, for Shalimar Music in 1957. He wrote or co-wrote songs Presley recorded, including "I Got Stung" and "Make Me Know You're Mine," and scored a Top 10 hit in 1962 when Pat Boone sang "Speedy Gonzalez," which Mr. Hess co-wrote.

CRASH INTO ME: A Survivor’s Search for Justice By Liz Seccuro Bloomsbury, 256 pp., $25 In 2005 Liz Seccuro received a letter that shot a hole through the flawless façade she’d been working like mad to maintain. “In October 1984 I harmed you,” the writer began, declaring himself willing to “set right the wrong I’ve done.” The euphemistic “wrong” he had done was to drug and brutally rape her in a University of Virginia fraternity house when she was a naïve and dewy freshman.

ATLANTA — Sherrill “Shaun’’ Nielsen, a gospel singer who performed with Elvis Presley, has died at age 68. Mr. Nielsen’s publicist, Aaron Crisler, said he died Friday of lung cancer. Mr. Nielsen sang with Elvis on the Grammy-nominated song “Softly as I Leave You’’ and performed with a number of gospel groups during his career, including the Speer Family and Voice. Mr. Nielsen leaves his wife, Brenda Hall Nielsen. A funeral is scheduled for today in Cullman, Ala.