National Obituaries

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — State Sen. John Scott, a longtime South Carolina lawmaker who served for more than three decades, died Sunday after a stint in the hospital, according to Democrats across the state. He was 69.

NEW YORK (AP) — Tom Jones, the lyricist, director and writer of “The Fantasticks,” the longest-running musical in history, has died. He was 95.

OTTAWA — In 1962, then-prime minister John Diefenbaker visited Hugh Segal's school in Montreal to present the principal with a copy of the newly minted Canadian Bill of Rights.

Robbie Robertson, The Band’s lead guitarist and songwriter who in such classics as “The Weight” and “Up on Cripple Creek” mined American music and folklore and helped reshape contemporary rock, died Wednesday at 80.

TORONTO — An Oscar-winning Toronto director who credits Robbie Robertson with helping to launch his career remembered the legendary singer-songwriter as a risk-taker and musical talent who “created a bridge across time.

TORONTO — Robbie Robertson, The Band's lead guitarist and songwriter who in such classics as “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" mined and helped reshape American music, died Wednesday at 80.

Robbie Robertson, The Band’s lead guitarist and songwriter who in such classics as “The Weight” and “Up on Cripple Creek” mined American music and folklore and helped reshape contemporary rock, died Wednesday at 80.

DETROIT (AP) — Sixto Rodriguez, who lived in obscurity as his music career flamed out early in the U.S. only to find success in South Africa and a stardom he was unaware of, died Tuesday in Detroit. He was 81.

DETROIT (AP) — Jim Price, a former Detroit Tigers catcher who played on their 1968 championship team and a broadcast analyst for decades, has died. He was 81. The Tigers announced his death Tuesday. No cause was given.

CHICAGO (AP) — Willie Perry Jr., a Chicago disc jockey known as “DJ Casper” and creator of the iconic “Cha Cha Slide” dance, has died. He was 58.