Music Blogs

Ray Manzarek [photo: Matthew Peyton/Getty Images]Ray Manzarek, co-founder and keyboardist of legendary Los Angeles rock band the Doors, has died, according to a post on the band's official Facebook page.

According to the band's statement, Manzarek passed away Monday, May 20 at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany, after a long battle with bile duct cancer. He was 74.

Manzarek formed the Doors in 1965 after meeting iconic singer/poet Jim Morrison on L.A.'s Venice Beach. Manzarek's playing was integral to the band's sound, since the band had no bass guitarist and Manzarek played most of the basslines on his keyboards.

"I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today," said founding Doors guitarist Robby Krieger. "I'm just glad to have been able to have played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him."

During their run from 1965 to their official breakup in 1973, the Doors sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. After Morrison's

Season 3 "Voice" winner Cassadee PopeCassadee Pope started off Season 3 of "The Voice" as a pop-punk singer, a Warped Tour veteran with an Avril Lavigne fetish and a background as the frontgirl for the Pete Wentz-championed Decaydence Records band Hey Monday. But she ended the season as her mentor Blake Shelton's country protégé, singing songs by Faith Hill, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, and Miranda Lambert.

On her debut single, "Wasting All These Tears," Cassadee combines both of these elements. The song is definitely reminiscent of Avril's power ballads ("I'm With You," "My Happy Ending," "Keep Holding On"), but it has a certain Nashville twang. Have a listen:

By Laura Ferreiro

Photo: Michael CaulfieldWhile most of us end up with embarrassing prom photos that we'd rather not have see the light of day (think frilly dresses, awkward poses, and hairstyles with far too much Aqua Net), a group of teens from Eagle Rock, Calif. ended up with a hunky pop star in theirs.

Chely Wright and Lauren Blitzer Wright (Photo: Jason LaVeris)Chely Wright is no doubt feeling a little "blue" this week, as she and wife Lauren Blitzer Wright celebrated the birth of their identical twin sons on Saturday.

The boys are named George Samuel and Everett Joseph — after their great-grandfathers — and, according to a report from People, are doing great despite arriving a bit ahead of schedule. The babies were originally supposed to be born sometime in June.

By Laura Ferreiro

Wade Robson (Photo: Denise Truscello)Michael Jackson's former housekeeper has reportedly agreed to back up dancer/choreographer Wade Robson's claims that he was sexually molested by the pop star when he was a child.

Robson, now 30, danced in many of Jackson's videos during the height of the "Billie Jean" singer's popularity and frequently visited the King of Pop at his home in Neverland Ranch, Calif. as a boy. He recently came forward to claim that he was sexually abused by Jackson between the ages of seven and 14.

One of my all-time favorite "American Idol" contestants, gone-too-soon Season 7 troubadour Josiah Leming (you know, the one famous for living in his car, crying, covering Mika's "Grace Kelly," and refusing to do a normal version of "Stand By Me"), is finally back on my TV. Or at least on my computer screen.