Guitarist and songwriter Danny Kirwan, formerly of Fleetwood Mac, has died of undisclosed causes at age 68. Kirwan was part of the blues-rock incarnation of Fleetwood Mac that predated the hiring of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks; he was featured on five albums from 1969 to 1972, when he was fired due to erratic behavior. He subsequently launched a solo career, but was out of the public eye for the last decades of his life.

"Danny's true legacy, in my mind, will forever live on in the music he wrote and played so beautifully as a part of the foundation of Fleetwood Mac, that has now endured for over fifty years," said Mick Fleetwood, sharing news of Kirwan's death. (New York Times)

Bruce gets a Tony

At the Tony Awards on Sunday night, Bruce Springsteen received a special award for his acclaimed show Springsteen on Broadway. "Thanks for making me feel so welcome on your block," said the Boss as he accepted the award. Springsteen performed "My Hometown," but he was upstaged by Robert De Niro, who introduced Springsteen and took his moment at the microphone to denounce President Donald Trump in profane terms. (Rolling Stone)

The Band's Visit, "a delicate musical about an Egyptian police orchestra stranded for a night in Israel," as the New York Times describes, dominated the night with ten Tonys including Best Musical. A poignant musical moment came when students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School performed the song "Seasons of Love" from Rent.

Kanye ties chart record

With his new album Ye, Kanye West has tied Eminem’s record for most consecutive albums to debut at number one on the Billboard 200: eight in a row. He's still well behind Jay-Z as the hip-hop artist with the most total number ones (14) and the Beatles for most number-one albums overall (19). (Billboard)

Dre and Iovine go to court in Beats lawsuit

Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine are headed to court to defend themselves against a lawsuit by entrepreneur Steven Lamar. Lamar alleges that he's owed over $100 million in royalties in an agreement they reached in the early years of Beats. Lamar suggested the idea to Dre and Iovine, and the agreement netted him a 4% royalty on the original model of Beats by Dre headphones. At issue now is whether Lamar was owed the same royalty on all subsequent models. (Billboard)

QOTSA pay tribute to Bourdain

On Friday night at Denmark's NorthSide Festival, Queens of the Stone Age dedicated their performance of "Long Slow Goodbye" to the late chef, author, and TV host Anthony Bourdain. "Sometimes you lose somebody," said the band's Josh Homme, "and today we lost somebody, so this song is for Tony."

Iggy Pop and Questlove are among the music stars who have paid tribute to Bourdain via social media. (Pitchfork)

"Long Slow Goodbye" comes at about 46:00 in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1clqZ7qUqcg