Jazz and blues singing legend Nina Simone, 70, has died at her home in Southern France, the news agency Agence France-Presse reported on Monday. The agency quoted a statement from Ms. Simone's manager.Clifton Henderson, who was at Simone's bedside at her death, said she died of "natural causes" in her sleep after a long illness. He refused to provide the name of the town where she lived. "She inspired other singers to do what they believed in," Henderson said, saying the musician would also …

The battle against online downloading of music over the Internet has now become a war of words. Or at least a few well chosen ones. The Recording Industry Association of America, which claims the practice of swapping MP3 files is costing them millions in lost revenues every year, has now begun tracing song titles to send ominous notices to users of services like Kazaa and Morpheus through a pop-up window. "It appears that you are offering copyrighted music to others from your computer," it r …

Temperamental and moody, capable of fits of extreme generosity that could quickly turn into moments of rage-filled paranoia, Elis Regina was one of the most ferociously talented singers to emerge from Brazil. A perfectionist who was frequently dissatisfied, Regina drove herself and members of her band relentlessly, leading to her being dubbed "hurricane" and "little pepper" by musicians and music journalists. Her tempestuous nature aside, she commanded the respect of Brazil's leading songwriters …