Musician Mike Seeger dies

Musician Mike Seeger dies

LEXINGTON, Va. — Mike Seeger, who helped revive traditional American folk music, has died at age 75.

Seeger’s wife, Alexia Smith, said Monday that Seeger died of cancer Friday night at their home in Lexington, Va.

Seeger was born in New York City and reared near Washington, D.C., in a musical family. Two of his siblings became key figures in the folk-music revival of the 1950s and 1960s: his half brother, Pete, and his sister, Peggy.

Mike Seeger associated with traditional musicians such as Maybelle Carter and Dock Boggs.

He sang and played a number of instruments, including banjo, fiddle and guitar, and helped form the traditional music group The New Lost City Ramblers in 1958. He recorded more than 40 albums solo and with others and received six Grammy Award nominations.

‘Octomom’ special on Fox

NEW YORK — The Fox network will air a two-hour prime-time special later this month on the “Octomom,” Nadya Suleman.

The documentary is scheduled for Aug. 19 and is called “Octomom: The Incredible Unseen Footage.” It’s billed as a look inside the life of the single mother of 14.

Fox calls it as a “fly on the wall” look at what it’s like to take care of so many children. A California judge last month appointed a lawyer to oversee the estate of Suleman’s octuplets to ensure they weren’t exploited.

Today’s birthdays

Actress-TV personality Arlene Dahl is 81. Actress Anna Massey is 72. Songwriter Kenny Gamble of Gamble and Huff is 66. Bassist Jim Kale of the Guess Who is 66. Country singer John Conlee is 63. Singer Eric Carmen is 60. Wrestler-actor Hulk Hogan is 56. Singer Joe Jackson is 55. Actor Joe Rogan (“Fear Factor,” “NewsRadio”) is 42. Actress Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad”) is 41. Actress Ashley Jensen (“Ugly Betty”) is 41. Rock guitarist Charlie Sexton is 41. Drummer Chris Dave (Mint Condition) is 41. Rap DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad (Lucy Pearl, A Tribe Called Quest) is 39. Actor Will Friedle (“Boy Meets World”) is 33. Rapper Chris Kelly of Kris Kross is 31. Singer J-Boog (B2K) is 24. Rapper Asher Roth is 24.