newsmakers

newsmakers

George Beverly Shea dies at 104; sang at Graham crusades

MONTREAT, N.C.

George Beverly Shea, whose booming baritone voice echoed through stadiums, squares and souls during a decades-long career with evangelist Billy Graham, died Tuesday. He was 104.

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association spokesman Brent Rinehart said Shea died in Asheville after a brief illness.

Shea’s rendition of “How Great Thou Art” came to define the faith of a Protestant generation that Graham helped bring to Jesus Christ. He performed live before an estimated 200 million people at crusades over the years — taking him from North Dakota to North Korea and beyond.

He joined Graham’s crusade team in 1947 and stayed until Graham’s declining health ended most of the evangelist’s public appearances nearly 60 years later.

“As a young man starting my ministry, I asked Bev if he would join me,” Graham said then. “He said yes, and for over 60 years we had the privilege of ministering together across the country and around the world. Bev was one of the most humble, gracious men I have ever known and one of my closest friends. I loved him as a brother.”

Jude Law writes to WTO against seal trade

LONDON

Actor Jude Law has written to the World Trade Organization to urge it to uphold a European Union ban on seal fur.

The British actor was writing on behalf of animal-protection group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which released the letter Saturday.

The EU banned commercial trade in all seal products in its member states in 2010 amid concerns about the animal-welfare aspects of hunting seals.

The ban is being challenged by the Canadian government, and the WTO will have a hearing later this month to settle the dispute.

Daft Punk sets record on Spotify with ‘Lucky’

NEW YORK

Daft Punk has set a record on Spotify.

The music service says the French electronic duo’s song “Get Lucky” had the biggest streaming day for a single track Friday in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

Spotify wouldn’t release the number of streams.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop” previously held the record for most streams in a day in the U.S. British band Bastille had the title in the United Kingdom with the song “Pompeii.”

Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” features rapper-producer Pharrell. It’s the first single from the group’s fourth album, “Random Access Memories,” due out May 21.

It’s their first studio album since 2005’s “Human After All,” though the band scored the “Tron: Legacy” soundtrack in 2010. They won a Grammy in 2009.

Spotify launched in 2008.

Associated Press