Country Music Legend Charlie Louvin Dies at 83

Charlie Louvin, who, along with his brother Ira, influenced generations of country and rock performers from Dwight Yoakam and Emmylou Harris to The Raconteurs and Uncle Tupelo, has died from complications of pancreatic cancer. He was 83. Charlie's wife Betty, to whom he had been married for 61 years, confirmed to Nashville's WSM radio that Charlie passed away at around 1:30AM on Wednesday.

In July, Charlie announced he was battling stage 2 pancreatic cancer for which he underwent surgery at Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Two of our favorite Louvin Brothers classics, 'The Christian Life' and 'The Great Atomic Power':

On Charlie's official website, his son, Sonny Louvin, reported that while his father had returned home from the hospital on July 30, "the surgery did not go as planned and he [would] begin using alternative methods of treatment going forward."

Born Charlie Elzer Loudermilk in 1927, Charlie grew up in the Sand Mountain region of Alabama, working beside his brother in the cotton mills and fields. The Louvin Brothers' distinct close harmony style developed when the duo began singing together as teenagers. They went from performing at a small radio station in Chattanooga, Tenn., to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry where they became Opry members in 1955.

Their first big hit, 'When I Stop Dreaming,' reached the Top 10 on the country charts that same year, and the duo toured with Elvis Presley as their opening act. Hits that followed included 'I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby,' 'The Christian Life,' 'You're Running Wild' and 'Knoxville Girl.' The duo disbanded in 1963, with Ira releasing a solo album in 1964. He died a year later in a car crash.

Charlie's solo career also began in 1964, with 'I Don't Love You Anymore' being his first Top 5 hit beyond the Louvin Brothers. Other hits included 'I Think I'll Go Somewhere and Cry Myself to Sleep,' 'Less and Less' and 'Off and On.'

Academy Nominates Surprising Music Industry Acts

Most of the focus Tuesday morning surrounded the big name nominees for this year’s Academy Awards – Portman, Bening, Firth, Bale and more – but amongst this year’s first-time Academy Award nominees were some surprising familiar faces from the music industry.

Trent Reznor, the lead singer of Nine Inch Nails, along with Atticus Ross, were nominated for their Original Score for “The Social Network,” which many consider the duo the front-runners to win. Just last week, Reznor and Ross won a Golden Globe award for their score for the film.

“When David approached us to write the score for ‘The Social Network,’ we were intrigued and excited to see what we could bring to the project – but truly couldn’t imagine it would lead to an Oscar nomination. We are extremely grateful to the Academy and very proud to have contributed to David’s vision,” Reznor and Ross said in a joint statment to Access Hollywood on Tuesday.

Reznor seems to have found a second career in scoring films for director David Fincher – next up, he’ll be scoring Fincher’s U.S. remake of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”

They’ll be competing against Hollywood legend Hans Zimmer for his score for Christopher Nolan’s “Inception,” and A.R. Rahman, who won two years ago for both Original Score and Best Song (“Jai Ho”) for “Slumdog Millionaire.” Rahman is back this year, re-teaming with Danny Boyle with his score for “127 Hours.” Also up in this category are John Powell for “How to Train Your Dragon” and Alexandre Desplat for “The King’s Speech.”

A surprising absence in the Original Score category was French DJ duo Daft Punk, who did the soundtrack for “Tron: Legacy.” Some critics point out that they might not have qualified because some of their score used music from the franchise’s original film, making it not entirely “Original.”

In the Original Song category, popular British singer Dido, along with her brother and frequent producing partner DJ Rollo Armstrong, received a nod for writing the lyrics to “If I Rise” from “127 Hours,” for which Rahman composed the music.

They’ll be competing against Hollywood frequents Randy Newman (“We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3”) and Alan Menken and Glenn Slater (“I See The Light” from “Tangled”), as well as Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey for “Coming Home” from “Country Strong.”

Access has reached out to Dido & Rollo for reaction to their nominations. We hope to hear from them soon and we’ll update if we hear back!

Shakira Has Everyone Going Loca At NRJ Music Awards

As much as we Americans love us some Shakira, we know she’s an even bigger sensation overseas, so it’s no surprise to hear she was named International Female Artist Of The Year at the NRJ Music Awards (bestowed by French radio station NRJ). The oft-YouTubed beauty showed up to perform her bilingual hit “Loca” and World Cup anthem “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” — and of course, abundantly shake her always-truthful hips. Check it out.

Shakira, “Loca” —

Shakira, “Waka Waka” —

From the effervescent performances, we think some of our domestic divas could stand to learn a thing or two about showmanship from Colombian megastar. We especially love the big, exuberant “Waka Waka” number, which miraculously avoids being cheesy and is just a lot of fun instead.

We do not, however, think any of our homeland pop stars should find fashion inspiration in either of the outfits here. Of course, Shakira looks amazing, but bikini tops and skirts/pants with dangling tassels is the kind of thing you can only get away with if you’re smoking hot and South American.

Creed's Music Saves 13-Year-Old Boy From Wolves

If you ever wander into some spooky woods, you better have some Creed in your MP3 player, just to be safe. According to a report by Norwegian TV Channel TV2 (via NME.com), when 13-year-old Walter Eikrem encountered a pack of wolves on his way home from school, all he had to do was blast Creed's 'Overcome' to chase them off.

"[They] didn't really get scared, they just turned around and simply trotted away," Eikrem said.

When the wolves closed in on him, Eikrem for some reason felt it was best to use his music to defend himself, so he took off his headphones and blasted the volume to the maximum. Turns out, it did just the trick.

Eikrem knew the last thing he wanted to do was run away at that moment, he said. "The worst thing you can do is run away because doing so just invites the wolves to chase you down."

According to the report, wolves are common in the Norwegian countryside, but rarely attack humans.

So what kind of music should we blast if we ever cross paths with a grizzly bear?

Monkees Founder and Music Industry Legend Don Kirshner Dies

Don Kirshner, the businessman and songwriter who helped create The Monkees and launch the careers of several iconic performers, died Monday in Florida. According to a press release, the 77-year-old passed away from heart failure.

Known as "The Man With the Golden Ear," Kirshner was born in 1934 in New York City. He entered the music business in the late '50s as a manager for singer Connie Francis, but soon transitioned into providing what he saw as the industry's most pressing need: connecting performers with songwriters.

In the early '60s Kirshner founded Aldon Music, a publishing company that worked with a number of then-unknown performers, including Bobby Darin, Neil Diamond and Carole King, connecting them with resources including studio musicians, producers and songwriters. Kirshner and his staff also cranked out a series of hit singles for groups ranging from The Drifters to The Ronettes. Aldon Music was the single most dominant force in pop music for several years, eventually being bought out by Columbia.

In 1966, in the wake of The Beatles' emergence, Kirshner switched directions. Combining The Beatles' template with his own knowledge of hit-making, Kirshner created a new model for music marketing that would serve as a reference point for countless musicians and labels in the ensuing decades, ranging from boy bands to image-conscious rock groups.

The project? The Monkees.

Filmmakers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, who created The Beatles-inspired group specifically for a television series, asked Kirshner to write the music. He was soon hired on as a full producer and helped pen several hits including 'I'm a Believer.' He also consulted in The Monkees' branding and distribution, and when he stepped away from the group the following year, their sales and popularity dropped significantly.

In the '70s, Kirshner produced the highly successful 'Don Kirshner's Rock Concert' on ABC, a live-performance revue that served as an answer to other shows' reliance on lip-syncing and other staged performances.

Kirshner is survived by his wife, Sheila, to whom he was married for 50 years, as well as two children and four grandchildren.