David Lasley — an American artist, songwriter and longtime backup singer for a slew of legendary artists — passed away on Dec. 9 at the age of 74, Billboard has confirmed. In addition to a solo career that netted him the 1982 top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hit “If I Had My Wish Tonight,” Lasley sang backup for Burt Bacharach, Neil Diamond, Luther Vandross, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin and more.

Tributes to the late singer poured in after the news of his passing, with Desmond Child, James Taylor and more expressing their condolences online and sharing his music.

Lasley co-wrote Bonnie Raitt’s “I Ain’t Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again” and “Got You On My Mind.” Raitt took to social media with fond words about Lasley, stating, “I am so sorry to hear of the passing of yet another beautiful friend and bright light in our music world, golden voiced David Lasley.”

On the passing of #davidlasley… pic.twitter.com/uRL7GjZjk6

— Bonnie Raitt (@TheBonnieRaitt) December 10, 2021

According to a 1986 Los Angeles Times interview, Lasley grew up just outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he sang in his local church. Lasley, his late sister Julie and his childhood friends later formed a band called The Utopias and made four records together, which they promoted at local radio stations. After the group disbanded, Lasley went on to join the touring production of Hair! from 1972-1974.

Following his stint in the Utopias, Lasley formed a vocal group called Rosie, which released two albums on RCA records in 1976 and 1977. Years later, he lent his talents to commercials, voicing ads for Miller Beer and Seagram’s Cooler.

Lasley’s four octave vocal range made him a coveted backup singer, especially with his falsetto voice. Over the course of his career, he also worked behind James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Bette Midler and Ringo Starr.

In the early 1980s, Lasley was signed to Geffen Records but bought his way out of his contract when he became dissatisfied with the label asking him to “copy other artists,” according to the Los Angeles Times interview.

Between 1981 and 2006, Lasley released eight solo albums and served as a co-writer on countless singles for Raitt, LaBelle, Arnold McCuller, Whitney Houston, Dusty Springfield, Anita Baker and more.

Lasley also appeared in 20 Feet From Stardom, the 2013 documentary about backup singers that won Best Documentary Feature at the 2014 Academy Awards.In 2021, a severe illness left Lasley an amputee, according to a GoFundMe started by McCuller, his friend and collaborator of 51 years. He is survived by his brother Dean Lasley.

More tributes can be found below.

David Lasley 💔
1947-2021

https://t.co/CazWTRsZkn

— James Taylor (@JamesTaylor_com) December 9, 2021

Last night, my dear friend, David Lasley, passed on into eternity. David was one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time that the world never knew. He sang and wrote on many of the classic records across the last 5 decades that have become the soundtrack of our lives. pic.twitter.com/Fpbz1Ur9t4

— Desmond Child (@DesmondChild) December 9, 2021

We are saddened by the loss of beloved songwriter, singer + recording artist David Lasley, whose creative brilliance, angelic voice and generous spirit shone through his work with James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield and more. RIP, David. pic.twitter.com/XFlFv708DI

— ASCAP (@ASCAP) December 10, 2021

Warner Chappell Music has hired Christine Belden for the new role of vp global head of film, TV and media music. This role sees the major publisher investing more resources and attention to its film and TV music catalogs. Reporting to Rich Robinson — the company’s executive vp global sync and media original music — Belden will oversee acquisitions of broadcast rights in the film and TV industry.

Coming over from Kobalt, where she was responsible for the company’s creative and strategy for its global film and television publishing business, Belden brings her experience working with some of the top names in the film business to Warner, including A24, National Geographic, Black Label Media and more. She also previously held a position as an agent at CAA, representing composers and music supervisors and providing creative music support.

“I’m super excited to be joining Warner Chappell as the company heightens its focus on the ever-evolving publishing space within the film and television industry. I’ve been working with music supervisors, composers, and producers throughout my career, so I’m looking forward to developing new opportunities in this space with WCM’s global resources,” Belden says.

“We are delighted to have Christine join the team as we continue to expand our global capabilities in the sync space,” Robinson says. “Her integral knowledge of the entertainment industry brings a level of expertise that will help us develop new, synergistic opportunities between our songwriters and film and television clients.

Based in Los Angeles, Belden’s new role rounds out Robinson’s leadership team, and her role will provide extra support to Warner Chappell’s songwriters, working in the film/TV music space.

As country music grapples with how to become more inclusive, a study commissioned by the Country Music Association reveals that while the number of  people of color enjoying the genre is rising, 20% say they experienced racial profiling and/or harassment at a country music live event.

That was one of the key takeaways from “Country Music’s Multicultural Opportunity,” a Horowitz Research study commissioned by the CMA, whose results were presented during a Dec. 7 webinar by CMA senior director of market research Karen Stump and Horowitz’s chief revenue officer and insights & strategy lead Adriana Waterston.

The study also found that while 50% of overall respondents who had listened to country music at a live music venue reported perceiving events as “family-friendly” and 43% said they felt “a sense of camaraderie with the audience,” only 33% reported that they frequently “feel safe” at a country music event.

The study emphasized the importance of reframing the perception that the country audience is “white,” given that the research showed that one in four Black and Latinx fans and one in five Asians listen to country music on a weekly basis.

The Horowitz study included a three-week online community of Black, Latinx, Asian and white participants, as well as an online survey of more than 4,000 consumers, ages 18 and older, 1,000 of whom identified as Latinx, 1,000 as Black, 1,000 as Asian and 1,000 as white/non-Latinx.

Only 36% of study participants who listened to country music at a live venue reported seeing many people of their same race/ethnicity, while 23% reported they feel as though they stand out due to their race/ethnicity. Additionally, 14% reported being made to feel uncomfortable and unwelcome during such an event and 17% reported seeing racist symbols, such as flags and hand gestures, while attending a country music live event. White listeners over-indexed for many of the “positive” feelings listed, while Black listeners more frequently reported feeling uncomfortable, feeling that that they stand out due to their race/ethnicity.

As the country becomes more multi-culturally diverse, it is vital that the country music community find a way to reach potential listeners who may feel excluded from the genre. Over the last decade, the multi-racial population grew by 30%, according to the Horowitz research. Specifically, the white population declined 8%, while Hispanic and Asian-American populations grew by 20% each and the Black U.S. population grew by 8.5%.

Reaching Multicultural Audiences

Multicultural listeners spend 2.9 of every 10 music listening hours with country music, while white/non-Hispanic listeners spend 4.2 out of 10 music listening hours tuning in to country music.

The study showed that in order to increase engagement, engaging fans via video, YouTube and television is essential: While 69% of white participants report viewing music-related video content weekly, that percentage was higher for Black (76%), Latinx (79%) and Asian (75%) study participants.

The study also broke down which audiences used various platforms most frequently, reporting that only 45% of white participants reported using YouTube’s free version, as compared to 51% of Black participants, 55% of Asian participants and 55% of Latinx participants. Overall, Black participants overindexed on platforms including YouTube’s free version, TikTok and Instagram, while Latinx study participants overindexed on platforms including YouTube’s free version, Spotify, Tiktok and Instagram. Asian study participants overindexed on YouTube’s free version as well as Spotify.

Barriers and opportunities

When asked why participants do not listen to country music, the most common response selected was “Just not that into it,” a response selected by 57% of Latinx participants, 53% of Black participants and 59% of Asian participants.

Drilling down, Black, Latinx and Asian study participants said barriers keeping them from engaging with country music included not receiving streaming music playlists/recommendations that include country music, as well as feeling that the country music industry is not interested in attracting people of color to the genre, that the country music industry does not market or advertise to them and that they do not see enough Black, Latinx and Asian artists in country music.

According to the study, 35% of participants believe the industry is not interested in attracting people of color. However, among study participants who identify as “core” country music listeners, 71% of white core listeners feel that country music is becoming more diverse lately, as do 66% of core Asian country music listeners, 59% of core Latinx listeners and 66% of core Black listeners.

Working to Diversity Country Music

Asked which initiatives could have the most impact on attracting higher multicultural listenership in country music, the most-cited response from Black, Latinx and Asian participants was collaborations with artists of other genres, as well as seeing more Black, Latinx, Asian and other diverse country music artists, seeing more artists speak up for racial and social justice and the industry itself doing more to celebrate cultural diversity.

The study found that it is not only Black, Latinx and Asian country music listeners who support these initiatives. Among the “white core” country music listeners in the study, many agreed with the same initiatives. 67% said they “Very/Somewhat agree” that they would like to see more collaborations between country artists and artists in other music genres, while 60% selected that they “Very/Somewhat agree” with seeing more Black, Latinx, Asian, and diverse artists in country music, while 59% supported the industry doing more to celebrate cultural diversity. 58% of white core country music listener participants supported artists speaking up for racial/social justice.