Three Country Music Figures Die, Singer Announces Retirement

Country music is mourning several losses: producer Brian Ahern, known for shaping recordings by Anne Murray and Emmylou Harris and working with artists including Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, has died. Richard Sterban, the Oak Ridge Boys’ longtime bass singer who also performed with Elvis Presley, died at 83 after complications from bronchitis and pneumonia while battling cancer. Mark McGuinn, 58, whose 2001 hit “Mrs. Steven Rudy” reached the country top 10, also died; he was a songwriter whose work was recorded by Lonestar and George Jones. Meanwhile, comedian and country singer Wheeler Walker Jr. says he plans to retire after his current album and farewell tour, criticizing the genre’s reliance on formulaic songwriting and growing use of AI.