Cult musician Wesley Willis [ tickets ], a chronic schizophrenic known for his simple songs about people, music and everyday items, died on Thursday (8/21). He was 40.

According to his label, Alternative Tentacles, Willis was diagnosed with a form of leukemia less than a year ago, and the likely cause of death was heart failure.

"As I got to know Wes, what really struck me was his sheer will power, his unrelenting drive to succeed and over come his horrifically poor background, child abuse, racism, chronic schizophrenia and obesity among other things," musician and label head Jello Biafra said. "He was the most courageous person I have ever known. Yet through it all he had such a deep, all-encompassing love of life. Little things, big things. He loved bus rides. He loved watching trains. He loved writing songs about how much he loved his friends. He loved traveling to new towns so he could headbutt new friends. Is there any band he saw that escaped being in their own song about how much he loved their show? He was so warm, so sweet, so giving. He could be a handful when he came to visit; but as soon as he left, we'd miss him immediately."

Country Music Hall of Famer Floyd Tillman [ tickets ], 88, died at his Houston-area home on Friday (8/22). He was known for writing Bing Crosby's 1939 No. 1 hit "It Makes No Difference Now," and scored his own first No. 1 with 1944's "They Took the Stars Out of Heaven."

Dolly Parton, George Jones, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard sang duets with Tillman for a forthcoming album titled "The Influence." He finished recording the set earlier this year, and it is due in stores in November.

"American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard [ tickets ] will perform two concerts in Alabama to promote Republican Gov. Bob Riley's tax increase proposals, which will appear on the state's Sept. 9 ballot.

According to news reports, 8,800 free tickets for a Sept. 2 concert in Mobile were snapped up within 30 minutes, and 10,000 tickets were distributed in 17 minutes for a Sept. 5 concert in Studdard's hometown of Birmingham.

Floetry [ tickets ] picked up three awards to lead the field at this year's Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, which were handed out in Pasadena, CA, on Saturday (8/25). Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott and Heather Headley took home a pair of awards each.

A complete list of winners is posted at Soul Train's website.