Yesterday was the seventh anniversary of Aaliyah's untimely death, but it certainly doesn't seem like it happened that long ago. In tribute, here's one of my faves.

Despite the fact that 66 percent of its stars died suddenly and tragically this weekend, Soul Men, starring Bernie Mac, Isaac Hayes and Samuel L Jackson, will be released (albeit possibly later than planned).

Isaac Hayes — singer, songwriter, composer, actor, etc. — died Sunday after collapsing near his treadmill in his Memphis, Tenn., home. He was 65. Hayes had just finished working on a movie called Soul Man, which starred Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac, who also just died. Here's Hayes performing his infamous Shaft theme song in 1973. That's Jesse Jackson making the introduction, in case you were wondering.

Actor and comedian Bernie Mac died of complications due to pneumonia this morning. He was 50-years old.

In addition to pneumonia, the Chicago-native suffered from a sarcoidosis, a chronic inflammatory lung disease. "When I got the call this morning, it was just devastating news," said Chicago Sun-Times columnist Stella Foster. "Let's face it: Bernie Mac was one of a kind. He was the best of the best in terms of giving you a good laugh." [CNN]

Former North Carolina senator Jesse Helms once said that he "did not come to Washington to win a popularity contest." That's a good thing, because Helms, who died Friday at the age of 86, was never in the running for Most Popular Senator. Even in his obituaries, reporters are having a hard time finding nice things to say about a guy who was an unabashed bigot and a symbol of the sort of southern racism that has been a major pock on the history of the United States. Frequently when someone of Helms' renown dies, we say, "it's the end of an era." We're talking about a man who once said that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was "the single most dangerous piece of legislation ever introduced in the Congress." If his death really does mark the end of an era, then we should all thank our lucky stars.

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R.I.P. Tim Russert "Tim Russert, NBC journalist and political heavyweight host of "Meet the Press," has died after collapsing at NBC's Washington news bureau, a source said. He was 58 years old." [NYP]

Not to make this an all-around gloomy morning (mourning?), but Bo Diddly, an American music legend, also passed away yesterday at the age of 79. Here he is performing in all of his glory on a '60s television show.

Famed blues guitarist and vocalist Bo Diddly died of heart failure today at the age of 79. Diddley was born Ellas Bates McDaniel in McComb, Mississippi, but he died at his home in Florida, surrounded by loved ones.

RIP YSL French designer Yves Saint Laurent, one of the most influential people in fashion, died in Paris yesterday after slipping into a coma last week. He was 71. [People]