Gerry Rafferty has died at age 63. No cause was announced immediately, although the Scottish singer, guitarist and songwriter had recently been reported to suffer kidney failure.

His band Steelers Wheel is still remembered for the infectious "Stuck in the Middle With You," and as a solo act, he found success with hits like "Baker Street" and "Right Down the Line."

An obituary in the UK's Telegraphy has some interesting background, including the fact that Rafferty first stepped into music as part of a duo with future comedian Billy Connolly. Meanwhile, Rolling Stone has revived a fascinating interview with Rafferty from 1978; he was apparently quite troubled even then. RS also offers a piece in which Quentin Tarantino runs down five key soundtrack songs — leading off with "Stuck in the Middle With You," featured prominently in "Reservoir Dogs."

Check out the video at the end of this post, and meanwhile, here's some other entertainment news of note online today:

BOOKS

• A new, small-press edition of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer" will remove the "N-word" from the books, using "slave" instead.

Of course, the presence of that word has long made the books (especially "Huck Finn") controversial. So far, most of the mainstream reaction to the plan has been quite negative: It's been blasted by Salon.com, The Washington Post, a guest essayist for the Wall Street Journal, and many others. As soon as I find someone in favor of the idea, I'll let you know.

MUSIC

• OK, this is the funniest thing I've seen in a while: Billboard reports that on a Jimmy Kimmel skit, Josh Groban promoted a "new album" consisting of sincerely sung versions of items Kanye West posted on Twitter ... you just need to watch it.

• The Detroit News today has a news obituary for famed area rock MC Stanley The Madhatter. AnnArbor.com's obituary posted yesterday.

• The Associated Press reviews the new Gorillaz album — which was produced on an iPad — and likes what it hears.

• Heritage Newspapers has a story on Chelsea singer-songwriter Deb Mantel, who has a new album out.

• Pitchfork reports on Jack White's latest gizmos for his Third Man Records.

MOVIES

• The New York Times today looks at whether the box office success of "True Grit" improves its chances at the Oscars.

TELEVISION

• Gwyneth Paltrow is hinting at the possibility of a duet with Cee-Lo Green when the two both appear on "Saturday Night Live" on Jan. 15.

• The Muskegon Chronicle has a story on the host of the new Travel Channel show "The Wild Within," who is originally from Michigan.

• Alec Baldwin of "30 Rock" is very interested in running for political office.

COMICS

• Marvel Comics mastermind Stan Lee has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

ONLINE

• A woman Courtney Love attacked on Twitter is suing the singer.

AND FINALLY ...

• RIP Gerry Rafferty. I was only a casual fan, but this remains a great pop song:

Renee Tellez contributed to this roundup. Bob Needham is director of entertainment content for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at bobneedham@annarbor.com or 734-623-2541, and follow him on Twitter @bobneedham.