Songwriter, guitarist, and all-around master of the blues JJ Cale died of a heart attack yesterday. The 74-year-old was most famous for writing the Eric Clapton hits "Cocaine" and "After Midnight".

It's been a rough few months for aging British musicians, apparently. According to the Sunday Times, Elton John's net worth has plummeted by 26 percent on account of the financial crisis. Mick Jagger is down 16 percent and is now worth a mere $280 million. And Eric Clapton's net worth now stands at $176 million, since his fortune has dwindled by 14 percent over the last year. Good news (or bad news, depending on your perspective): The paper reports David and Victoria Beckham's wealth is unchanged. [Bloomberg]

Norah Jones turns 30 today. Celine Dion is turning 41. Warren Beatty is 72. Eric Clapton turns 64. Actor/comedian Paul Reiser is turning 52. Tracy Chapman is 45. Mark Consuelos, the husband of Kelly Ripa, is 38. Reality TV judge Piers Morgan is turning 44. MC Hammer is 47. And former 90210 star Ian Ziering turns 45 today.

"During the planning for the [Costume Institute Gala], when honoree Giorgio Armani suggested Eric Clapton as the entertainment, [Vogue editor Anna] Wintour immediately said no. 'It made you think maybe he once rejected her,' said a source. Instead, the hirsute cast from the revival of Hair performed tunes which had nothing to do with the evening's 'superhero' theme." [Post]

John Markoff at the New York Times is reporting that Microsoft will be making a product announcement Tuesday in San Francisco. As far as announcements go, this one looks to be a snoozer — Bill Gates will be on hand to announce "unified communications" — which is corporatespeak for "we upgraded our IM client." To make the announcement more palatable, it seems that Gates is taking a cue from Steve Jobs's Apple keynotes and bringing in some musical accompaniment. Want to know the difference between Microsoft and Apple? Bill Gates's idea of cool is 62-year-old guitar hero Eric Clapton. Sad when the "surprise" of your "surprise performer" is that he's still alive.