What musical icon death had the biggest impact on you

[dafame]

Ol' Dirty Bastard

[fred41]

Aaliyah

We use the expression - "died too young"- a lot, even though it's not always quite literally true. With entertainers like Aaliyah and Lisa Lopes, it is.

[ed_jaxon]

Some guys die early, some in their prime and some are just coasting along collecting residuals.

Stevie Ray died in his prime and I remember very clearly his passing.

Tupac was also in his prime and had years of work ahead of him.

Elvis was far over the hill.

Lennon was in his prime and had more to say.

[Stavros]

I recall the sudden death of Otis Redding, not on the list but surely one of the finest singers of the 1960s; Janis Joplin also, even if she knew where she was headed long before she got there. I had the chance to see The Doors in London when they shared the Roundhouse with Jefferson Airplane but declined the offer, and the same with Jimi Hendrix, not knowing these people would die some time after -whether or not they would have produced good material is impossible to know. Although I weaned myself off the Beatles easily, mainly because other music put it in its place, Lennon's death seemed then and now to be a contradiction of the man's life and message. In the cases of Sinatra and Miles on the list, they died after long careers, I think for death to be a shock it should either be an early one, like Redding, or sudden and nasty, like Lennon. In the case of drug overdoses or alcohol abuse, it goes with the territory -no need to name names. If there is an exception with Hendrix this is due to some of the allegations about the situation in Hill St on the night he shot up for the last time.

[morim]

Jon Lord few weeks ago has been a great loss for music world.
I mean "real music"!!!

[yodajazz]

I followed every musical move that Miles Davis made, and loved most all of it. One of my best friends told me he was surprised, that I did not name my son after him! Still I am left with the legacy of him being an explorer, one who always embraced new idea. So it's really more about thier living impact more so than their deaths.

[danthepoetman]

I voted Miles too, yodajazz. The capacity this man had to reinvent himself over such a long period of time is simply stupefying. And there’s something noble in that music, something that goes way beyond pop… Stavros’ point is relevant: Miles’ death was not a surprise, but what he left behind is just extraordinary.