2016: The "In Memoriam Section" is Going to Be Long

"A legend has died," is a phrase that has been uttered way too many times for only being 4 months through 2016. At an alarming rate, music greats have been dying, leading to what many have called "the end of a generation of music." They come from different walks of life and died for a variety of reasons, but we all remember where we were the first time we heard them... and the last. I attribute today's blog title to my friend Teresa. She eloquently summed up the fan response to the growing number of music legends dying this year. 

Merle Haggard (I looked, but there are no GIFS for him)
Haggard eerily died on his 79th birthday (April 6th) this year. I didn't know too much about him because his era of country was well before my time. Most of my knowledge comes from seeing an exhibit about him at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville a few years ago titled, "The Bakersfield Sound." Haggard was a man of the people, taking on the persona of the "Okie from Muskogee."

GIF from Gfycat.com

 Prince
 For Prince (or The Artist Formerly Known As) as he was called when I was kid, the 57 year old man seemed to die gradually. I was scrolling through some music to listen to at work the morning of his death, hearing he was found unresponsive in his elevator by lunchtime, and pronounced dead by the evening. It was a bone chilling moment when I heard the news. While I enjoyed "Kiss" and "Little Red Corvette", police were responding to a 911 call at his Minneapolis compound, where Prince would later be pronounced dead. Stadiums were lit up purple and people held all night dance parties to celebrate his passing. Prince was not just a fashion icon, but an ambassador of a way of life. My favorite moment of the artist is not one of his well known ones. It's a clip from Muppets Tonight (the 1997 show on the Disney Channel) and "the artist formerly known as" Prince is writing songs about cafeteria food. Rizzo the Rat keeps addressing "the artist" by turning around and showing the symbol on the back of his jacket. 

GIF from Tumblr. 

David Bowie
In January, another 80's legend, David Bowie, passed away quietly. Unbeknownst to fans and the public, the singer succumbed to liver cancer days two days after his new album Blackstar was released. My most memorable Bowie moment is from the 1980's (also Muppets) movie, Labriynth. I thank my parents every day that I never saw this movie as a child, because I had enough things to be creeped out about (mostly the song "Season of the Witch" by the band Donovan). While there was talk of  the movie being re-booted after Bowie's death, that got shut down quickly.
     This movie would have also made me afraid of baby napping, David Bowie, mazes, and cats. Just look at the guy, he's a spandex-wearing man cat! I first saw the movie at the beginning of college, where I was able to laugh at the 80's graphics and strange songs, like Bowie's "You remind me of the babe" song and dance with the kidnapped baby Toby. 

The Eagles (Frey on left) from GIPHY

Glenn Frey
The legendary Eagles guitarist passed away in January from multiple issues, including pneumonia, rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and inflammatory bowel disease. He was 67 at the time and had retired from touring with the band about a year before being hospitalized for the above issues. My favorite Frey moment has got to be his music video for "You Belong to the City." There is some beautiful acting going on and some "Baker Street" style saxophone solos. The song was written for the show Miami Vice, but oddly the promotional music video features Frey clearly in New York.  

Natalie Cole
This charming jazz singer passed away at age 65 on new year's eve. If that wasn't bad enough, she suffered from heart failure as a result of lung disease. While I'm torn to choose a favorite Natalie Cole moment, I have to go with her 1992 Grammy Awards duet with her dead father (jazz singer Nat King Cole) in 1992. With the magic of video screens and good audio quality, both Coles were able to sing "Unforgettable."