For me it was John Lennon. I was only 5, but I remember waking up in the middle of the night for no reason and walking into my kitchen where my mother was crying while listening to the report on the radio. I was already an avid Beatles fan and was crushed when I heard the news.
Alex Chilton really threw me. He was a newer obsession (last 7-8 years) and I was really looking forward to whatever he was gonna do next. You know how an artist becomes "one of your" artists, like, they make your personal Mt. Rushmore of music. Chilton's face was up there. Lou Reed, although it wasn't as unexpected. I was very young when Lennon died, but my mother was distraught and I understood who he was and why it was so horrible. Looking back, it affects me much more. Such a tragedy.
I used to be a radio disc jockey, and was on the air the night John Lennon was murdered. I'll never forget the phone calls I received that night from people calling me, because they had heard rumors about Lennon being shot. People breaking down in tears when I confirmed to them that he was indeed dead.
Kurt Cobain was my first big celebrity death. I was a huge Nirvana fan at the time, and it was a total shock to me. I've since lost other heroes that meant more to me, but nothing has hit me quite like that one.
I remember feeling that Roy Orbison's death was cruelly timed. He was on a brink of a comeback with his Mystery Girl album. He was so young too.
Is that Gary Moore up in the top left holding the Gibson Les Paul? If so, yeah, I was totally bummed when I learned of his death. Phil Lynott still hurts, too.
Lennon, especially for the shock of the way it happened. The Beatles story was so magical that it was hard to process that one of them died so senselessly. The dream was really over.
John Lennon, it was like a physical blow. Then Hendrix, then Garcia (even though none of us were really that surprised).
Danny Gatton 1994. More or less tied with Jimi as the greatest guitarist of all time (by my reckoning). I was in a daze for about a week after I heard he'd died. The fact it is was a suicide caused me to sort of loose faith in a world in which something like that could happen. Bill Doss 2012. One of my all time favorite musicians. I was shocked that he died at 43. No cause of death has ever been given. From a musical perspective it put an end to Olivia Tremor Control's reunion. Apparently they had nearly finished the record they'd been working on when Doss died. Supposedly it's to be released later this year. I'll believe it when I see it. Chris Whitley 2005. I'd only been into his music for a couple years when he died and, unlike Gatton and Doss, I never got a chance to see him perform live. Musically speaking Whitley had that hard-to-define "IT" and should have been huge. I look forward to seeing the documentary of his life that's currently in the works.
Dio. Although the death of SRV taught me something. I had a chance to go see him a few weeks before he died. I passed, thinking I'd have plenty of other opportunities to see him again. I was, obviously, wrong. Now, If I have a chance to see someone I want to see - I go.
A few got me misty eyed, John Entwistle, Joe Strummer, John Lennon, when Debbie Harry passes, it will be waterworks. I think the ones tied to your youth really are tuffer then others.
Nash the Slash and Klaus Dinger for me - both were not just musicians I loved but also personal friends.
David Jones. Loved by so many, died suddenly, was definitely testy eyed. And Ben Orr after the fact when I first heard this ......
