Despite the horrible blow of losing favourites like Lennon, Bowie, Chris Squire (as Yes are my favourite band) the biggest one for me was actually Joy Division's Ian Curtis. While loving the 3 mentioned at the start, I think we hadn't seen the best of Ian Curtis in his short career and bearing in mind Joy Division had already delivered music of the quality of: Atmosphere, Love will Tear us Apart, New Dawn Fades, Dead souls, Decades, Disorder, Transmission etc - the mind boggles at what he might of gone on to achieve.
The rock death's that bummed me out the most were Terry Kath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Keith Moon and John Bonham. Bonham the most, though, because L.Z. had announced plans to play at The Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Calif.) and I would finally see these living legends in person for the first time. Damn you, John Bonham! lol I was only 9 or 10 when Jimi, Janis and Jim all died so while I was too young in 1970, 71 to even know about it (let alone be devastated by it), later in the 70's as a teenager I was just sad to know they all died from drug overdoses. Not sad for myself, but sad that the world would miss out on more great music from them (well, that's always the hope anyway). I was also bummed when I heard Layne Staley and Chris Cornell passed away. They each had their issues to deal with, and it just ended tragically for both. How incredibly sad. And for as tragic as Kurt Cobain's suicide was (in terms of imagery), it was really no big deal to me. I just couldn't imagine a guy killing himself because he didn't want to be a rock star. You can't just quit, huh? Well, whatever. John Lennon's murder was shocking. I didn't feel the great sense of loss that others did, but I sympathized with them.
Brian Jones - I was a little kid, Brian was my favorite Rolling Stone and I didn't know that things like this happened. John Lennon - It was so good to have him back and then he was gone. David Bowie - He meant so much to me.
Skynyrd was developing a more refined sound and the loss of Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines put an end to that notion.
Definitely Bowie...Prince as well. Helluva 1-2 punch...... Two of my all time Top 10 artists within months...... My wife was afraid to wake me up that morning to tell me about Bowie. She knows that he was one of my all time favorites.
Have to agree, Ronnie was definitely the leader of that band. Lynyrd Skynyrd was such a powerhouse American band. What a loss that was for everybody. Southern Rock kind of died when they crashed. Those first 3 albums do get played, and it's like a finger in the socket!
When my son was about 16 a couple of years ago, he told me he was really upset by a documentary about Lynyrd Skynyrd. He had known nothing about the plane crash and was totally shocked when this heartwarming story about a group of friends who formed a band that hit the big time turned to tragedy. The artists' deaths that I felt particularly affected by were the two that I'd met in person. Del Shannon was one. I was particularly upset that he'd been so unhappy that he took his own life. It was sad that the other, John Renbourn, died alone in his house and was discovered after he failed to turn up for a gig. I do tend to think it's a phoney emotion to grieve for someone you didn't know personally. Nevertheless, Leonard Cohen's death did affect me greatly - partly because it was my late partner who turned me on to his work. Also, I was sad about Ray Thomas and put together a playlist of the Moody Blues songs he wrote or co-wrote. It's not because I think Ray was a great artist, just that I liked the persona he projected. I've no idea if that was a true representation of the actual man.
The guy in my avatar...Chris Cornell. Apart from his extraordinary talent, he came across as a very sweet man who cared deeply about people and the world around him, which makes his suicide all the more baffling. I still think he overdid his prescription drugs and this led him to do it. Friends and family all say that he was not in anyway depressed. I think about him most days and will miss not hearing new material (especially Soundgarden) or seeing him live. Most of all I feel sorry for his family. He was a very doting father and I cannot imagine what his kids are going through. Bowie shocked me more than anything. He was such an influence on favourite bands of mine and I had recently got into his back catalogue just before his death. He's left a big hole. George Michael's death I found sad. Another talented guy who was part of my youth.
Beefheart. I wasn't old enough for some of the bigger rock deaths (Lennon's predates my existence!), many of my favourite artists are still alive... But when the Captain died, my lil network of Liverpool friends all reacted the same way. With pain, anguish, and spinning his music. He touched our city, he really did. I remember where I was, what I was doing, and who I spoke to on the phone, and Facebook erupting and a lot of people I knew expressing the sadness. This added a personal layer to it I haven't felt with anything else. We had lost someone, not just me singular as a fan. That is true of every famous death but it absolutely resonated with Captain Beefheart. It was a passionate communal outpouring like any death, but even Bowie's while horrible, didn't have that personal aspect (perhaps because it felt more mainstream?) and for me anyway, Captain Beefheart was always a bit more personal than liking Bowie (cause who doesn't like Bowie??) I think the kind of artist he was, the admirers he attracted, and how you get into his stuff, is what made it so huge for me. Just a really personal, heavyweight musician. Not everyone got him, but those who did were changed. If there's one thing more bittersweet-powerful than your hero dying - it's that same hero to others dying, with the paradoxical comfort and extra tragedy of it being shared by others who you feel and who feel you.
Jimi Hendrix. I was already in the midst of a difficult time in my life and Hendrix's early demise totally floored me. Not long afterwords, Hendrix was conjured up in a very vivid dream I had in which he was standing behind a podium with light only on his upper body and me alone at his feet and he was playing a new piece that was probably the best thing I had ever heard, simply stunning.
I probably already answered this thread awhile ago, but Jeff Buckley affected me greatly given his age and working on his 2nd album when deciding to take that bad decision to go into the Wolf River(offshoot of the Mississippi) in May, 1997 and ironically just as the plane was landing with his band from NYC to start recording sessions. I realize it was a Hot Day and he wanted to cool off, but wearing boots and going into the river is not a good idea, although he might have drowned anyways caught in the currents. Wish he would have chosen with his friend that evening to go out for BBQ in Memphis instead of going into the river. Bowie & Prince still affect me greatly. Just watching the College Kids react to 1980s Music Videos(think it was #3) and 'Let's Dance was played and their reaction afterwords also to prior photos of Bowie, really got to me and I am not much of an emotional person.
My birthday is 10/20 and every year on my birthday I think of that day in 1977 when I heard the news.
