The biggest loss in music

[hyphenate]

Ever since, well, the ancient world, music has been there to inform, entertain and act as comforter. So it's always been dismal when an entertainer dies unexpectantly. Going back to some of the more widely known singers of the 20th century, I found myself missing some singers far more than others. There are probably more than my recollection that are not listed here, but my memory fails me. Write in your other answers if I've forgotten some, and choose "other."

The main criteria is that the loss of this person really struck deep into the world of music. Their fame, their talent and their sudden passing took them away from us when they were likely at the top of their game, and left a very large hole that never quite got filled by others.

BTW: There are plenty of others that I couldn't put in, simply because there wasn't any room! Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Harry Chain, Selena, The Big Bopper, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., Aaliyah, Ronnie Van Zant, Hank Williams, Jeff Buckley--well, the list could go on.

[Forkboy]

1. For me, Charles Gocher from The Sun City Girls death was devastating.

Seeing him live, having the fun he was having at his age (50's), inspired me big time at a very low point in my life. When he died of cancer it was like losing a close friend in a way, even though we only spoke for a total of 3 minutes at a show one night. His spirit, as much as his music, meant so much to me.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EmaLuvLMfvM/ReDo-G3I6SI/AAAAAAAAAH4/pmE8XMX4Cis/s400/charles+gocher.jpg

[kas125]

2. For a lot of people, including me, the biggest loss was

Jerry Garcia. I cried for days and still nothing before or since has affected me like losing Jerry. That wasn't just some musician dying, it was an entire way of life, what many thought of as our version of church, gone. I didn't even react the same way when my mom died...

[Lindsey]

3. I would say John Lennon. n/t

[hyphenate]

4. Of course!

How could I forget one of the foremost icons in music history? I had thought of John Denver, one of my own favorites, but he wasn't on the top of his form when he died. But yeah, sorry, I missed Lennon.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

19. Lennon was huge, but people will always associate him most with the Beatles.

"Imagine" and his solo work notwithstanding.

And while it would have been awesome to see a Beatles reunion had Lennon not been shot, it still wouldn't have been the same as the Beatles of the 1960s. Just my opinion.

[begin_within]

53. I admired John Denver for his social conscience and environmental awareness

I was not really that much of a fan of his music but I liked him as a person.

[kas125]

7. Yeah, you are definitely right. It did say the biggest loss in

music and that would be John Lennon. Losing Jerry affected me personally so that was my first thought, but you are right, Lennon was a bigger loss to music and the world.

[MiddleFingerMom]

5. The missing...

.
...3 hours and 42 minutes of additional music in the coda for the song "Layla".
.
.
That ending was MEANT to drive folks murderously insane.
.
Little-known fact (outside of MiddleFingerMom's haid): "LAYLA is an
acronym for "Let All Y'all Liquidate Another".
.

[Systematic Chaos]

6. I'd have to say Frank Zappa.

He kept on working right up until just before his death, even though he was in terrible pain.

He had so much more crazy stuff to do. It's a real shame he's gone.

[GoCubsGo]

49. Yep, along with...

Jerry Garcia and George Harrison. They are the only ones who still make me want to cry at the thought that they are gone.

[MajorChode]

8. Tiny Tim

[abq e streeter]

9. I chose Hendrix on the criteria of still untapped potential, despite his already

monumental accomplishments. All the others are of course terrible personal tragedies and losses for music in general, but I think Hendrix, more than anyone of those who died too young, had potential for more that was almost limitless. The only rock star, or "celebrity" of any kind whose death caused me to actually break down and cry, by the way, was Joe Strummer. But again, I think the bulk of what he had to give artistically, had already been given. Nonetheless, this world is infinitely poorer for his not being in it anymore.
Buddy Holly, also, of course, had vast potential, considering his incredible accomplishments and influence by the age of 22, but again, on a grand scale, I doubt he had a fraction of the potential for further culturally significant creativity that Jimi did, even though there's always been a soft spot in my heart for Buddy because he seemed like such a sweet, innocent kid, added to the fact that there's a special pride around here that he did almost all of his most important recordings in New Mexico.

[atomic-fly]

38. me too

I love his voice and playing. Of course he would have changed, but would he be sucked
into the big money crowd or gone for the more extreme outsider rock scene?

[Iggo]

67. I agree. Jimi would've done amazing things.

And, in that vein, I think we mighta got robbed when Jeff Buckley died, too.

The death of a musician that hit me hardest, though, was Metallica bassist Cliff Burton. That kid was special.

[Beaverhausen]

10. Went to an exhibit at the Grammy Museum about Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix

all three were only 27 when they died. The loss of each one was huge.

My husband is going nuts lately on all the new releases of old, heretofore unreleased Hendrix stuff.

[abq e streeter]

12. Just checked out a couple of your songs on my space

nice stuff! I'm continually blown away by how many musicians ( and really good ones too) are on DU. ( will check out a couple more songs tomorrow...)

[Beaverhausen]

63. oh my gosh- thank you!

Yes, there are lots of musicians here at DU.

[LostInAnomie]

11. Sam Cooke

[abq e streeter]

13. excellent choice; another who'd only begun to tap his potential

despite huge accomplishments already.

[tango-tee]

25. Yes, Sam Cooke was wonderful. And I also loved Jackie Wilson.

Hard to say exactly whose death was the greatest loss, isn't it? The more I think about it, the more come to mind. So many gifted musicians...

[GumboYaYa]

14. I have to add Otis Redding

He died way too young with much great music left to be sung.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

15. Chuggo

(To answer your question seriously, of the given choices I'd say Hendrix. Jackson and Presley were both over the hill caricatures of themselves by the time they died. Hendrix went out at the top.)

[TZ]

16. Freddy Mercury!

What is wrong with you people?

[we can do it]

47. That's It For Me Too

[SoxFan]

17. Ian Curtis

What might have been.

[Arugula Latte]

39. Yes indeed.

[Rhythm]

50. Absolutely. n/t

[proudohioan]

18. For me, it was John Lennon.

He had just released a new album, Double Fantasy. His stuff was pretty good, however, as I remember it, his songs alternated with wife Yoko's stuff, which just sounded like screeching fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I was just about to turn 18 on December 8, 1980, the night he was killed.

Is it possible that that night was almost 30 years ago???

[cyberswede]

20. Townes Van Zandt

As Steve Earle said, "Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that."

[catzies]

21. Personally and by my criteria it was George Harrison. Per your criteria maybe Kurt Cobain

Young - check
Deep influence - check
Talent - check
Sudden passing - check
Top of his game - check
Unfilled hole - check

[BethCA66]

22. Mia Zapata n/t

[tango-tee]

23. Jimi Hendrix. He personifies my youth and what I was all about at that time.

As a close second, Marvin Gaye. A beautiful voice, a great talent, but such a tragic life.

[DevonRex]

24. Other: Cobain. nt

[Robb]

26. See, I was a huge fan...

...but I'd argue he'd about tapped what he had to offer at the time he ended his life.

I'd prefer to have found out, however.

[DevonRex]

29. I'd like to know what he would have been like, written like, played like

sober. And maybe on a psych med or 2.

[vixengrl]

57. I'd like to think Cobain would have done something more or different.

My dad was a fan of the Doors, I was a fan of Nirvana--and both of their frontmen died at about the same age. I was raised on classic rock, from the staightforward balls-out Steppenwolf to the more thoughtful Dylan stuff. I was a headbanger in the 80's, that being the natural progression fron Classic rock--you know, your Doors, Steppenwolf, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin. I had am empathy for punk, though.

Grunge, or rather, Nirvana and Pearl Jam and STP, wiped the shit taste of Vanilla Ice and NKOTB out of my generation's mouth-hole. I hope. I wasn't among the better class of music-folk who even heard of Sleater-Kinney or bothered with Lilith Fair. I came from people who drank PBR without irony. Nirvana was raw, the lyrics made no fucking sense, and Kobain always looked like he needed therapy.

But they were brilliant. And Nirvana's music has held up--I think the Nirvana-Unplugged CD from when MTV did acts unplugged? Was really them at their best--Cobain, when you heard him actually sing, was haunting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hGBYey28CQ

[DevonRex]

68. Haunting is exactly the right word.

Even while he was alive his voice, his music was haunting. He was somebody that I just knew wasn't long for this earth but I hoped I was wrong.

From everything I've read about Cobain, he was probably manic depressive. So many genius artists are.

[Rambis]

27. The Fat man

with Honourable mention to this man


I hope the artist who created this wonderful piece is not offended

[MrSlayer]

28. Cliff Burton.

Metallica would never have sold out had he lived.

[graywarrior]

30. John Lennon

[sfpcjock]

66. Yes, Lennon would have done much more for us

..a musical genius. A smaller gem was Barry White who I used to listen to charging up Mt. Tam on a mountain bike on my first MP3 player.

[Paladin]

83. I'm Not Believing That John Lennon Didn't Show Up On This Poll.

Jim Croce and Richie Valens, but no John Lennon. Unbelievable........

[cemaphonic]

31. Expanded past the 20th Century, it's hard to top Mozart

Died in his early 30s, right after achieving a huge stylistic breakthrough. Also, had he lived another 30-40 years, he would have been a direct contemporary with folks like Beethoven and Schubert, so the whole trajectory of musical development would have likely been fairly different.

[begin_within]

55. I would also include George Gershwin

Although he lived only 39 years he produced enough great stuff for a lifetime, but who knows what else he might have come up with had he lived longer?

[foxfeet]

32. Eva Cassidy.

Not as big as she should have been, but what a voice!

[kwassa]

99. Eva would have been a huge star.

She was an amazing singer.

[mikeytherat]

33. Other: my good friend Monica:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x9329561

Live video of our band doing "Respect" with Moni at the helm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYpp1a7IVZk&feature=player_embedded

43 years old, and I'll bet 99.9% of the world never heard of her. When I hear crap like "Party in the USA" on the radio, it makes me even sadder.

mikey_the_rat

[Pendrench]

34. Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues

Perhaps not the biggest loss, but a great loss nonetheless.

Tim

[Shell Beau]

35. So many.

Stevie Ray Vaughan, Duane Allman, Ronnie Van Zant, Patsy Cline, Otis Redding........

[carlyhippy]

36. there are so many biggies

John Lennon
George Harrison
Jimi Hendrix
Jim Morrison
Janice Joplin

[WinkyDink]

42. Janis. I'm a stickler.

[carlyhippy]

43. Janis, thank you

I have an autographed photo of her too, I should look up at it before I post ha.

[Blue-Jay]

37. Imagine if Charlie Parker had lived more than 35 years.

His brand of genius doesn't occur very often.

[BlueJazz]

89. Amen

[Arugula Latte]

40. Besides John Lennon, for me personally it was Elliott Smith.

[WinkyDink]

41. R&R: Eddie Cochran, 22. R&B/Soul: Sam Cooke, 33. Folk: Phil Ochs, 35.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Cochran#Influence

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Cooke

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Ochs

[Amerigo Vespucci]

44. Split between Lennon & Zappa

I wasn't a fan of Frank's final musical period...the "Yellow Shark" and "Civilization Phaze III"...I've listened to and read interviews from his final years, and that music came about for three basic reasons. First, and most obvious, it was the music he wanted to create. Second, he leaned so heavily on the Synclavier because he was writing music that traditional musicians simply could not play on traditional instruments. Third, he was too weak to play guitar and sing...I remember one Today show interview in which he was asked about the impact of cancer on his music and he said "Well, I'll probably never sing again..."

I hated seeing him waste away, it just didn't seem fair.

And Lennon? Killed on his front doorstep just months after emerging from his self-imposed retirement, with some of the strongest material he'd ever written, and a renewed commitment to creating? Murdered in front of his wife?

That's how I measure the loss. There are many other legendary musicians who...through their own vices or the cruelty of the world around them...left too soon, with too much unfinished business. Lennon and Zappa fall into the "tragic figures" category.

:toast:

[we can do it]

45. Freddie Mercury

[tigereye]

46. hmm Joe Strummer, Patsy Cline, Warren Zevon

[Mad_Dem_X]

48. John Lennon. 2nd would be Freddie Mercury.

[JanMichael]

51. Most that you mention but I miss Roy Orbison.

He died too young and still had plenty to give with that awesome voice.

[begin_within]

52. At the risk of being ridiculed,

I'm going to put in a good word for Karen Carpenter. I still love hearing her voice on recordings. It was rich and resonant, but also pure and angelic at the same time. An amazing sound and perfect pitch. Not everything the Carpenters did was frilly wedding music. They did a lot of different things. But what lifts it all above the norm was the sound of her voice and her passionate singing.

[pepperbear]

62. karen was a gem n/t

[mainstreetonce]

77. Karen was special

and as long as I am at the risk of ridicule anyway , I put in a vote for Mama Cass and John Denver

[SoxFan]

69. If she touched you inside, that's what counts

People look at me funny when I tell them that I was upset when Stuart Adamson (the singer from Big Country) died. Most of them think of him as a goofy one-hit wonder. To me, he was the creator of some of the most stirring post-punk anthems of my teenage years. If Karen Carpenter reached you in some way, you don't need to apologize.

[begin_within]

76. Well, have a listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKYNckacP6E

[Phentex]

78. There's never been a voice like hers...

I'm a fan.

I wish she hadn't been so sad.

[Ron Green]

54. George Gershwin.

Dead at 39.

[Odin2005]

56. You forgot both Lennon AND Cobain!?!

:eyes:

[hyphenate]

60. So, sue me!

One of the sites where I was doing research was listing only those who had died under the age of 30. That age mark alone produced a humongous list. If I had more choices I could list, Lennon, at least, would have gotten a spot. Personally, I never listened to Kurt Cobain, I'm afraid, so he might not have gotten a nod.

[pepperbear]

58. lennon, harrison, alex chilton & chris bell richard manuel and rick denko

rick wright, cobain....yep too many to name

[Arugula Latte]

61. Wow -- I somehow missed that Alex Chilton had died!

RIP to A.C.

Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes 'round
They sing "I'm in love. What's that song?
I'm in love with that song."

[miscsoc]

82. i just started listening to chilton after he died

he's brilliant

so i say alex chilton

[Arugula Latte]

84. He was only 16 when he recorded "The Letter" w. the Box Tops

What an amazing voice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD9mCp8SifM

[crim son]

59. Mozart. No question. n/t

[Odin2005]

64. WIN! Thread over!

:)

[crim son]

65. I am pleased that you agree! n/t

[BlooInBloo]

70. Lennon. Duh.

[av8rdave]

71. You don't need a poll for this. Easy. Stevie Ray Vaughan

[Terra Alta]

72. Lennon, obviously.

His music had such an impact on the world. "Imagine" is my all-time favorite song. I have to wonder what his impact on the world would have been if he'd lived a full life...

[kayakjohnny]

73. Another choice:

The 70's.

[Kaleva]

74. Mozart

[femmocrat]

75. Marvin Gaye.

Surprised no one else mentioned him.

[Phentex]

79. Not the biggest, but a huge loss was John Denver...

I think he would have been making music still.

[MilesColtrane]

80. Hard to pick between these...

Charlie Christian

Jaco Pastorius

Clifford Brown

Scott LaFaro

[Tikki]

81. I miss Joey....

Tikki

[Ter]

85. How is Frank Sinatra not on that list?

He may be bigger than any other on the list.

[begin_within]

100. I think that this poll was designed mainly to include

musicians that died unexpectedly or died too young and didn't complete their full body of work. Frank Sinatra was expected to die after that horrible final episode of "Seinfeld" was aired.

[blue_roses_lib]

86. Kurt Cobain

Hit my personally at the lowest point of my teen years.

[fishwax]

87. Bob Dylan -- had he not died in that motorcycle crash in '66, there's no telling

what the future of music might have been.

[Bertha Venation]

88. Patsy Cline.

What an amazing voice.

[Brickbat]

90. I'll go with Cobain.

He had some big plans coming up that I would have liked to hear him act on.

[Lindsey]

91. I have to add Kurt & Patsy as another poster just did -after Lennon

[Manifestor_of_Light]

92. Franz Schubert, age 31. Modern: Jacqueline duPre, a 5 year recording career.

2)And Mozart, age 34.

Listen to the Trout Quintet by Schubert, or the C Major Quintet, his last work (the one with 2 celli) and tell me that is just TOO DEEP to be written by a 31 year old. And he managed to write most of 9 symphonies (new stuff discovered this century) and lots of other stuff too!!


Franz Grillparzer's famous epitaph for Schubert:
"Here lies to the art of music a rich possession, but still fairer hopes."

3)George Gershwin, age 39.




4)Jacqueline du Pre, struck down by MS, had a brief performing and recording career, dead at 42.
The greatest cellist of the 20th century.

She made her formal debut at age 16. Rostropovich said that she was "the only cellist of the younger generation who could meet and overtake his own achievement."

She only recorded between 1965 and 1971. I was fortunate enough to see her perform the Elgar Cello Concerto LIVE with the Houston Symphony in 1968 or so.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

93. Composer: Kurt Weill. Died age 50 in 1950.

Most famous for "Mack the Knife" (Mackie Messer) from The Threepenny Opera.

[KT2000]

94. Stevie Ray Vaughn

there are many but I am still curious what would have come next for him.

[Dr Morbius]

95. I did not vote. I cannot say which loss is the greatest.

But I miss some folks, and very nearly at the top of the list of those I miss is the great Warren Zevon. But it isn't like he died young or suddenly; he had a full career; he did not pass at the top of his game. He did leave a hole, though; an irreplaceable artist.

[Mopar151]

98. I'm with you

i can't even pick a name out of all these. They all hurt.

[southlandshari]

96. Marvin Gaye

Others on the list are far more celebrated, but Marvin had a magic that no one could match. And he is deeply missed.

[cleveramerican]

97. John Lennon

every other one pales in comparison

[Lindsey]

101. I know I already said John Lennon (without question)....

The next in line for me is Kurt Cobain. For some reason his music touches me in a way I can't explain. However, IMO, John is a loss that I've never been able to accept....:cry:

[Wapsie B]

102. Spike Jones

[Raffi Ella]

103. Jimi

-tragedy that he died. :(