This year was not good for world music. Many legendary names left leaving a huge gap behind them. Let us remember the 2016 losses…
David Bowie
The glam-rock legend died on January 10th just two days after the release of his latest album “Blackstar” on the day of his 69th birthday. The pioneering artist was battling cancer, something that only his family knew.
Glenn Frey
The co-founder of Eagles died on the 18th of January at the age of 67. The Eagles were amongst the rock bands with the highest album sales in the US.
Paul Kantner
Co-founder of the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane. He died on the 28th of January aged 74 of heart failure.
Maurice White
Founder of funk band Earth, Wind & Fire, one of the few afro-american bands with a lot of influence on the white audience too. He died at the age of 74 on February 4th after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease.
Keith Emerson & Greg Lake
The keyboards pioneer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer committed suicide in his L.A. house on the 11th of March. The bassist of the band and co-founder Greg Lake died of cancer 9 months later, on December 7th aged 69 in London.
Phife Dawg
The rapper known for his work with A Tribe Called Quest, an important influence in hip-hop, died at the age of 45 after diabetes complications.
Merle Haggard
A legend of country music, especially in the 60s, Haggard died at the day of his birthday, April 6th at the age of 79.
Prince
One of the artists that left their mark on world music in the 80s and 90s was Prince. On April 21st he was found dead in his house on Paisley Park, Minnesota. He was 57 years old. The post mortem should an overdose of antidepressant medication.
Leonard Coen
Leonard Coen career was long and fruitful. He was a poet and a musician. He died aged 82 on November 7th in Montreal. He had just finished his album “You want it darker”.
Sharon Jones
The “female James Brown” of soul and funk music genres, died on November 18th of cancer at the age of 60.
Rick Parfitt
The guitarist and do-founder of the famous British rock band Status Quo died at the age of 68 of septicaemia following a shoulder injury. He was about to release a solo album in 2017.
George Michael
The singer of WHAM! and famous British singer with Greek origin, with numerous international successes in his solo career and the numerus scandals, died aged 53 in his house in London on Christmas due to heart failure.
