has been grieved in the way people have seemed to grieve for Prince? I know I have never had an artist pass in which it had an impact on me, except for some sadness at the loss of that artist and their continued contribution to the world. With Prince, I still break down and cry, still think of him, still expect an announcement any day of him performing somewhere and when it hits me there will not be that announcement, it's gut/heart/soul wrenching. I never expected it to feel like this. So I started thinking about other stars, artists that have passed on, and wondered whether the world has ever experienced the depth of grief towards another artist as it seems to have experienced with Prince?

I remember watching some things about John Lennon and it seemed people were shocked and grieved over his loss quite a bit, but I didn't see anything about 8 months later and people still grieving his loss. Elvis was another one, but I think it was limited to his fans and not necessarily other artists and the world at large (such as turning monuments purple that night 8 months ago). Can anyone think of any other instances like this? Something that will help to make sense out of all of this?

benni said:

has been grieved in the way people have seemed to grieve for Prince? ....Can anyone think of any other instances like this? Something that will help to make sense out of all of this?

Elvis, MJ both had their fair share of grief around their deaths. John Lennon probably did, too. I cried for days and days and days when MJ passed. I'd not had a big music idol in my life, that I loved so much, die until MJ did. Stations played his music, and I just bawled. I was in the car, or just around the house, or whatever - and I would lose it.

With Prince, I just remember being so disconnected and in disbelief. I wasn't sure how to act. Did I cry? Did I get mad? Sometimes I delve so much into the news reports and media coverage until I fill up with it, then I shut everything off, and don't listen to or read anything. It's almost like the build up of a bomb. You know it's coming, you tense up, then once the boom hits, there is a weird silence and ringing in your ears. I got my fill of media, the boom hit, then I went into silence mode. I just sat in the grief of it.

My roommate came home that day and say "How many times have you watched Purple Rain?" I actually got a bit miffed. "I don't wanna watch Purple Rain! I want Prince back! Prince is dead motherfucker! No one's watching fucking Purple Rain today!"

I remember MJ's passing hitting me again when I was in an FYE, and the Michael Jackson section was empty. It sorta stopped me in my tracks for a moment. Fast forward to 2016. I was in an FYE a couple of weeks after, and saw one of the Prince displays they had up in store. I was totally unprepared for my reaction - I just lost it in the store. I turned around and walked out. My roommate came after me and said "What's wrong?" Then he realized. I suppose there is more of an impact from watching stuff on TV, and getting into the world where people are adjusting to it, and you see that - with an empty shelf, or a store display.

Elvis' death was monumental with fans. The grief and outpouring of love and heartache was pretty intense. The same happened when Lennon was gunned down. It was just everywhere. You couldn't get away from it. And those were days of no social media, no internet, no email, no Facebook, no texting, no Instagram. it was newspapers and network news. CNN had only been around 6 months when Lennon died. The wildfire of grief with those two was unprecedented. So yeah, other artists, while few in number, have generated the same level of grief. Elvis was the king, Lennon was a light of peace and hope. Their deaths permeated society for a long, long time.

rogifan said:

I was surprised Muhammad Ali didn't even make the top 10 of Google searches for 2016 and was 4th in celebrity deaths.

Your post made something jar in my brain. I'm going to theorize on something here, and it could relate to the lack of searches for Ali.

I sorta feel like when a celebrity is really old, or has been suffering from a disease (like Parkinson's), and has mostly been out of the attention of the media and pop culture, that they're not forgotten. Rather, people sorta make a quick, quiet resolution that the person is on their way out. They're not going to come back from cancer, or Parkinson's, or dementia (eg: Estelle Getty) or simply old age. People make their peace if there's any to be made, with the celebrity not being around anymore, because they've been out of sight out of mind. They've buried them in their mind. So once they do pass away, the fan has already resolved it. Why do a search at that point? People like Prince and MJ (or Elvis & Lennon) get attention because they're sudden, shocking. Prince died in an elevator out of the blue. MJ died after being whisked away in an ambulance, and we saw video of him 2 days prior dancing and singing and smiling. John Lennon was out and about in New York just being a husband and a quiet star that evening. He was shot to death in the street by a deranged thug. They were sudden, harsh, violent, public. They weren't old, or surrounded by friends with a Jackie Evancho CD playing in the background.

So in short, I think it's not the death, but the circumstances and the lead-up to it; the expectation vs the surprise. Ali was certainly the greatest at what he did, and his artistry and athleticism in the ring, and his activism and personality out of it, was legendary. But people probably sort of wrote him out of their lives by that point. People hadn't written Prince out when his death hit the news like a bird hitting the engine of a 747 at 35,000 feet.

when Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston died, it seemed like any other celebrity death... when Maurice White and Prince died, it felt like a sibling died...

EmmaMcG said:

TrivialPursuit said:

daKotaGeNesis said:

Ms. Pursuit Trivia x Could you please pursue your trivia? That deranged thug you are speaking of who shot Lennon was a Christian male. ;-

I'm a dude and like dudes, so I don't know who the Ms is, nor will there ever be one.

I don't know what Mark Chapman's religious beliefs had to do with his mental capacity to carry out a thuggish act against John Lennon, either. Thug is defined as a violent person. So my words were not only carefully chosen, but incredibly spot on.

benni said:

has been grieved in the way people have seemed to grieve for Prince? I know I have never had an artist pass in which it had an impact on me, except for some sadness at the loss of that artist and their continued contribution to the world. With Prince, I still break down and cry, still think of him, still expect an announcement any day of him performing somewhere and when it hits me there will not be that announcement, it's gut/heart/soul wrenching. I never expected it to feel like this. So I started thinking about other stars, artists that have passed on, and wondered whether the world has ever experienced the depth of grief towards another artist as it seems to have experienced with Prince?

I remember watching some things about John Lennon and it seemed people were shocked and grieved over his loss quite a bit, but I didn't see anything about 8 months later and people still grieving his loss. Elvis was another one, but I think it was limited to his fans and not necessarily other artists and the world at large (such as turning monuments purple that night 8 months ago). Can anyone think of any other instances like this? Something that will help to make sense out of all of this?

NO !

All the other Artists recieved EXTENSIVE Posthumous Media Coverage..

by comparison Prince has recieved very little

There is something EXTRAORDINARY about PRiNCE and thats just a FACT !

his depature has left people re examining their own lives

and looking deeply into their hearts which have been left in real PAIN..

His spirit reached People without having to be artificially IMPLANTED by Media and Publicity...

Even NOW 8 months later people are still HURTING....

and WHY is it so ?

Because there is no other ARTIST of his stature that sincerely

Believed in GOD the way that Prince did.

It wasnt a SHOW, it wasnt something he did to be cool...

In FACT....for a lot of people talking about god is WAY UNCOOL...

especially in this Day and age...

How many others artists have had Review after review saying that Seeing him perform was like going to Church.?...

The Piano and Microphone tours,

his final Gift in particular...

you cant find a SINGLE review where the CHURCH / Spiritual reference is not MADE.

People CRIED...for GODS SAKE !

A little tiny man, a piano and a Microphone on a huge stage that his Presence totally Occupied....

Prince always gave CREDIT to GOD

He was quote as saying that he Knew he had been given a gift and that he didnt want to waste his gift...

and he didnt

No one can claim to have the work ethic that Prince DID

He was inexhaustably devoted to GIVING his GIFT to US.....

He was a FUNKY Preacher until the very end....

So..

we all the ones left behind are left to Grieve his loss and Ponder on this thing called LiFE

I miss him so much ....His departure has changed ME FOREVER

How many People do we know in all of History who left their entire being behind in the Form of a SYMBOL that says it all ?

Grateful so Grateful for that Sparkling Example of Humanity that he is...

TrivialPursuit said:

NorthC said:

Lovejunky said:

daKotaGeNesis said:

paradise000 said:

Lovejunky said:

Grateful so Grateful for that Sparkling Example of Humanity that he is...

Beautifully spoken Lovejunky! Love the image, did you make it?

THanks , but NO I didnt make it, I found it so appropriate for this post though....

Seriously...

He is just something else...GOOD to the CORE

His silent angel giving, that we only found about out after we left...

Do you know how hard it is to GIVE without letting it slip that you did..???

The EGO wants recognition....

For him to continuously GIVE and GIVE and GIVE without any desire for recognition..

well..Thats just Angelic...

Lovejunky said:

paradise000 said:

Lovejunky said: Beautifully spoken Lovejunky! Love the image, did you make it?

THanks , but NO I didnt make it, I found it so appropriate for this post though....

Seriously...

He is just something else...GOOD to the CORE

His silent angel giving, that we only found about out after we left...

Do you know how hard it is to GIVE without letting it slip that you did..???

The EGO wants recognition....

For him to continuously GIVE and GIVE and GIVE without any desire for recognition..

well..Thats just Angelic...

I could not agree more, Lovejunky. Prince was "a good egg," as they say. And, to say that I was unprepared for his passing would be an understatement. It has affected me in ways that I could have never imagined. Perhaps that is the one upside to his untimely transition: It has had the effect of impacting many of us much more than it might have had he lived to a ripe old age. I tell you, I've never seen anything like it.