abierman said:

I was gonna say...

Aaliyah because it was the first time I'd really experienced a celebrity death. I was 11 and my aunt asked if I knew who Aaliyah was. I was a huge fan of Try Again at that stage and I thought there might be some touring news or something. Then my aunt said she died in a plane crash and that it was in the newspaper.

I looked and there was this tiny little snippet about her which made me angry.

It was surreal though, at that age you don't really think celebrities can die, as crazy as that sounds.

And like others in this thread have said, it was obvious she was about to take off. It's a shame Timbaland reached his "peak" with other artists, it would've been great seeing those two soar like he did with JT.

abierman said:

HOLY TYPO!

I didn't even realize I'd written the wrong year. I'll go back and fix it.

Because I still did not digest the fact that I will never get to see him perform live.


Because she was a close friend and died only days after we toured Europe together.


Because!

meow85 said:

Hey, I was just saying....

abierman said:

I can't believe I didn't catch that.

Damn that 3 and 4 being right beside each other on the keyboard.

I forgot to add this one:



When I heard about her death, my heart dropped to the floor. The next day I turned 22. ***sigh***

meow85 said:

geez, stop being sarcastic about it....

i don't even know exactly when Donny Hathaway died, thus i don't know how old I was, but i remember his music always being on in our house as i kid. I loved his voice. It is still the most EMOTIVE voice in music to me I was sad to hear that he'd committed suicide. When i revisited his music as an adult, his writing revealed that he was truly a tender-hearted man. For me, if the artist takes their own life, it does something to the way i interpret/understand their lyrics. His songs still make me very contemplative and sad. I wonder what would've happened if we'd had then, the anti-depressants we have now.

The deaths that affected me the most weren't those of big, famous artists, but those of two not so well known, (seemingly) down to earth artists, both from Australia. Guys i think i could relate to on a personal level.

First, Paul Hester, drummer from Crowded House. He always seemed as such a happy, casual gay. The 'clown' of the band, always joking on stage. The fact that he hanged himself on a tree in a park, was quite shocking to me.
A few months after that his former colleague bandmember, Neil Finn, played the Crowded House 'classic' Better be home Soon, during a memoral concert for Hester. Only wappened with his guitar and voice. It resonated so deeply with the crowd, that it brought me to tears.

Second, Grant McLennan, one of the two frontman of Australian indie-band The Go Betweens. After he left The Go Betweens he made some splendid solo-albums, especially 'Horsebreaker Star', which i consider as one of the most overlooked masterpieces of the nineties.
He still had so much potential. Unfortunately he died (from a natural death) in his late fourties.
[Edited 11/21/08 10:13am]

lastdecember said:

Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Seattle-based grunge band Nirvana.During the last years of his life, Cobain struggled with drug addiction and the media pressures surrounding him and his wife, Courtney Love. On April 8, 1994, Cobain was found dead in his home in Seattle, the victim of what was officially ruled a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. In ensuing years, the circumstances of his death became a topic of fascination and debate.

He was ranked #45 Greatest Singer of All Time, by Rolling Stone magazine


Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was a Grammy Award-winning American rapper, singer-songwriter, teen idol, and member of the popular R&B group TLC. Lopes had already started work on both her second solo album and on songs for the fourth TLC album, 3D, when she was killed in a car accident in La Ceiba, Honduras on April 25, 2002. She was the sole fatality of eight people in the vehicle, a Mitsubishi Pajero that she was driving. The vehicle rolled several times, throwing Lopes out of the window. She died from severe head injuries.[17] Lopes' mother Wanda later tried to sue Mitsubishi Motors, as the Pajero was prone to rollovers, according to a 2001 Consumer Reports review.[18]

Her funeral was held at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia. Over 30,000 fans came from all over the world to bid her farewell. Engraved upon her white casket was her rap from "Waterfalls": "Dreams are hopeless aspirations, in hopes of coming true, believe in yourself, the rest is up to me and you." Lopes was buried at Hillandale Memorial Gardens, in Lithonia, Georgia.[19]
[Edited 11/21/08 11:13am]

No. 1 - Michael Hutchence. I was 14 when he died. It was my sister's fourth birthday. (Tomorrow's the 11th anniversary of his death, and my sister turns 15. My God, does time fly.) I remember walking to school with my mom, and we both were in shock that he was gone. "Elegantly Wasted" had come out a few months before, and I loved that song. Plus, VH1 played the video a lot. I thought it was the start of an INXS comeback, so I was pretty shocked to read that he died on the eve of their 20th anniversary tour. My mom had been a pretty big INXS fan when "Kick" came out, and "Need You Tonight" remains one of my favorite songs. My husband and I danced to "Never Tear Us Apart" on our wedding day. I saw the INXS tour with JD Fortune, and though I love the other members of the band, JD was no Michael. Not saying that they wanted to recreate those days, but INXS is so intertwined with Michael, it's hard not to think that.

No. 2 - Aaliyah. This is more because of the time frame in which her death happened. It was weeks before 9/11. I had started college days earlier. And Aaliyah was 22, a young adult like me. You just never know what will happen in life.

No. 3 - Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. I loved TLC from when they first started. But I think given Left Eye's wild child reputation, a lot of people suspected she wouldn't live to old age. And she even seemed to think that herself. But everyone was still reeling from Aaliyah's death, and then Left Eye passed away. It was a tough few months for music.

No. 4 - Rick James. He was one of those guys who squeezed every drop out of the life he was given. He was a crazy SOB, but his music was awesome. "Give It to Me Baby" is one of my karaoke staples. No way is my version as funky as his.

No. 5 - George Harrison. When I was in college, I turned on VH1 first thing in the morning and watched the videos as I got ready for class. When I saw they were showing an Harrison video, I knew he was gone. I actually stayed home from classes that day to watch the Harrison retrospectives. He had been my favorite Beatle since he came out with "Got My Mind Set on You." That was my song when I was 4!
[Edited 11/21/08 12:18pm]

Luther Vandross-my favorite male singer.It took months for it to sink in.I started to listen a house is not a home and started crying.....

Richard Pryor-An artist of comedy.and my idol.I didnt shed any tears.But i appreciate him and his movies even more now.The king of Comedy.

James Brown hit me the hardest. i had just opened my christmas presents and i started playing one of his greatest hits cds when i got online to check my email. and right there on the homepage was where u found out the news. i lost my mind. i still can't believe he's gone