From Jimi Hendrix to John Lennon, to Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye among others, which death you've experienced and had so much effect on you?

[Edited 4/10/14 4:26am]

MJ.

Being born in 94, Michael was already considered a child molester and I had missed out on Jacksonmania of the 80s, something I somewhat regret. I grew up listening and loving his music (sometimes not even knowing it was his) but he as a person was painted in a negative light by pretty much everybody back then so while his music was excellent, it was hard to see him in any other way outside of what was said. I was still in elementary school at the time but as I got older and I began to think more independently, still listening to his music, he began to grow on me as a person and I just felt as though (still do) that he was victim of a conspiracy and occasionally thought that the moment he died all of America would act like they never hated the man. Sure enough that day came a lot sooner than expected and the country did a complete 180. It was awkward when I first heard about it because I was at church when I received the news. I was somewhat in denial until we got home that night and walked in to see that the tragedy was reality. While I may not have known Jackson like generations before me, his death sparked a curiosity in me that made me want to learn more about him, his music, and music at large. When he died, it became much more apparent that music would never be the same again. Even in death, he's still a pretty massive influence and I'm one of the influenced. Jacksonmania may have ended in the 80s and while I wish I alive at the time, I'm kind of having my own personal version of the phenomenon myself.

Besides being born in the 70s, one thing I wish could've happened was more support from fellow celebrities and a more prominent display of the already existing support so as to make his tribulations less one sided and biased. Still bothers me thinking how if the child sex scandal(s) never went down, he'd likely still be with us today.

Great question!

There have been many over the years that really shocked and sadden me, but I have to say the deaths of John Lennon and Amy Winehouse really got to me.

I was 17 when JL was killed. I remember exactly where I was and how crazy it seemed (and still does). I couldn't believe someone had actually shot him. Why? I still can't answer that to this day. I always think of all the cool things he would've done had he still been alive.

Amy's death was just plain sad. She had so much going for her. Sure, she had drinking problems, but the girl could write and deliver a song beautifully. She also died on my birthday

Was not surprised by the death of Michael Jackson, Elvis or Marvin Gaye. Very sad though. I'm not surprised or shocked by many drug overdoses.

For me, it was definitely MJ. I was only born a week before John Lennon was shot so I really did not develop much of the faculties at that age to discern it. But I was a fan of Michael Jackson since age 8. I remember when my aunt bought me the doll and my very first experience of MJ was seeing the Thriller vinyl on another aunts couch around 1985. In 2009, I was coming home from work listening to the radio and they broke the news that he went to the hospital for a heart attack. I was like 'oh wow'. My mother called me from work on my cell phone in a panic asking what happened to him while I was still in the car. I told her nonchalantly that he was taken to the hospital for a minor heart attack. I didn't think much of it because I honestly felt he would be just fine. I believed MJ could weather any storm. He was the undisputed KING. I was like "this has happened to MJ before so I'm sure he'll pull through... he's gonna be fine". I went inside my house, and turned on the news and it was a on several news channels. I was glued to the TV for any more news. Then I started getting scared the more information I got. I was praying "God, whatever happens please don't let him die". Then, the news broke, that he had died. I damn near passed out on my floor. I NEVER expected that.

When Whitney Houston died, my sister called me and told me and I watched the news in a simliar way MJ.

[Edited 4/10/14 6:00am]

The death of Phyllis Hyman affected me the most. I remember I woke up on a Saturday morning in June 1995. I turned on the morning news and they announced she was found dead in a hotel room. It was a good thing I was standing in front of my bed because I literally collasped. It took me several years to get over her death. The death of Vesta Williams comes in a close second. I'm still working through that one.

MJ I remember being here on the org when it all happened, when the news 1st broke that he had been rushed to the hospital, the conflicting reports whether he was dead or just in a coma, and then the news. Worst day ever.

[Edited 4/10/14 7:12am]

lou reed

strangely, cause he was old when he died.
I agree with the points made about
MJ he would have lived longer if it wasn't for the
persecution
he was such an easy target.
his music was suffering terribly for a long time though

Elvis, Lennon, Luther, MJ(was actually not too shocked) Kurt...Acting wise Gandolfini...

[Edited 4/10/14 7:55am]

Karen Carpenter

Shocked...John Denver, Phyllis, Left Eye, Teena, MJ and Whitney.

Disturbing...Aaliyah...her death gave me nightmares of how she may have suffered and possibly was burned. I admired everyone mentioned for many different reasons but Aaliyah struck me like a bullet.

MJ staements previous to my post hits home.......just empty and overwhelmed with every emotion imaginable. The impact for me was severe but Aaliyah's image and songs haunted me for a while so much that I would just cry. It may sound crazy, but it's the truth.

I find it interesting that I remember when Elvis died I was very young although it didn't phase me I knew folks would lose their minds and did. I at least had a grasp on that reality.

John Lennon is another one....although I was young I was very aware of the impact the Beatles had in the music world. My sister who is 10 years older than me at the time was devastated, I remember her reaction vividly along with an actor named Sal Mineo. Her reaction made me sad, but I didn't fully understand until someone I admired was gone.

[Edited 4/10/14 10:12am]

Teena Marie, not only because I love her so much and she was almost too talented, but mostly because it was totally unexpected

Two comes to mind: Michael Jackson and Phyllis Hyman.

When Michael passed, I was on my way home from work and my phone was ringing off the hook with news of the cardiac arrest. I blew it off and thought it was a joke until the news came on and it was confirmed. I told myself that he would pull through. About ten minutes later, my brother called me from Los Angeles and told me that he had passed. I was so upset that I cursed him because I told him that I hadn't heard anything on the news yet. When I got home, that's when it was said that he had indeed passed. I was in shock. When they had the memorial service and the brothers were bringing out the casket, I lost it. I had to be consoled because I was crying so hard.

Phyllis hit me because she was going to be the woman I swore I'd marry! And I was all of 19 when she passed! I admired her voice and thought she was so beautiful. I try to listen to at least one of her songs a week because I really loved this lady. I said that I would do a special podcast in her honor soon.

Hmph... idk. But I don't (or can't) listen to Jeff Buckley anymore.

for me , it was John Lennon . The shock that he was from Great Britain and got gunned down on a NYC street - and after he just seemed to kinda turn his life around in some ways ...

MJ - ha . his death didnt shock at all . He was so wacky . Its like when you know someone is wacked and you just find out that he is more wacky . ugh .

Honestly i would say John Lennon but even though i was born during that time, i was still not yet a teenager, I know of the Beatles but again didnt live through the mania of who they were. So though i have older brothers and that "feeling" of his death was felt through my house i didnt understand it fully just that it was a murder and i was watching MNF when Howard Cosell announced it.

To me i would have to put it as a tie, Freddie Mercury, though the rumours were there, i think i wanted to NOT believe he was going to die and truthfully here in america we had no clue, lets remember cell phones and twitter and shit like that didnt exist so no one could leak stories overseas like that, in england they were getting it, over here we didnt really know, just that he "looked frail" in that last video, then an announcement one night and the next day he was dead. Some have speculated the "announcement" was not really something he even wanted to do, that his PR people did it.

The other would be Michael Hutchence of INXS and reason being is that I met Michael about 2 months before with INXS at a concert in NYC, that was a gig to promote the release of "Elegantly Wasted" an also they were one o my favorite bands ever, i grew up on them, bought their 45's saved my allowance went to the store and bought the albums. So this was deeper and felt like "what the fuck man, why?" and then just never really believing the way he died, ruling it a suicide when it was clearly not, sad to say it may have just been a "freak" accident while on drugs.

whitesockedfunk said:

Teena Marie, not only because I love her so much and she was almost too talented, but mostly because it was totally unexpected

Oh man how could I forget her shame on me. I got to see her a year before she passed. I saw her 3 times and she was always great. I was shocked when my sister told me.

Kurt Cobain. He was the only one making good music at the time and then he was gone. Gone far too soon

For me, Aaliyah. Her death happened one week after my birthday.

For my mother, Luther Vandross. I heard about his death when I was at Bingo (BTW, I didn't win anything) and I called my mother and it shocked her.

James Brown

Probably MJ's. I was not much of a fan by the time he died, but I was a very loyal child fan at the height of his career. I'd grown up with him, and I just came to take his presence for granted.

James Brown's death also was quite impactful -- not so much directly as by way of my mother, who was very upset. He was a favorite of hers in her teens.

[Edited 4/11/14 18:11pm]

I have to say the death of British R&B artist Ephraim Lewis in 1994 messed me up, too. He wasn't very well known in the States, which made him feel a bit of a private joy to me. That guy could sing circles around just about any of his contemporaries of the time, and he had wonderful class and maturity. I think he could have been huge had he lived.

[Edited 4/11/14 18:10pm]

For me, probably James Brown.

Yeah, he was getting on, but it came out of the blue on Christmas morning . I was stunned for most of the rest of the day.

Yeah, this is a cliche, but he always seemed like he was indefatigable, indestructable, so his sudden death came as a real shock.

MJ, 2.5 years later, I wasn't really surprised by. I always had this feeling in my bones that that guy wasn't gonna live to be an old man. In fact, I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did.

MJ...hands down.

purplethunder3121 said:

MJ...hands down.

Same here

First and foremost, Michael Jackson only because his music was the soundtrack of my childhood teenage and adult years. I could never forget the the early 80s and Thriller mania it was a great time of my life. I was at work when I heard the news it was unbelievable everyone thought it was hoax. It was not until I got home that evening and listening to the radio stations playing his music I started crying. I couldn't relate to John Lennon being shot in 1980. I'm from NY so the news coverage was on every channel. As a pre-teen I thought he's just a singer why are these people crying and doing a candlelight vigils for someone they never met I didn't understand the impact, with MJ I now understood.

Whitney Houston was another surprise we will never find another voice like hers again

Luther Vandross he truly was to me the KING of R&B music

Joe Strummer I was always hoping for a Clash reunion.

[Edited 4/11/14 19:33pm]

Michael. When I first heard it on the radio, I didn't believe it and then the DJ came on and said "Let's stop everything" and said "Michael Jackson is dead". I called my children and one didn't want to believe it until it was heard it on CNN. When it was finally confirmed on CNN, it felt as if a family member had passed. There were grown men calling the stations crying. There were people saying that they had to pull over on the side of the road and just stop because they were crying so much.People said it felt as if a family member had died. Michael affected people THAT much. One radio personality saiid that he actually fell down on the floor when he heard. A famous producer said that he couldn't get out of the bed for over a week and his family became worried about him. IMO, Michael's death affected the world in a way that is unprecedented.

Btw, the hateful media did a complete turn around because of people like AL Sharpton and others who immediately put Michael's IMPORTANCE in perspective. His death was treated like a WORLD WIDE LEADER and that's putting it milldly. This lasted for weeks and WEEKS. Michael's death pretty much SHUT DOWN the internet and there was NOTHING ELSE talked about in the media.

I was very saddened by the death of Whitney,Aaliyah Teena Marie and James Brown. However, NO other celebrity's death affected me the way that Michael's did and STILL does.

[Edited 4/11/14 20:45pm]

Miles said:

For me, probably James Brown.

Yeah, he was getting on, but it came out of the blue on Christmas morning . I was stunned for most of the rest of the day.

Yeah, this is a cliche, but he always seemed like he was indefatigable, indestructable, so his sudden death came as a real shock.

MJ, 2.5 years later, I wasn't really surprised by. I always had this feeling in my bones that that guy wasn't gonna live to be an old man. In fact, I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did.

I literally could not go back to sleep. I got up and played all of his songs all day long while i was cooking. I think I played JB every day for two weeks.

People who didn't live during that time don't know first hand how truly impactful he was. For example, "Say It Loud" completely changed America, especially black folks. it's hard to describe what it was like.

MJ's death definitely crushed me.

And a singer from my generation, Amy Winehouse. I cried when I heard she died. I know her death seemed inevitable because of her problems so it probably wasn't very suprising to most but I had been listening to her since she came out and her music touched me so it really upset me.