A Grim year for musicians

In the Arena of musicians the most active participant last year was the Grim Reaper.

From the tail end of 2015 and into the beginning of 2017 there's been a slew of deaths in the music world which strikes home to people of my age. We grew up in an age where music was not only a soundtrack to our lives but a prime motivator, a way of life, a fashion and political statement.

This was an age where kids had album covers painted onto the back of their Rucksack / Haversack / Backpack and where vinyl album covers were pieces of art. Before the age of video games and Internet, listening to whole albums (not just soundbites) was THE way to spend your free time and express yourself. Reading and reciting lyrics from gate-fold sleeves was our literature of choice.

For the Baby Boomer generation it became OK for musicians to grow old and carry on performing, and as time went by it was not unusual to see audiences of three generations together. We grew up and aged with our musical heroes and so when we see their obituary it strikes home about our own mortality. So, let's honor their memory celebrate their lives, enjoy their legacy and make the most of the time we have left. And let's celebrate creativity.

In Memoriam:

2015: "Lemmy" Kilmister, B.B. King, Ben E. King, Percy Sledge, Chris Squire, Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, Allen Toussaint, Scott Weiland.

2016: George Michael, Rick Parfitt, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Leon Russell, Merle Haggard, Leonard Cohen, Dave Swarbrick, Prince, George Martin, Glenn Frey, David Bowie,

2017: Butch Trucks, John Whetton.