Lemmy. Dale Griffin. Glenn Frey. Scott Weiland. Jimmy Bain. David Bowie.
Have you heard of these men besides Bowie? Unless you’re a fan of all things rock and roll, probably not. These six men have all been a part of the rock and roll music industry in their lives, and along with 15 other rock stars (women included), have all passed away in a span of less than two months.
It sounds totally morbid, doesn’t it? Some of these artists were huge in their heydays. Lemmy was the frontman of Motorhead, Frey was a part of the Eagles, Griffin was from Mott the Hoople, Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots, and Bain from Dio. These bands were THE bands to listen to when they were the most famous, and they still are today. If you know “Hotel California”, “All the Young Dudes”, “Ace of Spades” or even one of Bowie’s countless singles like “Heroes” or “Changes”, you’ll know these bands.
All of these deaths have been utter tragedies. Coming from someone who practically lives off of rock and roll bands, I’ve been hit hard by the news. I cried when I found out Bowie had died, and I’m sure many others did as well. The surprising amount of deaths in such a short amount of time has made people wonder. What’s the deal? Maybe the deaths are a sign that rock and roll is ending. Most people in the new generation have no idea who any of these old guys are. Maybe rock and roll is going to die out with the iconic rock gods and we’ll slowly forget about anything that happened from the 1960’s-1990’s.
So, what’s the verdict?
The thing is: rock and roll will never die. Yeah, most people in the current generation haven’t heard of these rock stars who have passed on. But in the case of these deaths, many kids go “Who is this?” and look up the person. They hear about Lemmy in the news, say “what’s with the name?” then type in “Motorhead” on Spotify or iTunes and listen to their top songs. David Bowie’s music has been streamed constantly online since the news of his death. Just because someone has died doesn’t mean their music will never be played again. How many times do we hear Led Zeppelin or AC/DC hits on the radio? Both bands have had members die in the past, but their music is still around and rocking. When it comes to older bands and their members eventually dying, it doesn’t mean the genre is dying out as well.
The artists may die, but the music lives on.