David Bowie had been battling cancer but his illness was known to few. (Image courtesy: AFP)
Blackstar
Glenn Frey was the Eagles' frontman. (Image courtesy: Glenn Frey)
Hotel California
Maurice White had Parkinson's disease. (Image courtesy: Maurice White)
Keith committed suicide while Greg died due to cancer. (Image courtesy: Keith Emerson)
Merle Haggard died on his birthday.(Image courtesy: Merle Haggard)
The country music legend, a self-styled outlaw whose music gave voice to disaffected conservatives in the hippie era, died on April 6 on his 79th birthday.
PRINCE
Price died due to an accidental overdose of powerful painkillers. (Image courtesy: AFP)
One of the most influential and successful artists of the 1980s, the Purple Rain star died on April 21 at 57 at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota from an accidental overdose of powerful painkillers. Prince, who popularized his own brand of sensual and danceable funk, was prolific in his output but also famously reclusive. With his marathon shows, he had appeared outwardly to be a model of health.
LEONARD COHEN
Leonard Cohen died in November. (Image courtesy: AFP)
The poet and singer, whose meditations on love and spirituality had won him an impassioned if niche audience, died on November 7 at 82, with his family quietly burying him in his native Montreal before announcing the news. In a parallel to Bowie, Cohen just weeks earlier had released an acclaimed album, ominously entitled You Want It Darker.
SHARON JONES
Funk singer Dharon Jones died due to cancer. (Image courtesy: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings )
The fiery soul and funk singer, who rose to fame at a late age and came to be called the female James Brown, died on November 18 of cancer at age 60.
RICK PARFITT
Rick Parfitt died a day before George Michael. (Image courtesy: AFP)
The hard-charging, hard-living guitarist from Status Quo died on December 24 at age 68 following an infection.
GEORGE MICHAEL
George Michael has won Grammys twice. (Image courtesy: AFP)
The singer, one of the brightest lights of giddy 1980s pop with the duo Wham! before a more introspective and troubled solo career, died at his home outside London at age 53, apparently on December 25. The Careless Whisper singer had numerous health scares and drug-related incidents late in his life.
