When Prince died on April 21, 2016, music fans were reminded once again just how rough the year was shaping up to be. Numerous other prominent and influential artists died in the first few months of 2016, as well. On the same day Prince's death was announced, it was revealed that Richard Lyons, a founding member of the avant-garde noise band Negativeland, had also passed away. Eagles member Glenn Frey, country legend Merle Haggard, and David Bowie, whose death from cancer came as a shock even to some of the artist's closest friends, also passed away in 2016.
But while these 2016 deaths may have had music fans reaching for the tissue box seemingly without end, there have been several other bad years in music history. In fact, some of the worst years in music saw not only the deaths of prominent artists, but also other shocking events that permanently changed the landscape of the creative world. These are ten such important, though terrible years.
The Absolute Saddest Years in Music History,
1996
Gang-related violence in the world of rap and hip hop was nothing new in the '90s, but in 1996, one of the more prominent names of the genre—Tupac Shakur—was gunned down in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sadly, he was not the only rapper to be slain that year: Seagram and Gangsta P, Dallas-based artists, were murdered as they walked down the street; Mr. Cee of the RBL Posse was murdered on New Year's Day in NYC; and finally, Kadafi, who grew up with Shakur, met the exact same fate as his friend.
With the murder of The Notorious B.I.G. the following year, there was a significant shift in rap and hip hop, whereby artists began moving away from the hard "gangsta" image and toward an image more celebratory of money and success (which is decidedly more positive).
1959
1959 will likely always be remembered for one specific date: February 3rd, also known as "The Day the Music Died." It was on this day that Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Popper (real name J.P. Richardson) perished in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. The deaths of all three musicians became the subject of Don McLean's hit song "American Pie."
1970
Both Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin died of drug overdoses in 1970, less than a month apart from one another. Jim Morrison followed them six months later in 1971. These three deaths in such quick succession, combined with the Altamont incident and the Manson Family murders of 1969, symbolized the end of 1960s-era idealism.
1994
While Kurt Cobain's suicide dominated headlines in 1994, he was not the only figure from the so-called "grunge" and larger punk scene to have died that year. Hole, the band lead by Cobain's wife, Courtney Love, lost their bassist Kristen Pfaff to a heroin overdose. Kim "Dimwit" Montgomery, who played with punk acts D.O.A. and Subhumans, also O.D.'d that year. Finally, Fred "Sonic" Smith of proto-punk band MC5 passed away from heart failure 1994.
As with other years on this list, 1994 only represented the apex of prominent deaths. Steffanie Sargent, guitarist for the Seattle band 7 Year Bitch, died of a heroin overdose in 1992. Following this, in 1993 The Gits lead vocalist Mia Zapata was found dead near the Comet Tavern in Seattle, a victim of sexual assault and murder.
Finally, a year later, Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon died of a cocaine overdose, yet another artist claimed by way of addiction.
2016
From January to April of 2016, there were a staggering number of prominent and influential musicians who passed away, including Prince, David Bowie, Richard Lyons, Merle Haggard, Glenn Frey, Keith Emerson (of Emerson, Lake & Palmer fame), and George Martin, the genius producer behind every Beatles album minus Let It Be.
Apart from these deaths, however, 2016 brought us a disturbing court decision involving pop star Ke$ha, which forced her to honor a record label contract that pairs her with producer Dr. Luke, who is accused by Ke$ha of rape and psychological torment.
1985
It all began in 1985, when Tipper Gore heard her daughter listening to Prince's "Darling Nikki." Gore found the sexually suggestive lyrics offensive, and so formed the Parents' Music Resource Center. This lead to numerous hearings before Congress, in which Gore attempted to sway legislators to force record labels to place warning labels on albums that contained potentially offensive content.
Several musicians—including Dee Snider from Twisted Sister, Frank Zappa, Joey Ramone, and Jello Biaffra from Dead Kennedys—spoke against the proposal, considering it a form of censorship. Despite their efforts, however, the PMRC won and the "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" label was born. Fearing a dip in record sales, many companies began selling censored versions of some albums to retailers like Wal-Mart and Target. It was all for nothing, however: The warning labels didn't effect record sales whatsoever. Moreover, some youngsters even adopted the label as an ironic symbol of rebellion.
Still, this mandatory censoring of music is generally perceived as a low-point for the industry.
1969
Two events occurred in 1969 that, combined with some notable deaths in the next couple of years, effectively signified the end of "flower-power" idealism among youths, and the end of the "spirit of the '60s" in general. These events were:
1.) The Tate-Labianca murders committed by the Manson Family, which were a part of cult leader Charles Manson's plan to instigate a race war. He claimed to have received the map to this plan via The Beatles's self-titled album (more commonly known as The White Album).
2.) The Altamont incident, in which a free, Rolling Stones-headlined concert turned violent after the Hells Angels—hired as security for the show—began beating and harassing the already unruly and mostly intoxicated crowd. The madness ended in the stabbing death of one teenage boy. Members of The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, who had organized the concert, had hoped to create a "Woodstock West" experience, with all the "peace, love, and rock and roll" commonality that characterized the original festival.
1991
Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury announced on November 22, 1991 that he was battling AIDS. The very next day, Mercury died from complications related to the illness, shocking family and friends.
On the same day, former KISS member Eric Carr also died, his death was due to complications related to heart cancer. On top of this, music fans also lost French singer Serge Gainsbourg, punk icon Johnny Thunders, and jazz musician Stan Getz the same year.
1980
One event in 1980 was enough to rock the music world to its core: the assassination of John Lennon by obsessed fan Mark David Chapman. Among artists and fans alike, Lennon's death is one of those "where were you when..." moments.
1978
In 1979 in New York City, ex-Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious woke to discover his long-time girlfriend Nancy Spungen had been stabbed to death in their Chelsea Hotel room. Though he had no recollection of doing so, it is believed Vicious committed the murder himself during a drugged-out argument (the couple were known to scream at each other and fight violently).
Vicious was never formally charged for the crime, however. He died only a few months later of a heroin overdose, which some speculate was actually a suicide.