Four of the most globally acclaimed musicians of our time were lost across the course of 2023. Specifically, two women in music who had an incredible influence on culture during their lifetimes had passed.
The rightfully crowned ‘Queen of Rock n Roll,’ Tina Turner, age 83, passed away in May of 2023. Beginning her career in the late 1950s, her “potent, bluesy voice and her frenetic dancing style” made her stand out amongst the crowd, said a source from The New York TImes. After having received a wider audience throughout her early career, Turner released her solo album “Private Dancer” in 1984, emotionally empowered by her experience with abusive marriage. The album won hit songs “What’s Love Got to Do With It” and “Better Be Good To Me” a multitude of accolades at the 1985 Grammy Awards. According to her 1986 memoir, one her favorite songs she had ever recorded was called “River Deep, Mountain High,” and as Turner states, “[it] showed people what I had in me.” With her genre-bending musical sound regarding rock, blues, and soul, Tina Turner was a force to be reckoned with, a distinctive voice, incredible stage presence, and resilient 20th-century woman who only grew stronger after recovering from a traumatic past.
Similarly, Irish singer-songwriter Sinead O’Connor, age 56, passed away in July of 2023. With a beautifully unique appearance containing a shaved head and expressive eyes, she was most well known for her famously “hypnotic” and “breathtaking” cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” released on her 1990 album “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.”. Known as an “increasingly erratic public figure,” the most significant display of social action took place when she appeared on a 1992 episode of “S.N.L.” and concluded her performance with the tearing up of a photo of Pope John Paul II, as stated, “as a stance against sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.” A woman in music with the urge to spread an incredibly defiant message, her music blending themes of “1980s-vintage alternative rock, hip-hop and Celtic folk that came through when her voice raised to high register,” said another source from The Times, is sure to reconcile and resonate with today’s societal atmosphere as her legacy lives on.
Two equally significant, but perhaps more well-known men in music were lost in 2023 as well. The household name Jimmy Buffet, age 76, passed away in September of 2023. His rise to fame can primarily be attributed to his 1977 and 1978 pop-hits “Margaritaville” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” however, his musical talents were incredibly varied. Having been described within the “Gulf and western” genre, incorporating “laid-back twang and island-themed lyrics,” and creating a world of “sun, salt water and nonstop parties,” his long-time inspiration came from the lifestyle of Key West, Florida and the Caribbean, influencing his own way of life and his musical endeavors.
An incredibly successful musician who shamelessly championed his own way of living and created a universe in which his admirers could thrive, the free-spirit’s legacy will be sure to never go out of fashion. Additionally, the beloved Tony Bennett, age 96, passed away in July of 2023. With a 70-year career most impressively laced with longevity, he was known for his captivating duets that offered a sense of “melodic clarity, jazz-influenced phrasing, and audience-embracing persona and warmth” (Weber). Primarily rising to fame with his 1962 signature song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” Bennett was inspired to make art that mattered in creating “storytelling grace with a lyric, jazz sureness with a melody, and in his finest performances he delivered them with a party giver’s welcome, a palpable and infectious affability.” Having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016, he publicly performed for the last time with Lady Gaga in 2021, his partner in crime, in a show bittersweetly titled “One Last Time.” A timeless man whom the world embraced with love because he embraced the world with love, Bennett’s soul will live on in our hearts.
Our cultural world would not be what it has grown to be today without the inspiration and impact of these four musicians who were born to change the world. They will be missed, but their legacy will forever be prominent in our lives and the lives of our children.