Are we seeing an unusually high number of celebrity deaths this year?  The music world seems to be getting hit abnormally hard in the first 4 months of 2016.  And if you add the December 2015 deaths of Lemmy Kilminster and Scott Weiland, the loss is that much deeper.

My guess is that there isn't anything too out of the ordinary this year when it comes to celebrity deaths.  Rather, I think it has something to do with getting older.  I'm sure there are a number of young people (under 25) that have little or no connection to the names on the list below.  The math is easy... the longer you're around, the more memories you make.

I know I've left a few folks out, but these are the celebrities that I was most familiar with.  In one way, the news of these deaths caught my attention.  Some hit me harder than others...

    • Prince - music legend... I was a kid in the early MTV days in the '80's.  I loved his tunes like "Little Red Corvette", "1999", "Raspberry Beret" "Kiss" & "7".  As I got older, I realized he was one of the best guitarists in the world and an amazing versatile talent
    • Chyna - wrestler
    • Doris Roberts - actress from "Everybody Loves Raymond"
    • Merle Haggard - country music legend... my Dad was a big Merle Haggard fan.  Country music has never been my top choice, but I do appreciate the old boys of country like Merle, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.
    • Patty Duke - actress
    • Garry Shandling - legendary comedian... I always enjoyed his style, somewhat dry and/or deadpan.  I'm probably a bigger fan of George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Louis CK and Bill Burr, but I would always stop if listen if I saw Shandling was on.
    • Nancy Reagan - former first lady
    • Joey Feek - part of country duo "Joey + Rory"... didn't know anything about her before she became ill.  I did see her story appear a lot on the internet and on magazines as her condition worsened
    • Paul Kantner - founding member of Jefferson Airplane
    • Glenn Frey - musician, member of the Eagles... I wasn't like Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski who said, "I hate the fuckin' Eagles, man," but I wasn't a huge fan either.  I could appreciate the musicianship and I had a couple CD's in the collection.  Frey and Don Henley were the leaders of one of the biggest American bands of all time.
    • Abe Vigoda - actor
    • Dan Haggerty - actor, "The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams"... I remember this show from my youth.  Sunday mornings back in the day when my Dad's black-and-white TV had about 4 channels come in (with the rabit ears antenna).  I still can recite the theme song.
    • Alan Rickman - actor who appeared in "Harry Potter" movies and "Dogma"
    • Sir George Martin - Beatles producer... I'm a huge fan of the Beatles, so I knew how important he was to their legend.
    • David Bowie - music legend... He probably resonated with me a little more than Prince, but I think they had their similarities.  I probably became familiar with him, as I did with Prince, through MTV.  I'm guessing the videos for "Dancing in the Street" and "Let's Dance" were among my earliest introductions to Bowie.  Later, I'd delve into his Heroes and "Ziggy Stardust" stuff and become a fan.  Like Prince, I think of him as being a brave, gender-bending  artist.
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