2014 was no different. We lost legends, icons, innovators and forgotten favorites who reached the end of their fascinating journeys, as well as a few who passed way before their time.
The Grim Reaper sets no pattern. Here's a few of the amazing lives we'll be remembering this week on Retrofit with our annual retrospect of the dearly departed.
Bye Bye 2014 to:
Phil Everly, 74, half of the Everly Brothers whose relationship with brother Don wasn't nearly as harmonious as their music.
Henry Lee Jackson, 58, aka "Big Bank Hank" of the Sugarhill Gang who scored with Rapper's Delight.
Soul legends Bobby Womack, 70, and Jimmy Ruffin, 78.
Franny Beecher, 92, lead guitar for Bill Haley and the Comets.
Jesse Winchester, 70, whose songs of his beloved South rang from Canada.
Jack Bruce, 71, whose bass filled a landscape with the first super group Cream, where he found his voice.
Robert Edward "Bob" Casale Jr., or Bob 2, 62, who sang backup, played guitars and ultimately produced Devo.
Shirley Temple, 85, who at the age of 6 sold a half a million copies of sheet music and was the queen of Hollywood during the Great Depression.
Bobby Keys, 70, whose saxophone is heard on albums by Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Who, Nilsson, George Harrison, and of course, the Rolling Stones.
Isaiah Randolph " Ikey" Owens, 39, won a Grammy, worked with the Mars Volta, and was on tour with Jack White when he died unexpectedly.
The punk drummers Tommy Ramone, 65, and Scott Asheton, 64, who banged out the early songs of the Ramones and the Stooges, respectively.
Johnny Winter, 70, the Texas blues legend who served as the link between Muddy Waters and Stevie Ray Vaughn.
Hear some of the choice cuts from the artists we lost in 2014 via the playlist below:
