April 21

Music lost one of its greatest innovators today in 2016 when Prince Rogers Nelson died at 57 from an accidental fentinyl overdose at his Paisley Park home, ending the career of the Minneapolis genius whose genre-blending artistry, sexual fluidity, and unmatched virtuosity redefined what a single artist could create…

 

Soul's most uncompromising voice died on this day in 2003 when Nina Simone passed at 70 in France, ending the life of the High Priestess of Soul whose civil rights activism and refusal to compromise her artistry made her both revered and commercially marginalized across five decades…

 

British folk lost its most haunting voice today in 1978 when Sandy Denny died at 31 from a traumatic brain hemorrhage after falling down stairs, ending the career of the Fairport Convention singer whose "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" showcased ethereal brilliance cut tragically short…

 

Punk's founding wild man Iggy Pop celebrates his 79th birthday today, born James Newell Osterberg Jr., the Stooges frontman whose shirtless self-mutilation and proto-punk ferocity influenced everyone from the Sex Pistols to the Red Hot Chili Peppers across six decades of survival…

 

Gothic rock's most melancholic architect Robert Smith was born on this day in 1959, the Cure frontman whose teased hair, smeared lipstick, and songs about emotional devastation made him alternative music's most romantic depressive across four decades of worldwide influence…

 

Rock's most notorious May-December romance ended today in 1993 when ex-Rolling Stone Bill Wyman married fashion designer Suzanne Acosta, the 56-year-old bassist's union with his 34-year-old partner proving less scandalous than his previous relationship with 13-year-old Mandy Smith…

 

Chicago blues lost its most innovative slide guitarist on this day in 1970 when Earl Hooker died at 41 from tuberculosis, ending the career of the musician Muddy Waters called the best slide player ever despite Hooker's limited vocal abilities keeping him from wider recognition.