The Song Plays On: Musicians we lost in 2016 Quiz

Answer: Prince

Prince Rogers Nelson was born on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He started out with a band called 94 East and paid his dues with a number of bands throughout the seventies, with minor chart success.
In the early eighties his singles were charting well and he landed a role in the semi-autobiographical film "Purple Rain", and his career skyrocketed.
Tracks like "When Doves Cry" and "Purple Rain" were major hits and he also contributed many songs for other artists, including "Nothing Compares 2 U" for Sinead O'Connor and The Bangles' "Manic Monday". Despite changing his name several times Prince continued to be a prolific songwriter and performer throughout the new millennium.
However, on 21 April 2016 he died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl after some health issues. He was 57 years old.

Answer: George Michael

Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou was born on 25 June 1963 in London, England.
He always had dreams of being a musician and was a busker until he formed Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley in 1981. They hit immediately, with tracks like "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go", "Freedom" and "Careless Whisper".
In 1987 the band broke up and Michael embarked on a solo career with "I Knew You Were Waiting", a duet with Aretha Franklin. More hits followed but he was dogged with scandals regarding his sexuality and drug use.
He was found dead on Christmas morning 2016 by his then boyfriend, having passed away naturally as a result of heart failure. He was only 53.

Answer: David Bowie

David Robert Jones was born on 8 January 1947 in London.
He was intensely interested in music from a young age and especially interested in the effect it had on people, At 15 he started his first band, and but soon found greater success as solo act David Bowie, to avoid confusion with The Monkees' Davy Jones.
Commercial success followed for Bowie and tracks like "Space Oddity" and "The Man Who Sold The World" put him on the map.
He continued to evolve both musically and stylistically with an androgynous look that caused some controversy.
In 2016 the hard working musician released his final album called "Blackstar", but succumbed two days later, on 10 January 2016, to the liver cancer he had been battling. He was 69 years old.

Answer: Leonard Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen was born on September 21, 1934 in Montreal, Canada.
The 1950's saw him work actively as a writer, and only in 1967 started releasing music when "Suzanne" was released.
Cohen's music stayed very dark and poetic throughout his career and he was never hugely commercially successful but had a legion of fans that helped make tracks like "So Long, Marianne" and "Dance Me To The End Of Love" popular.
On November 7, 2016, he fell at his home and subsequently passed away in his sleep at the age of 82.

Answer: Glenn Frey

Glenn Lewis Frey was born on November 6, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan.
He played in many small bands until he met Bob Seger, who encouraged and assisted the young musician.
In 1970 Frey met Don Henley while playing in Linda Ronstadt's band, and they made the decision to form a band, and Eagles was born. During the ten years the band lasted the two founding members shared vocal duties and hits like "Heartache Tonight", "Lyin' Eyes" and their signature track "Hotel California" made them superstars.
The band reformed in 1994 and Frey and the band stayed active until 2015 when his health took a turn for the worse. He died on January 18, 2016 at the age of 67 after surgery for intestinal problems.

Answer: Merle Haggard

Merle Ronald Haggard was born on April 6, 1937 in Oildale, California.
After a troubled childhood which would eventually end up in his incarceration in San Quentin from 1958 to 1960. In prison he started performing with the country band and on his release he paid his dues as a musician until the release of "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive", his first number one.
Other hits like "Mama Tried" and "Today I Started Loving You Again" followed, and he stayed relatively active until health problems started curtailing his performing career.
He passed away on his birthday, April 6, 2016 from complications after a bout of pneumonia. He was 79.

Answer: Bobby Vee

Robert Thomas Velline was born on April 30, 1943 in Fargo, North Dakota.
He was never the biggest star but after being signed at a very young age had a few hits, including his biggest chart performer "Take Good Care Of My Baby"
Vee was apparently a big inspiration to Bob Dylan after the two toured together in the early years.
He stayed active but passed on due to complications due to Alzheimer's disease on October 24, 2016 at the age of 73.

Answer: Greg Lake

Gregory Stuart Lake was born in Poole, Dorset on 10 November 1947.
He was a talented guitarist who played in a variety of groups early on, but started achieving fame when he switched to the bass guitar and joined the band King Crimson in the late sixties as bassist and vocalist.
In 1970 he formed Emerson, Lake and Palmer with which he would have the most commercial success.
He was active solo as well and would continue to perform but sadly passed away on 7 December 2016 from cancer, at the age of 69.

Answer: Keith Emerson

Keith Noel Emerson was born on 2 November 1944 in Todmorden, Yorkshire.
He trained as a pianist but became fascinated by the Hammond organ. In 1967 he formed The Nice, which would make him known as an organ player and he became a sought after session musician.
Most fame would come from his formation of Emerson, Lake and Palmer however, and he like Greg Lake would stay active until the late 2000'. He died on 11 March 2016 after committing suicide by shooting, following a battle with depression. He was 71.

Answer: Christina Grimmie

Christina Victoria Grimmie was born on March 12, 1994 in Marlton, New Jersey.
Perhaps the least accomplished of the musicians on this list, she was only 22 when she was shot to death by a gunman after a concert in Orlando, Florida.
She gained fame due to her performance on reality show "The Voice" in 2014, finishing in third place in Adam Levine's team and setting the platform for a career in music.
According to police her killer had become "infatuated" with her but could not provide a motive for the murder.