
When you read these names of musicians, producers, visual artists and writers who died in 2023, your heart may be filled with sorrow and sadness. After all, music offers us opportunities to both dream outside of and root yourself in reality. When we lose artists who reflect and refract myriad versions of ourselves and the world we know and aspire to be, it can feel impossible to imagine a world without their musical guidance.
Yet it’s also a moment to celebrate — not just their impact on culture writ large but also inside ourselves. This year, we lost icons, rock pioneers, hip-hop trailblazers, jazz legends and prolific composers across pop and classical music. Lift up their names and play their music or remember their contributions to our daily lives. What follows is a memorial to them, listed below in chronological order by the date they left us.
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