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As It Happens

As It Happens remembers musicians we lost in 2016

From Bowie to Prince, Phife Dawg to Sharon Jones and Leonard Cohen — As It Happens looks back at some of the musicians who left us in 2016.
CBC Radio ·
From top left to bottom right: Sharon Jones, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen and Prince. (Greg Campbell/RALPH GATTI/NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

This time last year, we had no idea how dangerous 2016 was going to be for our musical heroes.

From Bowie to Prince, from Sharon Jones to Leonard Cohen and so many more — we thought we would look back at some of the giants we lost.

Here are some of our interviews and tributes to musicians who left us in 2016.

David Bowie (died Jan.10, 2016)

Bowie's longtime collaborator and friend talks about the man and the music
David Bowie performs his final concert as Ziggy Stardust at the Hammersmith Odeon, London in 1973. (Steve Wood/Getty)

 

Clarence Henry Reid aka "Blowfly" (died Jan. 17, 2016)

Remembering Blowfly, one of music's filthiest
Clarence Reid, the singer and songwriter also known as Blowfly. (youcaring.com/blowflyfuneral)


 

Malik Izaak Taylor aka "Phife Dawg" (died Mar. 22, 2016)

​Phife Dawg, co-founder of A Tribe Called Quest, dead at 45
Recording artist Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest visits the Tribeca Film Festival 2011 portrait studio on April 27, 2011 in New York City. (Andrew H. Walker/Tribeca Film Festival/Getty Images)


 

Prince Rogers Nelson (died April 21, 2016)

Purple Rain's sound engineer remembers Prince: 'A very rare bird'
Pop icon Prince -- whose pioneering brand of danceable funk made him one of music's most influential figures -- died on April 21, 2016. (BERTRAND GUAY/AFP/Getty Images)


 

Jane Little (died May 15, 2016)

A friend's tribute to bassist Jane Little who died during orchestra performance
Jane Little, whose career spanned a world-record with a single orchestra, died on May 15, 2016. (Louie Favorite/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)


 

​Amjad Sabri (died June 22, 2016)

Thousands mourn Amjad Sabri, Sufi singer gunned down in Pakistan​
Pakistani cyclists ride past a wall image of late Sufi musician Amjad Sabri who was assassinated and died on June 22, 2016. (ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images)


 

Leonard Cohen (died Nov. 7, 2016)

'He was totally unlike anybody else': Judy Collins remembers Leonard Cohen
Judy Collins and Leonard Cohen. (Judy Collins)


 

Sharon Jones (died Nov. 18, 2016)

'She can't be forgotten': Soul singer Sharon Jones, dead at 60
Soul singer Sharon Jones died on Friday, Nov. 18 from complications from pancreatic cancer. (Getty Images)


 

George Michael (died Dec. 25, 2016)

George Michael, former Wham singer, dead at 53
English pop star and one half of the duo 'Wham', George Michael, arriving at Heathrow Airport in 1984. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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