The Music They Made: Montage of 2012’s Departed | The Times Is On It

In honor of our first New Year’s Eve after the passing of Dick Clark, here we bring you a little music memorial.

The NY Times has put together a nifty montage of photos and song snippets to pay tribute to some of the many music greats that are goin’ up to the spirit in the sky. You can check it out below. It’s tasteful, thoughtful, and way less awkward than the annual Grammy retrospective that’s always underscored with live audience clapping really hard for whichever fallen one hit wonder and then not at all for that-guy-that-played-on-every-record-you’ve-ever-loved-studio-musician.

In 2012, we said goodbye to legends like Ella Fitzgerald, super star Whitney Houston, Opry originals Kitty Wells and Earl Scruggs, the eternally adorable Davy Jones, and even disco queen (turned Nashville transplant), Donna Summer. The loss of Levon Helm loomed large over many in Music City this year and it still just doesn’t seem possible that we’re short one Beastie Boy (RIP, MCA).

Here’s to all the greats that passed on this year and to the music that lives on!

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