Not a big fan of using a picture of someone's hat, or their pajamas (really?), to represent them in their last big Obit. I guess you're trying to be "different," but a headshot helps readers identify a person they may not have thought about for years. Or maybe The Times is thinking if we don't know the name by now the subject doesn't matter?
I love that you included a tree. But leaving out Gregg Allman???
The album, "Live at the Fillmore East" is stunningly timeless Americana, the song "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" blending every major form of modern American music.........blues, jazz, rock, country.......a perfectly synchronized yet quicksilver instrumental, a ground-breaking modern American symphony. Believe me, music historians of the future will NOT forget the Allmans.
1
If there were no annual years’ end list of dead would no one have to die then? This time of year always feels so morbid because of them.
These lists can never cover everyone, so there are always going to people miffed at who's left out. There was and will be no shortage of Tom Petty tributes or Chris Cornell and other famous deceased. But DeMarlon Thomas? Tragic. S. Allen Counter? How amazing! I'm so happy to read about these people I didn't know so I can learn about new things instead of reading even more about those we all already know. Thanks, NYTimes.
These 'year end' obits always make me sad.
What a downer to have a look at the comments and find raft of selfish complaints. Type "tom petty tribute" into a search engine instead of cursing the darkness.
Selfish is an interesting choice of words. Perhaps these are people (many people) who are genuinely surprised that Tom Petty was not honored on this list. But, no worries, I imagine Tom, if he were still alive, would care less.
FWIW, I don’t think anyone was trying to make you feel down.
Sheila here: people, people: the interns who put this stuff together have no idea who Tom Petty was.
1
I echo the lamentable absence of Fats Domino. He was a giant. Consider this: by 1963 only two people had sold more records world wide that Fats - Elvis Presley and Bing Crosby.
A massive influence, a tremendous talent, and most of all, a man who brought great joy to the world.
1
Why didn't you include Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher. They brought joy on the screen. It's an era gone, but not forgotten.
1
Chuck Berry is the most important person in rock music history.
Maggie Roche was a genius and her lyrics, music, and harmonies beyond compare.
1
I so am thankful for Chuck Berry. He now seems more chosen. than happened, to be the one that weaved all those utterly American sounds and themes which filled the air in the bars and juke joints into a complete cloth imbued with a dye that only becomes more saturated with ageless profundity. Johnny, you weren't just good, you were and will always be great. You more than anybody awakened my soul to the poetry that is America.
5
I love how the NYT has reduced these people's live to some trinkets in the photos summarizing their lives. Please get some decent editors back on your staff. Publishing a remembrance piece and showing an object rather than the face of these individuals is pathetic.
5
MTM as Mary Richards gave hope each week to many of us young women who were working at new careers in those days. She gave us a model for being single and career-oriented, at a time when most families were disappointed in our unwillingness to marry right away, and most men were disappointed in our unwillingness to abandon our ambitions. To us, whether she intended it or not, Mary Tyler Moore will always be Mary Richards, our ray of hope in those difficult times.
6
Lots of folks not on the list. RIP Hugh Hefner.....
5
Mary Tyler Moore defined the role of women in the workplace?! Please! She was an excellent actress who was playing a role in a fictitious TV series, that had no regard for reality, except for people who wanted to think so! You doubt me?! #metoo!!!
2
Excuse me Counter Measures - don't you think sexual harassment was routinely depicted on that show? With Ted Baxter hitting on everyone, and Sue Ann Nivens harassing all the men? With Lou Grant getting drunk and hitting on Mary? Were you watching with rose colored glasses?
1
She was a right wing GOP'er. Nuff said!
And she was Beth in O. People.
1
Very surprised that Gregg Allman, an iconic and genre-defining musician with deep connections to new York, did not make the cut. The Allman Brothers sold out the Beacon Theatre for weeks on end for decades. Their "Live at Fillmore East" album is considered one of the finest recordings ever captured in concert.
13
This year end article excludes some people, and many are complaining.
Still, they were given complete coverage during the year.
2
"Innovators and thinkers" - empty terms that are parts of the empty jargon thrown around by the tech industry and social media "influencers" - surprised that the NYT has slipped to that vocabulary. That might explain how a great songwriter and performer like Tom Petty did mot make this list.
5
I am only guessing that MTM was not overjoyed having to jump up and down holding a cat, most likely per the photographer's request.
I don't think the cat liked it much either.
9
I can't bellieve that one of the greatest rock and roll artists was left out.
I am of course referring to Fats Domino. He was the greatest How could anyone, doing a serious article on the stars who passed away this previous year not remember "The Fat man From New Orleans "?
13
Where are Dina Merral and Penny Chenery who was the breeder of Secretariat?
4
Where is Chris Cornell of Sound Garden?
3
i think it's fine that the nyt does these retrospectives - but not as an excuse of a magazine section.
4
Where is David Bowie, Tom Petty, Leonard Cohen, Martin Landau, Richard Wilbur, Sam Shepard, Heather Menzies-Urich (Sound of Music 3rd child), Ann Jeffries, Keely Smith, and so on. They are all missing. Can't this remembrance be updated ?
11
David Bowie died in 2016.
3
Bowie died in 2016.
3
Tom Petty, Leonard Cohen, and Roger Moore definitely belong on this list.
15
I really like the diversity. So many people whose lives made such a difference to others. But no Tom Petty?! He had a huge impact on me in my college years. We saw him play in a rain storm at Wrigley Field this summer -- possibly the best concert I've ever seen. So vibrant and alive and now, shockingly, gone to the ages. Please fix this omission.
10
What about Tom Petty?
17
Thank you for this excellent, diverse and thoughtful roundup. So many I didn't know but whose lives deserved to be recognized. And I for one like the choices of photographs--sometimes an item says more about a person than an actual portrait.
4
Tom Petty. Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, James Cotton...people who made a huge difference in music and brought joy to peoples' lives. Chuck Berry was also quite worthy of remembrance but apparently was the token. Lists are by their very nature subjective and this one left huge holes.
18
"Chuck Berry was also quite worthy of remembrance but apparently was the token. "
TOKEN? He was highly respected. Please.
2
Didn't Bowie die last year.
Agree, but for the record David Bowie passed in 2016.Good to see I'm not the only one who was stunned to see that Tom was left off the list. He must feel like a refugee, not on the list of the living nor the list of the dead.
Everything gallops by so quickly there’s hardly time to digest how many honorable people we lose. This tribute is a gracious way of telling time to wait a moment and showing respect.
10
No Tom Petty? Unbelievable!!
24
Every life is precious. While there isn't enough room to list everyone we lost this year, we can both remember and honor them by leading lives they would be proud of. Treasure their memory, do good deeds, be kind and respectful of others and by all means, be happy and healthy.
9
Denis Johnson.
To many, our finest writer.
"He was completely and openly a mess. No more pretending for him."
-Jesus' Son
3
I have just read the piece about Irina Ratushinskaya. It ends with: “Seen as a struggle against totalitarianism, their efforts seemed to belong to history. But seen more broadly as a struggle against corruption and abuse of power, their example may be of some use after all.” So I see in this justification for my resurgent interest in the dissidents of the Soviet era (especially Victor Surge), their thoughts, tactics, etc. It is hard to see just how they can guide us forward in the now-overwhelming struggle against big C's, capitalism and corruption, but we need guidance from somewhere.
5
The girl from Happy Days and not Tom Petty? What's up with that?
19
Where is Sam Shepardțs photo? Why is he missing from the slide on the homepage? Not important enough? And why did you include just the photo of his hat in the inside article and that bit that is more of a portrait of Shepard's son?
5
I wish there were name tags on the picture slide on the home page. Then when you click the entire layout takes forever to scroll. It may look good but it is totally user unfriendly.
4
They do this same layout for the '50 Places to Travel' and it is awful.
1
I love this yearly feature and look forward to it every year, to both update myself on obituaries I might have missed and to gain insights into the people's lives that only close friends can bring. One of the questions I'm asked whenever the subject of my atheism comes up is "How can you live without the hope of an afterlife?" The answer is simple, I don't disbelieve in an afterlife, I'm just OK in not knowing what comes next. Whatever it is, countless people have gone on before me, and whatever happened to them I'll be proud to be in their company. Be it celestial eternity or tree food, I'm no better than these artists, great thinkers or regular people who lived their lives to their fullest potential. Wherever they went will be fine with me.
2
Inspired by the Personal is Political, Kate Millet: 5th Wave of Feminism's The Personal is Professional. Thanks Kate, I hope the 5th Wave will be the most Powerful yet. Later, Kim.
1
I was transfixed.
3
Where is Richard Wilbur? Pulitzer, Laureate, and one of the very best poets writing in English over the last century. I am hoping that this is just an oversight.
5
Where is Martin Landau??
3
I don't know, I thought YOU had him.
3
These types of "who died"' articles at years end are depressing and morbid. Thanks for nothing.
3
What is morbid about it? It is celebrating and remembering the lives of significant people who left behind meaningful works or impacted our society. Depressing? Not really. Many die 'too soon', but that is the nature of the life cycle. There have been couple of deaths of well known that have personally spurred me on to do more creative work or volunteer to do things I felt important within society--because we cannot wait. We don't know how much time we have. Any of us. Live well and fully.
2
And thank you for less than nothing.
Beautifully presented. Thank you.
7
Where is Tom Petty? No good reason for omitting him from this group. None.
40
UM, yeah. And how about Leonard Cohen?
13
Tom Petty was wonderful. This isn't the definitive list of noteworthy individuals, but rather one person's point of view. I'm guessing they discussed particular elements of their article with friends or associates before they published it, and made some decisions. I would love to know why you think Tom Petty was great, so I can appreciate him even more. I have always considered the comments section as a significant and thought provoking extension of the article.
12
Tom Petty's music was loved by people of all ages - 4 years to 99 years old. Before his untimely death, he just finished an amazing tour celebrating 40 years with one band, the Heartbreakers. There was no better band and the concert I saw in July was the most hopeful thing I experienced all of 2017. All ages singing with Tom and the Heartbreakers, having a blast.
Throughout his career, Tom fought the record companies, to keep tickets in the hands of his fans, and never sold out on his music. He won the 2017 MusicCares award, supports other artists, was a part of the Traveling Wilburys, reunited a band from his childhood, Mudcrutch, and made more amazing music. He wrote songs for other people, his videos are like no other. When he died, sports stadiums around the country started singing 'I won't back down' at every opportunity. His fans are still in shock.
I could list the hits, but he is so much more than that... go listen. Old stuff, new stuff, live stuff. The songs, the lyrics, the emotion, the guitars, the piano, the drums, the harmonies, and the energy. American Rock 'n Roll at its very best. How can he not be on this list? There is no good reason.
Go after what you really love and find a way to make that work for you, and then you'll be a happy person.
-- Tom Petty