Ray Columbus is among numerous stars to leave us this year. Photo / NZME
Ray Columbus is among numerous stars to leave us this year. Photo / NZME
The death of Ray Columbus last Wednesday has added another music icon to what many see as a swingeing cull on pop stars in 2016.
David Bowie, Prince and Leonard Cohen would be the big hitters but there are plenty of others (Bobby Vee, Leon Russell anyone?), and that hassome suggesting this year is particularly cursed.
I think that perception is largely illusory.
Many of those lying in the morgue of fame - and you can add a slew of TV and movie names - these past months came to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s at a time when stardom was a more limited commodity and so was its exposure through television, radio and newspapers.
In recent years, the media has become increasingly diffuse. Musical wannabes crowd an array of departure points, be it YouTube, 24-hour MTV or TV's The Voice and they battle for space in the public consciousness.
How many have the chance to develop a career and some longevity these days; the turnover of "talent" is ferocious and instant celebrity brings instant oblivion.
Technological innovation has made music omnipresent. Every kid comes with earphones attached but ask them who they are listening to - or even to name the song - and they probably won't know.
Once people queued outside shops for the latest release by The Beatles or - a decade later - The Jam. Perhaps, because of that, it meant more.
So, I suggest the Grim Reaper is working at his standard, steady pace. And, in a decade or so, the death of a "pop star" will mean very little to the masses.
