The music will never die when we need legends’ message

David Bowie, Prince, and Merle Haggard were more than icons, because they taught us about what it is to be human, says Lynn Stuart Parramore

Three musical greats have died in 2016: Prince, David Bowie, and Merle Haggard. When Haggard died, US National Public Radio announced that ‘Country music legend and icon, dies at 79.’ The terms are considered interchangeable, but are they?

Many entertainers have been labelled icons — Britney Spears is an example. But Prince, Bowie, and Haggard seem to be in a different realm. Our culture, and our world, are different because they existed.