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George Michael dies

The Central Scrutinizer said:
Or you don't listen to much music...
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Which would be exactly my point. People didn't have to listen to a lot of music to know who David Bowie, George Micheal, Glenn Frey, George Martin, or Prince were. They didn't have to be a movie buff to know whom Alan Rickman was. These people were household names.

If you have to listen to a lot of music, or look them up, then the odds are that they weren't household names.
 
Not really a George Michael fan, but Freedom 90 might be my guiltiest pleasure among music videos. RIP to a troubled soul, but also a talented artist beloved by millions.
 
PhantomWolf said:
Considering I had to look up who two of these were, I'd say that the likelihood is that those were less famous than Bowie, Prince and Rickman. The other issue you'll find is that while there were a goodly Entertainment deaths in 2015, few had a wide name recognition, whereas in 2016 there have been near a dozen very well known names pass on, many of then quite young, being in just their 50's or 60's. I don't recall anyone talking about how horrific 2015 had been on entertainers, but virtually everyone I see is commenting on 2016, which would also indicate a lot of the bigger names, including some of the biggest died this year.
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Um, in 2015 - How about Leonard Nimoy and Omar Sharif?
 
Spindrift said:
How do you count 'household names'? I was adding a few to the 2015 list.
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Fame is always going to be subjective to a degree, and where the cut off is is really anyone's guess, but clearly some people are well and above the fame level of others, for instance Lady Gaga would be considered way more famous than Jacquie Lee.

Probably the easiest way would be to look at their body of work. Did they have large a solo career, or did their band sell a lot of albums. Where they up for a number or awards, did they have a lot of lead of main supporting roles. That would certainly be a place to start after your own understanding of their name recognition.
 
PhantomWolf said:
Which would be exactly my point. People didn't have to listen to a lot of music to know who David Bowie, George Micheal, Glenn Frey, George Martin, or Prince were. They didn't have to be a movie buff to know whom Alan Rickman was. These people were household names.

If you have to listen to a lot of music, or look them up, then the odds are that they weren't household names.
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When Glenn Frey died, I was in the pub. I got an alert on my phone, and said "wow, Glenn Frey died". The 2 under 30 bartenders and several younger patrons responded with "who's that"? I can't imagine anyone under 45 knowing who George Martin was. Just because you know who someone is, doesn't mean everyone does.
 
The Central Scrutinizer said:
When Glenn Frey died, I was in the pub. I got an alert on my phone, and said "wow, Glenn Frey died". The 2 under 30 bartenders and several younger patrons responded with "who's that"? I can't imagine anyone under 45 knowing who George Martin was. Just because you know who someone is, doesn't mean everyone does.
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Except the vast majority of the population is over 30
 
The Central Scrutinizer said:
When Glenn Frey died, I was in the pub. I got an alert on my phone, and said "wow, Glenn Frey died". The 2 under 30 bartenders and several younger patrons responded with "who's that"?
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Did they know once you said "The guitarist for the Eagles"?

I can't imagine anyone under 45 knowing who George Martin was. Just because you know who someone is, doesn't mean everyone does.
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I'm under 45 still and I know, as I suspect would anyone that is reasonably familiar with the Beetles.
 
Band members names might not be common knowledge. Rick Parfitt or Glen Frey might get a 'who?' but say Guitarist with Quo or Eagles and people know.
Same with actors, they might not know Alan Rickman but they know Snape or 'the bad guy from Die Hard'
Leonard Nimoy? 'Spock'
Liz Smith, who? 'Grandma from Royal Family'

and so on.
 
PhantomWolf said:
Did they know once you said "The guitarist for the Eagles"?



I'm under 45 still and I know, as I suspect would anyone that is reasonably familiar with the Beetles.
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I would not know.

Most group I hear , I like the music, that stops there. I would not say for sure who is doing what in which group.

I have a feeling a lot of people are like that.

ETA
Captain_Swoop said:
Band members names might not be common knowledge. Rick Parfitt or Glen Frey might get a 'who?' but say Guitarist with Quo or Eagles and people know.
Same with actors, they might not know Alan Rickman but they know Snape or 'the bad guy from Die Hard'
Leonard Nimoy? 'Spock'
Liz Smith, who? 'Grandma from Royal Family'

and so on.
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Exactly.
 
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