A playlist of the best song from every great musician we lost in 2025
Nancy Sinatra perhaps put it best in her tribute to Clem Burke when she said, “Your memory will live on in my heart and the hearts of millions of fans around the world.”
Music reminds us that what we leave behind lives on. For fans, the musicians who bring joy to our lives still resonate on a daily basis, whether they’re still with us or not. When Brian Wilson departed this mortal coil, ‘God Only Knows’ did not change. When Sly Stone passed away, none of the beauty of ‘Everyday People’ went with him.
So, with that, the solemnity of honouring the dearly departed from the world of music is lightened tenfold by the masterworks that remain. As Al Jardine said in tribute to his old bandmate Brian Wilson, “He was a humble musical giant, and his huge musical intellect was apparent quite early on. At the same time, he didn’t need or want attention, was only interested in making the best possible music.”
Tony Iommi reflected similar sentiments when fellow Black Sabbath founder Ozzy Osbourne passed away in July. “I think he’d be happy that everybody remembers him and everybody loves him and everybody’s come out like they have,” the guitarist fittingly wrote.
The loss of these figures resonates within wider society on a profound level, too. Speaking to Far Out, Melissa Gentry, Doctor of Clinical Psychology and specialist in relationships and neuropsychology, told Kelly Murphy, “It is remarkable how deeply we connect with famous figures, especially musicians and actors, even though we’ve never met them personally.”
Dr Gentry added, “Neuropsychologically, parasocial relationships stem from our brain’s inherent tendency to form bonds, even with those we don’t directly interact with. We are attachment creatures wired to connect!” And few things connect us like music. Inherently, it symbolises shared communion.
Dr Gentry’s neuropsychological findings are things we can all evidence from our own experiences, as she continues, “The same neural pathways that activate in our personal relationships can also be engaged when we ‘follow’ a famous person’s life and work. This is a reflection of our social brains.
She comments that we are “built to empathise, mirror, and bond. When we watch a musician perform or hear a familiar song, our brain’s mirror neurons enable us to ‘feel’ what we perceive in them: their passion, joy, or even pain. Over time, repeated exposure to their art creates a genuine, though one-sided, emotional connection.”
That’s made all the more poignant when it coincides with music as moving as ‘God Only Knows’, ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay’, ‘I Hear a Calling’, and plenty more. So, with that in mind, we’ve wrapped up a playlist in tribute to the fallen stars of 2025 featuring the finest song they ever contributed to.
In tribute to the artists we lost in 2025:
- ‘God Only Knows’ – The Beach Boys (Brian Wilson)
- ‘War Pigs’ – Black Sabbath (Ozzy Osbourne)
- ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’ – Roberta Flack
- ‘Everyday People’ – Sly & The Family Stone (Sly Stone)
- ‘Wish I Didn’t Miss You’ – Angie Stone
- ‘Cloud Song’ – United States of America (Joseph Byrd)
- ‘Sweet Lucy’ – Michael Hurley
- ‘New York Groove’ – Ace Frehley
- ‘Stella Blue’ – Grateful Dead (Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay)
- ‘Send It On’ – D’Angelo
- ‘Oogum Boogum Song’ – Brenton Wood
- ‘Soul Man’ – Sam & Dave (Same Moore)
- ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ – The Stone Roses (Mani)
- ‘Running Away’ – Roy Ayers
- ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’ – The Band (Garth Hudson)
- ‘As Tears Go By’ – Marianne Faithfull
- ‘Goodbye Pork Pie Hat’ – Pentangle (Danny Thompson)
- ‘Khalas’ – Ziad Rahbani
- ‘Chase the Devil’ – Max Romeo
- ‘Lonely Planet Boy’ – New York Dolls (David Johansen)
- ‘Neat Neat Neat’ – The Damned (Brian James)
- ‘Baby Blue’ – Badfinger (Joey Molland)
- ‘Damaged Goods’ – Gang of Four (Dave Allen)
- ‘Heart of Glass’ – Blondie (Clem Burke)
- ‘All the Young Dudes’ – Mott the Hoople (Mick Ralphs)
- ‘Dignity’ – Deacon Blue (James Prine)
- ‘Blood and Thunder’ – Mastodon (Brent Hinds)
- ‘The Harder They Come’ – Jimmy Cliff
- ‘That’s Entertainment’ – The Jam (Rick Butler)
- ‘21st Century Schizoid Man’ – King Crimson (Jamie Muir)
- ‘People Get Ready’ – The Impressions (Jerry Butler)
- ‘I Hear You Calling’ – Bill Fay
- ‘Part of the Union’ – Strawbs (Dave Cousins)
- ‘Dean’ – Terry Reid
- ‘Vámonos Pa’l Monte’ – Eddie Palmieri
- ‘Tainted Love’ – Soft Cell (David Ball)
- ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay’ – Otis Redding (Steve Cropper)
- ‘Join in the Chant’ – Nitzer Ebb (Douglas McCarthy)
- ‘Nights in White Satin’ – The Moody Blues (John Lodge)
- ‘Just You’ – David Lynch
- ‘Fuck Forever’ – Babyshambles (Patrick Walden)
- ‘Sete’ – Amadou & Mariam (Amadou Bagayoko)
