Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen died on December 5th. I think most people reading this have no clue who he is. Stockhausen is one of the most influential composers and musicians of the 20th century. He was one of the very first electronic musicians. He has influenced jazz, classic rock, industrial, electronic music, prog rock and probably more. Musicians and bands that cite him as an influence range include Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, Sonic Youth, the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, Kraftwerk, Pink Floyd, Aphex Twin, Coil. Through them his influenced has trickled down onto who knows how many musicians. Music in general, but probably electronic music in particular would be very different without him. I wish I had some of his pieces available so I could play some right now. Here's to Stockhausen.