The Man Behind Two of the Greatest Albums of the Century Is Gone

The singer leaves behind two of the greatest albums of the century--and generations of artists still struggling to keep up. Great artists who are the opposite of prolific are always a thorny subject. Many of our most romantic ideas about creativity tend to view "genius" as a kind of vessel state, from which beauty and inspiration simply flow forth, effortlessly and boundlessly: It's deflating to be confronted with the reality that this isn't always how it works. And, of course, when such artists come to be the subjects of intense devotion and scrutiny, it often provokes a demand for more and more, faster and faster, which usually has the counterproductive effect of further pressurizing an already fraught creative process. And yet these artists are distinctively precious in their own way, necessary reminders (particularly in our age of pathological, parasocial standom) that even stars don't exist solely as objects for our consumption, that sharing a world with people who provide us with beautiful things is a privilege to be cherished and cared for, rather than an entitlement to be hoarded or otherwise fetishized.