The Rule of Three?

Folklorists say the belief that good or bad things come in threes is an ancient superstition that remains a strong modern belief. Perhaps it comes from the Latin phrase, "omne trium perfectum" (every set of three is complete). Regardless of the origins of the phenomenon, all to often when a celebrity or icon goes to his just rewards, we, (the little people out there) keep a little sharper eye on the news to see just who might follow. It's morbid, I know, but we are a voyeuristic culture. Unfortunately, last month, the rock and roll world was hit with one of these triads that you didn't have to look too hard to see.

On January 10, we awoke to the news that music icon David Bowie had passed on just three days after his 69th birthday and three days after the release of his album "Blackstar". Bowie's death was unexpected and a shock to the industry and his legions of fans. No sooner had that news sunk in, we learned just eight days later that Glenn Frey, founding member of The Eagles died at the age of 67 in New York City of complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia. Again, a death we were not expecting that shocked the music world. Then to complete the triumvirate, on January 28th we learned that Paul Kantner of The Jefferson Airplane had passed away from multiple organ failure and septic shock after he suffered a heart attack just days earlier.

It's been two weeks since Kantner's demise and I hope the music industry can rest a little easy for a while. Keith Richards needs the rest.