Why Do We Feel So Crappy When Our Favorite Musicians Die?

Today started out great. I got a nice jumpstart on my morning and was efficiently checking off my work to-do list. I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and an unseasonably warm October day and wash my car over my lunch break. Not a lazy-man, drive-thru car wash, but a do-it-yourself, scrub-every-inch wash at Buggy Bath. I blew through a good $14 dollars worth of quarters, skipping none of the cycles. I even used the "spot-free rinse." Crazy, I know.

Feeling good, with a nice shiny car, I was whistling when I strolled back into the office, only to find out that Eddie Van Halen died. Pop. There went my good mood. I'm not even kidding you, I almost started crying. Could 2020 get any more sucky? One of the best guitarists for one of rock music's biggest bands is no longer on this earth. We all knew he was sick. Eddie was battling throat cancer for almost a decade. But it still felt like someone sucker punched me in the guts when I found out he died.

Why do we feel so sad when our favorite musicians die? Maybe because we grew up with them, listening to their music on the radio, buying their cassettes, followed by CDs? Perhaps you had their poster on your wall when you were a rebellious teenager. You likely cranked up their songs in your first car, cruising, chasing girls, and drinking beers that you were lucky enough to score from someone who was old enough to buy.

We don't know our favorite singers or musicians personally. They have no idea that we even exist. Yet they - through their music - somehow become such a big part of our lives, that when they die we feel pain. Weird, isn't it? Psychology Today lists the three main reasons we feel so crappy when a celebrity dies, and they say it's okay to have those feelings. At least the death of a musical icon cleared political bickering out of my Facebook feed for a day.

RIP Eddie Van Halen. If you have a memorable Van Halen experience, please share with us in the Comments or shoot us a message on the Hawk Mobile App. I'll share some of your favorite Van Halen memories on my show for the rest of the week.