In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Two years later, more than a million people have died in the United States from the disease. To put a face on this number and pay respect to the departed, NPR asked our audience to share songs that reminded them of a loved one lost to COVID-19. What follows are individual stories of those who have passed, those mourning them and the songs that continue to unite them.
He was a front-line worker, driving for Uber in Detroit. He died from COVID in February 2020, very early into the pandemic. He loved girl bands and blues singers, and his favorite was Heart. I can't help but think of him when I hear "Barracuda." —Laurie Ames, friend
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