(CNN) -- Another musical titan whose soaring voice ruled the charts for decades has fallen. 

Whitney Houston joins an august list of the departed since Michael Jackson's death nearly three years ago. 

"First there was MJ, then there was Heavy D and now Whitney," said Shaun Jones, 47, of Titusville, Florida, adding that he jumped out of bed in disbelief when he heard news of Houston's death. 

Rapper Heavy D died last year, as did Nick Ashford, who was one half of the Motown duo Ashford and Simpson. 

And in late 2010, singer Mary Christine Brockert, better known by her stage name Teena Marie, died in her sleep. 

"It's shocking ... all these people are legends. A lot of them are dying too young. It's crazy." 

Pop icons such as Houston enjoyed staggering success through the 1980s and into the 1990s, and served as role models to a generation of singers today. 

Announcements about their deaths are always almost followed by tributes from younger pop stars acknowledging how much influence they've had on their careers. 

"Icons from that era stood out," Jones said. "They had distinct voices -- I can always tell when a song is by Whitney -- they made music back then." 

Houston was a "hero for Gen X black girls," said CNN iReporter Tessa Jackson of New Orleans. She said when she was "a black teenager going to a predominantly white high school in California, Whitney was my style icon and hero ... She made me and other girls like me feel like we didn't have to be blonde and blue-eyed to be beautiful and admired. I wish she knew how much she did for my and my friends' self-esteem." 
What always follows icons' death announcements?
their deaths are always almost followed by tributes from younger pop stars acknowledging how much influence they've had on their careers. 