Saddest deaths in music

[Phil_A]

Jason Molina's end was so lonely and desolate it breaks my heart to think about it, particularly as he was still trying to turn things around but it was too late, the booze had done for him.

Jackson C Frank as well, a life filled with so much tragedy if it was TV movie you'd think it was far-fetched.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Elvis Presley. Dead at 42 while taking a shit. One of the coolest, sexiest motherfuckers (not literally, let's nip that in the bud) who ever strode the Earth reduced to a fat, depressed, self-loathing, drug-addled mess. He would've probably been happier if he'd never become famous at all.

[imitationleather]

Elvis Presley. Dead at 42 while taking a shit. One of the coolest, sexiest motherfuckers (not literally, let's nip that in the bud) who ever strode the Earth reduced to a fat, depressed, self-loathing, drug-addled mess. He would've probably been happier if he'd never become famous at all.

Am I seriously fewer than ten years younger than Elvis Presley when he died?!

My Gawd. I really better start actually doing stuff with my life.

[Brundle-Fly]

Certainly John Peel was a biggie for me. Even if I wasn't listening, it was comforting knowing he was out there doing his thing.

Going further back, Ian Curtis was my first one. I'd gotten really into Joy Division after getting Unknown Pleasures as a birthday present in 1979 and was really looking forward to their new album and single. We were even on the guest list for their scheduled gig in Glasgow in July, after they got back from America. Never happened of course.

We did see New Order in January 81 and it was sad as hell. Like being at a funeral - silent, respectful and raw.

Christ, Jamie! That's quite a claim. Thanks for making me feel like a spring chicken tonight.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Am I seriously fewer than ten years younger than Elvis Presley when he died?!

My Gawd. I really better start actually doing stuff with my life.

The full tragedy of Elvis' death didn't really hit me until I turned 40. Fucking hell, 42 is no age, and it's just not right that a nondescript, balding, pot-bellied middle-aged man such as myself can claim, without a hint of arrogance or delusion, that I actually look in better nick than The King of Rock and Roll did towards the end of his life. Which isn't saying much, admittedly.

[a duncandisorderly]

yeah, I'd actually blotted that one out. still in denial.



whereas he, of course, was dragged out of the river he was in....

[Satchmo Distel]

Charlie Parker, dead at 34 but the autopsy estimated the body's age at 50-60, such was the level of Parker's addiction.

Jimi Hendrix was incredibly prolific so even if he'd only lived to 30 or 35, we'd have got an amazing stack of work from those extra years.

[chveik]

jazz wise, Eric Dolphy & Albert Ayler

[wosl]

Al Wilson of Canned Heat.  A great guitarist, gob iron player and songwriter, with a touchingly reedy, wavery singing voice and a thorough knowledge and appreciation of the highways and byways of blues history and stylings.  Like another famous Wilson, it seems as though he wasn't well equipped to deal with some of the rougher aspects of the rock and roll band lifestyle, the bawdiness and the wise-cracking and roister doistering; he often looks somewhat detached from the other band members when you watch the performance footage.  Apparently he had a passionate side-interest in ecology, and was found dead at twenty-seven in a tent after spending a night camped out on a Topanga Canyon hillside, about a fortnight before Hendrix died.

[NJ Uncut]

Really felt something for wee Amy at the end there. Mainly the idea paps would snap a photo of her skeletoning her way down the street and nobody would, or rather nobody could, get her into a nice caf and get her a sugary tea and a bun, place your hands on her shoulders gently and shake the Christ out of her, throw in a good hard slap

Probably impossibly naive about the nature of drugs, money and fame to moon lyrical that 'she fell in with the wrong crowd'. Sad though. Thought the 27 club was done?

Comforting to know even if you were literally dying in the street some snoop would snap you if you was sufficiently FAMOUS

[a duncandisorderly]

Really felt something for wee Amy at the end there. Mainly the idea paps would snap a photo of her skeletoning her way down the street and nobody would, or rather nobody could, get her into a nice caf and get her a sugary tea and a muffin, place your hands on her shoulders gently and shake the Christ out of her, throw in a good hard slap

Probably impossibly naive about the nature of drugs, money and fame to moon lyrical that 'she fell in with the wrong crowd'. Sad though. Thought the 27 club was done?

Nice to know even if you were literally dying in the street some snoop would snap you

I was working & boozing in camden during that period, & would often see her with her entourage of hangers-on ('liggers') in the hawley arms especially (the one that later burned & had to be rebuilt). it made me think of the way things must've been around ian curtis, or syd barrett, though that's in no way to compare their relative musical merits. she had a decent set of pipes, too estuarine for my tastes, but that's ok, & was starting to get a good sense of how her chosen material should be packaged. but she was in with a load of wrong 'uns, no doubt about that.

people can thrive on smack, if they look after themselves & can afford a decent quality supply. what did for her was trying to live up to her coterie's expectations of a louche lifestyle; they were all doing it part-time, but she was living it. sometimes you just want to stay in & watch telly, get an early night. the hangers-on could do that, but she couldn't.

[Jockice]

Christ, Jamie! That's quite a claim. Thanks for making me feel like a spring chicken tonight.

From not long after, Malcolm Owen of The Ruts. What a great band.

[Crabwalk]

Florence Ballard's life and demise was especially tragic. Alcoholism, depression, rape, betrayal and exploitation, all leading to a fatal heart attack at 32.

[NoSleep]

Al Wilson of Canned Heat.  A great guitarist, gob iron player and songwriter, with a touchingly reedy, wavery singing voice and a thorough knowledge and appreciation of the highways and byways of blues history and stylings.  Like another famous Wilson, it seems as though he wasn't well equipped to deal with some of the rougher aspects of the rock and roll band lifestyle, the bawdiness and the wise-cracking and roister doistering; he often looks somewhat detached from the other band members when you watch the performance footage.  Apparently he had a passionate side-interest in ecology, and was found dead at twenty-seven in a tent after spending a night camped out on a Topanga Canyon hillside, about a fortnight before Hendrix died.

I'd forgotten how close the dates of Hendrix and Wilson's deaths were; soon followed by Janis Joplin. I saw Canned Heat just a week after he had died (and a week before Hendrix), at a free concert in Hyde Park. On the same bill were Eric Burdon & War. Later that week EB & War would perform upstairs at Ronnie Scott's and Hendrix would join them onstage for a jam; the last gig he ever played.

Two key figures in my love for the blues, then a third soon after.

[Head Gardener]

Jesus (no not him) I have just remembered the 2 Pretenders who went in fairly quick succession that was awful, and although I was too young at the time to remember it Eddie Cochran getting killed so young in a car crash still bugs me to this day as over the years I became slightly obsessed with his music that I now have pretty much everything he recorded.

[phantom_power]

Jason Molina's end was so lonely and desolate it breaks my heart to think about it, particularly as he was still trying to turn things around but it was too late, the booze had done for him.

In a similar vein, Elliott Smith really got to me. Partly because he was so young and it was suicide but also the method by which he did it. Grim and bleak and sad

[jobotic]

Jesus (no not him) I have just remembered the 2 Pretenders who went in fairly quick succession that was awful, and although I was too young at the time to remember it Eddie Cochran getting killed so young in a car crash still bugs me to this day as over the years I became slightly obsessed with his music that I now have pretty much everything he recorded.

Agree about Eddie Cochran. Glad there's another fan on here. I had a massive EC poster on my wall when I was a kid that my dad's mate had peeled off a wall in Paris. Not sure why it was there in the first place as it was just a picture of the man.

Wonderful voice and a fantastic guitar player to boot.

[The Culture Bunker]

Agree about Eddie Cochran. Glad there's another fan on here. I had a massive EC poster on my wall when I was a kid that my dad's mate had peeled off a wall in Paris. Not sure why it was there in the first place as it was just a picture of the man.

Wonderful voice and a fantastic guitar player to boot.

Looked pretty cool too. I wonder how he would have dealt with the change of musical landscape brought on by the Beatles? I think they were fans - McCartney impressing Lennon at their initial meeting by knowing all the words to '20 Flight Rock'?

[kngen]

Really felt something for wee Amy at the end there. Mainly the idea paps would snap a photo of her skeletoning her way down the street and nobody would, or rather nobody could, get her into a nice caf and get her a sugary tea and a bun, place your hands on her shoulders gently and shake the Christ out of her, throw in a good hard slap

Probably impossibly naive about the nature of drugs, money and fame to moon lyrical that 'she fell in with the wrong crowd'. Sad though. Thought the 27 club was done?

Comforting to know even if you were literally dying in the street some snoop would snap you if you was sufficiently FAMOUS

Oh yeah, that was an upsetting one. Was never a massive fan, but I met her and she was so fucking nice, it's still a memory I treasure.

[LORD BAD VIBE]

Buddy Holly - dies in a plane crash doing a tour he doesn't want to be on but needs the money. Wife miscarries their only child shortly after.

Roy Orbison - back in the spotlight again after being unfashionable for many years. Dies of a heart attack in his mother's arms.

Pete Ham & Tom Evans of Badfinger - committed suicide years apart after being royally screwed by their management.

[drummersaredeaf]

Chris Cornell and Bowie really affected me. Cornell especially I think, because I got into Soundgarden pretty much as they split up and waited 15 years to see them live, but in that period remained one of my very favourite bands who were very influential as consumer of music and as a musician.

I had become heavily into them again months before his death, and had even bought a Telecaster with Down On The Upside at the front of my mind as I did so. A number of his depression-themed songs were amongst my favourites, and inevitably took on extra significance after his death.

In many ways he's what I wish I could be as a musician, and Superunknown and Eurphoria Morning could both easily make it onto my top 5 favourite albums.

[NoSleep]

Buddy Holly - dies in a plane crash doing a tour he doesn't want to be on but needs the money. Wife miscarries their only child shortly after.

Big Bopper (J.P Richardson) also died in the crash, only because Waylon Jennings gave his seat in the plane up because Big Bopper had the flu.

Frankie Sardo went to meet the crowd while Holly went into one of the dressing rooms at the Surf Ballroom where he notified Allsup and Jennings that he had chartered a plane to take them to Fargo, North Dakota (which is directly adjacent to Moorhead, Minnesota). On a friendly wager, Valens flipped a coin with Allsup for his seat on the plane—and won. Meanwhile, J.P. Richardson was suffering from the flu and was complaining that the bus was too cold and uncomfortable for him, so Jennings voluntarily surrendered his seat. Upon hearing that his bandmates had given away their plane seats, Holly joked, "Well, I hope your ol' bus freezes up again." Jennings jokingly replied, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes." Those words haunted Jennings for the rest of his life.

[alan nagsworth]

When MCA from Beastie Boys died I was at work and I had to go and sit in an empty room and cry. It was sheer amount of joy and wonder and fun and happiness he brought into the world with so many things, not least of all his music. He was a beautiful human being.

[wosl]

Danny Kirwan and Syd Barrett's long, quiet walks away from music-making and into relatively early oblivion are sad (especially Danny's, for me - such a sweet guitar player and an affecting vocalist).  Hollis's was something similar, only he didn't appear to be damaged goods.

[pupshaw]

Chas Hodges was a recent one.

Not so recent:
Mozart (35)
Chopin (39)
Fats Waller (39)
Alex Harvey (46)
Beethoven (57, but was still making giant strides)

[a duncandisorderly]

Jesus (no not him) I have just remembered the 2 Pretenders who went in fairly quick succession that was awful, and although I was too young at the time to remember it Eddie Cochran getting killed so young in a car crash still bugs me to this day as over the years I became slightly obsessed with his music that I now have pretty much everything he recorded.

oh god, yeah... jimmy scott. too often dismissed as just another drug overdose. he'd actually flown back from a production job in the US, summoned by hynde to a band meeting about pete farndon's drug use which would later claim his life. struggling to function with the fatigue & jet-lag, scott was given something to pep him up & it killed him instead. heartbreaking.

[Sebastian Cobb]

When MCA from Beastie Boys died I was at work and I had to go and sit in an empty room and cry. It was sheer amount of joy and wonder and fun and happiness he brought into the world with so many things, not least of all his music. He was a beautiful human being.

Yeah this one saddened me a lot.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Pretty sad that Curtis Mayfield spent nearly a decade paralysed from the neck down after a stage light fell on him.

[Golden E. Pump]

Prince. That jazz album ('Black Is the New Black') he was working on would have been great from the snippets I heard when I went to Paisley Park. I still think he had a number one single or two in him as well, perhaps for another artist if not himself. The Piano & Microphone Tour he was doing at the time was magical.

[Dusty Substance]

Roy Orbison - back in the spotlight again after being unfashionable for many years. Dies of a heart attack in his mother's arms.

Pete Ham & Tom Evans of Badfinger - committed suicide years apart after being royally screwed by their management.

Man, I never knew that Roy Orbison died in his mother's arms. That's made his death even sadder. Mystery Girl is a fantastic record.

As for Ham and Evans, that's got to be the most tragic story in all of rock music.