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Music phenoms dead before their time!


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Drugs, are they really worth it? Look at all the popular people in music who are dead now because of their drug usage: Jimmy Hendrix, Janice Joplin, Jim Morrison, Cass Elliot, Kurt Cobain (drug induced suicide), David Crosby (a lifetime cut short because of a lifetime of drug usage), and the same goes for Jerry Garcia. There was Keith Moon from the Who fame, and countless others I cannot think of.

Perhaps instead of posting to "Do you think drugs enhanced the Music", lets discuss who drugs killed!

Can you name some more, and perhaps give some insight into their tortured lives before they died of the deceit that drugs give you better creativitiy.

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There's so many, too many to mention but I'll mention what for me was the most tragic death by drug abuse:

Elvis Presley

I don't believe there was ever a performer that genuinely loved his fans like Elvis did. I can't think of anyone that did more shows and affected the audience like he did. He had it ALL!

But he wasn't happy. Can you imagine having everything and not being happy?

Elvis drank two "cocktails" a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. These cocktails were a mix of, if memory serves me, 30 different pharmaceutical drugs. When he was found dead in his bathroom, there were syringes all over the place with different drugs. This is AFTER his "cocktail."

I think back in the black and white days of Elvis, before he was a walking drug store and think of how sad and tragic his personal life was. Tragic because a person had the world and never enjoyed it.

He wasn't happy but he made his fans happy.

Elvis will always be living proof to me that no matter how much money, fame, talent, looks, friends, fans or drugs one may have, none of it means a thing if you aren't happy.

I'll always be amazed by that portion of music history.

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  • 5 months later...

David Crosby (a lifetime cut short because of a lifetime of drug usage)

I did not know he died! ::

Good call by XXX, he had potential to be a leader of the alternative underground. I think many of the aforementioned artists could've shown more quality, but who's to say, they may have died at the pinnacle of their careers. The same with Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon, even though they showed they couldn?t live up to their debut with their follow-up Soup. I was a big fan of theirs, mostly in part of him being a backup in Gn?R. Cliff Burton could?ve kept the strength that Metallica needed to succeed in it?s metal rendition, I have a feeling with him on board still, they would?ve have slowed down as much, even though Jason Newsted added the right ingredient as needed.

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I think he forgot and left a suitcase with some marijuana and a gun in a hotel and checked out. A clerk found it but David, not thinking, called the hotel and went back to get it. When he got there and asked for the suitcase, authorities came out of the woodwork and cuffed him. Duh!

Luckily he didn't have to serve time, this time.

Oh, speaking of mistakes, Kurt Cobain blew his brains out with a shotgun, as well as drugs. So, I guess that could be considered drug induced suicide, just don't forget the true blast that killed.

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He (Cobain) was strongly under the influence of Heroin, of all drugs; that one has the worst effects. It can be hard to distinguish right from wrong under those circumstances. The media pointed Courtney to be liable, but that was only biased on the actual purpose. What I don?t understand is the pressure these stars face that cause them to turn to drugs, is it fame-anxiety, were they already addicts to begin with, or do they really have insensible issues to deal with? Many people in the real world face bigger problems then these celebrities do & don?t resort or even look to an immoral asceticism.

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He (Cobain) was strongly under the influence of Heroin, of all drugs; that one has the worst effects. It can be hard to distinguish right from wrong under those circumstances. The media pointed Courtney to be liable, but that was only biased on the actual purpose. What I don?t understand is the pressure these stars face that cause them to turn to drugs, is it fame-anxiety, were they already addicts to begin with, or do they really have insensible issues to deal with? Many people in the real world face bigger problems then these celebrities do & don?t resort or even look to an immoral asceticism.

Cobain's death came at a time when he knew how big his music was. He didn't quite die before his time, he got to see how people took to his music. Like AIC... that was another drug-induced death, but AIC was a big name by then.

Eva Cassidy should count. Her album took off after her death from cancer.

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Brian Jones could have gone far if he wasn´t him: a genius with a head full of drugs and drowing in the pool... maybe that´s part of the rock legend. Just as Jim Morrison, who died due to alcohol-heroin-heart attack-????? Or Elvis, music heroes whose bodies wouldn´s stand no more. I believe the doctor who made the prescriptions for Elvis is (or was) in jail. John Lennon also died too soon, but this time it wasn´t his fault...

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He (Cobain) was strongly under the influence of Heroin, of all drugs; that one has the worst effects. It can be hard to distinguish right from wrong under those circumstances. The media pointed Courtney to be liable, but that was only biased on the actual purpose. What I don?t understand is the pressure these stars face that cause them to turn to drugs, is it fame-anxiety, were they already addicts to begin with, or do they really have insensible issues to deal with? Many people in the real world face bigger problems then these celebrities do & don?t resort or even look to an immoral asceticism.

One thing we must remember, Mind, no matter how famous and rich one becomes, they still put one leg in at a time while putting on their pants.

I believe Kurt Cobain was seriously depressed, something that one can't escape from. He, like Elvis, didn't have the support they needed because, IMO, they were viewed larger than life, or, were assumed to be happy because of their wealth.

Some things never change, no matter how much material gain is obtained. It's hard sometimes to imagine someone like Kurt Cobain or Elvis Presley being grossly depressed but they were.

My thought is that would be the most depressing realization ever; to have everything and realize that you're still unhappy.

What would be left to do?

Oh, I believe the only thing that happened to, who I hold as one of the main influences responsible for Elvis' death, his doctor, lost his right to prescribe pharmaceutical drugs.

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Yes, it's a shame that no matter how bright your life & influence may be, melon-choly will still live on. I couldn?t see myself as depressed if I were a star, let alone one who enhances an entire genre & has thousands of seeking enthusiasts, even though the fan base and immortality really started to build up after the death occurred.

There's also Michael Hutchence of INXS...

After hearing "Elegantly Wasted" I'd say he died after his time, they proved what they needed to in the late 80's, but went downhill since. I preferred their work in the early 90's though, like Original Sin & Suicide Blond.

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The album X was the first album I owned by them even though I was aware of their music. "Suicide Blonde" and "The Stairs" have been staple favourites for me for a long time.

See? I thought I had the topic all mixed up =:P So, it is about artists who could have made it big, but they died early on in their career before being discovered, which means Kurt Cobain, Jerry Garcia, et al. made a huge impact and were able to see the results before they died. Kurt died before nature took its course, but his time with us was spent amazing us with his music :guitar:

Depression is one weird decease or chemical imbalance, whatever you wanna call it. If I had the predisposition for such mood problems, I'd probably be the same even if I was a mega rock star with all the talent and money and adoration.

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Oh, and I think Keith Richards is mummified at this point. If, heaven forbid, there were a nuclear holocaust the only living beings left on earth would be him and the cockroaches!

Have you heard any of their material from the last 10 years?, he's probably still the best guitarist of this decade with the all the lackluster competition out there. :guitar:

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he's probably still the best guitarist of this decade with the all the lackluster competition out there. :guitar:

No arguments here - I love the Stones. He's just not the prettiest thing to look at. He never was, I guess, but it doesn't help that he's pickled himself with booze and drugs. It's like he's preternaturally preserved himself, but bypassed all the plastic surgery to do it!

keith_richards.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

The two biggest loses, in my opinion, are John Lennon and Layne Staley. John Lennon was the voice of all mankind, his loss made the 80's even more meaningless. His loss is still hard to take even after 24 years. God...I miss him.

Layne Staly was also hard to take, because he was such a beautiful singer. His voice was to good to be true. Herion is the devils drug and it kills the best people. Layne was so depressed it used to make me depressed. Everyone thinks Kurt Cobain was a depressed genius, but no one had it harder than Layne. I pick Layne Staley as the most underrated death of all time.

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He's just not the prettiest thing to look at. He never was, I guess,

Oh, he was, when he was young... I always found Keith so sexy... I was born on December the 19th, and changed my birth day on my papers to be like him, from the 18th... Then one day I found out Edith Piaf was from the 19th and I changed again!!! Stupid story, isn´it?

Jim Croce died very young. Tim Bucley too, and his son. And Duanne Allman. Maybe those are not phenoms but who knows what would they be doing now...

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Everyone dies before their time =:P

I'll add Stiv Bators of The Dead Boys and later of The Lords Of The New Church. There's also Michael Hutchence of INXS...

Hi, XXX! Stiv Batots didn´t die from an OD, he was killed by a car... I know that because I worked with the Lords in a couple of concerts... Billy Murcia, drummer of the New York Dolls, did OD... just as Johnny Thunders. It´s always a pleasure to talk with you, you know a lot!!! :coolio:

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yes tim buckley did die from a drug overdose but jeff's death was a tragic drowning accident. both father and son were beautiful talented musicians. jeff's death occurred as he was working on his follow-up to debut album 'grace'. although the tapes have been released posthumously, it is fairly certain that the finished product would have sounded nothing like them. 'grace' is such a beautiful gorgeous album, i really would have loved to have seen how his career would have progressed. i don't know if it's really possible to miss someone you've never met but i feel that i do.

in relation to what mindcrime says, i do find it interesting that so many artists meet their demise through indulgence in excess. i think that alot of creative people are more prone to depression anyway (even those who don't become famous rockstars) perhaps because they're often very sensitive to the world and people around them. in the case of rockstars, they become exposed to a world of drugs and debauchery and most often the temptation can be too much. then, because they are chemically imbalanced, they quickly become addicted and this leads to all sorts of complication. i agree with musiktyme tho, the root of most of these problems is undiagnosed and un/mistreated depression.

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