Best tragically dead rock star to die in their prime.

[a_random_joel]

I know some will say Lennon, who I absolutely revere, but I must admit I think he was past his prime. I guess we'll never know...

I'm sure I missed some, but these are the biggest I could come up with off the top of my head.

[commander bunnypants]

1. The MOON

DDQM

[Kolesar]

17. The Who?

[Fenris]

29. To be fair (as a massive Who fan)

I'd have to argue that at the time of his death, Moon was past his prime, and that wasn't entirely his fault. By Who Are You?, he was really overweight and was trying to overcome his alcoholism. But at the same time, Townshend seems to have been on a creative decline, as evidenced by the way he really was beating the synthesizer horse to a fucking bloody pulp. There are good songs on that record, but some of them are, well, not so good.

Oddly enough, Moon could not keep the simplest beat on "The Music Must Change." Townshend accomplished this by rolling a milk bottle on the ground. Weird.

Still, Moon was a great drummer, even if he did peter out at the end, though that's hardly all his fault.

[Kolesar]

50. really? How much do you weigh?

Ha ha, Friday afternoon wisecracks

[bowens43]

2. Morrison isn't dead

[a_random_joel]

LOL!

Is he partying with Elvis and Bruce Lee?

[IconoclastIlene]

4. Not dead in spirit but dead otherwise, Jimbo is.

[earthsea wizard]

76. He isn't (wasn't) in his prime, either

Jimbo left us as a bloated incoherent adonis-wannabe.

Too bad, because Morrison could have offered so much more than his time with The Doors.

[IconoclastIlene]

78. He was 27 years old; that is prime time even if he blew it!!! RIP

27 is quite young for any man or woman to die.....have some self control.

[Fenris]

3. Sid Vicious was not a musician

And he was not in his prime.:)

[a_random_joel]

6. Well I needed someone to round out the list...

:shrug:

[Fenris]

19. Yeah. I never got the Sid worship

First of all, he could not play bass for shit, let alone sing ("My Way" is fucking proof of that). He "learned," as it was, by listening to Ramones records and playing along with them, and he probably could have improved with practice, but heroin fucked him up (as did Nancy Spungen, the Courtney Love of her day). Glen came back when Never Mind the Bullocks was made and recorded all the bass parts, and this was AFTER he was fired from the band for being Glen Matlock and (surprise) not getting along with Rotten.

Vicious was a hack. Punk, but a hack.:)

:hi:I like the rest of the list though. My vote went to Cobain.

[Whitacre D_WI]

27. Sid's "My Way" was leagues beyond anything the Pistols ever did.

Sheer brilliance. No he could not play bass; and yes, the Pistols were a quite musically proficient band before Vicious.

Nonetheless, "My Way" = gold.

[tigereye]

35. that's funny because SId singing My Way changed my life

my best friend and I were listening to alternative radio and we started yelling and jumping up and down when we heard it, saying "Oh my God what is this." After that it was all punk, all the time for us, following punk bands and then playing in them. Oops, I always thought it was the entire band that did that...

ps did you ever get any pie?

[Whitacre D_WI]

43. No.

:cry:

[tigereye]

72. Whitaker

go out and find someone to make you some pie. Mebbe you need a pie recipe. Or is pie an existential metaphor for something else? BTW Kierkegaard sucks...he he he.

[Dedalus]

18. Your list is incomplete

I agree that Lennon, though he is unquestionably the most important individual ever to be involved with Rock, had already said most of what he was going to say. Cobain had a lot more left to do (timewise, his death was equivalent to the Beatles not even making it to Sgt. Pepper). I also feel that we pretty much got the point with Hendrix & Morrison as well in the time they were around. In my eyes, the answer is a tie between Cobain and Buddy Holly, who you've cruelly omitted: Rock's first brilliant songwriter; major influence on the Beatles; dead at twenty-TWO instead of 27? People who don't vote Buddy in this need more rock-u-cation.

[a_random_joel]

32. See Post #7

Cruel, perhaps, but not intentional.

[NightTrain]

5. Other(s): Buddy Holly, Otis Redding

n/t

[a_random_joel]

7. I am an idiot! Buddy Holly

Of course.

It's not like a song was written about it or anything...

[geniph]

83. Without question, Buddy Holly

as influential as his abbreviated body of work has been over the years, who can even begin to imagine what he'd have produced if he'd had more than a couple of years to do it?

Honorable mention to Stevie Ray Vaughan, too, who had kicked his many addictions and was producing BY FAR the best music of his life when he was taken from us.

[IconoclastIlene]

9. Croce, Zappa, Brian Jones

[Hand]

42. You dare....

Mention (puke) Croce and Zappa in the same subject line? I have had men shot for less!

[IconoclastIlene]

71. That's Right.....I dare....

and I'll do it again.

Croce, Zappa, Brian Jones.

heheehehhe

[Whitacre D_WI]

15. Don't forget Sam Cooke. n/t

[GumboYaYa]

21. Otis Redding, no doubt.

I would have loved to see him live. The live recordings I have of him are unfriggenbelievable.

[catzies]

8. JOHN LENNON

duh.

[a_random_joel]

12. Did you read my opening remarks?

There is an explanation.

[elperromagico]

87. The argument could be made that several people on your list

died when they were "past their prime." That's a rather subjective measure.

In terms of artistry, certainly Lennon was past his prime. But in terms of record sales (Money: The Only Thing That Matters), the first single from Double Fantasy was rapidly approaching #1 when Lennon was shot.

And... hmm... what was I talking about?

[Westegg]

10. Hendrix, no doubt. Buddy Holly comes in 2nd (lucky him)

[ohiosmith]

11. Buddy Holly

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

13. What about Stevie Ray???!!

[pintobean]

55. He's mine too

[Superfly]

14. Shannon Hoon (Blind Melon)

[Superfly]

22. Very prophetic song for him, too....

2 x 4
-------

I'm talkin'
I'm talkin'
I'm talkin' to myself more

Needle, fatal
Someone's pouring warm gravy all over me
And you see that synthetic therapy
Don't you know it seems to be so unappealing
But oh what a feeling
I wish that you would stop spitting when you're talking to me

And inside, air dry
I might want to go another way
But you see now I'm too pale to get out
Into the lovely light of day
Oh, I'll do anything that you say
Oh, I'l do anything that you say
But I wush that you would stop spitting when you're talking to me

I'm talking to myself

1X1
Man to man
Stand to stand
2X4
Talkin' to myself

[Screaming Lord Byron]

16. I don't miss any of them. Bunch of talentless hacks, particularly Lennon.

OK. Now I'm being deliberately obnoxious. :D

[Dedalus]

24. Well...

Well, I also am an idiot for forgetting Otis Redding. Mama Cass Elliot deserves a spot on the list as well. And the guy calling Lennon a hack has a Ted Hughes quote at the bottom of his posts, eh? Didn't Ted make some crack about the Beatles not being able to speak properly back in '64? Just playing with you, don't get me booted! And re Brian Jones: Shame about him, but the Stones only got better afterward (for about ten minutes while they had Mick Taylor).

[Hand]

45. Ted Hughes????...

Pfui. Talk about talentless hacks. Bleeaugh... unreadable. A waste of ink.

:puke:

[a_random_joel]

34. You again!

Ohhhh, payback's gonna be a real bitch, my friend!

:hi:

[afraid_of_the_dark]

20. Easily Jimi Hendrix.

Even though I loved the grunge rock era, I hardly think that Nirvana was the end-all of bands. And I certainly don't think that Kurt's untimely death was the most tragic. Jimi's on an ENTIRELY different plane of existence...

[On the Road]

23. I Was Tempted to Vote Janis Joplin

Maybe the most devastating blues singer of all time. I have never heard any singer pour as much pain and soul into a performance.

Having said that, I had to vote for Jimi Hendrix. His guitar style was not only a quantum leap, it changed the way people played and listened to music.

[Dedalus]

31. Hendrix...

Point taken about Hendrix' genius and influence, but what else do you think he was going to do that he hadn't done yet? I mean, for future generations to say "Ok, let's play the guitar like this from now on," you only need to make that point once, whereas Cobain was a songwriter and poet on par with a Dylan, a Cohen, a Simon--that never gets old or goes away: just look at how long those guys have kept it up and kept it good.

[GreenPartyVoter]

25. Hendrix, Morrison, Joplin, Mama Cass, 1/2 of Lynrd Skynrd

[Melsky]

26. D Boon

of the Minutemen

[Whitacre D_WI]

30. But the Minutemen's last album was crap.

Hence, D. Boon = not at his prime :P

[XNASA]

28. I had tickets to see Joy Division's first American Tour.

Needless to say, the show was cancelled.

I voted for Ian Curtis.

[Mountainman]

33. That poor girl, tossed by the tides of misfortune, barely here to tell her

tale, rode in on a sea of disaster, rode out on a mainline rail.

Jania Joplin. Her life was a lot like many of ours. Not popular in school. Hard family life.

[tigereye]

36. I know they were past their "prime"

but the deaths of Joey Ramone and Joe Strummer were really hard to take. They both still had a lot to say as elder statesmen of the punk scene. ( that sounds weird, doesn't it, elder punk statesmen). It is still very sad to think that they are gone.

[Search Party]

37. Elliott Smith

[Kolesar]

38. He Exploded!

Right there on stage! Behind the drummer kit!

[Beaker]

39. Tommy Bolin.

He would have been one of the greats. (well...he was, just not for as long as he coulda, woulda, shoulda been...)



if you don't have these two pieces of vinyl, you'll never know what you're missing.

[beachbum]

40. Hendrix!

But I struggled between him, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain. I am still in awe of Hendrix music. Has anyone been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland? They had a small theater type setting where you could watch one of his concerts on big screen. I had a hard time tearing myself away from that! I just about felt like I was 'there'.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

41. Stevie Ray Vaughan...

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

47. Stevie Was Great But Hendrix Was His God

Hendrix changed music forever. Listen to the way guitar players played the instrument before him, and the way they played after him. Listen to "May This Be Love" on his first album. His guitar sounds like falling water droplets. Incredible.

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

48. But Hendrix

killed himself (albiet accidently) while Vaughn was killed after finally getting his life straightened out - to me that's the tragedy

[GoddessOfGuinness]

59. Hendrix was Stevie's God...

I just think Stevie was right on track to go even further than Hendrix.

I'd have liked to hear them jam together.
Maybe if there's a heaven... O8)

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

49. Right on sistah!

[GreenPartyVoter]

52. Oh yeah, ought to have had SRV in my list

[Whitacre D_WI]

44. Marc Bolan n/t

[mvd]

46. Janis

Wow, she was just getting started. If we expanded the style, Patsy Cline would be #1.

[sendero]

51. I almost answered Hendrix...

... but I'm not so sure his best work wasn't behind him.

My vote goes to Bradley Nowell of Sublime. He never got to see the success (much deserved) of his incredible recording "Sublime".

[shanti]

53. bob marley

RIP

[a_random_joel]

57. I second that!

Although I did specify rock stars. But Bob deserves the recognition.

[LiviaOlivia]

54. Jeff Buckley

R.I.P. 1997

[youngred]

69. second that

:-(

[bhunt70]

56. Hendrix, but Ian Curtis is second.

[anti-NAFTA]

58. LAYNE STALEY

I miss Alice in Chains...rock sucks now.

[Kenneth ken]

60. your list pretty well sucks

"tragically dead" most of the people on your list died, essentially by their own hand.

Hendrix - overdose
Morrison - alcohol/drugs overdose
Joplin - overdose
Curtis - suicide
Cobain - suicide.
etc. ( I don't know causes for some of the rest)

That's not tragic; that's stupid.
add Tommy Bolin to that list.

Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, Stevie Ray Vaughn, various Lynyrd Skynyrd members died in accidents; that is tragic.

I don't have a vote, just comments

[Westegg]

61. I kinda get your point...

Yes, they killed themselves (add Bonham to your list). But tragedy is in the eye of the beholder---and these deaths WERE a tragedy for fans of great music.

[a_random_joel]

67. Wrong thread. Try being original.

Go here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x817672

To see what I am talking about.

And I couldn't disagree with you more. Death by one's own hand is tragically tragic.

Your comments suck.

[beachbum]

68. It is...

a tragedy to me that Anyone had to die as a result of a serious drug addiction or because of mental health issues. Sad and tragic to me.

[tigereye]

73. agree with you

many creative people including musicians seem to have difficulties with their muses, so to speak, and it is very sad when they succumb to whatever "demons" were plaguing them.

Welcome to the lounge where silliness reaches new heights and there are great and silly rock and roll discussions... IMHO

[Kenneth ken]

62. Duane Allman - n/t

[corporatewhore]

63. hendrix and SRV

[mac56]

64. Jim Croce.

Warren Zevon

[abrupt]

65. Jeff Buckley

very sad

[MrSlayer]

66. Randy Rhodes, a god cut down too early.

Would have been known as the greatest guitarist in history.

[jmowreader]

85. I second Randy!

People ignore Randy because he played with Ozzy Osbourne, but put on Crazy Train and tell me that's not some amazing shit.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

70. I voted Janis, but also: Nick Drake n/t

[Screaming Lord Byron]

74. Damn right, Nick Drake.

[aquaman]

79. Nick Drake was amazingly talented.....

Let us not forget him.

[bobthedrummer]

75. Jimi

lives on.

[Mick Knox]

77. No Buddy Holly? The outrage!

[carpetbagger]

80. What would Hendrix do with rap?

He laid down a number of tracks which demonstrate what he would have done with funk, but how about a rap-influenced Hendrix? "Castles Made of Sand" and "Astro Man" hint at it, but I think the guy could have blown the doors open, probably changing the face of 1980's rock.

Because you can't answer that question, Hendrix's death was the most tragic and premature.

[Monte Carlo]

81. No one's mentioned Bradley Nowell... !

Somebody must know what I'm talking about. He played with a passion that others couldn't match, and he was such a good composer, lyricist, and musician.

[masshole]

82. J O E S T R U M M E R

http://www.joestrummer.com/

[Kat45]

84. Hendrix and Jim Morrison, can't choose between them.

They were both young, at the top of their game, and who knows what they would have come out with if they had lived.

[DBoon]

86. Darby Crash

of the Germs!

[ChoralScholar]

88. Here's one that hasn't been mentioned

Freddy Mercury

Queen did some extremely innovative work in vocal harmony and using backmasking to create compound harmonies. They were also rebels in the integration of opera with rock. Freddy's death was very tragic.

[Gildor Inglorion]

89. I loved them all, but Jim Morrison

tore my heart out. On the other hand, I can't imagine him pushing 70...maybe it was just as well he checked out early.