Tuesday Top Ten: Dead Rock Stars, Part 1

Today is the 50th anniversary of "The Day the Music Died" -- when a plane carrying rock and rollers Buddy Holly, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, and Ritchie Valens crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa, killing all three.

Given this unfortunate anniversary, it is finally appropriate for me to respond to an email I got a couple months ago from Greg Weeser*. The email, in its entirety, is as follows (with typos corrected):

"In 'honor' of the release of "Chinese Democracy", I think it's interesting to make two lists....
-Which singers do you most wish hadn't offed themselves (either intentionally or thru OD) the most/least
-Which singers SHOULD have offed themselves to create a bigger legend for themselves.

It's interesting if you give it some thought, and keep history in mind.

For instance, post Cobain's buckshot-mouthwash, nothing much came from grunge. One might argue this was in fact brought on by this suicide, but the era was bound to die anyway. However, his contemporaries Vedder and Cornell soon began a slow ride into irrelevance and commercial malaise. Whereas the one lasting success from that era is 'Phoenix' Nirvana ....the Foo Fighters. They've had huge commercial success over a lasting period of years (and are well respected by fans and critics too) - but it's the kind of music that Cobain never would have been a part of. So as harsh as it seems, the world of music is in fact *better off* with Kurt taking a dirt nap. We're minus one extra failed grunge act, and plus one giant rock act.

On the other and, young Bill Bailey from Indiana should have CERTAINLY offed himself in the early 90s....preferably before recording The Spaghetti Incident. Can you imagine the legendary status that GnR would have achieved if that happened? They'd make the Doors, Nirvana and Buddy Holly look like the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place finishers at the LT Corral's Battle of the Bands. PLUS, Slash & Matt could have got around to starting Velvet Revolver a lot earlier, and maybe we wouldn't have to suffer through Steven Adler's drooling corpse on Celebrity Rehab 2.

It's interesting to think about....Shannon Hoon? Good Riddance. George Michaels? Shoulda been him instead of Freddie.

We might even make the argument that had Steven Clark lived, Def Lep may have retained their credibility and hard edge, and managed to stay respectable in the 90s and 00s like Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and Metallica managed to. Instead, they've been reduced to touring with Journey and Styx.....

Your thoughts, Prof Rock?

G"

I've thought about this for a while now (obviously almost three months), and he asks some pretty legitimate questions -- questions that must be analyzed comprehensively.

I have expanded his original question to include more than just ODs and suicides. My list will include those who died in any manner, drug-related, self-induced, or otherwise. In addition, I include all musicians, rather than just signers. Also, only those musicians who were under 40 when they died are included (this excludes the likes of John Denver, Jerry Garcia, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, Elvis Presley, Frank Zappa, Joe Strummer, and pretty much all of the Ramones). Finally, I excluded anyone who died in the last four years because it's too early to tell.

Turning this into Tuesday Top Tens, I will have three Top Ten lists over the next three Tuesdays:
1. Dead rock stars whose death most helped their legacy and/or rock and roll in general.
2. Dead rock stars whose death most hurt their potential legacy and/or rock and roll in general.
3. Living rock stars whose legacy and/or rock and roll in general could have benefitted greatly if they had died early.

But before we get into the Top Ten lists, it is important to list the dead musicians I considered in this trifling exercise. Here they are, listed in chronological order by death, with the date of death, cause of death, and age of death in parentheses after, followed by a short description, in case you don't know who these people are:
-Robert Johnson (Aug. 16, 1938, poisoned whiskey, 27). Delta blues legend, known as "The Grandfather of Rock and Roll."
-Buddy Holly (Feb. 3, 1959, plane crash, 22). Leader of Buddy Holly & The Crickets; early rock legend.
-J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson (Feb. 3, 1959, plane crash, 28). Early rock star ("Chantilly Lace").
-Ritchie Valens (Feb. 3, 1959, plane crash, 17). Early rock star ("La Bamba," "Donna").
-Eddie Cochran (Apr. 17, 1960, car crash, 21). The inventor of the power chord ("Summertime Blues").
-Patsy Cline (Mar. 5, 1963, plane crash, 30). Early country crossover star ("Crazy," "Walkin' After Midnight")
-Sam Cooke (Dec. 11, 1964, murder, 33). Soul and R&B legend.
-Otis Redding (Dec. 10, 1967, plane crash, 26). Soul and R&B legend.
-Frankie Lymon (Feb. 27, 1968, heroin overdose, 25). Leader of '50s doo-wop group Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers ("Why Do Fools Fall in Love?").
-Brian Jones (July 3, 1969, drowning, 27). Guitarist for the Rolling Stones.
-Jimi Hendrix (Sept. 18, 1970, asphyxiation related to inhalation of barbiturates, 27). The greatest guitarist of all-time.
-Janis Joplin (Oct. 4, 1970, heroin overdose, 27). Late '60s rock singer and Southern Comfort drinker.
-Jim Morrison (July 3, 1971, heroin overdose, 27). Lead singer of The Doors.
-Gene Vincent (Oct. 12, 1971, ruptured stomach ulcer, 36). Rock pioneer ("Be Bop a Lula").
-Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (Mar. 8, 1973, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, 27). Founding member of the Grateful Dead.
-Bobby Darin (Dec. 20, 1973, heart problems, 37). '50s and '60s crooner ("Mack the Knife," "Beyond the Sea")
-Mama Cass Elliot (July 29, 1974, heart attack, 32). Member of The Mamas & The Papas.
-Peter Ham (Aug. 24, 1975, suicide, 27). Guitarist and singer for Badfinger ("No Matter What," "Day After Day"). Ironically, his co-written ballad, "Without You" (as covered by Harry Nilsson), was featured during a suicide scene in the film version of Bret Easton Ellis's Rules of Attraction.
-Duane Allman (Oct. 29, 1971, motorcycle crash, 24). Guitarist for The Allman Brothers Band and Derek & The Dominos.
-Berry Oakley (Nov. 11, 1972, motorcycle crash, 24). Bassist for The Allman Brothers Band (died in motorcycle accident three blocks from where Duane Allman died almost exactly one year before)
-Jim Croce (Sept. 20, 1973, plane crash, 30). Singer-songwriter ("Bad Bad Leroy Brown," "Time in a Bottle")
-Marc Bolan (Sept. 16, 1977, car crash, 29). Lead singer of '70s glam rockers T-Rex ("Bang a Gong")
-Ronnie Van Zant (Oct. 20, 1977, plane crash, 29). Lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
-Steve Gaines (Oct. 20, 1977, plane crash, 28). Guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd.
-Cassie Gaines (Oct. 20, 1977, plane crash, 29). Back-up singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd.
-Keith Moon (Sept. 7, 1978, sedative overdose, 32). Drummer for The Who.
-Sid Vicious (Feb. 2, 1979, heroin overdose, 21). Bassist for The Sex Pistols.
-Minnie Ripperton (July 12, 1979, breast cancer, 31). Soul singer with five-and-a-half octave vocal range ("Loving' You").
-Bon Scott (Feb. 19, 1980, alcohol poisoning, 33). Lead singer of AC/DC.
-John Bonham (Sept. 25, 1980, 40 shots of vodka, 32). Drummer of Led Zeppelin.
-Bob Marley (May 11, 1981, cancer, 36). Reggae god.
-Harry Chapin (July 16, 1981, car crash, 39). Singer-songwriter ("Cat's in the Cradle").
-Randy Rhoads (Mar. 19, 1982, plane crash, 25). Guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne ("Crazy Train").
-Karen Carpenter (Feb. 4, 1983, cardiac arrest from anorexia nervosa, 32). One half (or really, much less than one half) of The Carpenters ("Superstar," "We've Only Just Begun")
-Tom Evans (Nov. 19, 1983, suicide, 36). Guitarist and singer for Badfinger ("No Matter What," "Day After Day"). The other half of the tragic Badfinger suicide duo.
-Dennis Wilson (Dec. 28, 1983, drowning, 39). Drummer for The Beach Boys.
-Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley (Dec. 9, 1984, car crash, 24). Drummer for Hanoi Rocks.
-Phil Lynott (Jan. 4, 1986, heart failure/pneumonia, 36). Lead singer and bassist for Thin Lizzy ("The Boys Are Back in Town," "Jailbreak").
-Cliff Burton (Sept. 27, 1986, bus crash, 24). Bassist for Metallica.
-Andy Gibb (Mar. 10, 1988, heart complications, 30). '70s teen idol ("I Just Want to Be Your Everything"), brother of the Bee Gees.
-Hillel Slovak (June 25, 1988, speedball overdose, 26). Guitarist for Red Hot Chili Peppers.
-Andrew Wood (Mar. 19, 1990, heroin overdose, 24). Lead singer for Seattle grunge rockers Mother Love Bone.
-Stevie Ray Vaughan (Aug. 27, 1990, plane crash, 35). Blues/rock guitarist ("Pride and Joy," "Cold Shot").
-Steve Clark (Jan. 8, 1991, antidepressant, painkiller, and alcohol overdose, 30). Guitarist for Def Leppard.
-Kurt Cobain (Apr. 5, 1994, suicide, 27). Lead singer and guitarist for Nirvana.
-Eric "Eazy-E" Wright (Mar. 26, 1995, complications related to AIDS, 31). Founding member of N.W.A. and solo rapper ("Gimme That Nut").
-Selena (Mar. 31, 1995, murder, 23). Tejana star.
-Shannon Hoon (Oct. 21, 1995, cocaine overdose, 28). Lead singer of Blind Melon ("No Rain").
-Brad Nowell (May 25, 1996, heroin overdose, 28). Lead singer of Sublime.
-Tupac Shakur (Sept. 13, 1996, murder, 25). World-famous rapper.
-Chris "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace (Mar. 9, 1997, murder, 24). World-famous rapper.
-Jeff Buckley (May 29, 1997, drowning, 30). Singer-songwriter ("Hallelujah").
-Michael Hutchence (Nov. 22, 1997, suicide, 37). Lead singer of INXS.
-Christopher "Big Punisher" Rios (Feb. 7, 2000, heart attack, 28). Fat rapper ("Still Not a Player")
-Aaliyah (Aug. 25, 2001, plane crash, 22). Hip hop singer ("If Your Girl Only Knew," "Try Again")
-Layne Staley (Apr. 5, 2002, speedball overdose, 34). Singer for Alice in Chains.
-Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes (Apr. 25, 2002, car crash, 30). One third of female hip hop group TLC.
-Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell (Oct. 30, 2002, murder, 37). One third of rap legends Run DMC.
-Elliott Smith (Oct. 21, 2003, suicide, 34). Singer-songwriter ("Miss Misery" and several others on the Good Will Hunting soundtrack)
-Russell "Ol' Dirty Bastard" Jones (Nov. 13, 2004, painkiller and cocaine overdose, 35). Founding member of rap supergroup Wu Tang Clan; also successful solo rapper ("Got Your Money"); probably the most nicknames of all-time, the best of which, in my mind, are Dirt McGirt and Peanut the Kidnapper.

So, the lesson appears to be, if you are thinking about becoming addicted to heroin or riding in a car or plane, you may want to seek a second opinion.

And with that, I give you the Top Ten Dead Musicians Whose Death Most Helped Their Legacy and/or Rock and Roll (in chronological order):
10. Robert Johnson (Aug. 16, 1938, poisoned whiskey, 27). The founding member of the infamous 27 Club, Robert Johnson's death is as shrouded in mystery as his alleged deal with the devil at the crossroads. His death created the pattern for the mystical and tragic rock star deaths that would follow.
9. J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson (Feb. 3, 1959, plane crash, 28). He was a one-hit wonder, who happened to die in the most famous plane crash in rock and roll history. Legacy helped.
8. Sid Vicious (Feb. 2, 1979, heroin overdose, 21). A heroin-addicted bass player who OD'd while awaiting trial for the murder of his girlfriend. Does it get more punk than that?
7. Minnie Ripperton (July 12, 1979, breast cancer, 31). Nevermind her five-and-a-half octave vocal range (as exemplified on her ear-piercing 1975 hit, "Loving' You"), Ripperton has left behind a legacy as a breast cancer crusader, which, of course, is an unfortunate side effect of having (and dying from) breast cancer.
6. Bob Marley (May 11, 1981, cancer, 36). As it is, Bob Marley is up there with Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and Elvis as the most recognizable and influential musicians on the planet (or in the afterlife). He brought reggae to the rest of the world and wrote and performed inspired music that is universally loved. However, his was also (obviously) a big pot head, as well as a philanderer. Who knows what would have caught up with him? Regardless, his legend is cemented.
5. Dennis Wilson (Dec. 28, 1983, drowning, 39). As sad as it is to say about one of the Beach Boys, he is probably better remembered dead than alive, since he is "the Beach Boy who drowned."
4. Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley (Dec. 9, 1984, car crash, 24). If he hadn't been tragically killed as a result of Vince Neil's drunken driving, unfortunately I don't think many people who know that the drummer of Hanoi Rocks was named Razzle. Better yet, Razzle's death and Neil's resulting jail time were two of the events that helped lead to a period of sobriety for Motley Crue, which culminated with arguably their best album, 1989's Dr. Feelgood.
3. Andrew Wood (Mar. 19, 1990, heroin overdose, 24). Because of his death, Soundgarden front man (and former Wood roommate) Chris Cornell founded the grunge combo group Temple of the Dog with members of Soundgarden and members of Wood's former group, Mother Love Bone. They recorded one album as a tribute to Wood, and then they went their separate ways. Cornell and Matt Cameron went back to Soundgarden, and the former Mother Love Bone members decided to start calling themselves Pearl Jam. Enough said.
2. Kurt Cobain (Apr. 5, 1994, suicide, 27). The most recent (and hopefully final) member of the 27 Club, sad as it is to say, helped his legacy immeasurably by sticking a shotgun in his mouth. He is now remembered as a voice of Gen X. As Greg pointed out, his death signaled the end of grunge, with Pearl Jam moving onto more mainstream rock and roll, Soundgarden going by the wayside, and, out of the ashes, the creation of Foo Fighters, which is arguably the best and most consistent hard rock band of the past 10-15 years. Meanwhile, Cobain is hailed as a rock deity.
1. Jeff Buckley (May 29, 1997, drowning, 30). Jeff Buckley's sole studio album, 1994's Grace, is generally considered a masterpiece by critics and musicians. Grace was ranked #303 of the 500 Greatest Albums by Rolling Stone, his cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" was ranked #259 of the 500 Greatest Songs by Rolling Stone magazine in 2004, and he was ranked #39 in Rolling Stone's list of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Frankly, I'm not sure he could have made his legacy any better.