Pop stars who died in the prime of their lives

[Mr. Ected]

I really miss Jim Croce. Died in an airplane crash on September 20, 1973.

[cwydro]

1. Janis!

Jimi, Morrison, Ricky Nelson, Buddy Holly...sheesh, there's a bunch

[Orrex]

2. George Burns

[BurtWorm]

10. That was a shock.

Still getting over it.

[bigwillq]

3. Not sure if many would consider these pop but...

Tupac, Aaliyah, Biggie, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes

[jobycom]

13. Yeah. Not pop in the style of music, but all were popular stars. Tupac is finally

starting to get the popular recognition he deserved. He was popular when he died, but he was still talked about as an average rap artist, and maybe by some as a budding actor. I always felt like he was underappreciated, maybe because rap was still looked down upon by most people over 25, and those were the people writing the stories. His death got a lot of coverage because of the spectacular nature, but his life didn't get much, except as an "morality" tale against his lifestyle. Now those fans are old enough to influence media coverage, and people are starting to talk about him the way as a great artist. To me, his death ranked up there with Holly, Hendrix, Joplin, and arguably Cobain, as great artists cut down before they had even peaked.

I didn't know Biggie much. Aaliyah and Lopes were major shocks to me. Neither of them has gotten the recognition they deserved, either. Aaliyah was almost a footnote in the way they covered her, and all they cared about from Lopes was all the drama around her love life. Even Biggie, most of what I heard was how he might have had Tupac killed. Their work was never appreciated. :(

Just rambling.

[bigwillq]

29. Good post.

Appreciate your thoughts on the subject. :hi:
I agree with a lot of what you said.

[snooper2]

26. that's sacrilegious to even put "pop" in the same phrase as Tupac

shame...

You shall repent by listening to one of Bizzy Bone's new songs

Click on link-
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrOuijaThug#p/u/3/ub7-79PhjbY

[av8rdave]

4. Jimi, Stevie Ray, Janis, Buddy...too many to list, unfortunately

[sarge43]

5. Mozart. n/t

[Swede]

6. Michael Steele of Type O Negative,Lane Staley of Alice in Chains

Kurt Cobain,Shannon Hoon, and on and on. Too many as a poster upthread mentions.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

7. John Lennon was barely 40. I'll call that "prime."

[Tikki]

8. From the late 70's Los Angeles scene..

Paula Pierce (Pandoras) died in 1991 at age 31 of an embolism.
Rik L Rik Richard Elerick (Rik L Rik) died in 2000 at age 40 of cancer.
Darby Crash Jan Paul Beahm (Germs) died at age 22 in 1980…drugs and all.
Tomata du Plenty David Harrigan (The Screamers)…died at 41 from cancer.
Jeffrey Lee Pierce (Gun Club) died at age 35 from complications of life.
D. Boon…Dennes Boon..(The Minutemen)…died at age 27 in an automobile accident.
Top Jimmy..James Koncek..(Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs)..died at age 45 from liver failure.
Chuck Wagon.. Bob Davis (Dickies) died in 1981; he was young.
Hillel Slovak (The Red Hot Chili Peppers) died at age 26..drugs and all.
Peter Ivers..(New Wave Theatre emcee) died at age 37..he was murdered!!!

there are others..too many others, I say..

Tikki

[MrScorpio]

15. Patty Donahue of The Waitresses

Died at 40 from lung cancer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UX2afsTqFI
The irony is that the first shot of this video is of her taking a puff from a cigarette.

[KamaAina]

9. Bob Marley, Peter Tosh

:cry:

Marley factoid: He lived for several years in and around Wilmington, Delaware. Suck it, tollbooth jokesters!

[Bennyboy]

11. PIGPEN! (Ron McKernan)

I wonder how the whole Grateful Dead thing would have turned out had Piggers lived. After all, it was HIS band back then.

[Bennyboy]

23. Happy Birthday Piggers!

Weird< I put on my Easy Wind shirt today and I don't usually wear it but today for some reason I put it on.

Laave It On!

[KamaAina]

33. AND Brent.

:(

[NoGOPZone]

12. Otis Redding nt

[jobycom]

14. Selena.

And stay out of south Texas, Howard Stern. We haven't forgotten.

[flvegan]

16. Bon Scott.

Not "pop" but popular.

[Dr. Strange]

17. CarrotTop

[edbermac]

18. Justin Bieber

:cry:

[TK421]

28. Someone should tell that kid Cousin It is trying to eat his head n/t

[ThomasQED]

19. James Honeyman Scott, Keith Moon

the Pretenders, the Who

[Bennyboy]

20. Marvin Gaye...

Incredible loss there.

[harmonblennerhasset]

21. Russ Colombo

Died in 1934 of an unlikely "accidental" gunshot to the head from a percussion cap dueling pistol. Russ at the time was contending with Bing Crosby for top vocalist. Colombo also wrote songs, "Prisoner of Love", "Too Beautiful for Words", and played the violin. He died age 26.

[Tikki]

22. Welcome to DU...

:hi:
..kinda reminds me of Johnny Ace who was 25 years old when he was playing around
with his constant companion, a loaded gun, and accidentally shot himself to death.

He had just been designated (1954) as the most programmed entertainer of that year...
He had a glorious voice. Super sad.


Tikki

[bigwillq]

30. Hello.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[Hayabusa]

24. That damned 27 Club...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27_club

[ThomasQED]

37. Tim Buckley

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

25. Harry Nilsson

Too much talent for one man to have.

[jobycom]

34. Totally serious, I didn't know he was dead.

He seems to have died while I was immersed in grad school, raising a toddler, and working two part time jobs, so I probably missed a lot of things during those years. Whenever I thought about him, I just figured he was retired somewhere.

[madinmaryland]

27. Abe Vigoda. He is in the prime of his life at 93!!

[Lindsey]

31. Too many to list but here are some off the top of my head...

John Lennon (it's hard to believe he was only 40-I bet there was a lot of music still in him), Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Buddy Holly (wow, I can't believe he was only 22 when he passed), Jeff Buckley, and I'm sure there are many more.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

32. Bill Chase (yet another plane crash. Pop stars must all be Democrats)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chase_%28album%29

[jobycom]

35. No, interestingly, pop stars die at alarming rates in plane crashes because they are on planes

so often. But when a politician, who is also frequently on a plane, dies in a plane crash, it is obviously an assassination. It's just one of those rules of nature or paranoia or something that you have to learn.

[Bennyboy]

36. Dimebag....Randy Rhoades, Elliot Smith, Shannon Hoon...

just horrible

[Skittles]

38. Jimmy McCulloch

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_McCulloch

[Amerigo Vespucci]

39. Steve Marriott was on the verge of a potential comeback...

...according to Wikipedia, he changed his mind after recording with Frampton in January 1991, and died in April 1991.

He doesn't fit the description of pop star (maybe in his Small Faces days), but...

By 1990 Marriott was playing an average 200 gigs a year, when Frampton flew into England and asked Marriott to reform Humble Pie to produce a one-off album and a reunion tour.<61> The payment would be enough to allow Marriott to take things easier. He agreed, and they flew out to Frampton's recording studio in Los Angeles on 27 January 1991.<74> They began writing songs, but the project was never completed, as Marriott had a change of heart and returned home. Two recorded songs from this final effort, "The Bigger They Come" and "I Won't Let You Down", with Marriott on vocals (and guitar), appeared on Frampton's album Shine On: A Collection. A third song, "Out of the Blue", featuring both Marriott and Frampton, was featured on the first solo recording Frampton made after Marriott's death. A fourth song, "An Itch You Can't Scratch", has been found on many illegal compilations and even on one of two "authorised" British releases. The recording date, and whether Frampton played on it, have never been verified.

***

On Friday 19 April 1991, Marriott and his wife Toni Poulton<75> were on a flight home from the USA, where he had been recording songs for a future album with Frampton. During the flight, according to his wife, Marriott was drinking heavily and was in a foul mood, and they constantly argued. On arrival in the UK they were met by a mutual friend and ate at one of Marriott's favourite restaurants, where he consumed more alcohol. They returned to their friend's house and decided to stay overnight, since it was now the early hours of the next morning, but upstairs in bed, Marriott and Poulton continued to argue. Poulton finally fell asleep and was unaware that Marriott had called a taxi and made his way home alone.

At approximately 6:30 am on 20 April, a passing motorist saw the roof of Marriott's cottage ablaze and called the fire brigade. It was reported that four fire engines were needed to put out the fire.

It is believed that the most likely cause of the fire was that soon after arriving home, jet-lagged and tired, in the early hours, Marriott had lit a cigarette whilst in bed and almost immediately fallen into a deep sleep. If he had been able to purchase his usual rolling tobacco earlier at the airport, the fire might not have happened: unlike conventional cigarettes, pouched tobacco contains no chemicals to keep it alight.

Since Marriott was found lying on the floor between the bed and wall, investigators concluded he may have tried unsuccessfully to escape after being awakened by the blaze. Disoriented and confused after inhaling large amounts of thick smoke, Marriott had turned left instead of right towards the bedroom door and safety. He had been unable to rectify his mistake before being overcome with smoke. At the inquest, a verdict of accidental death by smoke inhalation was recorded. Marriott's blood was also found to contain quantities of valium (taken earlier for flight nerves), alcohol and cocaine.<78>

[valerief]

40. Judy! Judy! Judy!

[KatyaR]

41. Bobby Darin...

I always thought he could have been his generation's Frank Sinatra--had the acting chops as well....

[tourivers83]

42. Day after day.

Pete Ham, of Badfinger.
:cry:

[Mr. Ected]

45. ...and don't forget Tom Evans

Indeed, Badfinger was "the classic rags-to-riches story with a tragic Shakespearean ending."

[Zorra]

43. Doug Hopkins (Gin Blossoms) and Andrew Wood (Mother Love Bone).

Sad stories of "should have been pop stars but drugs and/or alcohol killed them".

[Lindsey]

44. Wow. I didn't know Doug Hopkins of the Gin Blossoms even

died, much less committed suicide. One of my favorite songs is "Found Out About You." So sad....

[Mr. Ected]

46. I also miss Ben Orr of the Cars

He was so dang good.

[nuxvomica]

47. George Gershwin, 38

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL7mFJg6-S8

[xchrom]

48. phil lynott of thin lizzy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Lynott

[SoxFan]

49. Ian Curtis

15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980

[frogmarch]

50. James Dean and Sal Mineo

James Dean died in a car wreck. Sal Mineo was murdered.

Both stars were in Rebel without a Cause.

When James Dean died, my older sister, who was 17, I think, cried for days, and so did most of her girl pals.