I knew a lot of currently dead rock stars.
This year marks the 41st anniversay of my becoming the first full-time rock journalist of The New York Times and, as such, the first full-time rock journalist of any major American newspaper or other form of major media. It was a dirty job — forget Mike Rowe’s sewers, septic tanks and oil spills — but someone had to do it. Why was it dirty and depressing? Because I’ve known, abused substances or otherwise rubbed shouders with a lot of rock stars who have become deceased, rung down the curtain, ceased to be, kicked the bucket, croaked, shuffled off this mortal coil, or in one way or another joined the choir eternal. The number stands at 27.
It’s tempting to think that drugs were behind most of these abrupt departures. However, in many cases death came via largely unrelated medical problems — heart attacks or cancer, mainly. A number DID die of overdoses of either drugs or alcohol, sometimes both. Others succumbed to crashes by planes, cars, and skiing into trees. There also were murders and one suicide, possibly to avoid death by any of the aforementioned.
If you are adding up and tracking deaths per band, that would be three-fifths of Canned Heat, half of the Who, two-fifths of MC5, one-third of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Peter, Paul & Mary, and a quarter each of the Beatles and Doors.
Here’s the list.
SPIRITS OF ROCK STARS PASSED sic
Sonny Bono — January 5, 1998, of skiing into a tree.
Harry Chapin — died July 16, 1981, in a car accident.
Jim Croce — died in a plane crash September 20, 1973.
John Denver — died in a plane crash October 12, 1997.
John Entwistle — bassist for the Who, died June 28, 2002 of a heart attack also involving cocaine and a prostitute. In Vegas, naturally.
Rory Gallagher — Irish blues rocker, died June 1995, of complications of a liver transplant.
Jerry Garcia — died August 9, 1995 of a heroin-related heart attack doubtlessly aggravated by his lifelong taste for junk food.
Jimi Hendrix — died September 18, 1970, of a drug overdose. He would be humiliated by his surviving family’s messy fight over his estate.
Bob Hite: six-foot, 300-pound singer for Canned Heat, died of a heart attack April 5, 1981.
Janis Joplin — died of a heroin overdose October 4, 1970.
Ronnie Lane — of the Faces and Rod Stewart and Faces; died June 5, 1997, of multiple sclerosis.
John Lennon — murdered on December 8, 1980, outside his apartment building, New York’s 19th century landmark the Dakota, which also was the setting for “Rosemary’s Baby.” He would have enjoyed the subsequent deification.
Linda McCartney — one-time photographer and part-time, sort-of backup singer; died April 17, 1998, of breast cancer.
Keith Moon — the Who’s wild man drummer; drowned in his own vomit following a drug overdose on September 7, 1978, surprising no one.
Jim Morrison – died July 3, 1971, by one account of a heroin overdose and choking on sweet and sour pork, surprising even fewer than were surprised by Keith Moon. He would have enjoyed the postmortem idolatry.
Felix Pappalardi, of Mountain, April 17, 1983, murdered in the building where my dentist worked.
Elvis Presley, August 16, 1977, drug overdose aggravated by too many fried banana and peanut butter sandwiches. He would have been embarassed by the deification.
Billy Preston – R&B keyboardman who became famous for his work with the Beatles, died June 5, 2006, of kidney failure.
Fred “Sonic” Smith — of MC5, later husband of Patti Smith (no blood relation). died November 5, 1994, of heart disease.
John Stewart, of the Kingston Trio and a long solo career that included writing “Daydream Believer” for the Monkees, January 19, 2008, of a stroke.
Mary Travers of Peter, Paul & Mary, September 16, 2009 of cancer. The only folkie to come out of the 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene who actually was native to Greenwich Village.
Rob Tyner — singer for MC5, died September 17, 1991 of heart failure while driving home from the grocery store.
Dave Van Ronk – “the Mayor of Macdougal Street” and early nurturer of many folksingers; died February 10, 2002, of colon cancer.
Henry Vestine — guitarist with Canned Heat; died October 20, 1997, of a heart attack.
Alan Wilson — guitarist with Canned Heat. He killed himself in Bob Hite’s backyard September 3, 1970.
Frank Zappa — rock’s cranky innovator and first-amendment advocate who clashed famously with anti-rock activist Tipper Gore over censorship of rock lyrics; died of prostate cancer on December 4, 1993.
Taken from this post:
Halloween Special: My Dead Rock Stars
