The phrase "Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse" became reality for many rock stars. From overdoses to suicide to horrible accidents, the following rock stars died tragic deaths.
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00:00For some rock stars, live fast, die young, was more than just a saying.
00:05It was their reality.
00:06From overdoses to accidents, these musicians met tragic and untimely ends.
00:10In Once Were Brothers, Robbie Robertson and the band Taj Mahal commented on the band's
00:15influence and significance.
00:17If there were any American musicians that were comparable to what the Beatles were,
00:21it would have been them.
00:22The band, which included drummer Levon Helm, bassist Rick Danko, and Richard Manuel, who
00:28served as the lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, was known for its soulful sound and Manuel's
00:34powerful falsetto.
00:36Despite his remarkable talent, Manuel faced lifelong battles with alcohol and drug addiction.
00:41The band disbanded in 1977, but reunited six years later without guitarist and primary
00:47songwriter Robbie Robertson.
00:49Tragically, on March 4, 1986, Richard Manuel took his own life following a performance
00:54in Winter Park, Florida.
00:55He was 42 years old.
00:58They say the third time's the charm, and for the Allman Brothers band, that proved
01:02true.
01:03Their 1971 release at Fillmore East catapulted them to fame after their first two albums
01:09saw little success.
01:10This live album is now celebrated as a classic, earning the No. 49 spot on Rolling Stone's
01:15500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
01:18The band's driving force was guitarist Dwayne Allman, who had made a name for himself in
01:22the late 1960s as a sought-after session musician, collaborating with legends like Aretha Franklin
01:28Wilson Pickett and Eric Clapton.
01:30ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons praised Allman's guitar skills, telling Rolling Stone,
01:35"'Dwayne began doing things no one had ever done before.
01:39He was just a stunning and singular musician who was gone way too soon.'"
01:43On October 29, 1971, Dwayne Allman was riding his motorcycle through Macon, Georgia, when
01:49he collided with a stopped truck.
01:51The impact caused his bike to flip and land on him, leading to severe internal injuries.
01:56Although he was conscious upon arrival at the hospital, Allman passed away hours later.
02:00The band pressed on without him, but tragedy struck again almost exactly a year later.
02:06On November 11, 1972, bassist Barry Oakley crashed his motorcycle into a bus just a few
02:13blocks from Allman's accident site.
02:14He died from cerebral swelling.
02:16Both musicians were just 24 and are buried side by side in Macon's Rose Hill Cemetery.
02:23Stevie Ray Vaughan first gained widespread recognition through his guitar work on David
02:27Bowie's hit, Let's Dance.
02:29Bowie shared his initial reaction to Vaughan's talent in a 1983 MTV interview.
02:34This little kid from Austin, Texas came out and just played some of the most devastating
02:39city rhythm and blues I've heard in years.
02:42B.B. King called Vaughan's guitar style, fluent, in an interview with Media America Radio Network.
02:48He could get something going, and it would go on and on and ideas continuously flowed.
02:53Stevie Ray Vaughan was a revered figure among fellow music legends.
02:57Throughout the 1980s, he and his band Double Trouble released four influential studio albums.
03:03His exceptional guitar skills earned him the 12th spot on Rolling Stone's list of the 100
03:08Greatest Guitarists, and he played a pivotal role in revitalizing blues music during that era.
03:14Tragically, Vaughan's promising career was cut short early on August 27, 1990.
03:20After performing in East Troy, Wisconsin, with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Robert Kray,
03:26and his brother Jimmy Vaughan, he boarded a helicopter to return to Chicago.
03:30The helicopter crashed, killing all on board, including Vaughan and the pilot.
03:34He was just 35 years old.
03:36A month later, Vaughan's final album of original material, Family Style, a collaboration with
03:41his brother, was released.
03:43As a teenager, Paul Butterfield was already performing alongside blues icon Muddy Waters
03:48in Chicago.
03:49His band, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, played a crucial role in introducing blues,
03:54a genre deeply rooted in African American culture, to a broader white audience.
03:59Residing in Chicago, Butterfield was immersed in the heart of the blues scene, surrounded
04:03by legends like Waters, Willie Dixon, and Little Walter.
04:07His band's rhythm section, featuring Sam Ley and Jerome Arnold, was recruited from the
04:12ensemble of blues great Howlin' Wolf.
04:15Butterfield's dynamic harmonica style earned him high praise from his friend and bandmate
04:19Michael Bloomfield, who described him as the finest blues harmonica player in the world
04:24at the Newport Folk Festival.
04:26If he was green, it wouldn't make any difference.
04:29If he was a planaria, a tuna fish sandwich, Butterfield would be into the blues.
04:33In the early and mid-1960s, Paul Butterfield often stood up for his racially integrated
04:39band, frequently clashing with racist audience members.
04:42As noted by guitarist Paul Phyton in the Horn from the Heart documentary, Butterfield was
04:46a prominent figure in the music world of his era.
04:49Author Grail Marcus observed that at Woodstock, musicians from the band and blood, sweat,
04:54and tears showed notable respect towards Butterfield.
04:58However, by the mid-1980s, Butterfield struggled with a heroin addiction that strained his
05:03finances and was grieving the recent losses of close friends like Michael Bloomfield,
05:08Marty Waters, and his manager Albert Grossman.
05:11Paul Butterfield passed away on May 4, 1987 at the age of 44 due to a drug overdose.
05:17On February 3, 1959, rock and roll legends Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P.
05:24The Big Bopper Richardson tragically lost their lives in a plane crash while touring
05:28the Midwest.
05:29This day, later dubbed the Day the Music Died, marked the first major loss of young, influential
05:35musicians in the burgeoning rock and roll scene.
05:38One of their contemporaries, Eddie Cochran, was deeply affected by their deaths.
05:42Known for hits like Summertime Blues and 20 Flight Rock, Cochran was a rising star who
05:47captured the hearts of teenagers and gained popularity through both his music and film
05:51appearances.
05:52According to John Collis' biography, Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran, the loss of Holly,
05:58Valens, and Richardson profoundly shook Cochran, leading him to become fixated on the idea
06:03of his own death.
06:04His fear turned prophetic when, while touring in the UK with fellow musician Gene Vincent
06:09in 1960, Cochran was involved in a fatal car accident.
06:13On April 16, after a performance, Cochran, Vincent, and others were in a single-car crash.
06:19Cochran succumbed to his injuries the next day, Easter Sunday, at just 21 years old,
06:25becoming the only casualty of the accident.
06:27December 8 marks a tragic day in music history.
06:30On the night of December 8, 1980, John Lennon, the former Beatles guitarist and songwriter,
06:35was shot in the back by a deranged fan, Mark David Chapman, as he entered his New York
06:40City apartment building.
06:42Exactly 24 years later, another iconic guitarist met a similar fate.
06:46Darryl Abbott, known as Dimebag Darryl, was fatally shot while performing with his band
06:51Damageplan.
06:52He was 38.
06:53Darryl, who co-founded the influential heavy metal band Pantera in 1981, was pivotal in
06:59shaping their sound until the band's breakup in 2003.
07:03Pantera's innovative approach significantly impacted the metal genre.
07:07Vinnie Paul Abbott, Darryl's older brother and Pantera's drummer, reflected on the band's
07:12influence in a 1992 interview with Rolling Stone.
07:15"'We pulled the very best out of each one of ourselves, and with each record that we
07:19made, that mountain got taller and taller to climb.'"
07:23The shooter, Nathan Gale, also claimed the lives of Erin A. Hawke, a club employee, fan
07:28Nathan Bray, and Damageplan crew member Jeff Mayhem Thompson.
07:32Gale was shot and killed by Columbus police shortly after the incident.
07:36Rolling Stone notes that earlier, a fan had seen Gale waiting outside in the cold and
07:41offered him entry to the venue.
07:42Gale declined, stating he was going to wait for Damageplan.
07:46Mama, Cass Elliott's weight was a defining aspect of her life, extending even beyond
07:51her death.
07:52As a prominent member of the folk-pop group The Mamas and The Papas, Elliott achieved
07:56considerable fame.
07:58Despite her success, initial resistance to her joining the band stemmed from her weight,
08:03a detail revealed in her biography, Dream a Little Dream of Me.
08:07Following the disbandment of The Mamas and The Papas, Elliott continued to thrive in
08:11both music and television.
08:13Tragically, on July 29, 1974, Elliott passed away from a heart attack in London at just
08:1932 years old.
08:21However, her weight continued to overshadow her legacy, with false rumors circulating
08:25about her dying from choking on a ham sandwich.
08:29This misleading tale, widely reported by media outlets including Time, was later debunked.
08:34Elliott's daughter, Owen, then seven years old, vehemently denounced the rumor, calling
08:39it one last slap at the fat lady, as reported by The Guardian.
08:43At the time of her death, Cass was residing in a flat lent to her by fellow musician Harry
08:48Nilsson during her English tour.
08:50This flat would later gain infamy for being the site of another tragic event four years
08:54later.
08:56Few rock musicians embraced life with the abandon of Keith Moon.
08:59Known for his explosive drumming, Moon earned a spot as the second greatest drummer in Rolling
09:05Stones' list of the 100 Greatest Drummers, and was a key force behind the iconic band
09:10The Who.
09:11Roger Daltrey described Moon's approach to life as,
09:13"...living entirely as a fantasy, reflecting the larger-than-life persona he crafted."
09:18Moon was instrumental in shaping many enduring rock and roll cliches, from trashing hotel
09:23rooms and smashing his own gear, to extravagant spending and excessive drinking and drug
09:28use, which often led to trouble.
09:37On January 4, 1970, Keith Moon and his group fled a pub overrun by skinheads harassing
09:42them.
09:43In a tragic accident during their escape, Moon, who was driving, accidentally ran over
09:48and killed his friend.
09:49Although Moon faced charges for drunk driving, driving without a license, and driving without
09:54insurance, the judge dismissed them due to the circumstances at the pub.
09:58Despite this, the incident had a profound impact on Moon.
10:01Larry Smith later shared with VH1's Behind the Music that Moon was deeply affected by
10:06the event, describing him as, "...shell-shocked."
10:09Moon's life ended tragically on September 7, 1978, when he died from a heminevirin overdose
10:15at the age of 32.
10:17Remarkably, he passed away in the same room and at the same age as Mama Cass, who had
10:21died four years earlier.
10:24Sibling rivalries are a common theme in music, seen in bands like Oasis with Liam and Noel
10:29Gallagher, The Kinks with Ray and Dave Davies, and The Jackson 5 with Michael and Jermaine.
10:41Few musical rivalries were as intense and tragic as the one between Creedence Clearwater
10:45Revival's guitarists, John and Tom Fogarty.
10:49Despite being the younger brother, John emerged as the dominant force in the band, assuming
10:54all singing and songwriting responsibilities that Tom had once held.
10:58Tom resented this shift in power, but John's leadership propelled CCR to fame in the late
11:031960s.
11:04Following the release of the 1970 album Pendulum, Tom departed from the band.
11:09Two years later, CCR disbanded due to ongoing disputes among the remaining members, including
11:15John and Tom.
11:16In the 1980s and 1990s, John was embroiled in contentious legal battles with Fantasy
11:21Records head Saul Zients, who had Tom's support.
11:25John accused Tom of having some sort of weird Patty Hearst syndrome.
11:30Tragically, Tom contracted HIV from a blood transfusion in the 1980s.
11:35Despite his deteriorating health, the brothers remained estranged.
11:39Tom passed away from tuberculosis on September 6, 1990, at age 48.
11:44In a lineup featuring legends like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page, it's easy to overlook
11:50Keith Relf of the Yardbirds.
11:52As British blues swept through England in the late 1950s and early 1960s, bands like
11:58the Rolling Stones, named after a Muddy Waters song, and the Yardbirds emerged, eager to
12:03infuse their own style into the genre.
12:06According to Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists, Stephen Tyler
12:10of Aerosmith highlighted the contrast between Relf and the more widely recognized Mick Jagger
12:15of the Stones, illustrating how Relf's contributions, though significant, often fade in the shadow
12:21of Jagger's fame.
12:23He was a white boy who pushed it to the max, and he was a great harmonica player.
12:27You never heard Jagger hanging out on a single note the way Keith Relf could.
12:31Following the Yardbirds' breakup in 1968, Keith Relf pursued music with different bands
12:36while his former bandmates enjoyed significant success in the 1970s.
12:40On May 14, 1976, Relf tragically died at 33 from an accidental electrocution while
12:46playing electric guitar in his basement, as reported by Ultimate Classic Rock.
12:50While Kirstie McColl is primarily known in the US for just one hit, she was celebrated
12:55as one of the finest artists of her era in the UK.
12:58Bono of U2 once described McColl as the Noel Coward of her generation, reflecting her unique
13:03style and wit.
13:05Johnny Marr of the Smiths praised her, noting she possessed
13:08the wit of Ray Davies and the harmonic invention of the Beach Boys.
13:11McColl's duet with The Pogues, Fairytale of New York, has become a beloved holiday classic.
13:17Jem Finer of The Pogues admitted to The Guardian that he was initially unsure if McColl could
13:22match the vocal challenge, but Shane McGowan, the band's lead singer, was a longtime admirer
13:27of her work and insisted she would deliver.
13:30She could make a song her own, and she made Fairytale her own.
13:34On December 18, 2000, Kirstie McColl, 41, was swimming with her two sons in Cozumel,
13:40Mexico, when a speedboat entered their area illegally.
13:43Although she managed to move one of her sons to safety, she was struck and killed instantly.
13:48Kirstie's mother, Jean McColl, spearheaded a campaign for justice, accusing the Mexican
13:53government of not being transparent during the investigation.
13:57The boat, owned by businessman Carlos Gonzalez Nova, had him on board.
14:01Deckhand Jose Ken Yam was convicted of culpable homicide, but according to Kirstie's biography
14:07by her mother, both Yam's wife and father-in-law claimed he was not driving at the time of
14:11the incident.