Entertainers That Died Young

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

How many of them have "legend" status today simply because they died young. May have been great talents still, but their greatness and importance are over inflated due to their untimely death. Off the top of my head, names I've heard thrown around (not that I neccecarily agree with all of them) are:

 

Kurt Cobain

Jimi Hendrix

Jim Morrison

 

Hendrix I disagree with 100%. I've heard it argued that he couldn't hold a candle to a lot of the guitarists today. While  that may be true, we'll never know what else Jimi had up his sleeve, or what he would have done. Also, anything that people do now a days, was influenced and built off of what Jimi started. 

 

Jim Morrison, was overrated. I love the doors, but he really wasn't much of a singer. If the Doors wanted to, I think they could have carried on with a new singer a la AC/DC with Brian Johnson.

Edited May 7, 2019 by The Real Buffalo Joe

[Seasons1992]

Do Robin Williams, Chris Cornell, or Anthony Bourdain count? They had many years left, but not technically "young."

[Reed83HOF]

I'm not sure Jimi should be on that list, that would be like including John Lennon. What Jimi brought to guitar playing was the basis for everything you heard from then through now. He was insanely talented and the world, if you will, lost a lot by not having him around longer. 

 

Jim Morrison people love the doors, not my thing, had he lived I don't think he would quite have that legendary status. There is a big difference between the Doors and other larger and more influential acts.

 

I think Cobain falls in the Jim Morrison category, how much evolution would he have brought to music over all now? 90s grunge - meh. 

 

How about Janis Joplin or Mama Cass?

 

Edit: I am assuming you are not just asking for a list of who died young, as the title indicates, but what your post indicates with over inflation based on death...

Edited May 7, 2019 by Reed83HOF

[Augie]

The list will be long, and a common theme will be evident in many cases. 

 

I’ll throw in Janice Joplin. 

 

 

.

Edited May 7, 2019 by Augie

[Mark80]

This post is confusing.  Are you asking for entertainers who died young that are overrated because of their untimely demise?

[Tiberius]

John Belushi 

 

 

[Gugny]

Hendrix and Cobain were absolutely true talents.

 

Randy Rhodes would have been RIDICULOUS had he lived longer.

 

Amy Winehouse was a once in a generation-type talent, IMO.  She was supremely talented and a total throwback.

 

Patsy Cline had a voice of silk.  Total real deal.

 

John Bonham, to me, was the greatest rock drummer of all time.

 

Layne Staley, Scott Weiland and Freddie Mercury were three of the greatest front men in rock history.  Staley's voice was chilling.

 

Not sure if "young," = "too young to die," but if so, I'll throw George Michael, Prince and Michael Jackson in there, as well.

[Mark80]

Had more to give:

Duane Allman

Cliff Burton

Shannon Hoon

Hendrix

Joplin

Bonham

Keith Moon

Otis Redding

Sam Cooke

Marvin Gaye

Bradley Nowell

 

Legendary Status only because died young and not really that great:

Andrew Wood

Sid Vicious

 

Already peaked when they died, but still great:

Morrison

Cobain

Weiland

Mercury

Staley

Marley

 

Once you get past 40 I don't put you on the list as dying too young.

 

Edited May 7, 2019 by Mark80

[Gugny]

2 minutes ago, Mark80 said:

Had more to give:

Duane Allman

Cliff Burton

Shannon Hoon

Hendrix

Joplin

Bonham

Keith Moon

Otis Redding

Sam Cooke

Marvin Gaye

Bradley Nowell

 

Legendary Status only because died young and not really that great:

Andrew Wood

Sid Vicious

 

Already peaked when they died, but still great:

Morrison

Cobain

Weiland

Mercury

Staley

Marley

 

Once you get past 40 I don't put you on the list as dying too young.

 

 

I like the way you broke this down.  Nice call on Shannon Hoon.  I'd move Gaye to the already peaked list.  I'd also move Morrison to the "not really that great," list.

 

I don't think Cobain or Staley had peaked; but agree with the rest of that list in your post.  From my list, I'd add Hendrix, Rhoads, Winehouse, Cobain, and Staley to "more to give."

I'd add Bonham, Weiland, Mercury and Cline to "already peaked."

[T&C]

I suppose it all boils down to what is "young"... Willie Nelson would probably say anyone that's still living.

 

Frank Zappa... nowadays he's have probably been cured.

Chris Wood

The Day the music died

Karen Carpenter

Rebop 

Emerson and Lake

etc.

[SinceThe70s]

I thought Stevie Ray was great and still getting better when he died.

[Mark80]

26 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

I like the way you broke this down.  Nice call on Shannon Hoon.  I'd move Gaye to the already peaked list.  I'd also move Morrison to the "not really that great," list.

 

I don't think Cobain or Staley had peaked; but agree with the rest of that list in your post.  From my list, I'd add Hendrix, Rhoads, Winehouse, Cobain, and Staley to "more to give."

I'd add Bonham, Weiland, Mercury and Cline to "already peaked."

 

I put Morrison there because of his writing and stage presence more than his vocal talent.  The Doors were HUGE to an entire generation of Vietnam Vets and the whole anti-war movement.  I don't think you are quite giving them the credit they deserve my friend.

 

I could buy off on Cobain and Staley not peaking though.  I did really like In Utero and think it is very underrated, and Staley did absolutely kill it in the AIC unplugged even when he was well into his addiction that would kill him just a couple years later.  I just don't know enough about Rhoads and Winehouse to give a good assessment so I left them off completely.

[Guffalo]

https://spinditty.com/artists-bands/The-dead-at-27-Club

 

• Kurt Cobain
• Amy Winehouse
• Jimi Hendrix
• Janis Joplin
• Jim Morrison
• Robert Johnson
• Brian Jones (The Rolling Stones)
• Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (The Grateful Dead)
• Chris Bell (Big Star)
• D. Boon (The Minutemen)
• Richey Edwards (Manic Street Preachers)

[teef]

not young, but i always hated that phil hartman went the way he did.

[Misterbluesky]

15 minutes ago, teef said:

not young, but i always hated that phil hartman went the way he did.

Those were the great days of SNL...I rarely get a good laugh out of that show anymore.

Anyway...I fell my way into a great marijuana trip when I saw Mitch Hedberg at the Majestic years ago...the guy smashed one liners....

Candy..Farley were gifts for obvious reasons...

 

I don't see much out there these days when it comes to the comedy ...

 

when shows like Mom are considered "comedy"..we're in rough shape?

Edited May 7, 2019 by Misterbluesky

[The Senator]

Hank Williams

Glenn Gould

Dinu Lipatti

John Belushi

John Candy

Chris Farley

Phillip Seymore Hoffman

 

et al

[WhoTom]

2 hours ago, The Real Buffalo Joe said:

Jim Morrison, was overrated. I love the doors, but he really wasn't much of a singer. If the Doors wanted to, I think they could have carried on with a new singer a la AC/DC with Brian Johnson.

 

They did. The album was called Other Voices. It wasn't well-received.

 

A co-worker once said, "I don't understand why Bob Dylan is considered a legendary singer."  Another person responded, "He's not a legendary singer; he's a legendary songwriter." I'd say the same of Jim Morrison's contribution to The Doors.

 

As far as AC/DC is concerned, Bon Scott co-wrote most of their really good songs. Back in Black was a good post-Scott album, but every album after that was simply a recycled version of Back in Black. Even Angus admitted that when he told a reporter, "I'm sick and tired of people saying that we put out 11 albums that sound exactly the same. In fact, we've put out 12 albums that sound exactly the same."

 

 

[Helpmenow]

1 hour ago, SinceThe70s said:

I thought Stevie Ray was great and still getting better when he died.

Saw him at Darien lake with Johnny winter.

[Kirby Jackson]

Ravishing Rick Rude

[T&C]

I might be in the minority but Morrison had a great singing voice... when he actually sang.

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

40 minutes ago, WhoTom said:

 

They did. The album was called Other Voices. It wasn't well-received.

 

A co-worker once said, "I don't understand why Bob Dylan is considered a legendary singer."  Another person responded, "He's not a legendary singer; he's a legendary songwriter." I'd say the same of Jim Morrison's contribution to The Doors.

 

As far as AC/DC is concerned, Bon Scott co-wrote most of their really good songs. Back in Black was a good post-Scott album, but every album after that was simply a recycled version of Back in Black. Even Angus admitted that when he told a reporter, "I'm sick and tired of people saying that we put out 11 albums that sound exactly the same. In fact, we've put out 12 albums that sound exactly the same."

 

 

Agreed. AC/DC is one of my favorite bands. As far as being a good singer, Brian Johnson has the slight edge. But songwriting, Bon Scott is actually quite underrated. His hits might just be all about sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but look at some of his lesser known hits. Dude was quite a lyricist. Anything on the Powerage album was pure poetry. I found a random guy on Spotify (can't remember his name) that did acoustic covers of Bon Scott AC/DC songs, and if you didn't know better, you'd think they were written to be ballads. 

[Gugny]

1 hour ago, teef said:

not young, but i always hated that phil hartman went the way he did.

 

I liked Phil Hartman a lot.  I remember finding out about his death.  So shocking and so sad.

 

With many of the aforementioned musicians (and some actors), substance abuse was a known issue.  And although their deaths were still very sad, there wasn't a ton of shock associated with them.

 

Layne Staley and Scott Weiland were sadly like waiting games.  It was a question of when ... not if. 

 

I think the celebrity deaths that have hit me the hardest were Cobain (again - not a shock, but I was hopeful he'd turn it around), Amy Winehouse (another who was actually on the road to recovery - had no narcotics in her system when she died, but she replaced her drug habit with alcohol) and SRV (helicopter).

 

Not "young," (in the context of this thread), but Chris Cornell's death was a jaw-dropper for me.  That one hurt.

 

And that's the thing ... all of these losses hurt many, many people.  Sure, they were rich and famous.  But they were rich and famous sons, daughters, moms, dads, etc.

[Another Fan]

I’m not sure if this fits the category the OP was looking for but loved this guy as a kid

 

 

[Mark Vader]

3 hours ago, The Senator said:

Hank Williams

Glenn Gould

Dinu Lipatti

John Belushi

John Candy

Chris Farley

Phillip Seymore Hoffman

 

et al

Great call on Phillip Seymour Hopffman

John Belushi had left too soon, but I don't think he had much more to offer.

 

I would also add:

Anton Yelchin

Brad Renfro

I feel that they both had more to give.

[B-Man]

Fats Waller

.....(aged 39)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fats_Waller

[Misterbluesky]

4 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

I liked Phil Hartman a lot.  I remember finding out about his death.  So shocking and so sad.

 

With many of the aforementioned musicians (and some actors), substance abuse was a known issue.  And although their deaths were still very sad, there wasn't a ton of shock associated with them.

 

Layne Staley and Scott Weiland were sadly like waiting games.  It was a question of when ... not if. 

 

I think the celebrity deaths that have hit me the hardest were Cobain (again - not a shock, but I was hopeful he'd turn it around), Amy Winehouse (another who was actually on the road to recovery - had no narcotics in her system when she died, but she replaced her drug habit with alcohol) and SRV (helicopter).

 

Not "young," (in the context of this thread), but Chris Cornell's death was a jaw-dropper for me.  That one hurt.

 

And that's the thing ... all of these losses hurt many, many people.  Sure, they were rich and famous.  But they were rich and famous sons, daughters, moms, dads, etc.

Cobain went out on his own terms,he feared nothing at the end,I respect that.My sister put a gun to her head Janurary 18th of 2018 a bit after 11am..my other sister was visiting her..Debbie went out to get her mail,because JoAnn asked her too.

Debbie heard the pistol go off when she came back into the house..she went into the room to grasp onto what she thought happened.

My little sister killed herself...

 

The diary she left behind was shocking to read..nearly to the point of me vomitting as I read it.

Long story short..my sister missed our mother,who passed in 1988,so much that she was unable to continue on with her own life...a surgical nurse at Manitee Hospital in Clearwater,Florida (beautiful area)..saving motorcycle accident victims at 3am because she took the "on call" route was the way she tried to release a person's innocent pain...but she went home and couldn't conquer her own inner pain.

I miss her..but I understand

Edited May 8, 2019 by Misterbluesky

[4merper4mer]

Stuart Adamson was highly underrated.

[The Senator]

 

I forgot to mention...

 

Duane Allman

Berry Oakley

Butch Trucks

 

And, not from that band...

 

Sam Kinison

.

[Misterbluesky]

8 minutes ago, The Senator said:

 

I forgot to mention...

 

Duane Allman

Berry Oakley

Butch Trucks

 

And, not from that band...

 

Sam Kinison

.

I never saw Kinison live..but I always thought of him as being depressed,not feeling secure about what he was doing..kind of taking it with a heavy sealed dose of anger..he yelled a lot.I don't think he died a happy man.

These are HBO/Showtime viewing after thoughts.

[snafu]

5 hours ago, Guffalo said:

Brian Jones (The Rolling Stones)

 

I’ve wondered whether the Stones would have developed they way they did if he hadn’t died.

 

 

My addition to the thread: Bonn Scott (AC/DC).

 

 

 

 

4 hours ago, WhoTom said:

As far as AC/DC is concerned, Bon Scott co-wrote most of their really good songs. Back in Black was a good post-Scott album, but every album after that was simply a recycled version of Back in Black. Even Angus admitted that when he told a reporter, "I'm sick and tired of people saying that we put out 11 albums that sound exactly the same. In fact, we've put out 12 albums that sound exactly the same."

 

 

 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

...Rodney Dangerfield and Richard Pryor....

[The Senator]

3 minutes ago, snafu said:

 

I’ve wondered whether the Stones would have developed they way they did if he hadn’t died.

 

Probably, since they had already fired him.

 

Mick Taylor cynically referred to himself as the only person to leave the Stones and live.

[snafu]

Just now, The Senator said:

 

Probably, since they had already fired him.

 

Mick Taylor cynically referred to himself as the only person to leave the Stones and live.

 

Well then, I guess I can add those musings to the many wasted moments in my life to date.

 

[The Senator]

9 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

...Rodney Dangerfield and Richard Pryor....

 

Rodney did not die young, but yes, too soon.

 

I’ll remember the last joke I ever heard...when asked, “How long you think you’ll be in the hospital?”

 

Rodney replied, “If everything goes well, five days...if not, five hours!” ?

 

.

 

7 minutes ago, snafu said:

 

Well then, I guess I can add those musings to the many wasted moments in my life to date.

 

 

Oh stop that!  Bill Wyman also survived.

 

Every day, every moment, every breath, is a gift from God, to be savored and enjoyed.

.

Edited May 8, 2019 by The Senator

[Augie]

Seriously, how does Keith Richards survive them all??? 

[Greybeard]

                  Buddy Holly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[row_33]

1 hour ago, Augie said:

Seriously, how does Keith Richards survive them all??? 

 

Only the purest pharmaceutical supplies on US tours and he said he knew when he was at a peak high and didn’t bother trying to get beyond that level

 

 

[Augie]

4 minutes ago, row_33 said:

 

Only the purest pharmaceutical supplies on US tours and he said he knew when he was at a peak high and didn’t bother trying to get beyond that level

 

 

 

 

So....he’s lucky. 

 

Something to pure pharmaceutical. At least you know what you’re getting, but I’m sure there were times.......

[Turk71]

8 hours ago, SinceThe70s said:

I thought Stevie Ray was great and still getting better when he died.

I saw him a couple weeks before he died, Taj Mahal was the opening act. Stevie was absolutely on fire, he was sober and had recently been through rehab. He played with incredible energy and clarity. I was shocked when he died a few weeks later.

[row_33]

25 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

 

So....he’s lucky. 

 

Something to pure pharmaceutical. At least you know what you’re getting, but I’m sure there were times.......

 

It was probably his press agent making it all up