Songs from artists who passed away too soon

[8893]

Nick Drake, passed away at 26:

 

[bantamlaker]

Ricky Nelson’s sons were mentioned in the sibling song thread so let’s include Ricky here who died at 45 while on a comeback tour.

 

[SWHuskyFan]

Best drummer of all time and his death ended one of the best bands.

 

[tomcat]

Tragically Hip, the Canadian group whose lead singer, Gord Downie, died a couple of years ago.

 

[wire chief]

Lots of feeling to this composer/singer

 

[JordyG]

meyers7 beat me to these gals, meaning Left Eye. But here's the way I remember this positive, high energy young group, with Lisa on the mic.

 

[Bigboote]

Well , Jim Morrison qualifies, even if buried out of country.

AFAIK, the Doors never performed Riders live. That's a tribute band, a really good one. The keyboard player with the same Rhodes bass that Ray played, the guitar player playing classical style for the most part just like Robby. I have no idea how they got to use the Doors logo when Ray and Robby were sued for using "Doors of the 21st century" as the name of their band (which became Riders on the Storm).

Here are the real Doors doing When the Music's Over:

 

[Bigboote]

Richard Farina died at 29 in a motorcycle accident on the way home from the publication party for his novel; Mimi at 56 from breast cancer. This one's an absolute tear jerker:

 

[Bigboote]

Peter Tosh, murdered at the age of 42. These threads are great because they lead us to explore stuff on youtube that we might never otherwise look for. It had never occurred to me to look for footage fo Peter Tosh. God, he was great.

 

[Bigboote]

Some good footage from the Allmans. Duane died at 24 in a motorcycle accident, Berry Oakley (bass) at 24 in a similar motorcycle accident a couple of blocks away.

 

[Wally East]

Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.

I love this cover of "The Man Who Sold the World" as much as the original from David Bowie, who, to me, seemed immortal (and maybe he really is).

 

[Hope]

Sad, tragic death, but his music lives forever. "Sweet Dreams, Roy."

 

[ThisJustIn]

"Kirsty MacColl "In These Shoes?" - YouTube

Was killed by an idiot in a motorboat.

 

[CL82]

AFAIK, the Doors never performed Riders live. That's a tribute band, a really good one. The keyboard player with the same Rhodes bass that Ray played, the guitar player playing classical style for the most part just like Robby. I have no idea how they got to use the Doors logo when Ray and Robby were sued for using "Doors of the 21st century" as the name of their band (which became Riders on the Storm).

Here are the real Doors doing When the Music's Over:

Speaking of Doors tribute bands, I used love Crystal Ship back in day. Used to play in Westerly a lot.

BREAK ON THROUGH THE CRYSTAL SHIP BAND

 

[Bigboote]

SW gave us one by John Bonham, here's one by the Who featuring Keith Moon. Moon eschewed drum solos, but the entire Tommy album is IMO a clinic in drums used as a melody instrument. Moon died at 32 from an overdose of a drug he was taking to kick his alcohol habit. John Entwistle, bassist extraordinaire and occasional horn player, died at 57.

 

[bantamlaker]

Bobby Fuller’s death at 23 remains suspicious and was once featured on the tv show Unsolved Mysteries.

 

[Bigboote]

Golden-voiced Sam Cooke, shot dead at the age of 33:

 

[Carnac]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned of the most precious treasures we lost much too soon 35 years ago.

KAREN CARPENTER -

She was Born: March 2, 1950, New Haven, CT. Died: February 4, 1983, Downey, CA. One month short of her 33rd birthday. She's been gone longer than she was alive. The Carpenters had their own special brand and style of music. Richard was an exceptional song writer and arranger. Karen had one of the most beautiful "smooth as silk" voices I've ever heard.

Carpenter's singing has attracted critical praise and influenced several significant musicians and singers, including Madonna, Sheryl Crow, Pat Metheny, Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, Shania Twain, Natalie Imbruglia, and k.d. lang. Paul McCartney has said she had "the best female voice in the world: melodic, tuneful and distinctive". She has been called "one of the greatest voices of our lifetime" by Sir Elton John.

Karen was also an accomplished drummer. Her drumming has been praised by fellow musicians Hal Blaine, Cubby O'Brien and Buddy Rich and by Modern Drummer magazine. In 1975, she was voted the best rock drummer in a poll of Playboy readers, beating Led Zeppelin's John Bonham. Sheila E., Debbi Peterson and Kelley Deal are among the female drummers that cited Carpenter as an inspiration at an early age to becoming musicians.

On October 12, 1983, shortly after her death, the Carpenters received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1999, VH1 ranked Carpenter at #29 on its list of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll.

There are some singers I can listen to all day, she's one of them!!! The Carpenters remain one of my favorite groups to this day. Thank you Karen for sharing your beautiful gifts with us. You left us much too soon. You and Richard had so many more songs in you that will go unsung. My only regret is that I never got to see them perform live.

For your adoring fans that were too young (or not born yet) to remember the plane crash that killed Holly, Valens and Richardson in 1959, Feb 4, 1983 can also be remembered as "a day the music died". We love you, RIP ~ A longtime fan that still remembers.

Karen Anne Carpenter

 

[Bigboote]

Robert Johnson died at 27 of unknown causes. The first story I heard, over 40 years ago, was that he was murdered by a prostitute when she found out he didn't have enough money to pay her. The most widely circulated story is that he was poisoned by the husband of a woman he was being a little too friendly with. Of course, legend has it that he made a pact with the devil to be able to play the guitar the way he did.

 

[JordyG]

Golden-voiced Sam Cooke, shot dead at the age of 33:

Both Bobby Fuller and Sam Cooke owned the copyrights to their own music, both had the same manager, both were murdered at young ages under suspicious circumstances. Sam Cooke remains the most important and copied singer today. Every pop singer you hear since him from Marvin Gaye, to Michael Jackson, to Justin Timberlake, Whitney, Christina, Luther, Ariana and any singer that bends a blue note bends it the way Sam did. Every singer that uses gospel influences in their music does it because Sam was the first. He was also the first African-American artist to own the copyright to his music. If James Brown is the godfather of hip-hop, Sam is the godfather of modern pop singers.

 

[Bronx23]

Wow! So, so many artists who passed before their time.
One who hasn't been mentioned and probably one of the best female vocalists of all time but outside of my usual jazz / blues interest was Cass Elliot (Mama Cass) who died at age 32. Obviously the lead singer of the incredibly harmonious group of Mama and the Papas.
Some of my other favorites of all time have been mentioned previously but brought back incredible memories. Not even sure of the of the order I'd place these three:
Bobby Darin - saw him a few times at the Copacabana. I think in addition to his being one of the very best male jazz vocalists he played I think 4-5 instruments himself. He was one of the two best performers I've ever seen in person. The other was Sammy Davis Jr. Their non stop energy was contagious.
Sam Cooke - I'd say he was the closest thing ever to the all time great Nat King Cole. They both had the smoothest, sweetest voices and the # of hits Cooke had dying in his early thirties was pretty darn impressive.
Eva Cassidy - unfortunately not known at all by many and almost all that knew her came posthumously. We've recently discussed her on a few other music threads. I just finished the book RSHERMVIKES recommended which described her life by those who knew her. IMO destined to become an all time great. Her refusal to be pigeon holed musically led to music companies and executives shying away from her as she didn't fit any specific genre. Her shyness held her back for quite a few years and when she finally was putting it together she was gone so quickly of melanoma. I specifically love quite a few of her ballads especially Autumn Leaves, which I believe her rendition was amongst the very best I've ever heard and maybe the most haunting. She preferred doing ballads and there are many others that deserve being mentioned. But her singing of black spirituals were astoundingly amazing, even more so in that she was a white woman.
My honorable mentions which are absurd to even mention in that light were: Marvin Gaye, Oris Redding, Jim Croce, Janis Joplin, Bob Marley just to mention a few.
RIP one and all!
Bronx23

 

[Bigboote]

Frank Zappa died at 52 of prostate cancer. Many might think that's not young, especially since he'd recorded something like 60 albums by then, but it's certainly too young for me, as he was still doing interesting stuff. One good thing that came of his prolonged illness is that he was a mentor to so many young guitarists. He was still composing but not able to play for 3+ years before he died. Here's one of the first things he recorded:

 

[Replicant]

 

[Replicant]

 

[wire chief]

With the Boneyard demographics I would think he’s very well remembered. This was his first big hit in 1958.

I read that he disliked R&R, so only splished and splashed as an entrance to the recording world. Worked for him to have
the chance to become a crooner.