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Gone too soon, which artists do you wish had lived?

TarHeelMark

TarHeelMark

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Which of the following artists - that died too young (pre-50) - do you wish had lived longer and continued delivering great music? I'm listing ones that come to mind, but feel free to mention others.

Jimi Hendrix
Jim Morrison
Janis Joplin
Kurt Cobain
Buddy Holly
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Bob Marley
John Lennon
Elvis
Keith Moon
John Bonham
Marvin Gaye
Freddie Mercury
Brian Jones
Bon Scott
Duane Allman
Tupac
 
Thats a pretty extensive list compiled already as far as who I may have suggested.

I'll add LeRoi Moore of DMB . .
 
My top 3 would be:
Hendrix - He was moving in different musical directions and I think he still had a lot of great music left in him
Lennon - he was just coming out of a bad time in his life (addictions, etc), and then he was taken away much too young (40); doesn't seem fair.
Holly - he was only 22; maybe he had already peaked, but it would've been interesting to see what else he could've done.

...and an honorable mention to Terry Kath - he was the lead guitarist for Chicago when they actually rocked (late 60's thru mid 70's). His guitar work was praised by none other than Hendrix and everybody knows the opening licks to 25 or 6 to 4 - great stuff!
 
DMB is at Jiffy Lube Live this Saturday . . . I last saw them in September 2014.

Its going to be 74 degrees this Saturday, I may have to go watch/hear them again . .
 
in no particular order for me...

marley
hendrix
cobain
hoon
johnny wadd- yes, he played an instrument
 
Raising Heel said:
Is this another one of those old people music threads? ;)

Might as well add Tammi Terrell (24) to the list.

Also:
Jeff Buckley
Otis Redding
Nick Drake
Hank Williams
Jaco Pastorius
Elliott Smith
Billie Holliday
Frank Zappa
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well, seeing as how I'm (sort of) an old dude... then yeah I guess it is. haha

Let's add Robert Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson while we're at it... :D
 
TarHeelMark said:
Which of the following artists - that died too young (pre-50) - do you wish had lived longer and continued delivering great music? I'm listing ones that come to mind, but feel free to mention others.

Jimi Hendrix
Jim Morrison
Janis Joplin
Kurt Cobain
Buddy Holly
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Bob Marley
John Lennon
Elvis
Keith Moon
John Bonham
Marvin Gaye
Freddie Mercury
Brian Jones
Bon Scott
Duane Allman
Tupac
Click to expand...


Hendrix--feel like he would be playing a lot of blues

Joplin--loved her stuff

Buddy Holly--we probably only experienced a tenth of his potential
 
Hendrix
Marley
Jackson
Joplin
Redding
Morrison
Holly

Unbelievable talent gone too soon.
 
Good list, also must add:

Mikey Houser (Widespread Panic)

Jim Croce

Lowell George

Harry Chapin
 
Hank Williams

Patsy Cline

Ronnie Van Zant

and don't boo and hiss...

Michael Jackson
 
I get the point of this thread. But here's the question: Would all these artists be so revered if they had lived longer? I mean, part of the Jim Morrison mystique is that he was so dark and so melancholy. It's almost as if he knew his life would be short. Or he was going to make it that way because it was his fate. And it is because of that belief that these artists were as successful as they were. I wouldn't say that true for all of them but certainly for some of them.
 
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gunslingerdick said:
I get the point of this thread. But here's the question: Would all these artists be so revered if they had lived longer? I mean, part of the Jim Morrison mystique is that he was so dark and so melancholy. It's almost as if he knew his life would be short. Or he was going to make it that way because it was his fate. And it is because of that belief that these artists were as successful as they were. I wouldn't say that true for all of them but certainly for some of them.
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QFT

Human nature to romanticize "what could have been." If none of them had died, would we be cringing at every announcement of a comeback tour?
 
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Raising Heel said:
QFT

Human nature to romanticize "what could have been." If none of them had died, would we be cringing at every announcement of a comeback tour?
Click to expand...

I never get that far in the process. I get stuck on the music they took with them we never got to enjoy. Hank Williams IMO was a great, great songwriter...I think of all the lyrics that were left inside him. What a waste.
 
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gunslingerdick said:
I get the point of this thread. But here's the question: Would all these artists be so revered if they had lived longer? I mean, part of the Jim Morrison mystique is that he was so dark and so melancholy. It's almost as if he knew his life would be short. Or he was going to make it that way because it was his fate. And it is because of that belief that these artists were as successful as they were. I wouldn't say that true for all of them but certainly for some of them.
Click to expand...
I get that. Hendrix is revered for what he gave us in such a short period, but if he was still alive would he eventually gotten lame, like the Stones? Don't get me wrong, I love the Stones when they were at their peak (mid-60's thru mid-70's), but the stuff they've put it out from the mid-80's is forgettable (sadly)...
 
Mozart
Keith Whitley

Probably not too popular on this board, but John Denver was just over 50 and his death was unexpected.
 
Of the ones mentioned, I would say Hendrix, Marley, Lennon, Gaye & Mercury are my top 5, but not really in any order. Cobain would be next.
 
How about some actors?
John Belushi
John Candy
Chris Farley
Gilda Radner
James Dean
Heath Ledger
Marilyn Monroe
Jayne Mansfield
Paul Walker
Phil Hartman
River Phoenix
 
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grillheel said:
How about some actors?
John Belushi
John Candy
Chris Farley
Gilda Radner
James Dean
Heath Ledger
Marilyn Monroe
Jayne Mansfield
Paul Walker
Phil Hartman
River Phoenix
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Nice change of direction.

I think of Heath Ledger overtime I see 'The Patriot' listed for viewing . .

RIP young man.
 
None... they all lived exactly as long as they should have lived.

From an artist's rendering from a dailymail.co.uk, of what they might have looked like:

Jim Morrison
article-0-1983622D00000578-595_470x580.jpg


Bob Marley

article-0-1983620F00000578-523_470x580.jpg


Kurt Cobain

article-2510352-1983618F00000578-996_470x580.jpg


John Lennon

article-0-1983622000000578-110_470x580.jpg


Keith Moon

article-0-1983617800000578-993_470x580.jpg


Janis Joplin
article-0-1983616C00000578-984_470x580.jpg


Elvis

article-0-1983613800000578-617_470x580.jpg


Jimi hendrix

article-0-1983615900000578-201_470x580.jpg



And, those are probably being kind.

Look at the miles on Keef -------
richards_lead.jpg
 
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A few others I have not seen but could have missed.

Layne Staley
Shannon Hoon
Michael Hutchence

They obviously weren't crazy young but still had some music left in them.

My top guy would be either Hendrix or Vaughn though.
 
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Losing Vaughn broke my heart, Cory. He was making the best music of his life when he left.
 
No mention of Andy Gibb? Biggie? Sid Vicious? Joey Ramone? Gram Parsons? Shannon Hoon? Jim Croce? Harry Chapin? Eazy-E? Sam Cooke? Ricky Nelson?
 
heelbent said:
Yo 'slinger...it was ones "we wished had lived". Some of those I haven't missed even a little. ;)
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Ok, ok,...maybe some aren't your cup of tea. But there's no denying that all of them were influential and/or made good music. And I would assume that at least some of them you liked. Ricky Nelson? Jim Croce? Harry Chapin? No?
 
Lol, I was kidding more than anything, but I'm not much of a rap guy or hip hop or whatever that stuff is so the Biggie loss was no biggie to me. Haven't missed Tupac, either. Never cared much for the Sex Pistols so Sid didn't leave much of a hole in my life. Always thought Nelson's stardom was based more on his Ozzie & Harriet days more than talent, although Garden Party was a catchy little tune. I did like the Canyon River Band, however. Gram Parsons was an enigma to me. Was he country? Rock? Small sample size. His corpse traveled well from what I'm told. Andy Gibb? He sang his brother's songs on key I guess, but influential? I don't think so.

I like Croce and Chapin. Sam Cook & Joey Ramone are no brainers.
 
Gotta be Vaughn, Hendrix, and Buddy Holly.
I don't think the world could have handled a 75 year old Elvis. Especially wearing one of those sequined cape, 12 inch turned up collar thingies.
 
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Okay... I will amend my earlier statement. Stevie Ray Vaughan is one that I wish had stayed around. I guess because he was so influential to me (not that Hendrix or Lennon or others weren't) at a time in my life where I was very focused musically and mimicked his style a great deal. It was a shock to me as well. I also knew of his fairly recent sobriety and how he really loved sharing it and helping others with their addictions.

Here's a little story about SRV for me. One of my best friends in high school (it was the summer after graduation) came to where I was working and said "Man! Stevie Ray Vaughan is playing tomorrow night in Fayetteville and Cumberland County Memorial Coliseum, I just heard it on WQDR!" Now, I was supposed to be saving all I could for the fall when I went to Chapel Hill. He and I were basically broke. So... I pawned my Gibson SG (a graduation gift) and we took that money and bought tickets from a scalper at the show. Unforgettable show! I'm so glad we did because he died 4 years later and I never had a chance to see him live again.
 
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Most guys I have played with don't get rid of guitars, they just get new ones, so the number only goes up, LOL.
It's a fetish.
 
DeanFor President said:
Most guys I have played with don't get rid of guitars, they just get new ones, so the number only goes up, LOL.
It's a fetish.
Click to expand...


I've known a few of those types. I still have my very first guitar, but it's only for sentimentality. If I still had kept all the ones I ever owned, and never sold any, they would require more room to store than I do to live. SInce I don't play professionally anymore, the need for a lot of them is less.
 
The picture of Elvis above looks like a mixtape of him, John Wayne and Johnny Cash.

I never did care for Kurt Go-bang.
 
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