Only the good die young

[dansouth]

I would like to dedicate this thread to influential musicians who passed on before their time. Which of them were special to you, and how did you handle the news of their passing?

[Frunobulax]

[quote]Originally posted by dansouth@yahoo.com: [b]I would like to dedicate this thread to influential musicians who passed on before their time. Which of them were special to you, and how did you handle the news of their passing?[/b][/quote] When Frank Zappa died prematurely of prostate cancer, I spent a lot of time listening to his stuff. I can't think of a better tribute.

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

Good topic. Although John Bonham was hardly a prime influence of a budding young guitarist named Jeff, the news of his passing was particularly harsh. I was in junior high, and was a huge Zeppelin fan. My friend and I had put down deposits on tickets to go see them touring in support of the "In Through The Out Door" album. We were being given a ride to school by his dad, who exclusively listened to the AM news station (which we hated). Suddenly, the announcer says, "Rock drummer John Bonham has died of an apparent drug and alcohol overdose," and we were totally stunned. So much for ever seeing Zeppelin in my life. Beyond that, the assasination of John Lennon on 12/8/80 was also especially horible, since I was on my way home from a guitar recital with my folks. We all cried...I remember it like it was yesterday. - Jeff

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I really dig [url=http://www.cdnow.com/cgi-bin/mserver/SID=419319602/pagename=/RP/CDN/FIND/album.html/artistid=DRAKE*NICK/itemid=294321]Nick Drake's[/url] work. I didn't have to handle the news of his passing, as he was dead before I had ever heard of him. What a morbid topic for a Monday morning... Did you have a tough weekend, Dan? [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/eek.gif[/img]

[Dylan]

Most of my rock hero's who died at an early age did so before I was born (i.e., Hendrix + Lennon), so I haven't had to live through too many legends dying in my own lifetime. But the death of Stevie Ray Vaughn is very tragic when you think of the struggle he had with drugs and the fact that he was just starting to turn his life around when he died. Also, even though he's not a musician, I am still deeply disturbed by the death of actor Phil Hartman. He was an amazing person, not to mention brilliant actor, who didn't deserve such an early death. -Dylan

[Scott from MA]

D. Boone - I remember being at practice when a friend of ours came into the studio and told us that D. had died. I didn't feel much like playing anymore that day, so I went home and listened to "Double Nickels on the Dime" while I went back to sleep. Jeff Buckley - I read about his death in a magazine. I had to read it again, because I thought I imagined it. John Lennon - I was only 10, and was riding in the car with my mother when we heard the news on the radio. I think seeing my mother cry was worse than anything. [quote]Originally posted by popmusic: [b]I really dig [url=http://www.cdnow.com/cgi-bin/mserver/SID=419319602/pagename=/RP/CDN/FIND/album.html/artistid=DRAKE*NICK/itemid=294321]Nick Drake's[/url] work. I didn't have to handle the news of his passing, as he was dead before I had ever heard of him.[/b][/quote] Same here.

[Tedster]

Lennon was especially hard on me, too, as a die hard Beatle freak. Aside to that, I think the hardest was SRV. I mean, such a talented and kickass guitarist...had managed to clean up his act and come back from the dead, only to have it all taken away. I think with Zappa, we all knew he had cancer and that one day soon he'd be going...but it was a sad event anyway. I was a little young to be completely appreciative of the Allman Bros. when Duane died, and I believe that Duane had just died recently when I first became aware of them. A weird non-musical personality that had a big effect on me was Charles Schulz (believe it or not). I think that it was just because I grew up reading that silly comic strip, and it was just another sign of my own mortality, and because several months before his announcement of having cancer, I had a weird dream that he'd be gone soon. But the tragic things like Lennon and SRV have a more profound effect on me than those who've in some way assisted the engineering of their own death. I was saddened to hear of Terry Kath's passing because he was such a damn good guitarist, but it was his carelessness (as in the case of others like Hendrix, etc.) that led to his death.

[Hippie]

I remember being quite bummed out hearing that Benjamin Orr, from The Cars, died. Not that I am major Cars fan, but it was the soundtrack to my teenage years -ya know, 1st dates, car parties, and all the stupid shit you do when you first get mobile. -I saw them in '84 for their "Heartbeat City" tour, and Ben sang "Drive" before anyone knew of the song, and just brought the house down. -We all knew we just heard what was going to be a huge hit. -Hippie

[Uh Clem]

SRV - a total tragedy. Warning: if you become a [i]talented[/i] successful artist, stay outta 'dem small planes!

[sbrock1san.rr.com]

Cozy Powell was one of the finest British rock drummers. He played with Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and many more. I saw him play live a few times and I've never seen anyone hit the drums that hard. He died in 1996 in a car crash. A few of my favorite drummers today are Chester Thompson, Reg Isadore, Ian Mosely, Joel Taylor. Drums are the one of the few instruments that I can't play, maybe that's why I have so much respect for those who can.

[Uh Clem]

and John Lennon - that really sucked. This message has been edited by stevepow on 07-30-2001 at 12:45 PM

[ian_dup1]

Michael Hedges and Jeff Buckley are the two that immediately spring to mind...but then, I was a little too young at the time to mourn for the passing of guys like Lennon and Bonham. Ian

[Calfee Jones]

There was a Christian Musician/Songwriter, Keith Green. In the early 80's he and I played alot of the same places, and we were learning alot of the same things, and had a lot of friends in common. He was taking a short ride in a small airplane with 2 of his kids and some friends - the plane crashed and they all were killed. I still can't listen to his music...

[D. Gauss]

not young, but you can add another one to the list... lynyrd skynyrd's bass player died last night. leon wilkinson. age 49. -d. gauss

[KBP]

Sorry for the intrusion here, but I felt it was necessary to mention a few non famous musician artists that died. 2001 (AGE 26) Hakim Ahir my friend and lead vocalist/rapper of my band. Died of suicide. This one has hit me the hardest, very talented person. Just not a very happy one. Are any of us really? 1989 (AGE 27) Shane Roberts my friend and bass player of my first band out here in LA. Died of kidney and liver cancer. Might has well been called suicide, Alchohol was the culprit. 1990 (AGE 24) Dizzy Damage (I don't really know his real name)My vocalists friend and bassplayer of many years died also of kidney, liver cancer. Was also from lack of alchohol control. Thanx for giving me this space KBP/Kelly This message has been edited by KBP on 07-30-2001 at 03:48 PM

[KHAN]

Lennon, Randy Rhodes and SRV hit me the hardest. I still remember where I was and what I was doing when I first heard the news. Also when I heard Neil Peart's wife died of cancer and his daughter was killed in a accident in the same year I felt sick inside. In the non-music category it was sad that Sam Kinison, after finally cleaning up, was killed by a drunk driver. He was a hero to me. Ohhhhhhh....Ohhhhhhhhhhhh.......Ohhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ------------------ ----------- KHAN (Always hopeful, yet discontent) [url=http://www.floydtribute.hpwebhost.com]www.floydtribute.hpwebhost.com[/url]

[Guest]

Lowell George

[Curve Dominant]

[quote][b]Although John Bonham was hardly a prime influence of a budding young guitarist named Jeff, the news of his passing was particularly harsh. I was in junior high, and was a huge Zeppelin fan. My friend and I had put down deposits on tickets to go see them touring in support of the "In Through The Out Door" album. We were being given a ride to school by his dad, who exclusively listened to the AM news station (which we hated). Suddenly, the announcer says, "Rock drummer John Bonham has died of an apparent drug and alcohol overdose," and we were totally stunned. So much for ever seeing Zeppelin in my life.[/b][/quote] Jeff, I was in 9th grade, and tickets for the Philly show had gone on sale that day. I literally didn't believe it when a friend told me, but when I went to the AV room, and "Moby Dick" was playing on the radio, I thought, "Shit, man, they NEVER play that song..." Eric

[meccajay]

Grover Washington Jr - You gave me GREAT Wisdom!! Roger Troutman(Zapp) - Who always said, "When in doubt, play some James Brown and you'll know what to do"!! Eddie Hazel(P Funk) - Just a badd ass guitarist. . . period!! George Green - My musical partner...You are missed bro! I feel your presence!! Rest In Peace fellas!!

[Tedster]

My then girlfriend (now wife of uh...lessee...a long time) had tickets for that show at the Pontiac Silverdome. Then we heard Bonzo died. We got a refund on our tickets. The year before we'd seen the Who at the Silverdome with Kenny Jones, after another drumming Moon-atic died. It was still a great show...albeit without Keith. So, we thought Zep would do the same thing. Nope. Although...our wait kinda sorta came to an end a couple of years ago when we saw Page and Plant here in Kansas City. They had a kickass band with 'em. Okay, so their names weren't Bonham and Jones, but, to quote Jagger "You Can't Always Get Whatcha Want"... For all intents and purposes, it was Zep enough for me. Mercifully, they didn't play "Stairway". [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] So, I look at it as though my wife and I got to finally fulfill a 20 year old date.

[fantasticsound]

I remember bringing my boom box to school in 8th grade when Lennon was killed. I had already wore out a cassette of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Hit pretty hard at age 13, for another musical hero to die. I say another because I was a huge Harry Chapin fan. I met him at a Ravinia Festival concert, outside Chicago, a year or two before he died. I ended up seeing my only Michael Hedges concert there in 1986. Losing Michael and Harry was difficult. They were fantastic musicians and wonderful people. I miss having never really known a time when Jim Croce, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix were alive and playing. I was 8 when Jim died in 1975. Jim Croce & Maury Muelhleisen (Croce's other guitarist in the band who died with him.) remain a huge influence on my guitar playing. Stevie Ray's passing was tragic. Although I saw him on the double-headliner tour with Jeff Beck, I kick myself every day for not getting tickets to the final concert at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin. I was not 20 miles from the crash site when it happened, and we caught it very quickly on the TV news. Sad. (Incidentally, to he who cautions against small plane flights, SRV didn't die in a plane crash. It was one of two helicopters that had picked up the performers to shuttle them back to Chicago.) I hate that I'll never see Allan Sherman perform. What a hysterically funny, musically gifted performer. If you get nothing else from my posts, take these sage words of Allan Sherman: (from Good Advice) [quote]Good advice.. good advice.. Good advice costs nothing and it's.. [b]worth the price![/b][/quote] Non-musicians I'd love to have seen in their prime: [list] [*]Jack Benny (Right now he's putting his head in his hand for the crack about him being a non musician! How many non musicians get to share a musical stage and friendship with Itzhak Perlman. [*]Gracie Allen & George Burns She was taken far too soon (1962, I think), and for that matter, so was he.. at age 100! [*]Phil Hartman, Chris Farley, John Belushi, and the tender and hilariously funny, Gilda Radnor. One shot, two shot up, and the latter succumbed to cancer long before her time. All tragic. Gilda created her own requiem in a film (You remember when Saturday Night Live used film for commercial parodies and special material?) that aired again the night she died, when Steve Martin was hosting the live show. He could barely keep his composure on stage that night. [*]Too many others to list here, I'm afraid.[/list] [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/frown.gif[/img] ------------------ Neil [b]Reality[/b]: [i]A few moments of lucidity surrounded by insanity.[/i]

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[quote]Originally posted by meccajay: [b]Roger Troutman(Zapp) - Who always said, "When in doubt, play some James Brown and you'll know what to do"!! [/b][/quote] Rodger Troutman is dead? When did he die? I had no idea.

[Mark Zeger]

Roy Orbison - there were many songs yet to be sung, as evidenced by "Mystery Girl" and the Wilburys

[Philip OKeefe]

[quote]Originally posted by Calfee Jones: [b]There was a Christian Musician/Songwriter, Keith Green. In the early 80's he and I played alot of the same places, and we were learning alot of the same things, and had a lot of friends in common. He was taking a short ride in a small airplane with 2 of his kids and some friends - the plane crashed and they all were killed. I still can't listen to his music... [/b][/quote] I met Keith a couple of times and he was "good people". I still listen to his stuff from time to time. I lament his early passing, but believe he's in a better place now. The saddest part of the whole thing was that if they hadn't overloaded the plane and exceeded the maximum gross takeoff weight, that crash would never have happened... Phil O'Keefe Sound Sanctuary Recording Riverside CA http://members.aol.com/ssanctuary/index.html pokeefe777@msn.com

[Philip OKeefe]

One other thing about Keith is that since his death, CCM has become more and more commercialized... Pretty Good Records had a really refreshing "sales" policy, and I am sorry to say that no one has managed to develop such a concept successfully since then. I am also no ashamed to admit I cried when I heard about John Lennon and SRV's deaths. Phil O'Keefe Sound Sanctuary Recording Riverside CA http://members.aol.com/ssanctuary/index.html pokeefe777@msn.com

[Gus Lozada]

I'm surprised none has mentioned (or I did not read it) about Kurt Cobain... I was too young to feel Lennon's death. He has always been just a part of the history for me. But I feel he wast one of the best examples of "Good Dying young". It's a shame he was killed. I mentioned Cobain because of his great contribution to rock music. I was not his fan. I am also willing to mention I was so sorry when I knew about Michael Hutchence (INXS) commited suicide. However, I do think seriously everything I admired in those two men dissapeared when I knew they decided to kill theirselves. If they were not brave enough to stay here doing great things, I'm happy they departed. When Dave Gaham (Depeche Mode) was about to die (yeah, suicide and drugs) I was also about to burn my DM Cd's... ------------------ [b]Gustavo G Lozada[/b] Moderador de: [url=http://www.musicplayer.com/nuestroforo]MusicPlayer.com/NuestroForo[/url] [i] "La voz en Español en Música y Tecnología"[/i] [url=http://www.mp3.com/trax_mx]GusTraX[/url] @yahoo.com

[Dylan]

I know that I'll get flamed for saying this, but I really don't feel that Kurt Cobain contributed anything worthwhile to the music world. At least not in the way that MTV and Rolling Stone would like me to believe. I'd love to hear from those who do think he contributed something and what it was. And I even like most of Nirvana's music, so don't take me as someone who is against the man. I just don't see him as a rock icon or legend like I do with a person like John Lennon. When Kurt killed himself I wasn't surprised in the least with all of his references of drugs and guns in his music. Not that I don't feel sorry for his family and friends, but I have a different kind of sympathy for someone who lives the self-destructive lifestyle that ultimately leads to death vs. someone like Phil Hartman who was the exact opposite and ended up getting murdered. -Dylan This message has been edited by Dylan Walters on 07-30-2001 at 06:06 PM

[Gus Lozada]

[quote]Originally posted by Dylan Walters: [b]I'd love to hear from those who do think he contributed something and what it was. And I even like most of Nirvana's music, so don't take me as someone who is against the man. I just don't see him as a rock icon or legend like I do with a person like John Lennon. -Dylan[/b][/quote] I do agree a 100% with you regarding the self-destructing attitude some stars showed before their deaths. I hate that too and it is very different to get suicide than getting murdered. That's a real shame. Now... Kurt Cobain was not in any sense -historically, again- like John Lennon. However I have to thank him the fact AFTER Nirvana, the Hair-Bands dissapeared. I liked their music but they were getting very plastic... then came Kurt Cobain with his style and many things changed... I don't care, though... [img]http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img] ... but "Smells like teen spirit" was a real blast, very different from those days rock... then all those new bands came... he just started something new... because his death contributed a little bit.

[ricknbokker]

I'm with you, Dylan. Some time ago, I had heard that someone wanted to give Cobain a 'lifetime achievement' award, or some such nonsense. Who's gonna give him THAT. The NRA??!!! I respected the music that he gave us, but come on... "I'm not a junkie... I'm merely self-medicating with heroin for a stomach ailment..." Give me a break. Steve (fire extinguisher at the ready...) btw--Roy Orbison.

[Tedster]

Although I'm not a Nirvana fan...I can see Cobain's contribution in simple terms. Rock was a big business big hair big show big everything at the time. Well, originally, rock and roll was a bunch of loud kids in a garage whamming out "Louie Louie" or "Satisfaction". Not overly slick, spandexed out stuff. Every now and then a movement has to come along and say that rock and roll is about energy. Yeah, it can be about walls of Marshalls and billion note shred licks and big hair..but it can be about banging out "G-L-O-R-I-A", too. That's how it started. Lost track of it in the early seventies, then by the late seventies punk came back to remind everyone about whacking away at the late seventies equivalent of Gloria. Loud. Just play. Then along came all the hair bands and shredders and EVH and Yngwie etc...someone had to take it back to the basics. Nirvana did that. They put rock and roll back in everyone's hands, rather in a choice group of elitists.