dead musicians?

Question

2pac, Bob marley, elvis, notorious big, kurt cobain

the list goes on, why they all die so young?

and do you think they are bigger artists now they are dead?

Answer 1

there's a lot of factors that caused many deaths of young musicians: Drugs, Suicide, Accidents, Violence, etc......

the list goes on and on and on, were some made even more famous by their deaths, yes...........are some recieving the same amount, as if they weren't dead, yes

There is the whole "we would they be if they didn't die" controversy, but it can't be validated. Its the tragedy and the music that draws us to these artists. They are forever to be remembered as they were when they died. Can you imagine Jimi Hendrix at 65? Or Buddy Holly at 71? Probably not, but that's how old they would be if they were still living.

You mention Tupac, Marley, Elvis, Notorious BIG and Cobain...........but what about other artists who've died, the 'less famous' ones? Richie Valens, Nick Drake, Andrew Wood, Jeff Buckley, Tim Buckley, Elliott Smith.............the mainstream public doesn't know them or acknowledge them......they made amazing music, yet they are vastly ignored. Are they any bigger because of death, probably not.

Answer 2

Some got more famous when they died. Notorious BIG for example got a lot more famous when he died. Some refer to him now as the best rapper ever, which I think is way way way over stated.. He wasnt a great rapper, he was a good rapper, but with his death, came all the notoriety , etc..

I think Elvis and Bob Marley were extremely famous before they died, as well as after they died. The same can be said for Jimi Hendrix.

Jim Morrison I think became more famous after he died, as did Kurt Cobain.

I think if Kurt Cobain were still alive, he would not be as famous as he is now. He only had 2 or 3 albums out when he killed himself, so he was not in that "on top of the all the lists" status until he died.

Answer 3

Have you ever seen the 1969 Woodstock documentary?
At the end they run up a list of all the musicians of the era who died before their time.
It is a shockingly long list.

Unfortunately, it is a known fact that death sells records.
I think that the likes of Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, and Buddy Holly would have gone on to even greater careers if they had lived, but there a also a lot who were on the way out musically at the time of their death. Grief is a very strange thing.

Edit :~

While a lot of deaths were drug related, not all of them were :

Buddy Holly ; Marc Bolan = accidents
Bob Marley ; Freddie Mercury = illness
Nick Drake = suicide {he had depression}

Answer 4

Elvis was a true legend before he died,is there a special time of year when they play 2pac on TV and Radio,if there is there probably won't be in 30 years time like,the word legend is used far to often i think.
As for why they die so young,usually drugs brought on by the isolation fame brings in some cases.
At least in the end they live on in their music,that's what counts.

Answer 5

notorious big and2pac maybe czuse of the back ground of their deaths but marley kurt (must n't forget freddie) i think they would be big right now due to their music...as dave grohl said in a documentary the other day his only regret was kurt killing himself..meaning nirvana would most probably still have been popular now

p.s cant comment on elvis as never been into him,his history or music so would be unfair to comment

Answer 6

Most musicians do their best work before they are 30. Think of Ray Davies, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, Pete Townsend George Harrison. It is easy to assume that the best of Lennon, Hendrix etc was still to come but I suspect their best years would have been behind them even of they had survived.

Answer 7

Drugs

Answer 8

have you ever heard of the curse of 27 or whatever? a lot of big musicians have died at age 27
robert johnson (blues great, inspired led zeppelin)
jimi hendrix
janis joplin
jim morrison
kurt kobain
all of them died of drugs (johnson as the exeption)
and yes they are all bigger now than they were before, especially since more people now appreciate that music now, and wonder if they could have been even greater

Answer 9

Can't answer that, but yeah they did get even bigger after they died. Especially the ones that were murdered or committed suicide like Pac, Biggie, and Kurt Cobain.

Answer 10

Most on your list died from drugs or gang related violence, but Bob Marley died of cancer.

And I honestly believe he would have been just as huge had he lived a longer life.