Heartbreaking Facts About The Tragic Lives Of Musicians
We’re used to envying musicians for their fame and their talent. Pop stars who have legions of cheering fans and rock stars who live a wild, hard-partying life: these are the lives that many aspire to emulate.
But it’s not always easy being at the top and fate has a way of reminding all humans of their fragility on this planet.
From revenge schemes to depression, plane crashes to substance abuse, the recent past has given us plenty of examples of musicians who experienced a life of tragedy or a tragic end to their lives.
Here are 42 facts about the tragic figures behind some of the past century’s most memorable music.
Facts About The Tragic Lives Of Musicians
1. Hell of a Ride
Few bands can claim to match the tragic bad luck of the legendary American folk-rock group The Allman Brothers. In 1971, one of the brothers, Duane, was killed in a motorcycle accident in their hometown of Macon, Georgia.
The accident led to a long series of unfortunate events and deaths within the band, which currently only has one surviving original member left.
2. Getting the Band Back Together
After the Martin Scorsese-directed concert film The Last Waltz cemented the legacy of American folk group The Band, things took a turn for the tragic. They split shortly after the film. When the group did get back together in 1983, not everything went according to plan. Three years into their reunion, pianist Richard Manuel hung himself in his motel room the night after a show and his replacement, Stan Szelest, died only 5 years later due to a heart attack.
3. Up in the Air
There’s just something about musicians and airplanes that spell tragedy. Lynyrd Skynyrd became one of a number of bands to be decimated by a plane crash.
In 1977, the band lost lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and singer Cassie Gaines, as well as one of their crew members, Dean Kilpatrick, when their plane crashed in rural Mississippi.
One of the biggest rock groups in America, they had just released their latest album three days before the accident.
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