Posted on 09/20/2015 8:12:59 PM PDT by MtnClimber
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE Because we’d all rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, but it ain’t the good who are dying young. SHARE ON FACEBOOKSHARE ON TWITTEREMAIL TO A FRIEND 95 SHARES SIGN UP FOR OZY EMAILS
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It’s been hard to avoid tragic tales of troubled musicians lately. Two recent documentaries, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck (on HBO) and Amy (in theaters), chronicle the lives, and early demises, of Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse, respectively, beloved singers whose struggle with drugs, depression and the consequences of fame precipitated their deaths at age 27. Another recent biopic, Love & Mercy, takes us inside the head of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, who only just survived such swirling forces and more in his own life.
In some ways, like Achilles, the legendary Greek warrior in Homer’s Iliad beset with inner conflict, these artists sense that joining the tour and pursuing earthly glory could mean dying young, but many choose to embrace it nonetheless. “[I]t’s better to burn out than to fade away,” Cobain wrote in his suicide note. Of course, such tales of downfall and destruction are not limited to musicians as well known as Cobain, Winehouse and Wilson. Indeed, according to the alarming findings of one new study, pop musicians more broadly tend to live up to 25 years less on average than the rest of us, and have much higher rates of death by accident, suicide and homicide.
But is it just the temptations, hazards and vicissitudes of life on the road and in the limelight that are to blame for such numbers and destructive tendencies? Or are these musicians really just playing out a life strategy that lies dormant within almost all of us should we be placed in the path of fame’s freight train?
Extra stuff got added by website. Uggh!
There are plenty of famous and rich people who don’t off themselves.
The only reason the tragic ones get so much attention is they are in the limelight.
People who are always on the road and eating meals that are not him cooked die young.
I had it explained to me by a professional musician that much of the drug use and sex are the result of long hours of boredom between gigs.
Let’s face it - the life of a musician is not very healthy and considering the amount of substance abuse problems as a percentage of that small group there is little surprise that they don’t last as long as the rest of us.
With that said, it still amazes me that Mick Jagger is alive.
So many people struggle through life. Those who seem to hit life’s lottery and still snuff themselves is really ironic. I know most famous people don’t, but the percentage is much higher than the general population.
You mean Keith Richards. Mick actually takes very good care of himself.
Keith Richards is the real miracle.
We have to think about what kind of a world we’re gonna leave Keef Richards when we die.
None the less, the vast majority don’t die young. Just look at all the geriatric rockers still out there.
Average life expectancy of all rock stars would be 21.6 years, except Keith Richards keeps skewing the data...
Point taken, but still a bit surprised at Mick also.
Perhaps Ozzy Osbourne is the real miracle although it’s pretty obvious his brain is fried.
With that said, it still amazes me that Mick Jagger is alive.
But Keith Richards proves that there is life after death. ;)
As a pro musician, I;ve recorded with rock stars. The good ones are pushing hard, tirelessly. It’s tough on them. None of the ones I’ve worked for did drugs, But they pushed themselves very hard.
Workplace sex and drugs are rampant in IT departments. Couldn't stand the pain of such dreary work otherwise. < /s >
Love Is a Losing Game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl7R4Ir1fKc
He looks roundabout the age of Methuselah. I’ve seen all good people turn that way.
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