Pick a Day

Music History Events: Died Young

June 21, 1979 Angus MacLise (original drummer for The Velvet Underground) dies of hypoglycemia and tuberculosis at age 41.

March 17, 1979 Zenon DeFleur (rhythm guitarist for The Count Bishops) dies of a heart attack at age 27 after sustaining severe injuries in a car crash.

March 4, 1979 Mike Patto (of Patto, Spooky Tooth) dies of lymphatic leukemia at age 36.

January 13, 1979 Donny Hathaway commits suicide at age 33 by jumping from the balcony of his 15th floor room at the Essex House hotel in New York City.

December 27, 1978 Big Star guitarist Chris Bell dies in a car accident at age 27.

September 5, 1978 Joe Negroni of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers dies of a cerebral hemorrhage in New York City at age 37.

July 29, 1978 Publicist Peter Meaden (former manager of The Who) dies from a barbiturate overdose at age 36 in Edmonton, London, England.

July 29, 1978 Glenn Goins (guitarist, vocalist for Parliament-Funkadelic) dies of Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 24.

April 21, 1978 31-year-old Fairport Convention lead singer Sandy Denny dies of a cerebral hemorrhage after four days in a coma.

January 31, 1978 Greg Herbert, a 30-year-old saxophonist with Blood, Sweat & Tears, dies of an accidental drug overdose. He's discovered in his hotel room the following day.

January 23, 1978 Terry Kath (singer and original guitarist for Chicago) dies at age 31 when he accidentally shoots himself in the head.

October 13, 1977 R&B singer Shirley Brickley (of The Orlons) is shot to death by an intruder in her home, at age 32.

September 16, 1977 Marc Bolan of T. Rex dies in a car accident at age 29.

June 22, 1977 Peter Laughner (guitarist for Pere Ubu) dies of acute pancreatitis at age 24 after years of drug and alcohol abuse.

May 26, 1977 R&B singer William Powell (of The O'Jays) dies of cancer at age 35.

May 3, 1977 Helmut Koellen (bass player for Triumvirat) dies of carbon monoxide poisoning at age 27 as he listens to studio tracks in his car while the engine is running in his garage.

February 26, 1977 Doo wop singer Sherman Garnes (of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers) dies of a heart attack at age 36.

December 28, 1976 Bluesman Freddie King dies of acute pancreatitis and complications from stomach ulcers at age 42.

December 4, 1976 Tommy Bolin, age 25, dies from a drug overdose in a Miami hotel room, after opening for Jeff Beck at the Jai-Alai Fronton in Miami. Hours before the guitarist's death, Bolin responded to a news reporter's well wishes by saying, "I've been taking care of myself my whole life. Don't worry about me. I'm going to be around for a long time."

May 14, 1976 Keith Relf (lead vocalist for The Yardbirds) dies at age 33 after being electrocuted while playing an improperly grounded guitar in his basement.

March 26, 1976 Blues singer Duster Bennett dies in a car accident at age 29 after falling asleep at the wheel.

March 19, 1976 Paul Kossoff (guitarist for Free), age 25, dies of a pulmonary embolism during a flight from Los Angeles to New York.

February 22, 1976 Shortly after emerging from poverty and alcoholism to make a musical comeback, Florence Ballard (of The Supremes) dies at age 32 of a cardiac arrest caused by a blood clot.

October 1, 1975 Al Jackson Jr. (drummer for Booker T. & The MG's) is killed at age 39 when he finds intruders in his Memphis, Tennessee, home. His estranged wife, Barbara Jackson, is thought to be involved, being that she shot her husband in the chest just months earlier.

June 29, 1975 Folk singer Tim Buckley dies of a drug overdose at age 28. His son is the singer Jeff Buckley.

April 28, 1975 Rock 'n Roll DJ Tom Donahue, who also formed the San Francisco-based Autumn Records, dies of a heart attack at age 46. In 1996, Donahue becomes just one of three disc jockeys to ever be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

February 10, 1975 Dave Alexander (bassist for The Stooges) dies of pulmonary edema at age 27 after being admitted to an Ann Arbor hospital for alcohol-related pancreatitis.

November 25, 1974 Nick Drake dies after overdosing on the antidepressant Tryptasol. Just 26 years old, the British musician released three albums in his lifetime.

September 23, 1974 Robbie McIntosh, drummer for The Average White Band, dies of an accidental heroin overdose at age 24.

May 8, 1974 British R&B musician Graham Bond dies in an apparent suicide at age 36 when he's hit by a train at Finsbury Park station in London, England.