After a recent Coverville episode on Jimi Hendrix, who would have been 70 years old this year, I thought I’d take another trip down Gone Too Soon lane, in which I highlight musicians in my library who died at too young an age. My first two entries are here and here, which I suppose means this is now an annual event. Be that as it may, here’s the list this time:
1. Foxy Lady – Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970)
2. Me and Bobby McGee – Kris Kristofferson (Janis Joplin, 1943-1970)
3. Come As You Are – Midnight Juggernauts (orig. Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, 1967-1994)
4. The Rainbow Connection – Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson, 1936-1990)
5. Rhapsody In Blue – Trinity University Wind Symphony (George Gershwin, 1898-1937)
6. Return of the Grievous Angel – Gram Parsons (1946-1973)
7. Sugar Magnolia – Grateful Dead (Jerry Garcia, 1942-1995)
8. Can’t Stop Killing You – Kirsty MacColl (1959-2000)
9. Self Control – Laura Branigan (1957-2004)
10. Willin’ – Little Feat (Lowell George, 1945-1979)
As always when I compile one of these lists, I find myself wondering what some of these people would be doing if they were still with us today. If the Rolling Stones can embark on a 50th anniversary tour, it’s hard to imagine that the likes of Hendrix and Joplin would not still be out there making music. Maybe from our perspective as music consumers, it’s better that they burned out instead of faded away, but I can’t quite bring myself to believe that. Anyway, I suspect I’ll have enough material to do yet another one of these lists next year, without much if any repetition. I just hope there aren’t any new names to add to the list.