Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
I was writing a song about dying, when I noticed that everyone who writes or sings about death, dies ... and usually tragically, often by suicide. Weirdly, some of the most poignant songs appear on the artist's first album or their last, or in several cases the song is recorded but not released until after their passing. I pulled together this video as a summation of what I found (the list is not exhaustive).
Here are the artists I covered, with a link to their individual stories:
0:00 Start of Video (youtu.be/1FuUKGrjEGY)
0:18 Buddy Holly (youtu.be/2nONGGML6uI)
0:28 2Pac Shakur (youtu.be/yPyBH9rIwOM)
0:38 Biggie Smalls (youtu.be/6maxC8jVB6s)
0:48 Freddy Mercury (youtu.be/3JdhIWgeQPk)
0:58 Amy WInehouse (youtu.be/_E_AEheNEvA)
1:08 Donnie Hathaway (youtu.be/hdckKlLP3mw)
1:18 Karen Carpenter (youtu.be/Obxh1mdGcB0)
1:28 Whitney Houston (youtu.be/Obxh1mdGcB0)
1:38 Cliff Burton (youtu.be/ejfDQhKHfUI)
1:48 Doug Stegmeyer (youtu.be/boiGicry05c)
1:58 Jimi Hendrix (youtu.be/7V-5XhM7g2k)
2:08 Marc Bolan (youtu.be/a1ahd3OL0JM)
2:18 Jill Janus (youtu.be/nR9XRP8Vzsk)
2:28 Jim Morrison (youtu.be/D1dCGmYz1TE)
2:38 Kurt Cobain (youtu.be/XVteNYbpk-4)
2:48 Layne Stayley (youtu.be/F2PLyFG-kp4)
2:58 Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gains, Cassie Gains, Allan Collins (youtu.be/LbInuae8HzA)
3:08 Randy Rhoads (youtu.be/rXVjyCAeLXI)
3:18 Stevie Ray Vaughan (youtu.be/-d0ivwXV6fA)
3:28 Terry Kath (youtu.be/mtsVStP4L7A)
3:38 Tommy Bolin (youtu.be/ZbmujyLpiI0)
3:48 Pete Ham and Tom Evans (youtu.be/N4uPIFeiDBs)
3:58 Juice WRLD (youtu.be/mmcGhEQFQgw)
4:08 Naya Rivera (youtu.be/uQ5CfhBZGCU)
4:18 Hank Williams (youtu.be/vFzF9re-aOw)
4:28 Andrew Wood (youtu.be/h_SgswiXsFU)
4:38 Chris Cornell (youtu.be/GpFgKbUdaW0)
4:48 Chester Bennington (youtu.be/Xgp5-sDoHgU)
4:58 Ian Curtis (youtu.be/cFuuQEcyt-U)
5:08 Pete de Freitas (youtu.be/7SanDbJvcKk)
5:18 Marvin Gaye (youtu.be/eNiw2b2ckQg)
5:28 Michael Hutchence (youtu.be/L5CzG_T8BSY)
5:38 Thomas Wayne (youtu.be/wH5pQVAWQls)
5:48 Prince (youtu.be/vFzF9re-aOw)
5:58 Michael Jackson (youtu.be/jUcz7cVllvg)
6:08 John Lennon (youtu.be/iiKYpN5jIHQ)
6:18 Harry Chapin (youtu.be/sY7YGpx2jx0)
6:28 Helmut Koellen (youtu.be/7XPkZQZ0nk0)
6:38 The Rev (youtu.be/j7sRrInqy3U)
6:48 Allan Wilson, Bob Hite, Henry Vestine (youtu.be/crvIagVLock)
6:58 Gary Thain (youtu.be/O-NLJb7ATsI)
7:08 Laura Nyro (youtu.be/Y6b0DWIeb3M)
7:18 Chris Bell (youtu.be/VyRDV75vykc)
7:28 Andy Gibb (youtu.be/H5kj7e1kLNQ)
7:38 Jani Lane (youtu.be/2fnPYlxYjqc)
7:48 Rob Pilatus (youtu.be/eCiscpB5T8Q)
Side Note: I quickly reworked the theme of my tune to be about returning home through space and time (totally not dying). I then dropped the lyrics and turned the melody into a guitar instrumental. That should be safe (youtu.be/1FuUKGrjEGY)!
I was writing a song about dying, when I noticed that everyone who writes or sings about death, dies ... and usually tragically, often by suicide. Weirdly, some of the most poignant songs appear on the artist's first album or their last, or in several cases the song is recorded but not released until after their passing. I pulled together this video as a summation of what I found (the list is not exhaustive).
Here are the artists I covered, with a link to their individual stories:
0:00 Start of Video (youtu.be/1FuUKGrjEGY)
0:18 Buddy Holly (youtu.be/2nONGGML6uI)
0:28 2Pac Shakur (youtu.be/yPyBH9rIwOM)
0:38 Biggie Smalls (youtu.be/6maxC8jVB6s)
0:48 Freddy Mercury (youtu.be/3JdhIWgeQPk)
0:58 Amy WInehouse (youtu.be/_E_AEheNEvA)
1:08 Donnie Hathaway (youtu.be/hdckKlLP3mw)
1:18 Karen Carpenter (youtu.be/Obxh1mdGcB0)
1:28 Whitney Houston (youtu.be/Obxh1mdGcB0)
1:38 Cliff Burton (youtu.be/ejfDQhKHfUI)
1:48 Doug Stegmeyer (youtu.be/boiGicry05c)
1:58 Jimi Hendrix (youtu.be/7V-5XhM7g2k)
2:08 Marc Bolan (youtu.be/a1ahd3OL0JM)
2:18 Jill Janus (youtu.be/nR9XRP8Vzsk)
2:28 Jim Morrison (youtu.be/D1dCGmYz1TE)
2:38 Kurt Cobain (youtu.be/XVteNYbpk-4)
2:48 Layne Stayley (youtu.be/F2PLyFG-kp4)
2:58 Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gains, Cassie Gains, Allan Collins (youtu.be/LbInuae8HzA)
3:08 Randy Rhoads (youtu.be/rXVjyCAeLXI)
3:18 Stevie Ray Vaughan (youtu.be/-d0ivwXV6fA)
3:28 Terry Kath (youtu.be/mtsVStP4L7A)
3:38 Tommy Bolin (youtu.be/ZbmujyLpiI0)
3:48 Pete Ham and Tom Evans (youtu.be/N4uPIFeiDBs)
3:58 Juice WRLD (youtu.be/mmcGhEQFQgw)
4:08 Naya Rivera (youtu.be/uQ5CfhBZGCU)
4:18 Hank Williams (youtu.be/vFzF9re-aOw)
4:28 Andrew Wood (youtu.be/h_SgswiXsFU)
4:38 Chris Cornell (youtu.be/GpFgKbUdaW0)
4:48 Chester Bennington (youtu.be/Xgp5-sDoHgU)
4:58 Ian Curtis (youtu.be/cFuuQEcyt-U)
5:08 Pete de Freitas (youtu.be/7SanDbJvcKk)
5:18 Marvin Gaye (youtu.be/eNiw2b2ckQg)
5:28 Michael Hutchence (youtu.be/L5CzG_T8BSY)
5:38 Thomas Wayne (youtu.be/wH5pQVAWQls)
5:48 Prince (youtu.be/vFzF9re-aOw)
5:58 Michael Jackson (youtu.be/jUcz7cVllvg)
6:08 John Lennon (youtu.be/iiKYpN5jIHQ)
6:18 Harry Chapin (youtu.be/sY7YGpx2jx0)
6:28 Helmut Koellen (youtu.be/7XPkZQZ0nk0)
6:38 The Rev (youtu.be/j7sRrInqy3U)
6:48 Allan Wilson, Bob Hite, Henry Vestine (youtu.be/crvIagVLock)
6:58 Gary Thain (youtu.be/O-NLJb7ATsI)
7:08 Laura Nyro (youtu.be/Y6b0DWIeb3M)
7:18 Chris Bell (youtu.be/VyRDV75vykc)
7:28 Andy Gibb (youtu.be/H5kj7e1kLNQ)
7:38 Jani Lane (youtu.be/2fnPYlxYjqc)
7:48 Rob Pilatus (youtu.be/eCiscpB5T8Q)
Side Note: I quickly reworked the theme of my tune to be about returning home through space and time (totally not dying). I then dropped the lyrics and turned the melody into a guitar instrumental. That should be safe (youtu.be/1FuUKGrjEGY)!
