If you could bring a dead rock star back to life

[Spiritinthesky]

If you could bring a dead rock star back to life for one gig, who would it be?

John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis, Kurt Cobain, Buddy Holly, Freddie Mercury? Or someone else?

This Day in Music are carrying out a world-wide survey to see which dead rock stars people would want to see again - for one night only!

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[WhyNot]

Assuming this isn't just spam, my vote goes to Jim Morrison. I'd love a whole show, but if I could just once hear "The End" (the longest version possible!) played live with him as frontman...well, I think my brain would just melt in delightful trippy cathartic angst.

[Wakinyan]

I'd like the return of the king, with an early Las Vegas show, which contrary to popular belief probably was one of the best acts in show business ever. Everybody, from New York journalists to Hollywood stars, went nuts, and I would like to experience why, by being right there.

[Leaffan]

Assuming this isn't just spam, my vote goes to Jim Morrison. I'd love a whole show, but if I could just once hear "The End" (the longest version possible!) played live with him as frontman...well, I think my brain would just melt in delightful trippy cathartic angst.
My vote for Mr. Mojo too.

Lennon would have been good, but only if we get George back and the Beatles for a gig.

[Drunky Smurf]

I'd say Freddie Mercury.

[MTRG]

Jimi hendrix

[ivan astikov]

Another vote for Mr Mojo Risin. I'd love to hear the "Onk a chonk chonk, a chee chonk chonk, a alright!!" from Roadhouse Blues live...or even better, The Soft Parade. "When I was back in seminary school...."

[Hilarity N. Suze]

Oooh, Jim Morrison is a good one. I did see him live, back in the old days.

However, I think my vote would be Janis Joplin.

[Little Wing]

For a more recent rocker (comparatively speaking), my vote is Stevie Ray Vaughan.

[fluiddruid]

I banned the OP for posting multiple links to his website, but the thread is interesting, so I'm going to go ahead and leave it.

[Queen Bruin]

As a Bruin (and Doors fan), of course I have to cast my vote in favor of the Lizard King.

I'd sure like to see Janis, though.

[gallows fodder]

I'd sure like to see Janis, though.
She was who I thought of, too. And Mark Sandman of Morphine.

[Argent Towers]

Bob Dylan.

[woodstockbirdybird]

I'd say Lennon/Harrison if it was for a Beatles reunion. Otherwise I'd go with Joe Strummer or D. Boon. With Buddy Holly an outside favorite.

[Terminus Est]

If I could bring back two dead rockers, it would be Keith Moon and John Entwistle.

If only one, then Freddie Mercury.

[Miller]

Joe Strummer.

[Glory]

Jeff Buckley, he died so young. I wonder what he would have done if he had lived longer.

[gonzomax]

Janis without a doubt..

[pinkfreud]

She wasn't exactly a rock star, but I'd sure like to be able to attend a Patsy Cline concert.

[psycat90]

Rock. I would love to see Queen, so I'd say Freddie Mercury.

But if R& B could be categorized under rock, then it'd be Sam Cooke, no question, although Jackie Wilson would be a close runner up.

[silenus]

Bring back for good: John Lennon

Bring back for one gig: either Janis or Jimi

[blondebear]

Since my first choice(s) have already been mentioned, I'll go with Steve Marriott.

[Superfreaknduper]

Bob Dylan.


...but he isnt dead ( :confused: ) . I'm guessing I'm younger than everyone else but I would have to go with Bradley Nowell of Sublime.

[NicePete]

Jerry Garcia for one last Dead show.

[Clothahump]

Karen Carpenter.

[Magiver]

Another vote for Jimi Hendrix

And I really miss Michael Hedges - saw him 3 times. I give extra credit to musicians who can play live better than than they can do studio work.

[Octalcode]

Johnny Thunders.

[eleanorigby]

John Lennon. I was just thinking the other day--what would he be creating musically about now? if he were still around....

[Hamlet]

I've never quite understood the whole cult of Jim Morrison. I did, for a brief period in college, really, really like them. But then I actually started to listen to their musical catalog and, to be nice, was not all that impressed. But, even beyond that, his voice was mediocre at best and his lyrics are great only if you're .... in an altered state. But without the aid of alcohol or other substances, they're complete crap. To me, Morrison was all image, with his "troubled genius poet" persona making up for a crappy voice and stupid lyrics.

But to each their own.

Give me Lennon or Cobain. I'd love to see what Lennon would have done in the 80's, and Cobain had a ton of potential, I thought.

[kunilou]

Bring back for good: John Lennon

Bring back for one gig: either Janis or Jimi

Ditto.

[psycat90]

...but he isnt dead ( :confused: ) . I'm guessing I'm younger than everyone else but I would have to go with Bradley Nowell of Sublime.


Nah. He's my runner up. I'd love to see Sublime, but Queen just beats them in my book.

[BrassyPhrase]

If you could bring a dead rock star back to life for one gig, who would it be?



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Rock star? Janis.

But if you said musician? Harry Chapin.

That's not hijack--my best friend and I used to have car drive game we played.

I think I learned it from Good Times. We called it 'Boat Water People'

You and two people in a rowboat that only takes two--Who Do You Pick?

(Real people you know can't be used. And who you pick? You have to give a reason.)

The real goal is to try to pick two that makes the other person agonize.

One he did for me: Janis or Harry.

I picked Harry b/c Janis contributed to her pain and Harry died in a car wreck.


If I could have either I'd be blissed :)

[drm]

Freddie Mercury. I'd give anything to see Queen in concert.

[MadPansy64]

How to pick just one? Freddie, Janis, Stevie Ray, Patsy Cline, Bessie Smith . . .

I gotta go with Janis Joplin for the zombie Rocker win.

[lawoot]

Frank Zappa

[WarmNPrickly]

I don't know. When it comes to promising careers cut short, it's hard to miss J.P. Richardson aka The Big Bopper. That voice was just charming.

Chantilly lace and a pretty face, and a pony tail hangin down ....

That song just brings a smile to my face every time. It's definitely my favorite 50's classic.

ETA: Nat King Cole is way up there to.

[Wile E]

My first thought was Freddie Mercury, that man could sing like no one else.

If it could be two, then I'd also go with the Beatles reunion of Lennon and Harrison.

[Queen Bruin]

But to each their own.

Exactly what I say about Nirvana fans :p

[Omega Glory]

SRV, or Otis Redding if he counts as a rock star.

[Equipoise]

If I had that kind of (creepy) power, I'd have the power to position the players to make dreams come true.

I'd give up my chance and do it for someone else. I'd bring back Freddie Mercury just so Happy Rhodes could meet him and sing with him. She worshiped the ground he walked on and even though she's never said so, I think singing with him even just once was a Holy Grail for her. To simply meet him would have been a dream come true for her. Even just to know that he knew she existed would have made her century. I'd bring back Freddie for Happy, because that would be the Ultimate Life Goal for her, while to me it would only pay back about 1% of all the joy her music has given me.

However, if I could do two, one for her and one for me, for myself, it'd be Jeff Buckley. I saw him in concert but I never got to meet him and I'd want to meet him and tell him how his music affected me. Plus, he went out of his way to attend a Happy Rhodes concert once and at the time I heard about it I swore that I would meet him one day and ask him about it. I never got that chance.

If I could do three, one for Happy, one for me and one for the world at large, the third would be Kirsty MacColl. I saw Kirsty live and got to meet her multiple times, so I have that already, but she died way too soon.

Asking for four is really pushing it, but I'd want Eva Cassidy to perform in front of the millions of fans she only got AFTER she died, to let her know that her voice didn't die along with her, to be heard forevermore only by her friends and family and a handful of bar patrons in Washington, D.C.

[Freudian Slit]

Roy Orbison. Not sure if he counts as "rock star" exactly, but I love his voice so much.

[SuntanTigerTamer]

Ian Curtis, hands down :(

[gaffa]

If I could do three, one for Happy, one for me and one for the world at large, the third would be Kirsty MacColl. I saw Kirsty live and got to meet her multiple times, so I have that already, but she died way too soon.
Seconded on Kirsty. One additional mitigating factor is that Kirsty gave her life to save her child from an idiot in a speedboat barreling down upon her and her children in an area clearly marked for diving. I'm literally in tears as I write this at the injustice of her death and the selflessness of her act. She was a great performer, a wonderful singer and (again IMO) one of the top 10 pop songwriters of the past 50 years, up there with Elvis Costello and the Beatles.

[Valgard]

Elvis Presley.

Freddie Mercury.

Bon Scott.

[kaylasdad99]

Never mind, it was tasteless.

[MrDibble]

Ian Curtis

otherwise

Adrian Borland

otherwise

Marc Boland

[Koxinga]

You know, Stephen King had a short story about this: "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band". It did a good job of illustrating rock and roll's creepy side.

[ivan astikov]

Ian Curtis, hands down :(

He'd have been my choice if Jim was otherwise indisposed. :)

Koxinga: That is one of my fave SK shorts.

[DfrntBreign]

Allen Woody, bass
Tommy Bolin, electric gtr
Keith Godchaux, keys
Jimmie Spheeris, vox and piano
Jeff Porcaro, drums

All of these guys should be mentioned, and look, they could be a band!

No one suggested Sandy Denny? She can sit in with us.

[TheLoadedDog]

Within the spirit of the OP, then Elvis or Freddie.

If we can forget the "one night only" part, then Jim Morrison, because I think when he died he was just maturing out of the "bad teenage poetry" phase and getting into some good, bluesy stuff. As an older guy, he'd have been mellow and interesting (I'm not a diehard Doors fan either).

If we can forget the "rock" part, then Johnny Cash, of course.

[Annie-Xmas]

Definitely John Lennon. The others are rock stars, Lennon was a rock god.

[PunditLisa]

I wouldn't bring back any of the rockers who died of drug related deaths. First because they had a hand in their own deaths. Whatever cosmic pain that drew them to repeatedly stick the proverbial needle in their arm would still be present upon their resurrection, so best to leave them in peace. Second is that by dying young, they sealed their place in rock mythology and I wouldn't want to deny them that. So rock on in the afterlife, Elvis, Janis, Jimmy, Kurt, Keith, Mama Cass, Jim, etc.

I'd have to pick Otis Redding because he was young, talented, and in the prime of his career when his plane went down. He had that bluesy southern sound about him that's timeless. And, face it, few of the black forerunners of rock ever got their due.

[BaneSidhe]

Three guitar greats---SRV, Rory Gallagher and Mick Ronson.

[DrCube]

Kurt Cobain for sure.

I'm not a huge Lennon fan by himself, but would love to see the Beatles come back from the dead.

Robert Johnson would be on the list, too, but I'm not sure if this is about people who would still be alive today if they didn't die young. Besides, he wasn't quite 'rock'. Yet.

[Labdad]

Duane Allman - his guitar contiues to send shivers up my spine. Imagine if he had another 35 years to perfect his craft!

[jali]

Freddie Mercury

Marvin Gaye

[VanillaGorilla]

If it's just for one show I guess I'll pick Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon, a very underestimated band.
If it was for a longer period of time, I guess Kurt Cobain would be my pick, but a Blind Melon concert would be neater...

[Dolores Reborn]

It's rough to just pick one. I'd have to go with Stevie Ray Vaughn. Or Freddie Mercury.

[The Scrivener]

If soul, gospel and country are fair game, then either Ray Charles or Johnny Cash -- who didn't do soul, but was making some of his best music right at the end.

What, no votes for James Brown? He remained active, and was probably still capable of making some good new music.

[Simmerdown]

Robert Nesta Marley

[Tully Mars]

Stevie Ray Vaughn - because he didn't finish making music, darnit.

[bauble]

Warren Zevon.

[norinew]

My first thought was Freddie Mercury, that man could sing like no one else.

If it could be two, then I'd also go with the Beatles reunion of Lennon and Harrison.
(note: I did not read the whole thread before quoting and addressing this, so please forgive me if I'm just "ditto-ing")

Freddie would get my vote, too, but not just because he could sing like no one else (which he could) but he was just, like, maybe the greatest front-man in all contemporary rock. He could sing, yeah, but he was also just so damned sexy and charismatic!!

[side note]my 8YO daughter is very interested in music, and seems to have an ear for it; she came into the kitchen once when I was washing dishes and listening to Queen's A Night At The Opera and she said "Hey, mom, is this rock music?"
I had to stop for a minute. Finally I said, "Well, kind of. It's Queen. They kind of defined their own genre". [/side note]

[Windwalker]

Jeff Buckley. He only released one fantastic album, and perhaps he would have spent the rest of his career trying to live up to it, but I sure would have liked to see him try.


Elliott Smith would be my second choice. He was quite unique in my mind, and I really enjoyed how he kept growing from album to album. Not necessarily better (I think he peaked with XO), but really experimenting with different techniques and styles. From A Basement On The Hill was to be his self-declared White Album, and it's a shame he never got to finish it himself. He did stab himself in the heart, but I think he would have taken it back if he could...

[greatshakes]

...but he isnt dead ( :confused: )
Apparently, you haven't seen him on Youtube, in concert, etc...

That being said, I'd go with Michael Hedges.
Failing that, I'd have to choose Marc Bolan.
Failing THAT, I'd choose the guitarist for Alice Cooper...Glen Buxton?

[Argent Towers]

...but he isnt dead ( :confused: ) . I'm guessing I'm younger than everyone else but I would have to go with Bradley Nowell of Sublime.

I was joking. Many people who've seen Dylan's live performances lately have commented that he might as well be a corpse on stage.

I'd agree with you on Nowell. He could have potentially gone in a lot of directions. Sublime was sort of 50 percent punk rock, 40 percent reggae, 10 percent hip-hop or something in that vein. I fear if he had lived, with the boom in commercial radio rap in the late 90s and early part of 2000, he might have gone that route and gotten sucked into collaborating with (IMHO) untalented assholes like Kanye West and whored himself out for record sales by assimilating shitty rap beats and abandoning the punk rock side of Sublime, which is the side I always liked the most.

[betenoir]

Most of mine have been mentioned. Lennon, Kurt, Strummer.

But no one has brought up Joey Ramone??

[K364]

Karen Carpenter.
Hallelujah and amen.

[Washoe]

Bob Stinson. I'd love to see the 'Mats one more time at their inebriated best.

[Bearflag70]

So many good picks. I was going to add Roy Orbison but someone beat me to it.

I'll add Michael Hutchence

[Euthanasiast]

Stevie Ray Vaughn - because he didn't finish making music, darnit.

That's the way I feel about it. We were robbed of a man that had come back from the brink and was making great music again. I mean by comparison, why bring Elvis or the like back? He was pretty much washed up by then anyway.

Stevie Ray Vaughan, with Jimi Hendrix a close second.

Oh, and Eddie Van Halen. Definitely bring him back from the dead.

[Malacandra]

John Entwistle. I'm sure Mrs M would like to spend another afternoon chatting with her uncle, and I pretty much missed my chance to get to know him (not being a celebrity-hunter or a Who fan).

[MadTheSwine]

Freddie Mercury

[Creaky]

Oh, definitely Buddy Holly.

I'd invite him to one of our barbecues and ask him to sing "Every Day" for all of us. It really is a lovely song and one of my favorites.

Then I'd give him a cookie. He just looks like somebody who likes cookies.

It would be a nice evening.

[ivan astikov]

Robert Nesta Marley

I'd be blubbing like a love-struck teen if I heard "Waiting In Vain" live. :)

[NoCoolUserName]

For one gig: Freddie

The fact that <expletive deleted>* is now, apparently, an actual part of Queen (they're in the studio doing a new album) is a travesty beyond my comprehension. I never got to see Freddie live, and I sincerely regret that.

To prevent the death from ever happening: Jimi

A musical talent beyond compare, I would love to see what he could do with an extra 40 years of musical growth and influence.

In this category, I might list Marc Bolan, Jeff Buckley, and a few others who missed out on what might have been--as did we all.


* Paul Rogers, of Free and Bad Company, has an excellent rock-and-roll voice, but he is not even close to Freddie's caliber as a performer, musician, composer, rock star.

[Leaffan]

John Entwistle. I'm sure Mrs M would like to spend another afternoon chatting with her uncle, and I pretty much missed my chance to get to know him (not being a celebrity-hunter or a Who fan).
Wow! Just fucking wow! After The Beatles, The Who is probably my favourite band.

I would have loved to have a chat with Uncle Ox about the good old days.

[Emily Litella]

*All of the above* but if I could pick one somewhat obscure guy I'd go with Steve Clark of Def Leppard. I like SRV and Duane Allman better but I would've liked to hear what he'd be doing now. I really liked his songs, especially Switch 625.

[ralph124c]

..but not sure he is dead!

[Anastasaeon]

Joe Strummer.

Seconded.

I wrote a long paragraph here, but deleted it. Shit, there's nothing that can be said, really.

[HoboStew]

I'd agree with you on Nowell. He could have potentially gone in a lot of directions. Sublime was sort of 50 percent punk rock, 40 percent reggae, 10 percent hip-hop or something in that vein. I fear if he had lived, with the boom in commercial radio rap in the late 90s and early part of 2000, he might have gone that route and gotten sucked into collaborating with (IMHO) untalented assholes like Kanye West and whored himself out for record sales by assimilating shitty rap beats and abandoning the punk rock side of Sublime, which is the side I always liked the most.That's who I came here to say. I know many will regard this as heresy, but I've always felt that we lost more (future) good music when he died than when Cobain died.

[Larry Borgia]

Kurt Cobain was starting to find his own sound and Nirvana was growing beyond a Pixies imitator. It would have been interesting to see what happened. Of course since he killed himself there wouldn't be any guarantee he wouldn't just up and go do it again.

[Deeg]

I have arbitrarily decided to not bring back someone who killed themselves, directly or indirectly. That makes Freddie--who was my first choice--borderline. Therefore it's Lennon.

[Argent Towers]

That's who I came here to say. I know many will regard this as heresy, but I've always felt that we lost more (future) good music when he died than when Cobain died.

This isn't heresy. Cobain is idolized because his music is depressing and dreary and therefore has "meaning" to people. Brad Nowell was a better musician and Sublime was a billion times more entertaining to listen to. Nirvana was vastly overrated. This is just my opinion, anyway.

[Kilvert's Pagan]

Frank ZappaSeconded, although not necessarily so that he could do a gig. I'd just want him to continue composing.


please ...don't anyone go there...

[carnivorousplant]

Jim Morrison was my first thought, but having read posts, Janis could sing the blues at 60 like an angel, and Jimi like the Devil.
But to pick only one, for art, it must be Robert Johnson.

[Leaffan]

Jim Morrison was my first thought, but having read posts, Janis could sing the blues at 60 like an angel, and Jimi like the Devil.
But to pick only one, for art, it must be Robert Johnson.
Janis? 60? Huh?

[UntouchedTakeaway]

Warren Zevon.

VCNJ~

[Freudian Slit]

I wouldn't bring back any of the rockers who died of drug related deaths. First because they had a hand in their own deaths. Whatever cosmic pain that drew them to repeatedly stick the proverbial needle in their arm would still be present upon their resurrection, so best to leave them in peace.
Cosmic pain? What if they just got addicted to drugs?

[Gukumatz]

If it's just for one show I guess I'll pick Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon, a very underestimated band.
Oh God, YES!

Hearing the crooning in Time, live, would make my heart stop.

And then getting to hear Fairytale of New York with Kirsty McColl and the Pogues would make it explode.

[An Arky]

Most of mine have been mentioned. Lennon, Kurt, Strummer.

But no one has brought up Joey Ramone??


I wanted to do that, but I'd really like all 3 dead Ramones, Joey, Dee Dee and Johnny, back. Along with Joe Strummer, while we're at it.

[Wile E]

I have arbitrarily decided to not bring back someone who killed themselves, directly or indirectly. That makes Freddie--who was my first choice--borderline. Therefore it's Lennon.

I almost said I wouldn't bring back anyone who killed themselves directly or indirectly with drugs, then I was sure someone would say "but Freddie Mercury killed himself with his lifestyle!" so I didn't say that so I wouldn't have to say that it's not the same thing at all, but anwyay, it's not the same thing at all!



I still stick with Freddie but I am tempted to say Keith Richards, just because it might be interesting to see what he'd be like if he weren't one of the Undead.

[HoboStew]

This isn't heresy. Cobain is idolized because his music is depressing and dreary and therefore has "meaning" to people. Brad Nowell was a better musician and Sublime was a billion times more entertaining to listen to. Nirvana was vastly overrated. This is just my opinion, anyway.Yay! I'm not alone!

[Gatopescado]

Just one show? Gimme SRV then.

[pseudotriton ruber ruber]

Bob Dylan.

[gaffa]

I almost said I wouldn't bring back anyone who killed themselves directly or indirectly with drugs, then I was sure someone would say "but Freddie Mercury killed himself with his lifestyle!" so I didn't say that so I wouldn't have to say that it's not the same thing at all, but anwyay, it's not the same thing at all!
Lifestyle? He was a rock star! Having loads of debauched sex with random people is in the job description. Freddie just unlucky compared to his fellow rock stars.

[blondebear]

John Entwistle. I'm sure Mrs M would like to spend another afternoon chatting with her uncle, and I pretty much missed my chance to get to know him (not being a celebrity-hunter or a Who fan).Hmmm...John was an only child. I guess your wife is related to one of his wives?

[Boyo Jim]

If they brought back Elvis, I'd feel obliged to kill him again. I can't say why exactly but somehow, listening to an Elvis concert would be the thing that Big Brother would use to break me.

I vote for Morrison.

[Loach]

Stevie Ray was my favorite when he was alive so I can't abandon him in death. I would hate for it to only be for one night. He already made some great music and he was starting to expand his style. I would have loved to have seen how he would have grown. I saw him live more than any other artist.

I would have also mentioned Bradley from Sublime if I got here earlier. I didn't get into Sublime until after his death so it doesn't have the same impact for me. Word of SRVs death was like a knife to my heart. I met him once and his autograph is one of my prized possesions.

[Marley23]

Robert Nesta Marley
I can't really describe what seeing him perform would be like, so I have to give him the edge over Duane Allman. If the world needs any one musician, I think it's him, just ahead of Lennon.

[Sigmagirl]

Oh, definitely Buddy Holly.

I'd invite him to one of our barbecues and ask him to sing "Every Day" for all of us. It really is a lovely song and one of my favorites.

Then I'd give him a cookie. He just looks like somebody who likes cookies.

It would be a nice evening.
I like this. And I will bring the cookies.

[Annie-Xmas]

Could he sing "American Pie"? The irony would be wonderful.

[Guy Incognito]

Another vote for Freddie Mercury.

How about Nick Drake - provided he doesn't kill himself again, of course?

Just thought of another one: Benjamin Orr. I'd love to have a real reunion of The Cars.

[Creaky]

I like this. And I will bring the cookies.


Bless you, dear! :)

Wasn't Buddy Holly just the best?

I went to karaoke last night and sang "Every Day" (badly, no doubt!) in Buddy's honor. Did you know that there were actually people there who didn't know who did that song?

It really is very sad that Buddy Holly is dead. He just looked like such a sweet kid.

[sulamith]

I agree with so many that already have multiple votes, so to be different, I would like to suggest

Ronnie Van Zant

Now, now, don't throw anything at me! He was a hard-scrabble redneck to the bone, but damn he had the heart of a poet. I would love to see how his songwriting would have matured, especially considering he was beginning to grow up and ease up on the paryting when he was killed.