# Rock bands with dead members but no deaths by drug overdose **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 18, 2009, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427 "2009-07-18T13:09:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/61 "2009-07-20T03:16:17Z")
Level 42 lost founding members Phil and Boon Gould (to exhaustion, not death) and replaced them with Gary Husband and Alan Murphy, respectively. Alan Murphy sadly died of AIDS in 1989 - you could also count him as a member of Go West and Kate Bush’s band. The Waitresses’ Patty Donahue died of lung cancer. Jeff Porcaro, drummer for Toto and session drummer extraordinaire, died from an allergic reaction to a pesticide he used in his garden. The Cars’ Benjamin Orr died of pancreatic cancer. Karen Carpenter of The Carpenters died of anorexia (technically heart failure brought on by it). The Bee Gees’ Maurice Gibb died from a twisted intestine (sounds horribly painful, doesn’t it?). Ricky Wilson of the B-52’s died from AIDS. The band’s drummer, Keith Strickland, became the guitarist after his death. Bob Marley… of Bob Marley and The Wailers fame, died of cancer that originated in his big toe from a football injury. As a Rastafarian he refused to have the toe amputated, and the cancer metastasized to affect the rest of his body. Some suggest that the amputation of the toe would have likely ended the cancer’s spread. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/62 "2009-07-20T15:59:21Z")
> [@rolandgunslinger](#): > > Eric Carr of KISS died from cancer. And Mark St. John of a cerebral hemorrhage, although meth may have been a factor, I don’t think it was the official cause. > [@maplekiwi](#): > > Nicolette Larsen died in 1997 of complications from cerebral edema (no, I don’t know what that is either.) It’s water on the brain. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/63 "2009-07-20T16:29:32Z")
Do [Spinal Tap’s drummers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinal_Tap_(band)#Former_members) count? 😃 Gardening accident, choking on (someone else’s?) vomit, spontaneous combustion, onstage explosion, eaten by pet python. There’s one who sold his dialysis machine for drugs and is presumed dead of one thing or another (you could make a case for failed kidneys or drugs), then a couple of unknown fate, and 14 dead who don’t have cause of death recorded for us. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/64 "2009-07-20T17:22:26Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > Bob Marley… of Bob Marley and The Wailers fame, died of cancer that originated in his big toe from a football injury. As a Rastafarian he refused to have the toe amputated, and the cancer metastasized to affect the rest of his body. Some suggest that the amputation of the toe would have likely ended the cancer’s spread. Extending things a bit, Peter Tosh and Carlton Barrett were both murdered. Given that reggae musicians are mostly known for their weed use I don’t think you’ll find a whole lot of drug overdoses in the genre. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/65 "2009-07-20T19:36:54Z")
Fairport Convention: Martin Lamble, the original drummer, died when the group’s van was wrecked. Most, if not all, of the other band members were in the van, and Richard Thompson’s girlfriend was also killed. Lamble is, to the best of my knowledge, the only person who was actually in the band at the time of his death. Sandy Denny died from a cerebral hemorrage after falling down stairs. She was abusing alcohol heavily at the time, and that may have been a factor, but it’s not what killed her. Trevor Lucas, who had been married to Denny, died of a heart attack some years later. He was a member of Fairport for a short time. Dave Swarbrick didn’t die, but came mighty close, after years of smoking like a steel mill. He was saved, for the time being at least, by a double lung transplant. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/66 "2009-07-20T19:48:22Z")
[Harry Chapin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Chapin) died in a car crash. [Gordon Waller](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Waller) died last Friday of a heart attack. ---
**Author:** ![Proudest\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/proudest_monkey/32/13257_2.png) [@Proudest\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Proudest_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/67 "2009-07-20T21:34:04Z")
LeRoi Moore, saxaphonist of **Dave Matthews Band** , died last summer from complications (blood clot) following an ATV accident in which he suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/68 "2009-07-20T22:04:05Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Mark Sandman of the band **Morphine** died of a heart attack on-stage during a show. Guys in a band called Morphine and can’t even manage to OD?? What’s the world coming to? Plus he stole Jonnie Thunder’s death. Though I suppose he doesn’t need it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![poker\_in\_the\_rear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dc4da7/32.png) [@poker\_in\_the\_rear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poker_in_the_rear)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/69 "2009-07-21T02:13:17Z")
Social Distortion ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/70 "2009-07-21T02:29:32Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Crashed planes took out a few, for instance Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and the Big Bopper. I think there’s another major plane crash, but I can’t think who that was. > > ETA: Ahah, I think I was thinking of [Otis Redding](http://listverse.com/2008/01/09/top-10-musician-plane-crash-deaths/) (though admittedly, that’s not quite rock). You weren’t thinking of the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash? Two band members died and the others were injured. Allen Collins survived but later died. He was paralyzed in a car accident he caused by driving drunk. Seven years later he died of pneumonia. I think it was complicated by his condition so you could make a case that it was directly related to his alcohol abuse. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/71 "2009-07-21T13:10:28Z")
The [The Bee Gees](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_Gees#Maurice.27s_death) count, as does brother Andy Gibb amazingly. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/72 "2009-07-21T15:05:59Z")
Jefferson Airplane/Starship: -Papa John Creach (pneumonia,'94) -Skip Spence (lung cancer, '99) I guess Creach’s non-drug related death allows Hot Tuna to be on this list as well. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/73 "2009-07-21T15:55:28Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > Jefferson Airplane/Starship: > > -Papa John Creach (pneumonia,'94) > -Skip Spence (lung cancer, '99) Also Spencer Dryden (cancer). ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/74 "2009-07-21T17:21:53Z")
Why the hell I remember this, I have no idea, but one of the Loverboy guys fell off a boat in the ocean somewhere and drowned. I could go to Wikipedia to provide his name and the date of his passing, but I’m not. ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/75 "2009-07-21T17:25:41Z")
Guitar great Danny Gatton- suicide. Was he in any bands other than with Robert Gordon? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Falling\_Reverend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@The\_Falling\_Reverend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Falling_Reverend)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/76 "2009-07-21T17:35:16Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > The song “Dum Dum Boys” gives his cause of death as “OD’ed on alcohol”, so it seems Iggy himself believed that substance abuse was involved. [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Alexander_(musician)) says “He died of pulmonary edema in 1975 at the age of 27 in Ann Arbor after being admitted to a hospital for pancreatitis, which was linked to his drinking.” > > Even if Dave Alexander’s death is considered non-drug related, The Stooges definitely doesn’t count because Zeke Zettner died of a heroin overdose. Ron Asheton also recently passed away, although that was not drug related, he had a heart attack. Goddamn it, I’m never reading the dope again, in the last 2 days I find out MCA has cancer, Futurama is going to have new voice actors and now I find out Ron Asheton died. You guys are just full of wonderful news. Anyways, I recently re-read Please Kill Me and I’m pretty sure Asheton says he died of pneumonia, I’ll have to double check that part again. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427/77 "2009-07-21T20:26:27Z")
> [@The\_Falling\_Reverend](#): > > Goddamn it, I’m never reading the dope again,… You guys are just full of wonderful news. I’m with ya! While reading this thread, I came across five or six names of people I hadn’t realized had snuffed it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rock-bands-with-dead-members-but-no-deaths-by-drug-overdose/503427.md?page=3)