# Whose artist's death robbed us of the best (future) hits by this person? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [July 18, 2023, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232 "2023-07-18T23:37:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/81 "2023-07-19T18:13:53Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Lili Boulanger Very nice ! Thanks for that… It wouldn’t surprise me if she influenced one my favorite musicians, John Robert Godfrey (of [The Enid](https://youtu.be/qn54W7I3ydA) fame) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/82 "2023-07-19T18:14:13Z")
I think Elvis deserves a vote. He was only 42 when he died but other vocalists have had productive years long past that. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/83 "2023-07-19T18:52:44Z")
[Steve Goodman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Goodman) died of leukemia in 1984 at age 36. Imagine what he would have written if he were alive when the Cubs won the World Series. There were just a dozen years between _City of New Orleans_ and his death. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/84 "2023-07-19T19:20:49Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > And Robert Johnson? Sometimes I go back and forth as to how important he was. He was FAR from the only guitarist playing that sort of music at the time. He may have been the only one at the time who was combining elements of different styles. Rory Block had this to say in an issue of Guitar Player: “_Robert Johnson learned to combine it all into one style–the strumming, the slide, the percussion, the snapping, everything._” Not to mention his excellent singing. I think he was unique in his time and I’m not sure if anyone’s surpassed him. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/85 "2023-07-19T19:42:43Z")
Joe Strummer’s output as he entered his fifties was amazing. As great as the Clash? Maybe not, but _Streetcore_ is, to my ears, a fantastic record. He was getting his mojo back, I’d say, and if he hadn’t suddenly passed away, I imagine there would have been a handful of pretty stellar records still to come. ---
**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 19, 2023, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/86 "2023-07-19T20:01:13Z")
Brian Jones. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/87 "2023-07-19T20:07:02Z")
> [@PackerMan2](#): > > I think if that plane hadn’t crashed, today we would think of Lynyrd Skynyrd as one of the greatest American rock bands of all time. A lot of people already think that. I think Ronnie Van Zant is a good choice, but the unsung member of the band who died that day was their recently acquired lead guitarist, Steve Gaines. He joined the band just before ‘Street Survivors’, and had been with them about a year, but had already written or co-written several of their hits, including two of my favorite Skynyrd songs (“I Know a Little” and “Ain’t No Good Life” - on which he was lead vocalist as well). He also wrote “You Got That Right”. He was also a great singer. Ronnie Van Zant himself said, “We’ll all be in Steve’s shadow one day.” Steve Gaines is the one I often wonder about. We never really got to see what he could do, but he was considered the best of the best by the people closest to him, including the people in one of the best bands playing at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/88 "2023-07-19T20:12:16Z")
Maybe there’s a generation gap at play, but I’m surprised to not see Bradley Nowell (died at 28, 1996) or Elliott Smith (died at 34 in 2003) mentioned here. I’m not going to say they would have given us THE best songs, necessarily - they were not Jimi Hendrix, but both very creative and talented artists who undoubtedly would have evolved and grown substantially if their lives hadn’t been cut short. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/89 "2023-07-19T20:23:29Z")
Clarence White was having good success as a guitarist in the Byrds and in bluegrass circles when he was killed by a drunk driver as he was unloading equipment on the street outside a gig. Bobby Fuller was pretty young too. Buddy Holly would have been interesting, because of the major fashion changes and musical styles, as everyone strove to look and sound more outrageous, louder, etc. The Beach Boys were maybe hip in ‘64 and ‘65 but by ‘68 or ‘69 were seen about as out of date as Glenn Miller (another performer who might have had an interesting post war career). Besides, real surfers never listened to the Beach Boys. They did try “update” their image but it never did quite seem to jell. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/90 "2023-07-19T20:28:36Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > He may have been the only one at the time who was combining elements of different styles. I may well be displaying my ignorance. And perhaps Robert Palmer is the type of genius who appeals to other geniuses more than to me as a mere aficionado. But I greatly prefer the likes of Son House, Lightning Hopkins, T-Bone Walker… I’ve been listening to a lot of very early old time recordings from the 20s-30s lately. Despite my best efforts, there are large groupings of such recordings that sound almost like buzzing insects to my modern day ears. Maybe I am similarly challenged in listening to Robert Johnson. Or Charlie Patton… ---
**Author:** ![PackerMan2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/packerman2/32/2894_2.png) [@PackerMan2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PackerMan2)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/91 "2023-07-19T20:34:21Z")
You can count me in that group. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/92 "2023-07-19T20:34:31Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > First mention of James Dean, who died at 24. I worry he would have turned into “fat Brando”. Brando got all the roles that Dean would have. Look at how he turned out. (the…horror…) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/93 "2023-07-19T21:29:44Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Folk like Jimi/Janis/Morrison - I have a hard time imagining them independent of their self abuse. Almost hard to imagine what a 40 yr old Jimi or Janis woulda been like. I don’t know why, but for some reason I place them yet another step down. They were products of their specific times. How would they have adapted? That might be true for Janis and Morrison, but Hendrix was whole different level. He didn’t just make some incredible tunes he was genuinely groundbreaking. I could totally imagine him being like Bowie and reinventing himself every few years and carrying on being groundbreaking. I’d pay the ticket in the alternative reality shuttle just to hear his response to Funk. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/94 "2023-07-19T21:31:50Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > That might be true for Janis and Morrison, but Hendrix was whole different level. I think you are correct. I stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/95 "2023-07-19T21:38:56Z")
You might want to give Greg Bear’s “Songs of Earth and Power” a read. It’s an odd little SF book by an SF author whose stuff is among my favorites, and who also died recently, a bit too young. In the story, he envisions (among other things) a place where talented people are taken away to, when leaving humanity too early. Mozart is there, as well as Gustav Mahler (interesting…) and a few others such as are found in this thread. The Mozart character helps the protagonist to resolve his situation. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/96 "2023-07-19T21:47:38Z")
I had never heard of Selena until she died, or the Tejano music genre for that matter. Just imagine Frank Zappa, or Divine for that matter, still being alive in today’s political and social environment. ---
**Author:** ![Tarataratara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Tarataratara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarataratara)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/97 "2023-07-19T22:21:01Z")
Oh, yes, the ending of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles just knocks me over every Thanksgiving. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/98 "2023-07-19T22:28:19Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > In the story, he envisions (among other things) a place where talented people are taken away to, when leaving humanity too early. And you know they have a hell of a band. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/99 "2023-07-19T22:37:59Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Oh, and Warren Zevon. Despite his being 56 at the time of his death, I agree. I’d go so far as to mention Leonard Cohen, who at 82 was IMHO at the top of his game. His last two albums, _Popular Problems_ and _You Want it Darker_, released in his 80s, and the posthumously released _Thanks for the Dance_ were his best works. _Happens to the Heart_ from his posthumous album is, IMHO, his best song. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232/100 "2023-07-20T00:04:47Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Just imagine Frank Zappa, or Divine for that matter, still being alive in today’s political and social environment. They might have become Trumpians out of sheer contrariness. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-artists-death-robbed-us-of-the-best-future-hits-by-this-person/987232.md?page=6)