Gotta pick Zappa for this one. He continued to improve and innovate until he died, well into his 50’s. No reason to think he wouldn’t continue. Also, no danger of a recurring drug problem since he didn’t use them.
Umm fella’s “one” zombie per poster is the rules.
Jimi Hendrix.
If John Lennon was alive today he would probably say Buddy Holly.
Shannon Hoon, Blind Melon
Kurt Cobain
Nick Drake
I’d bring back Kurt Cobain with one condition…hmmm…ok I choose Syphilus.
Erek
Ian Curtis
I don’t know man.
That was one of those deaths that was just…right. What if he would have went on and started playing lame disco like his bandmates, or worse yet, turned Morrisey-like. If he wouldn’t have killed himself, Joy Division would have been just another whiney new wave band but he proved he meant what he was singing. Lets just keep Ian in his grave.
On an unrelated note…
I wonder what Ozzy would be doing right now if he hadn’t died after leaving Black Sabbath. Maybe he would have turned into a pop culture icon and starred in his own cheesey sitcom. Oh…um…never mind. 
mswas: Kurt was banging Courtney Love…I bet he had all that and more!
Jon
Everybody knows that already. 
I’d say Zappa first and then maybe Jimi or Mark Sandman. If Jimi continued being great ir would have been amazing but I fear he would suck. Sandman is not one of the greats like him but he made good music, wouldn’t be too old and I’m curious about what direction would Morphine have followed.
Without a doubt, Warren Zevon. Then he could write a great album about what it was like on the other side.
I really, really wanted to hear Warren’s take on getting old, becoming a grandfather, being a patriarch, etc. It would have been fascinating, and comforting.
I don’t know about Cobain… He was suicidal, after all. What if you brought him back and he just killed himself again? I think we should rule out those crazed geniuses like Morrison and Cobain who either killed themselves or were burning out.
So I’d vote for those geniuses who were taken at the prime of their ability, and those who showed promise to create even greater music in the future. So my vote is for Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ronnie Van Zandt, and Jimmy Hendrix. And I think John Lennon had a second wind to him - He was in the process of getting over himself and pulling his life back together. But he also might have become absolutely insufferable as he aged.
After all, her death was a senseless accident (she was swimming/snorkeling in a “no boats” area), so it’s not like she’d just up and do herself in again like some of the candidates already mentioned. She was relatively young (41, barely), she’d be turning 44 next month if she’d lived, and she was just entering a new phase in her career that she was apparently very energized by. Besides which, at least in the rock genre, there’s still no one I’d rather listen to, Neko Case and Kelly Hogan included.
My choice would be:
Harry Chapin
That guy could tell a story in a song like no one else.
I’d swap John and George for Paul and Ringo.
Janis Joplin. For sure. Though I’d be tempted by Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and Freddie Mercury.
I disagree on voice vs instrument skills. Singing is just as much a matter of performance skill as playing an instrument. You can get better and better. And in rock and blues, the classical voice quality doesn’t matter - look at Billie Holliday, one of the world’s greatest ever performers. Real sucky voice - limited range, scratchy as hell, but sheer heart-breaking genius.
Oh, God, the rockers are coming back…
Where’s the paw?
WHERE’S THE FUCKING MONKEY’S PAW???
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!
What’s with the stipulation being you can only bring back one, so everyone makes a list?
Seriously though, I don’t think I’d want to bring anyone back. Most of them are legendary, and their death cemented that. I wouldn’t want to tarnish it.
Think Michael Jordan and the Wizards…
Awww, I dunno about bringing back Johnny Cash. I think it would be kinda cruel with him being so ill and missing June and all.
For my pick, gotta go with Randy Rhoads. Given that he had so much influence with his relatively small body of work, I always wondered where he would have taken his playing had he lived.
Wow. This may be the most depressing thread I’ve ever read, and that’s not just because of the three people I hadn’t known were dead.
Time for some Billie Holiday and alcohol abuse.
Englebert Humperdinck
Naw, I’m just kidding. He’s not really dead.
Actually, he is.
No, not really! Don’t be silly.
[sub]Yeah, he really is dead.[/sub]