Rock stars are meant to live hard and die young. There’s an unbelievably long list of rock stars who died at 27, including Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin. They kicked it the rock star way: gun shot, pool of vomit and a heroin overdose. What about the rock stars who kicked the bucket in some very un-rock and roll ways, like most of us?
We’ve found some of the weirdest rock star deaths of all time. We’re left scratching our heads on many of these. Here are the 15 Lamest Rock Star Deaths.
15. Nick Drake, singer-songwriter
Hardly anyone gave a damn about Nick Drake’s music while he was alive. Part of that can be attributed to the fact that he refused to perform live or be interviewed. So, why should anyone care about that guy? He quit making music, and he moved back into his parents’ basement. “I don’t like it at home,” he told his mother, “but I can’t bear it anywhere else.” How emo. Nick died in his parents’ basement of an overdose of anti-depressants, making him the perfect poster boy for hipsters, who made him incredibly famous, long after his death.
14. Matthew Ashman, guitarist for Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow
Matthew Ashman died of… diabetes? We thought only old people died of diabetes? While the rest of the rock world was injecting heroine, Matthew was sneaking off to inject insulin.
13. Stiv Bators, singer of Dead Boys and Lords of the New Church
Stiv Bators was a punk rock legend. With Dead Boys, Stiv helped usher in punk rock in the late 70s. Stiv was walking around drunk one night, and got hit by a cab in Paris. He went to the hospital, but apparently, got bored of waiting, and went home. He died of a concussion. So much for the French health care system.
12. Andy Gibb, singer, brother of the Bee Gees
Disco pop singer Andy Gibb, the brother of disco sensations Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb (better known as the Bee Gees) died at the age of 30 from a viral infection, likely contracted from all that polyester.
11. “Mama” Cass Elliott of the Mamas and Papas
Cass Elliot was rumored to have choked to death on a ham sandwich. The rumor likely was born out of the fact that Cass was a rather portly woman, and a half-eaten ham sandwich was found near her when she died. The autopsy determined that she didn’t choke to death, but died of a heart attack, due to being obese. So, she really was killed by a ham sandwich, after all.
10. Allen Collins, guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd might lead all rock bands for the number of weird deaths, and Allen Collins was at the center of it all. When a plane crash killed most of the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Collins survived. In the 80s, Collins was driving drunk, got into a wreck, killing his girlfriend. Collins survived but was paralyzed. Eventually, he ended up dying of pneumonia. Allen was the original real-life version of “Final Destination.”
9. Keith Relf, singer of the Yardbirds
Keither Relf was killed by rock and roll. Literally. He was playing his guitar at home, didn’t ground it properly and was electrocuted. If he’d smashed it first, now that would have been rock and roll!
8. Sonny Bono, of Sonny and Cher
Sonny lived to 62, which is longer than many rock stars, but it’s the way he went out that was so bizarre. After living through the 60s and even surviving sleeping with Cher, Sonny became a conservative politician. He was skiing when he collided with a tree and died.
7. John Glascock, bassist for Jethro Tull
Glascock partied with the best of them. Ian Anderson warned him about his partying, before finally laying him off from the band. Despite all that partying, Glascock died of pretty unglamorous causes — a heart infection caused by bad teeth.
6. Karen Carpenter, The Carpenters
Musicians are supposed to die from their indulgences. This means taking too much of this and drinking too much of that. Even Cass Elliot sorta had it right in that regard. But Karen died in one of the lamest ways we can think of: from anorexia. Nowadays, of course, they’re all anorexics, so you know what’s really rock star today? Eating a ham sandwich.
5. Michael Hutchence, singer of INXS
Hutchence died from hanging himself, which is kind of rock star by itself. The problem is that Hutchence was naked and left no suicide note. So, it looks like he died of autoerotic asphyxiation. So he was naked, alone, and beating off. Rock stars are supposed to have groupies to handle all of that.
4. Sandy Denny, singer of Fairport Convention
Sandy was a prominent folk-rocker in the late 60s. She is even noted as the only guest vocalist to ever appear on a Led Zeppelin album. In 1978, she fell down a staircase at her parents house, and died. This could have been really rock star if she’d been drunk, but no. She was completely sober.
3. Terry Kath, Guitarist for Chicago
Kath was a big gun enthusiast. So, when he was over at a roadie’s house, he put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger, you know, for fun. Kath’s last words were “Don’t worry, it’s not loaded.”
2. Steve Peregrin Took, founding member of T. Rex
The night before he died, Steve went on a big Morphine binge, so he was doing his damnest to go out like a rock star. He lived through all of that. What did him in, the next day? Steve choked to death on a cocktail cherry.
1. Jeff Porcaro, drummer for Toto
Jeff Porcaro died from gardening. He was working in his garden, and decided to spray his petunias with some pesticide. Apparently, he was allergic. He had a heart attack. Keep it organic, you rockers!
Party like a rock star with the 10 Worst Hairdos in Rock History and these 10 Unluckiest Musicians in Rock History.
This post was written by Steve Gifford, who really hopes he doesn’t go out like a chump.
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