The Kolog

Too Talented To Leave Us Forever

I realize my posts over the past month have been rather heavy, but for good reason.  Yet, while I want to write about a topic that deals not with current events, I remain determined to maintain some degree of seriousness which recent happenings have required.

In that vain: let me discuss the tragedies that have plagued the American music scene over the past fifty years or so.

On my drive back from the ‘Burg tonight, I listened to Otis Redding’s “Happy Song” on the radio, which led me to think about his untimely death and other late greats who have left our listening ears too soon.

Obviously, Otis is right at the top of any list, and he is joined, in my humble opinion, by Ritchie Valens, Janis Joplin, the Big Bopper, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Dwayne Allman, John Lennon, Bob Marley, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kurt Cobain and Tupac Shakur.

Now, I realize there are many other artists who have died well before their prime whom I have neglected to list here.  So, I beg you to participate: who do you miss?

On a more optimistic note: who are the artists who could have perished but for the grace of god yet have survived the years?  In my book, Bob Dylan tops the list, followed by George Harrison, Jerry Garcia, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Jeff Tweedy, just to name a few…You?

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