Fats was a renowned drinker and it was this that contributed to his death, aged just 39, in December 1943, from pneumonia on board a train at Union Station, Kansas City. Fats Navarro was considered Dizzy’s main rival, as superbly demonstrated on the Fats Navarro Memorial Album, issued shortly after his death. Navarro, born in Key West, Florida, and of Cuban-Black-Chinese parentage, was a major influence on Clifford Brown and many others that followed him, but he died aged just 26. His latest project, instrumentals from his 2022 album “Exister,” was released in December 2023. Vasquez, 44, was found dead Thursday alongside the DJ, real name John “Juan” Mendez, and Mendez’s wife, Simone Ling, 43, after a welfare check, sources told the Los Angeles Times. In 1978, Moon died in his London apartment from an overdose of 32 clomethiazole tablets intended to treat his alcohol withdrawal.
Today, drug overdoses kill more than 100,000 people annually in this country, with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, touted as the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 18 to 45. Those figures led Shane to come clean about his drug abuse on the 2023 single “Pill,” one of two songs from his new album, Damascus, that address the crisis. This ultimate list of rockers and celebrities who died from drugs shows us the constant toll that drugs like heroin have had on popular culture.
According to Ultimate Classic Rock, on May 14, 1976, while playing an electric guitar in his basement, Relf accidentally electrocuted himself, ending his life. On Jan 4, 1970, Moon and his entourage left a pub mobbed with skinheads that were harassing him. While trying to escape, Moon took the wheel of the car and accidentally ran over his friend and chauffeur, killing him. The judge cleared Moon of the three charges he pleaded guilty to — drunk driving, driving without a license, and driving without insurance — because of the circumstances at the pub. However, according to his friend Larry Smith, the moment had an effect on the drummer.
I can say even to this day, I listen to the majority of these musicians. It’s great to see the inspiration they’ve left in this world today. Saunders was the bassist for grunge supergroup Mad Season, which featured members of Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Screaming Trees. Melvoin, who was touring with the Smashing Pumpkins as a keyboardist, died in his Manhattan hotel room in 1996 after using heroin with the band’s drummer, Jimmy Chamberlin. Whatever the case, it is a great tribute album to Andrew Wood; and it is definitely an album from the grunge era that everyone should listen to at least once in their lifetime. Any will know this band due to the timeless Hunger Strike and there’s no denying it’s enduring quality, but this is an album that deserves to be listened to and appreciated as a whole.
He also turned to food for comfort and had gained a considerable amount of weight. In March, Cobain had overdosed on champagne and Rohypnol and was hospitalized. He later agreed to a detox program in Los Angeles but left on March 30 and was missing for several days. Many musicians have had their lives cut short because of bad luck, addiction or their personal actions. There are moments in history where everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing.
It was musicians who died of an overdose as a singer that Nat Cole captivated so many, and this sometimes means that people overlook what a brilliant jazz pianist he was. Hendrix’s death is still somewhat shrouded in mystery due to conflicting stories from people who were with the singer in his final days, including when an ambulance was called and how quickly it arrived to the London hotel where he died. Police at the time said the star took nine sleeping pills and died of suffocation from choking on his vomit, Rolling Stone reported. According to the outlet, English singer-songwriter Eric Burdon said Hendrix left behind a “suicide note” that was actually a poem several pages in length. Miller was open about his issues in his lyrics, like referencing a drug addiction similar to the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died in 2014 from a drug overdose at age 26.
He’s not alone in the country world in opening up about Substance abuse addiction. Grammy-nominated singer Jelly Roll explored his past as a drug user and dealer in songs like “Save Me” and in the Hulu doc of the same name. He’s performed in prisons and recovery centers, and last January, he testified before Congress in support of anti-fentanyl legislation.