Singers'(Celebrities) Deaths That Hit You the Hardest

[Dom Heffner]

I could read and watch documentaries about the late 80s/early 90s Seattle music scene forever.

"Hype!" is just perfect.

Cobain and Nirvana is just one of those things I do not think anyone know what would have happened the next 10-20 years if he didnt die. I mean, think about the idea the Foo Fighters would not have existed. On the flip side, I could have seen Cobain just retiring in like 1998 never to be seen in public again.

Speaking of 90s rock....about halfway through this Woodstock 99 doc on Netflix. Good gravy.

What would have happened if Andy Wood didn't die? It may not be as dire as some think- Mother Love Bone had already performed an early version of what became Alive. Stone and Jeff had some of those early Pearl Jam songs, musically, mapped out.

But it is a fun parlor game. Would Andy have had the impact Eddie Vedder did?

[Dom Heffner]

I think what gives Cobain staying power today is he died at his peak. He was dead 6 months or so after the MTV unplugged performance. Its crazy to think that album (which some think is the greatest live album ever) came out after Cobain died.

I wonder had Cobain lived, would he have continued his path with Nirvana or would he have done something similar to that of Scott Weiland. I tend to think if he is constantly battling addiction, Grohl goes elsewhere. Maybe not as quickly as he was forced to do, but it was inevitable.

I think I am around your age, and Chris Farley's death still hits me today. Just the pure comedic gold he was. I listened to his biography book on tape about a year ago and it brought back all those memories. Its a great listen/read if you have time. The guy was just so talented but lived his life to the max. Just some of the stories told about him are hilarious and also heartbreaking at the same time.

Here is the thing. Dave Grohl was writing and recording music with Barret Jones while still being in Nirvana. Much of that first Foo Fighters record- which is Dave playing and singing everything- was written before Kurt passed away. In fact, Kurt heard a lot of it (which is why Nirvana recorded 3 songs with Barret Jones: Kurt loved how raw those songs sounded and wanted something like that for his band).

I would toss out there that had Kurt lived, he would have fired Dave and Krist at some point....and you still get the Foo Fighters or a version of them.

But Dave saw the writing on the wall- he went from splitting money 3 ways to taking a huge paycut once Courtney Love convinced Kurt to take songwriting royalties (and BACKDATE the pay, which made Krist and Dave OWE Kurt money).

[westofyou]

What would have happened if Andy Wood didn't die? It may not be as dire as some think- Mother Love Bone had already performed an early version of what became Alive. Stone and Jeff had some of those early Pearl Jam songs, musically, mapped out.

But it is a fun parlor game. Would Andy have had the impact Eddie Vedder did?

Andy was more fun, I think they'd have been more like Faith No More and the Melvins with Andy

[dfs]

Not a singer, but I was at the park when they trotted out the remnants of the Big Red Machine the last time and I wept to see Joe Morgan using a walker.

His death later bounced off of me, but seeing him use a walker just took the wind out of my sails.

[bucksfan2]

Here is the thing. Dave Grohl was writing and recording music with Barret Jones while still being in Nirvana. Much of that first Foo Fighters record- which is Dave playing and singing everything- was written before Kurt passed away. In fact, Kurt heard a lot of it (which is why Nirvana recorded 3 songs with Barret Jones: Kurt loved how raw those songs sounded and wanted something like that for his band).

I would toss out there that had Kurt lived, he would have fired Dave and Krist at some point....and you still get the Foo Fighters or a version of them.

But Dave saw the writing on the wall- he went from splitting money 3 ways to taking a huge paycut once Courtney Love convinced Kurt to take songwriting royalties (and BACKDATE the pay, which made Krist and Dave OWE Kurt money).

Yea I was pretty young when all of that went down. I was 12 years old when Cobain died, and my junior high years were spend accumulating all the great grunge albums from BMG.

I read Dave's book a while ago and it seemed like this intense relationship between the two of them. Imagine those two living in an apartment, Dave crashing on the couch, just chasing the music dream.

I remember watching the Cobain/Nirvana documentary "Montage of Heck" and it was said that Cobain wanted to make $2 million and spend the rest of his life as a "junkie." I can't remember the exact phrasing. But they showed some home videos and they had destroyed the house he was living in at the time. It was almost like what you would expect a house would look like if a bunch of kids lived there with no adult supervision.

Foo Fighters self titled album does have a distinct Nirvana sound to it. Their sound has definitely changed as they changed from "Nirvana's former drummer" to one of the biggest rock bands around.

[Dom Heffner]

Yea I was pretty young when all of that went down. I was 12 years old when Cobain died, and my junior high years were spend accumulating all the great grunge albums from BMG.

I read Dave's book a while ago and it seemed like this intense relationship between the two of them. Imagine those two living in an apartment, Dave crashing on the couch, just chasing the music dream.

I remember watching the Cobain/Nirvana documentary "Montage of Heck" and it was said that Cobain wanted to make $2 million and spend the rest of his life as a "junkie." I can't remember the exact phrasing. But they showed some home videos and they had destroyed the house he was living in at the time. It was almost like what you would expect a house would look like if a bunch of kids lived there with no adult supervision.

Foo Fighters self titled album does have a distinct Nirvana sound to it. Their sound has definitely changed as they changed from "Nirvana's former drummer" to one of the biggest rock bands around.

Kurt was a messy person. Semi-hoarder, which Im pretty sure Francis Bean has that too. Dave had to clean and cook, Kurt was an awful roommate. His ex, Tracy Marander basically said the same thing.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Not a singer, but I was at the park when they trotted out the remnants of the Big Red Machine the last time and I wept to see Joe Morgan using a walker.

His death later bounced off of me, but seeing him use a walker just took the wind out of my sails.

It was tough. No doubt about it. Remembering the many times he took that big lead off first and sped off to second. Speed, glove, power, clutch in every facet of the game and one of the smartest to ever play it.

[OesterPoster]

Yeah, I'm with ya on the Cobain death. I graduated from high school in '92, so Nirvana was basically "it" for me for a few years. But I wasn't that upset about his death...because I expected it. It wasn't that much of a shock, if you followed Nirvana and Cobain's history. Layne Staley, Weiland, Shannon Hoon, those were all upsetting...but almost expected too. Chris Cornell is the one which bites more than any others, and this might seem weird, but Dolores O'Riordan from The Cranberries. I thought she was so freaking awesome, and it guts me every time I hear a Cranberries song, knowing she's gone.

From the entertainment area, Chris Farley's death is the one which hurts the most, but I think Phil Hartman is a close second. Hartman's work on The Simpsons + SNL + Newsradio, all top notch.

[Dom Heffner]

Yeah, I'm with ya on the Cobain death. I graduated from high school in '92, so Nirvana was basically "it" for me for a few years. But I wasn't that upset about his death...because I expected it. It wasn't that much of a shock, if you followed Nirvana and Cobain's history. Layne Staley, Weiland, Shannon Hoon, those were all upsetting...but almost expected too. Chris Cornell is the one which bites more than any others, and this might seem weird, but Dolores O'Riordan from The Cranberries. I thought she was so freaking awesome, and it guts me every time I hear a Cranberries song, knowing she's gone.

From the entertainment area, Chris Farley's death is the one which hurts the most, but I think Phil Hartman is a close second. Hartman's work on The Simpsons + SNL + Newsradio, all top notch.

Chris Cornell was an absolute bummer. Im not saying I saw it coming- but I was watching one of the Seattle docs and he was being interviewed and he said something like - "Have you ever lived in a place like Seattle where it's dark and depressing and rains all the time?"

And my first thought was - dude, depression ain't caused by weather.

You can't just move to Miami and snap(!) it's all fine. I always had it in my head that he had that tendency.

What a sweet, sweet man. He lived with Andy Wood, too. They would write songs and show them to each other- oh, to be a fly on the wall.

[BernieCarbo]

This is easy- Jimi Hendrix. In addition to his composing and playing, he was an up and coming star in the production room. He had an incredible ear for detail.