Top 10 Musicians Who Correctly Predicted Their Own Death
You've heard the stories. The cryptic lyrics. The offhand interviews. The eerie premonitions that only make sense in hindsight. Some of these musicians didn't just flirt with the idea of death in their work. They practically sent it a calendar invite.This list is all about those artists who predicted their own end with a level of detail that makes you wonder if they had a foot in two worlds. Some left chilling lyrics that read like prophecies. Others casually described their own demise in an interview, like death was already part of their weekend plans. A few were even more specific. Cause of death, location, sometimes even the exact date. Not poetic allusions or vague metaphors. We're talking cold, precise, "you can't make this stuff up" kind of foresight.
You're here to decide which of these musicians nailed their own grim forecast the most. Scroll through, vote up the ones that made your spine tingle, and maybe rethink that journal entry you wrote last week.
John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 1940 - 8 December 1980), was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and political activist. He rose to worldwide fame as the co-founder, co-lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in... read more In an interview in the '60s, he was asked how he thought he would die.
He jokingly answered, "I'll probably be popped off by some loony with a gun!"
It's amazing to me that he predicted the way he would die 20 years before it happened!
Wow. All I gotta say is just "wow."
Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott was a Scottish-born Australian rock musician, best known for being the lead singer and lyricist of Australian hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. He was born in Forfar and lived in Kirriemuir, Scotland, for 5 years before moving to Melbourne, Australia,... read more He even took measures - he found his own replacement in a bar (Brian Johnson sang there) and gave the name and phone number to Angus "just in case."
When Bon Scott died, Angus called Brian Johnson.
Jimi Hendrix (born November 27, 1942 - September 18, 1970) was an American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter.Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most... read more
He wrote a song called "The Ballad of Jimi" with these lines:
"Many things he would try for he knew soon he'd die," "Now Jimi's gone, he's not alone / His memory still lives on," and "Five years, this he said / He's not gone, he's just dead."
He died exactly five years later, and yes, his legacy still lives on.
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley was a Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist who achieved international fame and acclaim. Now this is something!
Marc Bolan, born Mark Feld (30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, guitarist, and poet. He was best known as the lead singer of the glam rock band T. Rex. Bolan was one of the first pioneers of the glam rock movement of the 1970s. He died at age 29 in a... read more In the song "Solid Gold Easy Action," there's a line: "Life is the same and it always will be / Easy as picking foxes from a tree."
Five years later, he died in a car, wrapped around a tree, with a license plate that read "FOX 661L."
James Owen Sullivan (February 9th, 1981 - December 28th 2009), better known by his stage name "The Rev" (Short for "The Reverend Tholomew Plague") was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the former drummer, backing vocalist and co-founder of the American alternative metal/ metalcore... read more He said in an interview, "I'm gonna become a rockstar and die before the age of 30."
Also, he wrote a song named "Death," and three days later, he was found dead.
Warren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" and "Johnny Strikes Up the Band", all of which are featured on his third album, Excitable Boy. He predicted the cause of his death in the song "The Factory":
"Kickin' asbestos in the factory, punchin' out Chryslers in the factory, breathin' that plastic in the factory."
Sixteen years later, he died from a type of lung cancer, which is often caused by exposure to asbestos.
Oddly enough, Zevon never worked in a factory and wasn't exposed to asbestos, so the chances of developing this type of cancer were extremely low.
Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known as 2Pac, was an American rapper and actor born on June 16, 1971 in East Harlem, New York. Tupac sold over 75 million records worldwide and has been referred to in multiple major publications such as Rolling Stone as one of the greatest music artists of all time. 2Pac was... read more On Richie Rich's song "N***** Done Changed," 2Pac raps these lyrics:
"I been shot and murdered, can tell you how it happened word for word. But best believe, that n***** gon' get what they deserve."
Only two months later, Tupac Shakur was shot. His case is still unsolved.
In "Changes," he also ends the last verse with (I know it's not a prediction, but still, it's hard not to notice):
"'Cause I always got to worry 'bout the pay backs
some buck that I roughed up way back
comin' back after all these years
rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat that's the way it is."
That's the final line of the song (apart from the chorus). Eerie.
Edward Raymond "Eddie" Cochran (October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American musician. Rock and roll pioneer, he was only 21 years old when he died in a car crash... read more He recorded the song "Three Steps to Heaven" in January 1960. Just over three months later, he died in a car crash.
Buddy Holly, born Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959) was an American musician and singer-songwriter who was a central figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was a rising star when a tragic plane crash struck him down at age 22... read more He was singing The Day When I Die minutes before his tragic plane crash.
The Newcomers
Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), best known by his stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was also a noted record producer under the pseudonym Larry Fisherman.
Miller died of an apparent drug overdose on September 7, 2018.
Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known as Ritchie Valens, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens' recording career lasted eight months, as it abruptly ended when he died (aged 17) in... read more
John Alec Entwistle, was an English singer, songwriter, composer, musician, film and music producer. He is mostly known as the lead bassist for the rock band The Who. He wrote the song "Love Is A Heart Attack," and soon after, he died from a heart attack before the beginning of the tour.
More precisely, his death was due to a heart attack induced by a cocaine overdose.
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band best known for popularizing the Southern rock genre during the 1970s They are known for songs like "Free Bird", "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Tuesdays Gone" . The cover of their 1977 LP features the band engulfed in flames. Three days after its release, the band's plane crashed.
Also, on the album, there's a song called "That Smell" with these lyrics:
"Say you'll be alright come tomorrow, but tomorrow might not be here for you," "Angel of darkness upon you," and "The smell of death surrounds you."
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009) was an American singer, dancer, and songwriter. He passed away from cardiac arrest caused by acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication, which was ruled a homicide. Jackson is widely regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures... read more Yes, he always said to his closest friends that he was scared for his life. Even in his last phone call, he said that someone was trying to murder him.
So, I believe that he was murdered. There are lots of people involved in his death.
Kurt Cobain was born February 20, 1967, in Aberdeen, Washington. In 1987, he started the grunge band Nirvana, which became one of the most successful bands ever. He was a talented yet troubled grunge performer. Kurt Cobain became a rock legend in the 1990s with his band. He committed suicide at his... read more He told a schoolmate when he was 14 that he'd become a rockstar, kill himself, and go out in a blaze like Jimi Hendrix.
Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy (January 23, 1998 - June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, and often referred to as X, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and criminal. He did it by putting a backwards subliminal message in one of his songs. The message was "Must go now, must go now." Creepy, right?
Can somebody explain how and when he predicted it?
"If I'm going to ever die or become a sacrifice"...
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American singer, songwriter, and poet best remembered as the lead singer of the Doors.
Mitchell Adam "Mitch" Lucker was an American musician and lead singer for the deathcore band Suicide Silence. In an interview, Mitch mentioned that he would probably die riding his bike or speeding.
He posted a photo of himself one night, drunk on his bike. That night, he got in an accident and died.
"My death will be the greatest thing to happen to this world."
And it was.
In an interview, he was asked where he saw himself in the next few years, and he said, "Best case, in a cemetery. Not in a cemetery, sprinkled in ashes smoked up by my homies. I mean, that's the worst case."
Just look into the mess of a story that is Darby Crash. In an interview, while with the band The Germs, he said jokingly (paraphrasing) that who knows, he could kill himself at the age of 22.
In 1980, Darby intentionally overdosed on heroin and died at the age of 22.
This sounds like planned suicide.
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara, 5th September 1946 - 24th November 1991) was a Zanzibari-born British singer of Indian descent, songwriter and record producer, known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the British rock band Queen. He also became known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave... read more He always knew he was going to die young.
"I'll be dead, darling, are you crazy?"
Stephen Peter "Steve" Marriott was an English musician, songwriter and frontman of two notable rock and roll bands, spanning over two decades. The song "Tin Soldier," which he sang both with Humble Pie and solo, opens with the line, "I am a little tin soldier that wants to jump into your fire." Marriott died in a house fire.
Jarad Anthony Higgins (December 2, 1998 – December 8, 2019), known professionally as Juice Wrld (pronounced "juice world"; stylized as Juice WRLD), was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be a leading figure in the emo-rap and SoundCloud rap genres which garnered mainstream... read more "What's the 27 club? / We ain't making it past 21."
He rapped this in the song "Legends," which was dedicated to XXXTentacion and Lil Peep.
David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie (January 8, 1947 - January 10, 2016) was an English singer born in London, the son of a fundraiser and a waitress. He is credited for his experimental and creative musical discography which has won praise and accolades for many critics and fans... read more
John R. "Johnny" Cash (1932-2003) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and author, who was widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 90 million records worldwide. He died of... read more I presume this has something to do with his cover of "Hurt"?
DeShaun Dupree Holton better known by his stage name Proof, was an American rapper and actor from Detroit, Michigan. During his career, he was a member of the groups 5 Elementz, Funky Cowboys, Promatic and most notably, D12. He was a close childhood friend of rapper Eminem, who lived on the same block,... read more His song Kurt Cobain says it all.