Top 10 Musicians Who Died in Their 30s
Many rock stars are known for dying at age 27 and joining the unofficial "27 Club." However, what I'm trying to show is that even though you may get past age 30, you're not completely out of the woods yet. Having said that, there are a lot more cases here of lives being lost to external circumstances than to drug or alcohol abuse. May all these musicians rest in peace. Feel free to add more examples.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era, born in Salzburg. Better than most artists today, for sure. It's really disgusting how people shake their booties just to get someone to listen to them. No class.
Thanks for adding him, Metal_Treasure. It's crazy to think that a musician so prodigious and accomplished died so young.
How can he even be compared to today's musicians? Their work pales in comparison to his masterpieces.
Stephen "Stevie" Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. In spite of a short-lived mainstream career spanning seven years, he is widely considered one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of music, and... read more What a guitarist! He figured life out, didn't he? Stop aging, but still live on. He and his music will always be here as long as he is fondly thought of and remembered.
Stevie Ray Vaughan died at age 35 in a helicopter crash. The sad thing about his death was that he had sobered up a few years earlier and was playing better than ever.
Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash in 1990 at the age of 35.
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley was a Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist who achieved international fame and acclaim. One of the greatest. His songs never get old. Every time I listen to them, it feels like I'm hearing them for the first time.
He's pretty good. My dad really likes him.
Marley should at least be in the top 5.
John Henry Bonham was born on May 31, 1948 in Redditch, United Kingdom. Bonham (nicknamed Bonzo) was a professional hard rock drummer who was best known for being the drummer in the band Led Zeppelin. Bonham was also one of the background singers in the band. His drumming is mainly displayed on the... read more Like Keith Moon, John Bonham (Bonzo) was also 32 when he died. According to his autopsy, he died after consuming 40 shots of vodka and choking on his own vomit.
Charles Michael "Chuck" Schuldiner (1967-2001) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known as the founder and vocalist, guitarist and bassist of the American heavy metal band Death. He is considered the most influential figure in Death Metal, with some publications referring to Chuck... read more Most metal fans know that Chuck Schuldiner was "The Godfather of Death Metal." He died at the age of 34 from pneumonia while dealing with a brain tumor. A tragic loss in the metal community.
Music trends didn't bother Chuck Schuldiner or affect his songwriting. He was a self-taught guitarist with an original and driving musical vision.
Such a shame he died so young. One of the biggest musical geniuses of all time!
Keith John Moon was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour. His drumming continues to be praised by critics and musicians. Possibly the best drumming style ever.
Right after number 4 on this list.
Keith died after taking 32 clomethiazole tablets, pills designed to alleviate alcohol withdrawal. He was 32 years old.
Layne Thomas Staley was an American musician who served as the lead singer and co-songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains, which he founded with guitarist Jerry Cantrell in Seattle, Washington in 1987. Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s... read more The most soulful, talented, and underrated singer of my generation - it's unforgivable that he's only number 13 on this list! There will never be anyone close to Layne's power and range. Alice in Chains died on April 5, 2002, with Layne. RIP Layne. Can't wait to hear you sing in person when I get there.
Layne Staley died from a speedball overdose on April 5, 2002, eight years to the day after Kurt Cobain committed suicide on April 5, 1994. Kurt was only 27 years old when he died. Layne was 34 years old.
Layne Staley died of an overdose of heroin and cocaine on April 5th, 2002, exactly eight years after Kurt Cobain's death.
James Joseph Croce was an American folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and singles. His songs "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "Time in a Bottle" reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. I completely forgot about Jim Croce. Thanks for adding him to the list.
He died in a plane crash while on tour. He was 30 years old.
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 One of my favorite singers ever.
Eric Lynn Wright better known by his stage name "Eazy-E", was an American rapper who performed solo and in the hip hop group N.W.A. He is affectionately called "The Godfather of Gangsta Rap". He was born to Richard and Kathie Wright in Compton, California. On March 26, 1995 Eazy-E dies from complications... read more One does not simply forget "The Godfather of Gangsta Rap." Rest easy, Eazy (1964-1995).
Eazy-E was 30 years old when he died of AIDS.
Godfather of Gangsta Rap. Rest in peace.
The Newcomers
Darrell Lance Abbott, also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist and songwriter best known as a founding member of two bands, Pantera and Damageplan, alongside his brother, Vinnie Paul. Abbott died in 2004 after he was shot by a mentally unstable fan. I love Pantera. I buy every Dimebag shirt I can find, just in memory of him. I've been searching for a Vinnie item but can't find anything. I must say, Patsy Cline is a close second for me!
As most metal fans know, Dimebag was murdered while performing on stage. He was only 38 years old.
The most shocking musician death.
Ellen Naomi Cohen known professionally as Mama Cass and later on as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, Elliot released five solo albums. In 1998, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and... read more Cass Elliot died in her sleep at the age of 32 from heart failure. She ended up dying in the same room and at the same age as Keith Moon did a few years later.
Cass Elliot is considered one of the greatest female singers of the 1960s.
Franz Peter Schubert (31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828) was an Austrian composer. Schubert died before his 32nd birthday, but was extremely prolific during his lifetime. His output consists of over six hundred secular vocal works, seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music... read more He left us a lot of beautiful music, much of which was only discovered years later! Illegal drugs aren't the only addictions that have cost the world a lot.
He died just shy of 32 and left more than 900 works. Many of them have been used in movies - both arthouse and blockbusters. For example, the Rosamunde Quartet, D 804, was used in the first Avengers movie, and the second movement of the Trio, D 929, was used in The Hunger Games, among others. The String Quintet, D 956, is widely regarded as one of the greatest chamber compositions of all time.
One of the first preeminent blues-rock guitar players, Mike Bloomfield, was found dead in his car in 1981, sitting in the driver's seat. The exact circumstances of his death remain unknown, except for two unnamed sources who claimed that he died during a party in San Francisco and was driven to another location by two of his fellow partygoers. He was 37.
Philip Parris "Phil" Lynott was an Irish musician, singer and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and bassist. After collapsing in his home and being rushed to the hospital, Phil Lynott died in the ICU at the age of 36. He was a frequent heroin user during his last years.
Frédéric François Chopin (1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849), born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era who wrote primarily for the solo piano. He gained and has maintained renown worldwide as a leading musician of his era, whose "poetic genius... read more Thanks to whoever added him. He deserves to be way higher up this list, as does Franz Schubert.
Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932, in Winchester, Virginia. She became a professional country singer in the 1950s, and became one of the most important artists in American music history. Patsy died on March 5, 1963, in a plane crash in Camden, Tennessee. She was inducted... read more Killed in a plane crash, aged just 30.
For those who don't know, Lowell George was the original vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for Little Feat. He died from a heart attack caused by an accidental cocaine overdose. He was only 34.
Yes, a great singer and songwriter. Jackson Browne's song "Of Missing Persons" was written after Lowell George's death. A tragic loss.
Keith Relf was an English musician, well known as the lead singer for the psychedelic band The Yardbirds. Keith Relf died from an electric shock at the age of 33 while playing a guitar that wasn't properly grounded. He suffered from emphysema and asthma, which hindered his ability to survive the shock.
Karen Anne Carpenter was an American singer and drummer. She and her brother, Richard Carpenter, formed the 1970s duo Carpenters. One of the best voices of all time.
Harry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter, humanitarian, and producer best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs, who achieved worldwide success in the 1970s and became one of the most popular artists and highest paid performers. He died in a car accident at the age of 38.
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) raised as Scott "Scottie" Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist... read moreTommy Caldwell was the original bassist for the Marshall Tucker Band. He died at the age of 30 in a car accident.
John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III was an American jazz bassist who was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. He worked with Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell, and recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader. Jaco Pastorius, one of the best bassists of all time and a major figure in jazz fusion, died from a brain hemorrhage resulting from a bar fight with a bouncer at the Midnight Bottle Club. He was 35.
Paul Dedrick Gray, also known as The Pig or by his number #2, was an American musician, best known as the bassist and one of the founding members of the Grammy Award-winning metal band Slipknot.