Top 10 Musicians Who Died In the Worst Ways

Cliff Burton

Clifford Lee "Cliff" Burton (February 10, 1962 - September 27, 1986) was an American musician best known as the second bass guitarist for the American thrash metal band Metallica. He performed on the band's first three studio albums: Kill 'Em All (1983), Ride the Lightning (1984), and Master of Puppets... read more

Cliff Burton will forever be remembered as not just one of the greatest bassists of all time, but also one of the most talented musicians of his era. Tracks like "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "Orion" showcase his incredible talent to the point where even Metallica has struggled to replicate the former fully.
His death was swift and unexpected, but his legacy will be carried on by an entire generation of musicians, not just in Rock and Metal.
RIP to the bass master himself (10 February 1962 - 27 September 1986). "Cannot the Kingdom of Salvation take me Home..."

Cliff Burton died in a bus crash. He was thrown from the tour bus window, and the bus crashed and landed on him twice. He was only 24 years old.

Dimebag Darrell

Darrell Lance Abbott, also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He co-founded the bands Pantera and Damageplan with his brother Vinnie Paul. Abbott was tragically shot and killed during a performance in 2004 by a mentally unstable fan.

Shot onstage while performing, with his own brother watching from behind the drums. That's horrifying.

Pantera guitarist shot onstage while performing. R.I.P. Dimebag.

Shot onstage right in front of his bandmates and sibling. R.I.P.

John Bonham

John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948-25 September 1980) was an English musician best known as the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Born in Redditch, Worcestershire, Bonham, nicknamed "Bonzo," is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential drummers in history. Noted for his speed, power, fast... read more

He had alcohol poisoning, choked on his own vomit, and then died in his sleep. I didn't put him high on the list because I'm a huge Led Zeppelin fan, but because that's just horrible.

John Lennon

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 the... read more

Taken too soon. Murdered by an unstable fan. A man of peace, integrity, unbelievable compassion, and brilliance. Missed every day all over the world!

Murdered by gunshot while with his wife, Yoko Ono, outside of a hotel.

Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.. April 2, 1939 - April 1, 1984) was an American singer and songwriter. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, initially as an in-house session musician and later as a solo artist with a series of hits, earning him the nicknames "Prince of Motown" and... read more

Okay, how is this not number 1? Sure, Cliff Burton's death was bad, but getting shot by your own father is messed up!

Euronymous

Øystein Aarseth (1968-1993), who went by the pseudonym Euronymous, was a Norwegian guitarist and co-founder of the black metal band Mayhem. Euronymous was stabbed to death by bandmate Varg Vikernes in August 1993.

He was a controversial figure in black metal. Euronymous claimed to be a theistic... read more

I don't care about him because he wasn't much better than his murderer, Varg Vikernes. However, Varg was his colleague, and this type of death is really painful and sadistic. The list title says "who died in the worst ways."

Apparently, he wasn't a very nice guy, but his death was extremely brutal and violent. He was stabbed about 27 times with a hunting knife.

This crazy satanist got stabbed over 30 times. I don't really care about him, but he died brutally.

Selena

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was an American singer, songwriter, spokesperson, actress, and fashion designer. Known as the Queen of Tejano music, she was one of the most celebrated Mexican-American entertainers of the late 20th century. She was murdered in 1995 at the age of 23.

I think her killer was mad at her about something.

Shot by her best friend/fan club manager. Ouch!

Wow, her best friend shot her! I hear Selena Gomez was named after her.

Christina Grimmie

Christina Victoria Grimmie (March 12, 1994 - June 10, 2016), known on YouTube as zeldaxlove64, was an American singer-songwriter. She rose to prominence by posting covers of popular songs and gained wider recognition as a finalist on season 6 of The Voice in 2014.... read more

Getting shot by a deranged fan while she was signing autographs is just flat-out devastating. Her brother, who was there when she was shot, tackled the attacker, saving the lives of others, but he couldn't save his sister. That's just heartbreaking.

Randy Rhoads

Randall William "Randy" Rhoads was an American heavy metal guitarist who played with Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot. He was widely regarded for his innovative guitar work and neoclassical metal style. Rhoads was killed in a plane crash on March 19, 1982, at the age of 25.

The guy got blown apart in a plane crash. Worst of all, he was only 25, meaning he still had a lot of potential left to show the world.

Randy California

He did indeed die a hero, saving his 13-year-old son from dangerous Hawaiian surf. His body was never recovered.

Drowned in the ocean while trying to save his son.

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Yukiko Okada

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John Macias

Chuck Schuldiner

Charles Michael "Chuck" Schuldiner (1967-2001) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was the founder and leader of Death, a band widely considered one of the pioneers of the death metal genre. Schuldiner died from brain cancer on December 13, 2001, and is often referred to as the "Godfather... read more

Such a talented and kind musician. He deserved to live a full and happy life instead of losing his life to cancer.

Died of a horrible cancerous tumor.

Buddy Holly

Buddy Holly, born Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 - February 3, 1959), was an American musician and singer-songwriter who was a central figure in mid-1950s rock and roll. He was a rising star when a tragic plane crash killed him at age 22.... read more

Poor guy got into a plane crash.

Keith Relf

Keith Relf was an English musician best known as the lead singer and harmonica player for the 1960s rock band The Yardbirds. He contributed to several of the band's popular songs, including Shapes of Things and Over Under Sideways Down.... read more

He wasn't playing in the bathtub. It was just a badly installed plug that electrocuted him through his amp.

Not "just" electrocution. He was rehearsing in the bathtub with his plugged-in electric guitar!

He was killed by electrocution.

Tupac

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

Ian Curtis

Ian Kevin Curtis (July 15, 1956 - May 18, 1980) was an English musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division.

Curtis, who suffered from epilepsy and depression, died by suicide on May 18, 1980, at the age of 23, on the eve of... read more

Suicide by hanging.

Elliott Smith

Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969, to October 21, 2003), known as Elliott Smith, was an American musician and singer-songwriter.

He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and spent much of his adult life in Portland, Oregon, where he gained popularity. Smith's primary instrument... read more

Stabbed in the heart with a kitchen knife.

Dennis Wilson

Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 - December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was the band's drummer and the middle brother of bandmates Brian and Carl Wilson.... read more

Drowned in his boat after drinking.

Dead (Mayhem)

Per Yngve Ohlin, better known by his stage name Dead, was a Swedish black and death metal vocalist best known for his work with the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. He died by suicide in 1991. Former bandmate Euronymous took photographs of the scene, and one of the images was used as the cover art... read more

What's worse is that his dead body was used on one of Mayhem's album covers.

This list is about musicians who died in the worst ways. How isn't this guy in the top 5?

Mia Zapata

Mia Katherine Zapata (August 25, 1965 - July 7, 1993) was the lead vocalist of the Seattle punk band The Gits. The band gained recognition during the early days of the grunge movement. Zapata was tragically murdered in 1993 while working on the band's second album. After a decade of investigation, Jesus... read more

David Bowie

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 sales promotion officer and a housewife.

He earned praise for his experimental and creative music, won numerous awards, and gained admiration from critics... read more

He died of cancer on Monday, making it 2016's Blue Monday.

Died of cancer. I am so sad. I loved David Bowie.

Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain (February 20, 1967 - April 5, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician, best known as the frontman of the grunge band Nirvana. Founded in 1987, Nirvana achieved global success in the early 1990s, reshaping rock music with albums like Bleach, Nevermind, and In Utero. Cobain died... read more

Chester Bennington

Chester Charles Bennington (March 20, 1976 to July 20, 2017) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the lead vocalist of Linkin Park.

Before he became known for his work with Linkin Park, Bennington was the lead singer of the post-grunge band Grey Daze, which was... read more

Keith Moon

Keith John Moon (1946-1978) was the English drummer for the rock band The Who. He was known for his energetic, unconventional style and eccentric, often self-destructive behavior. Moon's drumming continues to be praised for its influence on rock music, and his showmanship is remembered as legendary.

Jeff Buckley

Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley (November 17, 1966 - May 29, 1997), who was raised as Scott "Scottie" Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.

Buckley was born in Anaheim, California, into a musical family. His mother, Mary Guibert, was a classically trained musician, and his father... read more

Accidental drowning. No drugs, alcohol, or suicide. He was in a good frame of mind prior to the accident.

The Notorious B.I.G.

Christopher George Latore Wallace, born May 21, 1972, better known by his stage name The Notorious B.I.G. (sometimes Biggie Smalls or simply Biggie), was an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York. On March 9, 1997, he was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, California, at the age of only... read more