Top 10 Saddest Musician Deaths

John Lennon didn't die of a drug overdose or commit suicide. He wasn't ready to go. He was shot. He had so much more going for him. He was recording Double Fantasy and was excited about it. He went home early instead of going out to eat so he could tuck Sean into bed and see him before he fell asleep. Instead, he was shot in the back and died. So no musician's death is more saddening than John Lennon's. He had so much more to share with us. Happy Birthday, John. I miss you terribly.

It's really horrible to rank whose death was the most tragic, but Lennon's pointless murder and the fact that he literally changed the world and only wanted peace makes it the saddest. Michael Jackson's death wasn't as tragic because his whole life was tragic. I mourn the pain he went through since he was a kid. Freddie's death is tragic because he was a legend and he died from AIDS horribly. Jim Morrison is second because he was my idol.

In Utero is one of the saddest, most disturbing, and powerful albums ever produced. Nirvana was one of the greatest and most influential bands of all time, but losing Kurt, a man who dealt with depression and sadness nearly his whole life, was devastating. With the exception of a few stars like Jeff Buckley and Ian Curtis, the majority went out peacefully and with less pain. Kurt Cobain died at his lowest point, and it's a death that will be felt for years to come.

I learned many things about him recently, and I think his suicide is very sad. Nirvana is a very good group. He killed himself because he hated being popular with Nirvana, but I think they would eventually have quit, and Dave would have started the Foo Fighters (a group I like very much) anyway. He said he was ugly, but I think he's quite cute.

Kurt Cobain was the best singer at that time and would have been a legend if he had the chance to live. I have full evidence that his wife killed him with various techniques. But it is not possible for me to open a case that is old. But in the afterlife, there will be judgment.

Everyone remembers where they were when they heard this horrible, tragic news. Michael Jackson's music touched the entire world - I had never heard of the Beatles (or John Lennon for that matter) until I stepped foot here in the U.S.. I didn't even know he was dead. White America and Europe mourned John Lennon's death while the ENTIRE WORLD mourned Michael Jackson's. May he rest in peace. I'll always miss him and his ever-unique style and music.

The only artist that I shed tears for. I sometimes think about him and his life. Even though the way he died was not as horrible as that of other singers like John Lennon, his death hurts more because of the things some people said about him when he was still alive. It was all just so wrong. MJ was the sweetest person ever and he worked for peace. Michael will forever be in my heart. He lived a life that is just different in a good way.

Freddie really, truly was one of a kind. Kurt Cobain's death was tragic too. Kurt actually mentioned Freddie in his suicide note. Think how much different music would be right now if Freddie was still alive. All this bullcrap that goes on all the time. Freddie would have changed everything.

P.S: Freddie was not gay. He was bisexual. His main female love was Mary Austin. He wrote a song about her called Love of My Life.

He was so creative, and Bohemian Rhapsody really showcases that. It was so sad to hear the news that he died. He deserves way more than 13%.

He was the most creative, unique, and influential singer to ever sing. I cry many times when I hear Love of My Life because it saddens me to see the talent we lost. If I had a time machine, I would go back in time and pray for him to be healed. He has inspired so much of my singing, stage persona, and songwriting. I hope he is in heaven.

An absolutely stunning lyricist, a great guitarist, and such a vibrant appearance and attitude - a person who could be wild and crazy on stage, but logical and kind off of it. 14 years after his death, he continues to have and to gain fans and inspire many.

It's entirely possible he could have been seen as a worldwide legend like many others on this list if his life hadn't been cut short, or if more of the world had been more open-minded about Asian musicians back in the 1980s/1990s.

Hide was one of the greatest and most influential musicians that I know. He was such a good person. Just remember the story about Hide and Mayuko (a little girl with an incurable illness, she was a huge fan of Hide. Her last wish was to meet him). He even kept in contact with her and visited her in the hospital. They became best friends and spent so much great time together. When he passed away, she had to live without her best friend for 11 years until she left this world in 2009.

Just imagine you are a little ill kid with a very low chance to survive. You get noticed by your biggest idol, and you get invited to a concert from his band. You meet him backstage, get lots of presents, and he made a promise to answer your next letter. Then you have to go to the hospital to do a surgery, and no one expects you to survive. He even calls you, so that you can hear his voice for the last time. Then, on the day of your surgery, he even comes to the hospital to be there for you. After the surgery, your illness is going to get better. He invites you to the next concerts, and you have a lot of fun together. He even wrote a song for you (called Misery) to encourage you. Then, 2-3 years after you first met him, you hear that he died. You go to his funeral and cry non-stop. One of his bandmates comes over and sits down next to you to comfort you in some way. You stop crying, and he says, "Hide-ji isn't here anymore. Yoshiki-ni will stay with you." You both start to cry again. And you have to somehow accept it. Your best friend, who did so much for you (he even wanted to donate his bone marrow to you), is forever gone. He will never come back. You can never see him again. Everything you have as a memory is a signed guitar, a lot of photos of you both, the VIP pass which he gave you at your first meeting (he wrote a message on the backside), a few letters, and the single which he wrote for you.

I really hope they found each other in heaven and continue their... more

The very first song I heard from Jimi Hendrix was Wild Thing. I first saw this performance in some Woodstock documentary. I can't remember the name. Around the end of the song, I was stunned by his guitar skills. My mouth couldn't close when I heard him play. When he died, it left a sad note in the music industry. There will never be another Jimi Hendrix.

Jimi should be in the top 2, alongside John Lennon. At only 27 years old, he is, without question, the greatest guitarist that ever lived. He only lived to produce three albums (Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold as Love, Electric Ladyland), and those albums are considered some of the greatest in popular music history. They also had a tremendous influence on what rock would become. Imagine if he had lived.

This is the saddest death. Even with only four years to live, he still gave us a lot to master. Imagine if he were still alive?

Not only was Bowie loved by millions and continued to amaze us as he got older, but his death was also unexpected. He wanted to keep his battle against cancer a secret so that we, the fans, wouldn't be so saddened in his final days. His sudden death was agonizing, and the way he said goodbye touched us all inside. His music video for "Lazarus," released only days before he passed, was his final farewell to the world. Even in death, he maintained a sense of class in art. In a way, he is like Lazarus. Though Bowie isn't coming back from the dead, his legacy will live on forever.

I woke up to the news of his death on the day I had an exam. I was so emotionally shot that halfway through the exam, I just gave up and turned it in incomplete. I excused myself to the bathroom and cried in a stall for 20 minutes. He had been such an inspiration to me, and he was gone just like that. I can barely explain how crushing that still is to me.

She is the most tragic death in music history because she was a rare breed of singer who had a brilliant voice and wrote her own powerful and well-written songs. Well, except for Monkey Man lol. She managed to create songs that were not modern pop, like Britney Spears, and made hits using instruments like saxophones and trumpets at a time when people were not that interested in them. She also had a voice that perfectly suited the beat and lyrics of her songs. I believe no one could ever match her songs more than she did.

Beautiful lyricist who still chills me to the bone. I am sad to see that she is not significantly higher, given how much she has influenced millions of artists around the world. Her music will live forever. She reinvented an entire genre and makes me cry. I'm actually too young to remember her properly, and yet I have the utmost respect for her. So sad.

As sad as I am and how I wish he were still here, I'm just thankful a local god descended to this earth to touch our hearts, change our lives, and forever alter the music world. For fans, we just see the amazing, funny, intense, and great personality he had. At his best, he was very happy, so that's a comfort. He lived life the way he wanted and saw it - no pretense and no compromise. He was so blatantly honest and real that his music and lyrics reflected it. No amount of money, fame, and success that these "musicians" have nowadays will ever equal the kind of life Layne attained in his short but very significant life. R.I.P. Layne, we will love you forever...

His death itself isn't what was sad. It was the last few years of his life. He was all alone. Everybody had left him, and he had left everybody. He would go to a local bar, sit in the corner, and just nod off. No drowning his sorrows in alcohol. He would just sit there sadly until he went home. He died sad and alone because addiction was too strong. Many of Alice In Chains' songs are about his addiction and his slow but sure separation from the world. Like I said, his death wasn't too surprising because it was technically his fault. It was the circumstances of his death and the last years of his life that were sad.

Perhaps the greatest bass player in the metal industry, Cliff Burton was extremely proficient in his guitar playing. The bus crash that killed him shouldn't have happened. Listen to the halfway point of Orion and you will see what I mean.

The best bassist known. He changed thrash metal so much, and you could actually hear his bass in songs. His influence was so significant that Metallica wouldn't be the same without him. Considering Metallica's greatest rival, Megadeth, had a song dedicated to him, In My Darkest Hour, it's not hard to tell his death shook buildings and hearts.

He improved with every album. Just imagine how incredible he would have been at the time of Death Magnetic. Instead of a Kirk solo in every song, they would have had 4 Cliff solos per song. He also never got to see Metallica earn a Diamond Album. So much in thrash could have changed if it weren't for his death.

She died in one of the most horrible ways possible. Whenever I watch the music video for Rock the Boat, I remember her and the eight other people who were with her in the plane crash that took their lives. She was going to be much bigger than she already was. Aaliyah was such an amazing singer, young and beautiful, and it's hard to believe she is gone. 1979-2001. We love you, baby girl!

She was truly an amazing artist as well as an individual! Very beautiful and talented. She had the whole package: singing, acting, and just being real 24/7.

I'm a new generation music listener, but this is one of the only '90s artists I listen to.

Chester was an inspiration beyond just his songs. The way he lived, the way he spoke, the way he took care of his fans, seeing it all from afar was so awe-inspiring. I remember saving myself from a potential suicide by one of their songs. In the end, it did matter, Chester. It mattered to a whole lot of us.

Someone explain to me how the second greatest person in the entire universe is ranked at 32. Chester should be at least in the top three. RIP to my idol and the person who saved my life through his music. Legends never truly die.

His death really is pitiful because he was sexually abused as a seven-year-old, and I believe that's why he killed himself. I hope whoever abused him goes to hell.

Being shot by a deranged man while performing. Right in front of his brother. Right after his band's breakup. As tragic as it gets.

The fact that he was killed while he was performing, right in front of Vinny, no less, who had to watch his brother die in front of him.

So sad this amazing legend's life was taken away by such a stupid, dumbass, psychopathic bastard.

It is no doubt that Elvis Presley had the most tragic death in the music industry. Michael Jackson is at number 3. Freddie Mercury is at number 4. Yet, Elvis Presley is only at number 17. Putting the King of Rock and Roll, and the most well-known singer in the world, at this number is an insult. If two of the top three singers on this website are in the top 5, why isn't Elvis there as well?

Colonel Parker treated Elvis like a mule throughout his music career. Elvis worked hard to make a good name for himself. He was a singer of over 600 songs and starred in many great films. He served two years in the U.S. military. He was the one who contributed to the rock and roll theme back in the 50s and the early 60s. Later in his career, he started singing in other genres of music such as country and adult contemporary. If you're still not convinced, please listen to Unchained Melody, his last performance held in 1977. Words cannot describe how emotional his last performance was.

If The Beatles hadn't become famous, they'd all be alive. George wouldn't have gotten cancer because he wouldn't have smoked pot, and I don't need to explain John. That thought alone is sad.

I read a newspaper article the other day about when he survived the stabbing. It commented on how he had recently fought cancer. This made me so sad.

I still think he should have been knighted as he had done so much for charity and world music recognition.

We all wonder what Led Zeppelin would have become if he was still alive, but we'll sadly never know.

I always wonder what Zeppelin would have achieved if he was still alive.

Come on! His death signaled the end of Led Zeppelin's career! How is that not sad?

A generational talent that had a huge effect on my life. His singing and songwriting talents were top-tier. With Soundgarden, supergroup Audioslave, and his solo efforts, his body of work will reverberate through music for generations. Rest in peace.

He was a true legend, one of the original grunge artists, and he paved the way for so much change in the music world. His voice was one of the most powerful in rock, and his words were dark and soothing. Rock on in the afterlife!

I would always hear Soundgarden on the radio growing up and later got into Audioslave, a band that inspired me so much musically. Chris definitely had a voice like no other.

It's ridiculous to have Prince at #16, below a bunch of no-names! How many others were such pure geniuses? He should be at least 2 or 3! I remember all of these, and with Prince, THE WORLD mourned!

Him, David Bowie, Maurice White, Glenn Frey, Christina Grimmie, and Phife Dawg in one year is too much.

There is no excuse to have Prince at number 48. Put him in the top 5.

Man! The Who wouldn't have broken up by then!

I miss him and love him.

The Rolling Stones is a really great band.

Lisa was one of the most influential female rappers ever. She should at least be in the top 20. It's notable that her death came just 8 months after Aaliyah's, on the same day. More than 30,000 people attended her funeral. An amazing female rapper with a great singing voice, she was great friends with 2Pac, and they both died horribly. R.I.P. Lisa.

Song of the millennium.

Screw you, cancer!

It's sad knowing that the only thing people can remember him by is smoking weed.

Drug overdose within a month of Jimi Hendrix... both at 27 in 1970. Amazing talents gone so young.

Another member of the 27 club.

Why is she not in the top 10?