Pick a Day

Music History Events: Died Young

December 8, 1980 John Lennon, 40 years old, is shot and killed outside his apartment in New York City.More

September 25, 1980 Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham dies at age 32 of asphyxiation from vomiting after a night of heavy drinking. The band decides to break up instead of replacing him.

May 18, 1980 Battling epilepsy and depression, Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis hangs himself at his home in England.More

February 19, 1980 AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott dies after a night of heavy drinking. The coroner's report lists "acute alcohol poisoning" as the cause of death, classified under "death by misadventure."More

February 2, 1979 Sid Vicious of The Sex Pistols, out on bail after being accused of killing his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, dies of a heroin overdose at age 21.

September 7, 1978 Keith Moon of The Who dies at age 32 after overdosing on medication that is supposed to help him overcome his alcoholism.

August 16, 1977 The King is dead. Elvis Presley dies at his home in Graceland as a result of an overdose from prescription drugs.More

April 9, 1976 Folk singer-songwriter Phil Ochs commits suicide at age 35 in Far Rockaway, New York City, after a long battle with bipolar disorder and alcoholism.

February 12, 1976 Sal Mineo, an actor who starred alongside James Dean in the movies Giant and Rebel Without a Cause, is murdered by a deranged assailant. Mineo had several hits as a singer including "Start Movin' (In My Direction)," which reached #9 US in 1957.

April 24, 1975 Pete Ham of Badfinger hangs himself in his London home. 27-year-old Ham, who was the group's lead singer and primary songwriter, was despondent over the business dealings that saw the band's album Wish You Were Here pulled from stores and his income cut off. He leaves behind a pregnant girlfriend who gives birth to a daughter the following month.

July 29, 1974 Cass Elliot (of The Mamas & The Papas) dies of a heart attack (not from choking on a ham sandwich) in London, England at age 32.

December 20, 1973 Bobby Darin dies at age 37 after surgery to repair his ailing heart.More

September 20, 1973 Jim Croce is killed in a plane crash in Natchitoches, Louisiana, at age 30. More

September 19, 1973 Gram Parsons of The Byrds dies at age 26 after taking a shot of liquid morphine in his room at Joshua Tree Inn. Parsons had been recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, but relapsed during his trip to Joshua Tree National Park. "He was clean and took a strong shot," his friend Keith Richards says. "It's the one mistake you don't want to make."

March 8, 1973 Grateful Dead keyboard player Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, a founding member of the band, dies at age 27.More

November 11, 1972 Berry Oakley (bassist for The Allman Brothers Band) dies at age 24 after a motorcycle accident in Macon, Georgia, just three blocks from the site of Duane Allman's fatal motorcycle crash a year earlier.

July 3, 1971 Jim Morrison of The Doors is found dead in a bathtub at age 27. No autopsy is performed, and while drugs are suspected, the official cause is listed as "heart attack induced by respiratory problems."More

October 4, 1970 Janis Joplin is found dead at the Landmark Hotel in Los Angeles after a heroin overdose. She was just 27.More

September 18, 1970 Jimi Hendrix is found dead in his basement. He had taken nine pills of the barbiturate Vesparax, that along with alcohol, caused a fatal overdose.More

July 3, 1969 Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones is found dead in his swimming pool in England. The death is ruled accidental, although Jones, 27, has high levels of alcohol in his blood.

February 28, 1968 Frankie Lymon dies of a heroin overdose at age 25.

August 27, 1967 The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein dies of an accidental overdose (Carbitral mixed with alcohol) in London, England, at age 32.

December 11, 1964 Sam Cooke is killed at age 33 when the manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles (where rooms cost $3 a night) shoots him three times. The manager claims that Cooke assaulted her and that he tried to rape his companion. The incident was ruled a justifiable homicide.

August 5, 1962 Marilyn Monroe dies of a barbiturate overdose at age 36 in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California. Musically, she's known for an iconic performance of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."

April 10, 1962 Stu Sutcliffe, original bass guitarist for The Beatles, dies at age 21 of a brain aneurysm.

April 17, 1960 "Summertime Blues" singer Eddie Cochran dies in England when the taxi he is riding in crashes. He is just 21.

February 3, 1959 Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson are killed in a plane crash. Don McLean would call it "The Day the Music Died" in his 1971 hit "American Pie."More

May 1, 2013 Chris Kelly of the rap duo Kris Kross dies at age 34 after overdosing on heroin and cocaine. The duo were teenagers when they had their #1 hit "Jump" in 1992; they also opened for Michael Jackson on his Dangerous tour that year.

August 1, 2012 Tony Sly (frontman for No Use For a Name) dies in his sleep at age 41. No cause of death is revealed.

December 28, 2009 Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan (drummer and co-lead vocalist for Avenged Sevenfold) dies from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs and alcohol at age 28. The coroner also notes cardiomegaly (an enlarged heart) which may have contributed to his death.