Pick a Day

Music History Events: Suicides

March 19, 1993 Jeff Ward (drummer for several bands, including Low Pop Suicide and Nine Inch Nails) commits suicide via carbon monoxide poisoning at age 30.

February 8, 1990 Del Shannon, struggling with depression, commits suicide at age 55.

November 6, 1989 Dickie Goodman (of the novelty duo Buchanan and Goodman) dies at age 55 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

February 14, 1989 Vincent Crane (organist for Atomic Rooster) dies of an intentional overdose of painkillers at age 45.

August 14, 1988 Bluesman Roy Buchanan dies of an apparent suicide (though friends and family dispute this) at age 48 in Fairfax, Virginia.

June 10, 1988 Steve Sanders (baritone singer, guitarist for The Oak Ridge Boys) dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 45.

May 3, 1987 Italian-French singer Dalida overdoses on barbiturates at age 54, leaving behind a note that reads "Life has become unbearable for me... Forgive me."

March 4, 1986 Richard Manuel (pianist, singer of The Band) commits suicide at age 42, following a gig in Winter Park, Florida.

March 29, 1985 Jeanne Deckers - known as "The Singing Nun" - and her companion Annie Pécher die in a double suicide at their home. As a Belgian nun, Deckers had a US #1 hit in 1963 with "Dominique," but she left the convent in 1966 and went through a series of setbacks, including devastating financial problems. Deckers is 51, Pécher is 40.

April 3, 1983 Danny Rapp (of Danny & the Juniors) dies at age 41 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He's discovered in a hotel room in Quartzsite, Arizona.

July 11, 1981 Hubert Johnson of The Contours dies by suicide at age 40.

December 7, 1980 Darby Crash (of the Germs) commits suicide at age 22 through an intentional heroin overdose.

February 21, 1980 Janet Vogel of The Skyliners ("Since I Don't Have You") commits suicide at age 37.

January 7, 1980 R&B singer Larry Williams dies at age 44 of a gunshot wound to the head in what's eventually deemed a suicide, though some speculate he was murdered. Known for a string of enduring rock 'n roll hits from the mid-'50s, including "Bony Moronie" and "Short Fat Fannie."

November 29, 1979 Rockabilly singer Ray Smith commits suicide at age 45. Known for the 1960 hit "Rockin' Little Angel."

July 15, 1979 Punk rocker Rick Garberson (drummer for Bizarros) dies of a presumed suicide via carbon-monoxide poisoning.

January 13, 1979 Donny Hathaway commits suicide at age 33 by jumping from the balcony of his 15th floor room at the Essex House hotel in New York City.

March 25, 1976 Jackson Browne's first wife, Phyllis, dies by suicide less than a year after they were married. She suffered from depression that got particularly acute after giving birth to their son in 1973.

November 25, 1974 Nick Drake dies after overdosing on the antidepressant Tryptasol. Just 26 years old, the British musician released three albums in his lifetime.

May 8, 1974 British R&B musician Graham Bond dies in an apparent suicide at age 36 when he's hit by a train at Finsbury Park station in London, England.

August 17, 1973 Paul Williams (original lead singer for The Temptations) dies of an apparent suicide in Detroit, Michigan, at age 34.

November 25, 1970 Jazz sax player Albert Ayler is found dead in New York City's East River after being missing for 20 days. It's assumed that the 34 year old committed suicide.

September 3, 1970 Canned Heat frontman Alan Wilson commits suicide at age 27 via barbiturate overdose. A litany of other rock artists soon die at the same age, including Jimi Hendrix two weeks later.

April 20, 1949 Phil Spector's father commits suicide when Phil is just 9 years old. The title of the song "To Know Him Is To Love Him," which Phil Spector wrote for the Teddy Bears, comes from the inscription on his father's headstone.

May 14, 1942 Film composer Frank Churchill - who wrote several classic Disney numbers including "Heigh-Ho" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 40.

October 14, 2019 Choi Jin-ri, the South Korean singer/actress known as Sulli, commits suicide at Busan aged only 25.

March 4, 2019 Keith Flint of The Prodigy is found dead at his home in Essex, England. Cause of death is determined to be suicide by hanging. He was 49.

March 3, 2017 Pop singer Tommy Page, known for the 1990 hit "I'll Be Your Everything," dies in an apparent suicide at age 46.

March 11, 2016 Keith Emerson, the keyboard player and primary music composer in Emerson, Lake & Palmer, dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 71.

January 24, 2016 Butch Trucks, co-founder and drummer of The Allman Brothers Band, dies at age 69 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.