Five Dead Drummers

Posted Tue Mar 18, 2008 1:04pm PDT by Rob O'Connor in List Of The Day

62-year old Ola Brunkert, a former drummer for the Swedish pop band ABBA (and a household name in MY household) was found dead with cuts to his neck in his garden on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Police have ruled it an "accident." As any fan of Spinal Tap knows, being a drummer is dangerous business, especially where bizarre gardening accidents are concerned. While the Tap had their share of spontaneously exploding drummers, the rock world has lost its share of time-keepers. Here are five we remember fondly.

Jeff Porcaro - Toto: As Kurt Loder at MTV reported it at the time, Jeff Porcaro died in a bizarre gardening accident at the age of 38. This highly regarded session drummer actually died using a pesticide in his garden that it turned out he was allergic to that triggered a heart attack. For all the good luck in this man's career, there was a touch of irreversible bad luck that kinda trumped it all.

Keith Moon - The Who: No one was surprised when Keith Moon died. Anyone who ever watched the guy drum figured he'd die on stage, however. So reckless. So carefree. So oblivious to life's fragile existence. He died at the age of 32 after overindulging himself for the millionth time. Despite his young age, he had been famous for years. It's as if they built their rock stars younger back then.

John Bonham - Led Zeppelin: Hard drinking, hard living. No surprise here. These days they have celebrity rehab clinics and we're quicker to spot the drug and alcohol problems. How else have so many past and present members of Guns n' Roses been kept alive? But back in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, we didn't have the Candy Finnegans of the world to perform interventions in people's time of need.

Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley - Hanoi Rocks: Vince Neil will have to answer for this one. These guys were friends. But drunk driving kills. We have the statistics. More messed up is that it doesn't always kill the drunk driver but some poor guy walking on the side of the road trying to get home. In Razzle's case, he was in the passenger's seat and while others were injured, he pulled up the short straw and died.

Eric Carr -- Kiss: We at List Of The Day HATE cancer. If Eric Carr had fallen out of a plane or died trying to triple-pirouetted axle at his drum set, we would feel bad, but at least satisfied to know he did it in service of his craft, or trying to get a better look at the Statue of Liberty. But dying from an insidious disease that takes too many people too young, well, that's a damn shame no matter who you play for.

20 Comments

1. manotubes -
Crap, what about Tommy Lee? Max Weinberg? Buddy Rich? Dead and undead.

2. baybay13 -
wow.i totally agree with eric

3. Yahoo! Music User -
Hanoi Rocks were my favorite band. When Vince killed Razzle, Hanoi Rocks broke up. I will always hold a grudge against Motley Crue for that. And it was in VERY bad taste for the Crue to name their box set "Music To Crash Your Car To." Jerks!

4. Gene Hallway -
It took drummers, the back bone of most bands to produce literate comment

Finally. Nice Column Bub.

5. Darren B -
this is a good blog....

1. john bonham
2. keith moon
3. buddy rich
4. Gene kupra
5. doc wolcholtz ( savatage drummer i heard he died but i am not for sure)

6. ern9598 -
What about Randy Castillo. One of the great heavy metal drummers of our time. He died of cancer while he was with motley crue, he also was with ozzy osbourne, lita ford, and the motels.

7. Shelby -
What about Sandy West? She died in 2007 from lung cancer and brain tumor. She was the greatest female drummer of all time. And one of the founders of The Runaways.

8. Super Sam -
All these drummers were good. It's sad that they died young. As for Tommy Lee, he is a great drummer. Nobody should put down the talent he gots for playing drums.

9. R. Milton Siegel -
Nobody's mentioned Karen Carpenter yet. (Tip o' the Hatlo hat to J. Kordosh, who cited this pattern of drummer mortality back in 1983, after Ms. Carpenter had followed Bonham and Moon into the Void.)

10. Nick Tungsten -
Honorable Mention to Rick Allen for almost dying (at least getting banged up and losing a limb in the process).

11. Kywaa -
John Bonham is a God in my books.
High five for mentioning him :)

12. whoa -
ya know i hate tommy lee and i hate travis barker, but im a drummer and i know talent when i hear it so i cant take that away from them. but tommy lee aint got nothing on travis barker. travis barker even challenged him to a drum off and tommy lee went running scared

13. Jake -
Buddy Miles?

14. ragnarock_chains -
they show make a statue for every drummer dat dies(im a drummer)

15. Yahoo! Music User -
There's Cozy Powell ex Rainbow, also drummer for Jeff Beck Band, Whitesnake, ELP, MSG, Gary Moore and many others.

16. da_rollingmonk -
C'mon man. How'd you forget Brian Jones?

17. sammysteff -
Hey no need 2 hold a grudge against Motley Crue the guy should have thought about what he did. And 4 once mr.o'conner u r right about something. Eric Carr's death. I luv kiss!!!

18. sammysteff -
totally right about rick allen mr. Nick tungsten

19. Blair I -
Ya my fav drummers are John Bonham and Keith Moon they like rock!!!!!!

20. DennyRules -
Cannot believe you forgot Dennis Wilson. What an oversight . . .
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