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10 Most Tragic Music Icon Deaths

Posted Sun Jun 28, 2009 7:16pm PDT by Robert of the Radish in The Y! Music Playlist Blog

Every death is a tragedy, but in the world of music when an icon dies too young, it sends reverberations throughout the whole world. We saw it this week with the death of Michael Jackson at the age of 50. Those who have reached the pinnacle of success in the music business always see an outpouring of sympathy when they die because of the sheer number of fans they leave behind. But there is more to it. It also reminds us all that life is short and all the money and fame in the world won't stop death. In the most tragic cases it also proves that money and fame cannot buy happiness. To the contrary, sometimes the star simply cannot deal with the trappings of fame and self-destructs. For this playlist I've selected what I feel are the 10 most tragic music icon deaths. These are all artists who have reached millions of people with their music, but died much too young under tragic circumstances.

May they all rest in peace and may their deaths remind the stars of the future that they too are only human.

10 Most Tragic Music Icon Deaths 

   1. Don't Be Cruel - Elvis Presley   

   2. That'll Be The Day - Buddy Holly   

   3. (Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon   

   4. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) - Michael Jackson   

   5. Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix   

   6. Riders On The Storm - The Doors(Jim Morrison) 

   7. Piece Of My Heart - Janis Joplin   

   8. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana(Kurt Cobain) 

   9. Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye   

   10. Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd(Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines)

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219 Comments

1. K.JOY -
ummmmm....WHERE is Aaliyah on this list? YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS BY NOT INCLUDING HER! COME ON NOW!

2. Helen L -
You left out the greatest american poet who died an untimely death.He died of opium and alcohol They found him dead in a ditch. EDGAR ALAN POE

3. Helen L -
you only have 3 comments posted it's been 20 minutes since I posted my comment what's sup Am I suppose to die to be heard

4. Helen L -
Pokahumus; Say, Superstarman Livediebigman Inthisworldman

5. Helen L -
Pokahumus; Say, Superstarman Livediebigman Inthisworldman

6. Gerry -
I would also add Billie Holiday to your playlist (your song choice; I'd go with "Strange Fruit"). While her fate was pretty much sealed when her liver started going, the NYPD helped hasten her death by arresting her in her hospital bed, removing every last item from her room that would have made her final days more bearable, and having the hospital remove her from the critical list. A quality of mercy for a dying black woman in 1959? HA!

7. rainbowbrite79 -
of course!Lynyrd Skynyrd! that was a tragic double death...
these all listed surely are missed.
~*rock on *~ and peace

8. LoisM -
Christ dying on the cross for us was a tragedy of a much larger magnitude but NoOne acts like this for him !! Tis a sad state of affairs !!!

9. d r -
Anything by Bob Marley

10. Angelica -
I THINK AALIYAH SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON HERE YA'LL ARE CRAZY R.I.P AALIYAH JANUARY16,1979 TIL AUGUST25,2001 2PAC ALSO SHOULD BE ON HERE

11. eriemi -
After he said the europe tour would be his last,i lost all hope of Micheal coming to Nigeria ,so i decided to go see him perform there and now,he is gone and i've just cancelled my reservations.it was hard but MICHEAL IS GONE and nothing can pass for the real thing.love you micheal.

12. Lorzlie -
Every death is a tragedy, but i think Michael Jackson's death is most tragic one because it happened so fast, all of a sudden he was gone.
Love u Mj. Forever The King!!!

13. D33PPURPLE -
What is it with the first few comments that seem like spam? A little respect please?

14. Yahoo! Music User -
where's freddie mercury???

15. Anne -
I second D33PPURPLE

16. camashe -
Okay people, the title of the blog is 10 MOST TRAGIC MUSIC ICON DEATHS. That certainly does not include poets. Nor does it include people who were terminally ill because their deaths would have been foreseen. As for Aaliyah, her death was tragic but she was certainly not a music icon and even if she was, she would be no where near the top 10. Marvin Gaye maybe??

17. Doug -
Tiny Tim. The Ukelele rules!

18. GaryM -
long live the KING ELVIS

19. FRANKO -
u cant forget the biggest COOK intown. SAM COOK. r.i.p. dude

20. Kenny L -
What about Bon Scott of AC/DC ???
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