Which musician would have achieved more had they not died prematurely?
Which musician would have achieved more had they not died prematurely? 19 votes
3 votes
7 votes
3 votes
2 votes
1 vote
3 votes
Comments
-
John Lennon
I forgot Tupac
-
Marvin Gaye
I don’t know the careers of everyone listed but in polls like this, I tend to vote for those who did t have a huge catalog of music. I voted for Marvin in spite of that.
-
Jim Morrison
And Biggie. But there could be an entire category to rappers dying prematurely.
-
Jimi Hendrix
Its Hendrix. Lennon wasn't that young when he died.
It's pretty hard to say what direction guys would've gone though.
-
Buddy Holly
-
Jim Morrison
@RaceBannon beat me to the punch but I was going to say the most glaring omissions here are Buddy Holly and Otis Redding.
Harrison doesn't deserve to be on the list. He was a spent force artistically by the early 70s and had a few nice come back tracks in the late 80s produced by Jeff Lynne but still noting special. He was retired by the time of his death basically.
Same for Lennon. He was done artistically by the lost weekend and Double Fantasy was a pleasant comeback in 1980 but doubt he had much left in the tank. Maybe there would have been a reunion tour or not. But in terms of great future Lennon material I'm not buying it.
Hendrix was slipping a bit by the time of his death and hadn't released any new studio LP's since 1968.
Jim is the clear choice. He went out on top with L.A. Woman being some of the Door's very best work.
-
Jimi Hendrix
I lean more towards Jimi, with Cobain a close 2nd…IFL'ed the Lizard King, but he was so fucking out of control when they hit, I can't visualize what a straight Jim would be like, writing and performing. From what I've read, Jimi was dissatisfied with what he was doing, and looking to branch out at the time of his demise. He had dipped his toes into so many genres (Psychedelic, R&B, blues, funk, soul), I feel it would have been really interesting to see which direction(s) he went.
Kurt the same, with his alleged fondness for pop music.
I concur with Yella's take on George and John.
WATBS, it has to be someone from Club 27 or younger for me. There aren't too many second-acts in R&R, they either burn out or fade away…
-
Jim Morrison
Argh forgot about Buddy Holly. He would be my #2 vote after Jim in the non-rapper division, despite his vote for Sideshow Bob.
-
Buddy wrote and produced
Would have been interesting
-
Jim Morrison
Ritchie Valens is an interesting consideration too since he was only 17
-
Write-In
Steve Gaines.
So good he took lead vocals on You Got That Right from Ronnie (co-lead I know). Only did the one album, Street Survivors. Probably does one or two more albums with Skynyrd and goes solo.
-
Write-In
Stevie Ray Vaughn.
-
Jimi Hendrix
Cobain was nowhere near Jimi in terms of playing ability, but I think they both altered the trajectory of the instrument. Fender was going to soon announce the end of the Stratocaster production until Monterey Pop, probably the first few bars of "Killing Floor" was the turning point.
-
Bradley Nowell
-
Hank Williams Sr.
-
Jimi Hendrix
I was going to add Ronnie Van Zant/Steve Gaines. Seemed like they were going to have at least another good album or two in them.
I voted Jimi because he was super ahead of his time and seemed like he was heading in the direction of doing more and more interesting shit.
I'd be really curious about what Cobain would have done. I honestly have no clue.
the truth is most if not all had probably peaked though.
Almost all probably have controversial political opinions if they're still alive.
-
Kurt Cobain
Almost went with Wood. I think Cobain as others alluded, his preference for writing a heavy pop hit likely keeps grunge near the forefront of music a bit longer. Maybe we have better bands around now or at least the music industry doesn't ignore them as a result.
Buddy Holly is a good call, and I'd say Layne Staley. That guy feels underrated from a front man, voice perspective. Love the Mad Season stuff and it's interesting to theorize where things go, especially now, with those powerful voices.
-
Jimi Hendrix
This really is easy. Hendrix was just getting started. He was going through a bit of a reset and never should have moved away from the original Experience power trio. Mitch Mitchell was nearly as much of a force in that setup as Hendrix was.
However...look at the way the harder end of the rock spectrum was evolving in 1970 and where it went. Does anyone really think Hendrix would've stood by and watched bands like Sabbath, Led, and Deep Purple leave him behind as a hard rocker? I believe that would've been his direction and it would've been glorious.
Morrison was talented but he was a fuck stuck and a clown. I used to have a disk of Hendrix jamming in some club. Pretty shitty jamming but that's jamming for you. Morrison got up there with him, noticeably, incoherently drunk, and made such a fool of himself that I had a hard time hearing even his Doors stuff for a while after. Man he sucked. You could tell Hendrix was embarrassed.
-
Jimi Hendrix
I had that on vinyl…cringey…FHITA
-
John Lennon
I have a hunch that Cobain had done all he could do.
-
John Lennon
John Lennon needed to get cleaned up and away from Yoko. There would have been more in the tank, I just know it.
-
Jimi Hendrix
I think this is true and was playing into his depression. I remember reading that one of his issues was he was propped up as this prophet but really he didn't have much to say at all. Isn't the truth that his lyrics were insanely meaningless and a lot were just basically inside jokes about his friends?
-
John Lennon
His ability to write a catchy melody combined with his thrift store IDGAF persona, was the right fit for the right time, as America began its hastened descent into degeneracy and mediocrity…
-
Jimi Hendrix
Morrison would either have to sober up or die, and went the latter route. If he sobered up then he'd sing better for starters. On the last recordings he simply sounded drunk compared to the early stuff.
-
Jimi Hendrix
To me Morrison was always like walking the finest fucking line between artist poet and drunken idiotic buffoon.
-
Jim Morrison
That's why he's a fucking legend! I've loved the Lizard King schtick since I was a little kid.
Mr Mojo rising!
-
Jimi Hendrix
I love it but it's honest to god hard not to laugh sometimes and I understand how a lot of people are like what the fuck is this? Especially as time goes on.
-
Write-In
No Bon Scott?
-
Hey ese, where's the love for Ritchie? @UW_Doog_Bot and I would like to better understand why you give all the love to the gringos and forget that our? guy was in the plane with what's his name and the other guy.
-
Jim Morrison
2 hit oily hair wonder @creepycoug
