Metal Sludge’s Top 12 Most Shocking Death’s Of The Biggest 80’s Rock Stars
By Gerry Gittelson
Metal Sludge Editor at Large
“Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them.” George Eliot
No one wants to die, but it’s an inevitable part of life – sometimes sooner, sometimes later. In this Metal Sludge compilation, we examine 12 rock and roll deaths that shook the music industry to its core.
When you look back at rock history, sometimes death is what it takes to make someone a true legend. Who knows if Jimi Hendrix, Janis Hoplin and Jim Morrison would have been such luming figures had any of them not died at 27 years of age. So without any further ado, here is our list.
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#12 Eric Carr – KISS
Eric Carr, Nov. 24, 1991 – The drummer for KISS – one of rock’s all-time most successful bands – died of a massive brain hemorrhage brought on by a rare type of heart cancer following a series of surgeries to remove tumors. On the video “God Made Rock and Roll For You” a few months before he died, Carr was wearing a wig because of cancer treatments.
Carr replaced Peter Criss in 1980 and remained with KISS for 11 years. Besides drumming, Carr also played guitar, bass guitar, and piano and sang background vocals. Occasionally he sang lead vocals, such as on ” Black Diamond ” and “Young and Wasted” live with Kiss. He was 41.
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#11 Steve Clark – Def Leppard
Steve Clark, Jan. 8, 1991 – The talented but troubled guitarist and primary songwriter for Def Leppard died from an overdose brought on by a combination of multiple prescription drugs and alcohol. His body was found sprawled on a couch by a friend, an autopsy revealed a blood-alcohol level of .30 plus heavy traces of codeine, valium and morphine.
In 2007, Clark was ranked No. 11 on Classic Rock Magazine’s “100 Wildest Guitar Heroes.” Prior to his death, Clark contributed to the recording of half of the band’s 1992 album, “Adrenalize.” Def Leppard enjoyed their most successful years commercially during the Clark era. He was 30.
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#10 Robbin Crosby – Ratt
Robbin Crosby, June 6, 2002 – The tall, great-looking guitarist was a millionaire in his young prime as a famed guitarist with multiplatinum glam metal band Ratt but threw it all away because of heroin. He died of an overdose in Los Angeles, and he was also HIV positive at the time.
Crosby co-wrote many of Ratt’s biggest hit songs including “Round and Round “, “Wanted Man ” and “Lay it Down “. The album “Out of the Cellar ” went triple-platinum based on Crosby’s co-penned “Round and Round.” After leaving Ratt, Crosby produced Lillian Axe. He was 42.
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#9 Bon Scott – AC/DC
Bon Scott, Feb. 19, 1980 – The legendary AC/DC singer, choked on his own vomit after a night of drinking and partying at a London club. He was found in his car after being left to sleep after arriving home. One day earlier, he was working on songs for “Black in Black,” the fourth biggest-selling album in history.
In the July 2004 issue of Classic Rock magazine, Scott was rated No. 1 in a list of the “100 Greatest Frontmen Of All Time” ahead of Freddie Mercury of Queen and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin . Hit Parader ranked Scott as No. 5 on their 2006 list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Vocalists of all time. He was 33.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3lvCa5RNZI
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#8 Kevin DuBrow – Quiet Riot
Kevin DuBrow, Nov. 19, 2007 – The outspoken lead singer of Quiet Riot known for such huge rock anthems as “Cum On Feel The Noize” and “Metal Heath,” DuBrow died alone from a cocaine overdose in Las Vegas. He was not discovered until several days later after collapsing.
DuBrow fronted Quiet Riot from 1975 until 1987, and again from 1990 until his death in 2007. In February 1987, DuBrow was fired from Quiet Riot. This was decided during a Japanese tour in December 1986 and came as a result of DuBrow’s verbal attacks on newer bands of the same genre, which negatively affected the band’s reputation. He was 52.
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#7 Tim Kelly – Slaughter
Tim Kelly, Feb. 5, 1998 – Kelly, the guitar player for platinum pop-metal band Slaughter, died tragically in a head-on car collision involving an 18-wheeler on a lonely stretch of highway in Arizona. He was pronounced dead from internal injuries after being crushed. The driver of the truck had drugs in his system but was sentenced to just three years in prison.
With Slaughter, Kelly was a collaborator, writing and playing several songs. In the first album of the band (“Stick It to Ya”), he wrote and performed an instrumental piece called “Thinking of June” which he dedicated to his sister who died in 1982 from ovarian cancer . In all, Kelly released four studio albums with the band, and two live albums , the last of which (“Eternal Live”) was released posthumously and includes a pictorial and video tribute to Kelly. Kelly was 35.
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#6 Jani Lane – Warrant
Jani Lane, Aug. 11, 2011 – The Warrant singer died alone from acute alcohol poisoning in a hotel room in the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles. Lane had previously been arrested twice for drunk driving in 2009 and 2010. Ironically both incidents involved the same arresting officer. During the same stretch Lane struggled with his live performance and on at least two occasions he was booed on stage for performing drunk.
As lead vocalist with Warrant, Lane wrote all of the band’s material including four Top 40 hit singles: “Down Boys,” “Sometimes She Cries,” “Big Talk” and the number two Billboard hit “Heaven” from Warrant’s debut double platinum album “Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich” in 1989, which peaked at number 10 on The Billboard 200 . Lane also wrote another four Top 40 hit singles: “Cherry Pie,” ” I Saw Red,” “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and “Blind Faith” for the second album, the double-platinum “Cherry Pie” in 1990, which peaked at number 7 on the Billboard 200. He was 47.
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#5 “Razzle” Dingley – Hanoi Rocks
Razzle, Dec. 9, 1984 – Born Nicholas Charles Dingley, the drummer for Finnish glam stars Hanoi Rocks was influential as much for the band’s high-volume music as for their androgynous image. He died in a car crash in Redondo Beach, Calif., as a passenger in Motley Crue singer Vince Neil’s Pantera sports car. Neil barely had a scratch but was later jailed.
On the day he died, Razzle was partying at Neil’s home in Redondo Beach south of Los Angeles. The two decided to take a trip to a local liquor store, and Neil lost control of the car and hit an opposing vehicle. The two occupants of the other car were seriously injured. Razzle was taken to South Bay ER but was declared dead on arrival at 19:12 local time. He was buried at Holy Cross Church in Binstead, Isle of Wight in 1984. Dingley was 24.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEYtUcIKHTM
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#4 Cliff Burton – Metallica
Cliff Burton, Sept. 27, 1986 – Burton was the bass player for Metallica, and he died just the metal band was on the brink of superstardom. Burton, who 23 years later was posthumously inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , was killed in a tour bus accident in rural Sweden, as the group was between stops on the “Master of Puppets” tour.
Burton was sleeping in his bunk shortly before 7 am when the bus skidded off the road and flipped onto the grass. Burton was thrown through the window of the bus, which then landed on top of him.
Burton joined Metallica in 1982 and performed on the band’s first three studio albums, “Kill ‘Em All,” “Ride the Lightning,” and “Master of Puppets.” He also received a posthumous writing credit for the song “To Live Is to Die” from the band’s fourth studio album, …And Justice For All.
He was selected as the ninth greatest bassist of all time in an online reader poll organized by Rolling Stone in 2011. He was 24.
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#3 Freddy Mercury – Queen
Freddy Mercury, Nov. 24, 1991 – Considered by some the greatest rock singer of all-time, the operatic-voiced Queen frontman died of pneumonia brought on by AIDS just one day after publicly acknowledging he had the disease. He was gay but kept it a secret for most of his career.
As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four- octave range. As a songwriter, he composed many hits for Queen, including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Killer Queen,” “Somebody to Love,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” and “We Are the Champions.” Mercury was 45.
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#2 Randy Rhoads – Ozzy Osbourne
Randy Rhoads, March 19, 1982 – The original guitarist in Quiet Riot was raised on the Sunset Strip and eventually joined Ozzy Osbourne, whose popularity was keyed by Rhoads incredible guitar playing. Rhoads died in a fiery plane crash in Leesburg, Florida.
Rhoads was very cool-looking in a 70s-rock-star kind of way, and few guitarists had faster fingers.
A devoted student of classical guitar, Rhoads combined his classical music influences with his own heavy metal style. He was in Quiet Riot before joining Ozzy. Rhoads played his last show on March 18 at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. He was 25.
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#1 “Dimebag” Darrell – Pantera
“Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, Dec. 8, 2004 – The beloved guitarist for Pantera was victimized by the ultimate nightmare for any musician – murdered by gunshot on stage while playing for his band Damage Plan in Columbus, Ohio. The shooter was a demented fan killed a few minutes later by police.
Born Darrell Lance Abbott , he was best known as a founding member of two bands, Pantera and Damage Plan, alongside his brother, Vinnie Paul.
Dimebag Darrell is considered to be one of the driving forces behind groove metal. He ranked No. 92 in Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Guitarists and No. 1 in the UK magazine, Metal Hammer. He was 38.
Gerry Gittelson can be reached at gspot@metalsludge.tv
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