Ham died just days before he would have turned 28 on ApKurt Cobain (1967-1994)Īn icon of the Seattle grunge scene, Kurt Cobain formed Nirvana with a friend in 1985 the band achieved mainstream success in the early 1990s. One of the band’s biggest singles was 1970’s “Come And Get It” with Paul McCartney. Ham worked with the Beatles after the group signed to their Apple label. Pete Ham (1947-1975)Īs lead vocalist of 1970s rock band Badfinger, Ham helped craft some of the group’s best-selling songs to date including “Baby Blue” and “No Matter What.” He also co-wrote “Without You”-a number one hit which would later be covered by Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carrey. He died of an internal hemorrhage in March 1973. However, his heavy drinking caused him to develop cirrhosis in 1970, and by 1972 his health had become so fragile he could no longer tour. Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (1945-1973)Ī founding member of the Grateful Dead, Ron McKernan, who went by the nickname Pigpen, did not share his bandmates’ predilection for LSD and other psychedelic drugs. It is thought that he mistook the drug for cocaine and snorted a fatal amount. In July 1971, Morrison died of a heart attack apparently caused by a heroin overdose while living in Paris. By 1969, his drinking had become a problem, making him late for performances and fueling raucous onstage behavior. How the First Thanksgiving College Football Game Kicked Off a Holiday Tradition Jim Morrison (1943-1971)Ī poet and avid reader of philosophy, Jim Morrison rose to prominence as the lead singer and lyricist of The Doors, a band he founded with a friend in 1965. She died of a heroin overdose in October 1970, less than three weeks after the death of fellow rock icon Jimi Hendrix.
Despite multiple attempts to get clean, she became increasingly addicted to heroin and alcohol as her career skyrocketed. Janis Joplin (1943-1970)īorn in Texas, Janis Joplin won over the San Francisco music scene with her bluesy vocals and powerful stage presence, first as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist. His girlfriend claimed that Hendrix, a heavy drug user who was particularly fond of LSD, had washed down a handful of sleeping pills with red wine before going to bed. He died in London in September 1970, asphyxiating on his own vomit. Remembered as one of the greatest electric guitarists in history, Jimi Hendrix revolutionized rock and roll as both an artist and a producer during his brief four-year career. Wilson, who struggled with mental illness and had previously attempted suicide, succumbed to a drug overdose in September 1970, becoming the first of three acclaimed musicians to die at age 27 that year.
A songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player, he famously re-taught the aging blues legend Son House, who had been living in obscurity for decades, how to play his own songs. Known as Blind Owl because of his poor vision, Alan Wilson (first on left) headed up the American blues band Canned Heat, which performed at Woodstock in 1969.