+1 for Buddy Holly. My god, he was only 22 years old when he died. Given that he managed to create the template for the Beatles and just about every other rock band that has existed since, can you imagine what else he could have created if he had lived another half century?
Another to consider:
Randy Rhodes
John Bonham.
Not just because he was arguably the greatest rock drummer ever but because Led Zeppelin folded when he died. Page, Plant, and Jones had some success in their other ventures but nothing that shook rock like Led Zeppelin.
Tupac
Left Eye
Aaliyah
The Notorious BIG
These Things Matter wrote:
Nick Drake.
Great answer. Drake's sublime guitar work, vocals and lyrics were limited to three albums, and he died at age 26. There is no doubt he would have continued on to publish more great music.
It occurs to me reading the answers to the OP's question that all of the answers are Western (not the music type, but the geography), and most from the US. Anyone got any "World Music" suggestions?
These awesome guys all died under the under age of 27:
Big L (24)
Kurt Cobain (27)
Notorious BIG (24)
Tupac (25)
These awesome guys all died under the under age of 27: Big L (24) Kurt Cobain (27) Notorious BIG (24) Tupac (25)
lease wrote:
Avocado's Number wrote:
I might find a spot on the list for Mozart.
+1
First one I thought of. He only made it to 35.
i live under a bridge wrote:
John Bonham.
Not just because he was arguably the greatest rock drummer ever but because Led Zeppelin folded when he died. Page, Plant, and Jones had some success in their other ventures but nothing that shook rock like Led Zeppelin.
I can't believe I made it to page 5 before someone mentioned Bonham. Come on, guys. Do better.
35 is Pretty Old wrote:
These awesome guys all died under the under age of 27:
Big L (24)
Kurt Cobain (27)
Notorious BIG (24)
Tupac (25)
lease wrote:
+1
First one I thought of. He only made it to 35.
Three of these people couldn’t read musical notes
Marvin Gaye
Bob Marley
Otis Redding
Billie Holiday
Sam Cooke
Tupac Shakur
Donny Hathaway
In jazz, Clifford Brown
Another vote for Jim Croce. He was the Yuki MF Kawauchi of music. I went through this thread and he's the only guy I would have enjoyed hearing develop. Everyone else, even at age 25, was defined. Croce was just finding his voice. Lover's Cross? One Less Set of Footsteps? The man understood some things and had a great way to express what he saw.
Color Me Sad wrote:
Terry Kath... Chicago's guitarist. Did have a enough of a career/body of work, though, so might agree on Buddy Holly.
I second that!
gbgb wrote:
Ian Curtis
+1
The problem with Buddy Holly is that a the time of his death, he was moving away from rock music and into the realms of soft pop.
But, to be fair, the received wisdom back in 1959 was that hard edged rock'n'roll was on the way out, and record companies were trying to double guess the direction in which public taste was moving.
And they were guessing that soft pop was the way to go.
Enter Fabian.
The first Chris on the Partridge Family.
in no order Ottis Redding,Kurt Cobain,Jimi Hendrix,Jim Morrison,Bob Marley,2pac,Mac Dre,
Lucas Tanner1 wrote:
Gramps wrote:
+1
don't fergit ur meds!
No one under 60 knows who Lucas Tanner was.
Well lemme tell you something Buddy. I wear my Depend undergarments proudly. And I also have the Life Alert system in my home just in case I fall and wet my pants all at the same time, with no one there to help.
But yeah, you laugh. That’s right, go ahead and laugh. See if I care!
Lucas Tanner, you wuz a lousy, white basketball coach
Me, I'm riding my Honda 50 around Burning Man with my 20-year-old trophy wife on the back. Been up all night dancing at a rave, thanks to MDMA.
Got my obit pre-written.
oh, yeah, add to music list Gram Parsons and Karen Carpenter.
If I fell wrote:
Shane McGowan
I think he's still with us, just barely though. Even has new teeth.
Elvis, Chris Cornell, and even John Lennon were probably well past their peaks (age 40+) and not likely to come up with music as good as they did when they were younger.
As much as I like SRV, I don't think he would have ever gotten much more traction than he had since he played relatively niche music.
I think Hendrix is the answer. Still young and in his prime, and died right at a time when 70s hard rock was starting up. I would have liked to see how he responded with the times.
No one actually sits around listening to Mozart, so that pretentiousness can go ahead and stop. Liking "everything from classical to hip-hop" doesn't make you special, it makes you unable to make up your mind.
portsea57 wrote:
The problem with Buddy Holly is that a the time of his death, he was moving away from rock music and into the realms of soft pop.
But, to be fair, the received wisdom back in 1959 was that hard edged rock'n'roll was on the way out, and record companies were trying to double guess the direction in which public taste was moving.
And they were guessing that soft pop was the way to go.
Enter Fabian.
Good point, however that's short-term, what could have been if Buddy Holly lived long enough to see the 60s and early 70s, Dylan, the later Beatles stuff, or even Hendrix? The possibilities.
To me the top two when considering the "robbed us of the most great music" portion of the question; Holly and Hendrix.