5 Great Musicians Taken Before Their Time!

You know, you would think that one of the most dangerous art forms to work in would be like, 'The Circus' or, 'Daredevil Stunt Work' and the truth is, is that those are some of the more dangerous art based professions to work in, but the truth is, is that I wouldn't say that these are the only dangerous art professions at all! Oddly enough, believe it or not, I would say that becoming a famous actor at a young age, or being a musician are some of the other ones!

Now I am not saying this because the professions is inherently fraught with risks, and thus you should not be working in these professions...

No, I guess what I am trying to say is that these professions are definitely not the most risky jobs in the world (Any job more or less has a slight degree of risk associated with it, but acting and music are by far some of the least professions fraught with peril!) No in this case what I mean is that they are some of the most dangerous because they have some of the biggest pitfalls there are! And because of that we have lost some truly phenomenal actors/actresses and musicians in the hole!

And that is why I thought that I would honor some of the great musicians that died before their time with this list of, '5 Great Musicians Taken Before Their Time'!

At number 5: Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="562"] Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009)[/caption]

Michael Jackson entertained audiences all over the world since he was a kid, to this day he is still a beloved artist by legions of fans all over the world... Unfortunately though, when Michael Jackson was preparing for his swansong tour, he passed away due to an accidental overdose!

http://youtu.be/h_D3VFfhvs4

At number 4: Darrell 'Dimebag' Abbott (1966 - 2004):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Darrell 'Dimebag' Abbott (1966 - 2004)[/caption]

This guy has kicked ass in many bands including such bands as: 'Pantera', but unfortunately his career was cut short when while on stage performing with, 'Damageplan' he was murdered...

http://youtu.be/cvHDSTf3At4

At number 3: The Big Bopper, Ritche Valens & Buddy Holly...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="516"] Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper & Ritchie Vaiens, 3 legendary musicians that will never be forgotten![/caption]

In a lot of respects, these guys could be said to be the direct ancestors of a lot of the modern rock 'n roll scene! So it is a shame that when they were tired of taking their tour bus, Buddy Holly chartered a Plane for them... the only problem is that it crashed, killing these legendary talents!

http://youtu.be/SaXA_Hr0CE8

http://youtu.be/jNrpAgTXiC4

http://youtu.be/bfu_gfPBPWc

At number 2: Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)[/caption]

Here is another amazing musician who when he was about to go back on tour ended up passing away before he could go back on tour... That light may have been snuffed, but the King Of Rock will always reign supreme!

http://youtu.be/gj0Rz-uP4Mk

At number 1: Cliff Burton (1962 - 1986):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Cliff Burton (1962 - 1986)[/caption]

Still considered to be the best bassist Metallica has ever had, Cliff Burton passed away after a tour bus accident while Metallica was on the European leg of their, 'Damage Inc.' tour...

http://youtu.be/6O9zMnwD65Q

Ritchie Valens: La Bamba (1958) - Song Review

[caption id="attachment_385" align="alignright" width="353"] Official Score = 2 Devils[/caption]

One thing that I really kind of feel lucky about is the fact that I grew up appreciating some very diverse styles of music... At my Dad's house we always listened to more softer styles of music, including: Sting, or even a nice Mozart sonata, etc... And I have to admit that to this day I still really enjoy that type of music as well, and then when I was at my mom's house, she would always listen to the more hardercore stuff... (well hardcore stuff being some what by perspective, considering that she listened to a lot of the more popular stuff of the early 90s...) And then a buddy of mine helped me get in to the truly hardercore styles of music... Including such groups as, 'Metallica', 'The Offspring', 'The Dead Kennedy's' etc...

But my ex-step dad kind of helped me to start getting interested in the more classic rock selections that made the 50s, 60s & even 70s so awesome!

You might be wondering why I am mentioning all of this, well simply put, as I was beginning to really dive in to the classics of the past, one of the eras that I kind of really got in to was the 1950s, with such musicians as, 'Elvis Presley', 'Buddy Holly,' 'Fats Domino' & 'Little Richie', etc... And one that I was sorry to hear died in a plane crash with, 'Buddy Holly' &, ' The Big Bopper' in 1959, 'Ritchie Valens'!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Rock And Roll Legend, 'Ritchie Valens'.[/caption]

At this point you might be asking yourself, 'why is he praising an artist so heavily, yet not giving one of his most famous songs, not the best of grades?' Honestly... I think Ritchie Valens was an amazing talent, and true trailblazer who deserved all of the accolades that he got in life, and all of the one's he got posthumously after death, (including the 1987 movie based on his life starring: Lou Diamond Phillips (Longmire) & Esai Morales (Teachers)... ) 

The problem is, is where is that song is fun the first time I listened to it, I mean it does have a lively beat and fun lyrics, it doesn't have that listen again quality that I am always looking for in a song, (I mean let's be honest here folks, a really good song is one you could here over and over again for a while with out getting tired of it... Which is a problem that I had after my first listen...)

In the end folks, rather or not you agree with me, Ritchie Valens is truly a legend that helped shape the world of, 'Rock Music' and what it would eventually become!

http://youtu.be/Jp6j5HJ-Cok