Sadly, popular music has lost more people amongst its ranks than we’d like to remember. Why is it that so many of the great songwriters and performers are also addicts? Why do they search for drug-induced highs as much or more than they search for career highs in their art form? Maybe we’ll never know. It’s heartbreaking. Here below, we wanted to take a look at the lives of three all-time artists who couldn’t kick their addictive demons. This trio of songwriters and performers are superstars that millions wish were still alive. Indeed, these are three incredible artists who tragically died of a drug overdose.
Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse might have had the best singing voice of the 21st century. While her debut LP made her a star in the UK, it was her sophomore release, Back To Black, that made her a global phenomenon. Sadly, though, she just couldn’t get out of her own way, whether it was listening to bad advice from her father and romantic partners or just letting her addiction take over.
Of course, none of this was helped by the massive media attention given to her. That also contributed to her downfall. And in 2011, Winehouse, whose most famous song is about flouting rehab, died as a result of alcohol intoxication, among other factors. She was only 27 years old and one of the many artists in the dubious 27 Club.
Prince
The Minnesota-born artist known as Prince was one of the stars of the 1980s. Known for his album, movie, and song of the same name, the “Purple Rain” singer was beloved for his style, sex appeal, and songwriting. He could write a club hit just as quickly as he could pen a timeless rock ballad. But later in life, it seemed, his demons and his drug use took hold of the artist and wouldn’t let go.
Much to the surprise of his fans, Prince died in 2016 at the young age of 57. The cause of death was termed an accidental fentanyl overdose. These days, fentanyl is everywhere, and it is deadly. We only wish Prince had been more careful with the substance. When he left, the world lost a great artist.
Juice WRLD
Few artists showed as much promise in their early careers as the Chicago-born Juice WRLD. With his silky smooth voice and his reckless abandon, he was part-James Dean and part-Michael Jackson. Sadly, he also had within him some of their worst qualities, as Dean died young and Jackson died of a drug overdose.
Indeed, in 2019, at just 21 years old, Juice died of a drug overdose, with the official cause of death being acute oxycodone and codeine intoxication. How did it happen? He was on a plane that was about to get searched for drugs and guns, so he tried to swallow much of the evidence. Just like that, one of the most compelling voices in modern music was snuffed out.
Photo by C Brandon/Redferns
