My Top 10 Suspect Musician Deaths

That's right, conspiracies around musicians' deaths.


Just about everyone I know loves music, and there is no question that music is an incredible social, political and cultural force to be reckoned with. A popular musician or songwriter with a power political message can lead to disaster for oppressive governments!

Of course I don't have any proof that these were conspiracies, only my suspicions.


10. Rolling Stones' Brian Jones - apparent drowning - 1969



Brian Jones was a founding member and the original frontman of the Rolling Stones. After a falling out with the band, he was found either dead or barely alive in his pool, and later pronounced dead when doctors arrived. There is still controversy around his death.

Has the riddle of Rolling Stone Brian Jones's death been solved at last?

She was a tall, graceful woman who greeted me with a delicate handshake. As we chatted in her sitting room and she poured tea, I found it difficult to believe that this woman was once at the centre of one of pop's most mysterious deaths.

Janet Lawson was the person who found Rolling Stones star Brian Jones dead at the bottom of his swimming pool on July 2, 1969.

Officially, Jones, aged just 27, drowned while under the influence of drink and drugs. A verdict of death by misadventure was recorded at his inquest.

For almost 40 years, Janet Lawson kept her true identity and story private. But earlier this year, shortly before her death from cancer, she broke her silence and provided me with sworn testimony that threatens to turn the official version on its head.

And my own investigations, accessing previously unpublished police and Public Records Office files, and interviewing officers who worked on the case, reveal serious flaws in the inquiry.

www.dailymail.co.uk...



9. Allman Brothers' Duane Allman - motorcycle accident - 1971




For those of you who don't know him, Duane Allman was a guitarist, and a damned good guitarist (ranked #2 of all time, second only to Jimi Hendrix, by Rolling Stone Magazine).

If you haven't heard of him, you may be wondering how a guitarist who beat out Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, and hundreds of other guitarists could be so obscure. This I think is at the heart of a conspiracy to strip rock and blues music of their cultural heritage and diminish their influence.

Duane Allman was the frontman of the Allman Brothers band (famous for "Ramblin' Man," "Midnight Rider" and other songs) when they were first hitting it big, and were for the first time one of the top bands in the US for drawing live crowds. They were distinctly Southern, and their music was a heavily blues-inspired rock that seemed to personify Southern American culture.

In Macon, Georgia, 1971, near his home, Allman was riding his motorcycle into the intersection of two streets when he somehow lost control and fatally crashed. I couldn't find many details on his crash but find it suspicious for a number of reasons. Those reasons include the coincidental timing with the success his band was achieving (which may have just been an unfortunate coincidence), the fact that the same band's bassist (Berry Oakley) also died of a motorcycle accident in the same town 2 years later (how easy it would be to sabotage a motorcycle), and what seem like parallel happenings to the other staple of southern rock from this era....



8. Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant - plane crash - 1977






Imo one of the most under-rated bands, in terms of both success and influence on other artists, is Lynyrd Skynyrd. And the death of members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines, because the band's private plane ran out of gas mid-flight, put a pre-mature end to the band's success in the 1970's.

I don't know about the rest of the country but where I live, "Gimme 3 Steps," "Sweet Home Alabama," "Free Bird," "Simple Man" and many others are still rotated heavily on local radio stations, and are not just staples of rock music, but of American culture itself. Go see a local band, particlarly in the South, and someone is bound to yell "Free Bird!" at some point between songs. It's hard to imagine what they could have achieved if not for this horrible disaster.

I've never worked for an airport but I can only imagine how elementary a mistake it would be to let a plane take off without making sure it had enough fuel for the trip...



7. Pantera's "Dimebag" Darrel Abbott - shot to death - 2004




Dimebag was shot to death on stage on the 24th anniversary of John Lennon's murder (December 8th).

Dimebag was a hero to millions of metalheads as the lead guitarist for the band Pantera. When Pantera broke up it proved to be a huge controversy in the metal community, and the strength of devotion of Dimebag's fans and his personal influence was demonstrated during this period. Pantera's music is almost exclusively about violence, breaking with conformity and aggression, ie the exact opposite of what fluoridating our water achieves.

His shooter was a military veteran whose motive was apparently some psychological disturbance.


6. Jimi Hendrix - apparent overdose - 1970

Hendrix's body was found in the London hotel room of his German girlfriend Monika Dannemann, on September 18, 1970. Dannemann claimed that Hendrix had taken nine of her sleeping pills but was alive when placed in the ambulance that morning. Paramedics said Dannemann was nowhere to be found when they arrived and Hendrix was dead. To add to the controversy, the doctor on the scene stated this year that Hendrix was literally drowned in red wine, lending credence to a claim that he was killed for wanting to end a management contract.

new.music.yahoo.com...



5. Jim Morrison - apparent overdose - 1971



According to Wikipedia, Morrison was "widely regarded as one of the most iconic frontmen in rock music history."

Jim's father was Navy Admiral George Stephen Morrison, the same admiral that was commanding US forces during the false-flag Gulf of Tonkin incident that led to the Vietnam War.

The Doors singer was found dead in the bathtub of his Paris apartment. No autopsy was performed (French law only allows autopsies in the event of foul play). The lack of a medical exam has created a cottage industry of conspiracy theorists, who claim everything from an accidental heroin overdose (the most probable cause) to a faked death in order to avoid a pending lawsuit in the United States.

new.music.yahoo.com...


4. Michael Jackson - apparent overdose - 2009

This is the week the world may find out the cause of Michael Jackson's death. A coroner report is expected midweek and law enforcement is hot on the trail of Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray who is now the chief suspect in a criminal probe.

The mysterious circumstances surrounding the King of Pop's demise put him at the top of another celebrity list: suspicious musician deaths. For every pop star who dies in a simple plane crash or ODs without controversy in a hotel room, there is the inverse pop star death. These are the passings that stir debate ten, twenty, thirty years later. The ones that create questions like, "Maybe he didn't really die?" or "it was part of a conspiracy."

new.music.yahoo.com...

The idea about Michael Jackson is that he was starting to speak out a little too much about TPTB, and social changes that TPTB don't want to see. These includes lyrics in his songs and speeches he made in public.


Watch this video to see Jackson's sister say "they" did it, not just the doctor in question, and "they know who they are."




Here's Michael speaking out against fear, about love and freedom, and criticizing TPTB:





3. Elvis Presley - heart failure - 1977



There are so many bizarre facts and theories revolving around Elvis' death, I don't even know where I would begin. It would be no overstatement to say that there are more than a few "interesting" facts about his death.

The (other) King died on August 16, 1977. His fiancee, Ginger Alden, found him on the bathroom floor. Controversy and craziness have swirled around his death from the moment the news was released. Supposedly, an on-duty nurse who received Presley when he was brought to the hospital said the patient on the bed was not the King. And so the "Elvis Is Alive" industry was born. Maria Columbus, president of Presley's fan club, claims to have received hand written cards from him a month and a half after his reported death. And what about those Vegas impersonators? They can't ALL be fakes.

new.music.yahoo.com...


There are books written about this guy's death. He was friends with the local police department, and even went on calls with them. It was his buddies from the department who were called to the scene of his death, where standard procedure was apparently not followed. Like I said, there is so much to this story, and I'm no expert, so I'll just leave it to those who are curious to pursue it further...


2. Kurt Cobain - apparent suicide - 1994

Kurt Cobain left a drug rehab center in Marina Del Rey California on April 1, 1994 and was later reported missing. As you probably know, he was found dead just seven days later.

My name is Tom Grant. I'm a California state licensed private investigator and former detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. On April 3, 1994, I was hired by Courtney Love, (who was in Los Angeles at the time), to locate her husband after he left a drug rehab center in Marina Del Rey, California. Ms. Love stayed in Los Angeles while I flew to Seattle to search for Cobain with his best friend Dylan Carlson. In fact, Carlson and I had been in the Cobain residence the night before Kurt's body was discovered in the room above the garage.

The police immediately concluded "suicide." I wasn't so sure. Neither was Rosemary Carroll, Courtney Love's own entertainment attorney. Ms. Carroll was also a close friend to both Courtney and Kurt.

We both knew something was wrong here--terribly wrong.

www.cobaincase.com...

Among the most interesting facts I found here, is that there were apparently no fingerprints on the suicide letter, pen, etc., as if whoever last used them was wearing gloves or wiped them clean.


1. John Lennon - shot to death - 1980



This should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with ATS or conspiracy theories in general.

A documentary entitled "U.S. vs. John Lennon" explores the tensions between US administration in the 1960's and 70's, and John Lennon's political influence.




John Lennon seemed to foresee his own death:

Just 3 months before his own death, John Lennon, spoke about pacifists dying violent deaths in an interview with Playboy.

Lennon was quoted as saying, "Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King are great examples of fantastic non-violents who died violently, I can never work that out. We're pacifists, but I'm not sure what it means when you're such a pacifist that you get shot."

www.omg-facts.com...

I've also read quotes of his to the effect of, if he were ever shot, it would not be an accident, and Lennon was also (correctly) convinced he was being followed at one point:

Under the Freedom of Information Act, Bresler obtained U.S. government files on Lennon. The files show that Lennon was under constant government surveillance, especially during the years 1971-1972.

For example, in an April 10, 1972 memorandum from J. Edgar Hoover to the FBI's New York office, Hoover orders his agents to "...promptly initiate discrete efforts to locate subject [Lennon] and remain aware of his activities and movements. Handle inquiries only through established sources... Careful attention should be given to reports that subject is heavy narcotics user and any information developed in this regard should be furnished to narcotics authorities and immediately furnished to bureau in form suitable for dissemination."

"Lennon knew from early in 1972 that he was under constant surveillance, being followed in the streets and with his telephone tapped." The ex-Beatle was aware of the surveillance by secret police agencies and so stated on several occasions. For example, in December 1975 he told one interviewer, "We knew we were being wire-tapped... there was a helluva lot of guys coming in to fix the phones."

www.john-lennon.com...

The scene outside New York's spooky old Dakota apartment building on the evening of December 8, 1980, was as surreal as it was horrifying. John Lennon, probably the world's most famous rock star, lay semiconscious, hemorrhaging from four flat-tipped bullets blasted into his back. His wife Yoko Ono held his head in her arms and screamed (just like on her early albums).

A few yards away a pudgy young man stood eerily still, peering down into a paperback book. Moments earlier he had dropped into a military firing stance - legs spread for maximum balance, two hands gripping his .38 revolver to steady his aim - and blown away the very best Beatle. Now he leafed lazily through the pages of the one novel even the most chronically stoned and voided-out ninth grader will actually read, J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye.

The Dakota doorman shouted at the shooter, Mark David Chapman, "Do you know what you've done?"

"I just shot John Lennon," Chapman replied, accurately enough.

www.john-lennon.com...

Great Post!! S&F! I've always believed there was a conspiracy behind almost all of the artist you posted. Yet you provided us with great supporting arguments, giving me a much clearer view. Thanks!

Great thread. I wanted to add something that I just recently found about Jimmy Hendrix, that I would assume is very, very off the wall but worth the read. I never really shared it here, as I felt it would be considered wayyy to off the wall, but since were talking mysterious deaths, I thought Id add.

This site is called Rock Prophecy.
Here is just a bit

Jimi Hendrix is the key figure and example for this theory. Hendrix was obsessed with visions of asteroid impact, his life symbolizes the surfacing of this e.s.p. trait, "Rock", into modern consciousness. The first "Rock/Star" = "Asteroid/Comet" - the surfacing of impact awareness through his loud sounds of explosions and explicit verbal warnings about the Rock. All living planets eventually incarnate a version of Jimi - an unprecedented integration of systems and vision, the ultimate insights that intelligent species are evolved towards.

www.rockprophecy.com...
Even if its not true, it is definitely a good read.

I was surprised at how many people felt this way about him, and many claim is the reason for his death or possible murder.

Peace, NRE.

Ah once again just like main stream media you don;t mention or place Tupac in the list which is probably the most suspect of all.

Oh come on, Tupac has to at least be in the top 10.

Any thread with a picture of Dimebag Darrel deserves and S+F from me. Even though it is just about his death. I heard from a close friend of his that Rita Haney, Dime's longtime girlfriend had something to do with it. And if you look around, she is still cashing in on his fame. Dime apparently told my friend at one time "I think she's confused about who the rock star is". I hung out with Dime a couple of times and that man had a heart the size of Texas. No matter who was around, or what the situation was, he always made everyone around him feel like they were number 1.

I had a friend who was absolutely adamant about Cobain being murdered 10+ years ago, and I always just figured whatever, who cares. But, you have to ask yourself how could someone with 3X's the amount of heroin in their bloodstream it takes to kill a person, hold a shotgun up in the air and shoot themselves with their non-dominant hand? At least that is what he always said was the case.

reply to post by TupacShakur


Thank you homie!!

CONSPIRACY!! only rockstars can die suspicous death CONSPIACY!!

Nice job! S&F!

"If" there is a conspiracy surrounding these deaths, I wonder which icon will be next?

Take a look;
Eminem
Lady Gaga
Madonna
...

Do these ten deaths correlate with any major world events? If they do, then we can assume there "might" be a conspiracy.

Anyways, nice thread!

On that list I would add Morrison, Joplin, Biggy, Tupac(NO I am white and i really dont care for thier music but from my understanding its odd they died the way they did..), Bob Marly, and probably a few others I havent thought about.. I have been thinking of getting into MJ's death but I dont want it to bog me down like the events of 9/11.. Considering i had to go through a spiderweb of crap to find out more crap I dont want to get into his death because I know getting into his death will lead me to the other peoples death I mentioned above and Yours.. So.. I really dont want to do it..

Actually to add a note here:

From my understanding after biggy and tupac died isnt that when hiphop started getting retarded? just asking dont flame me.. Alot of people i know who listen to it and I bring up these deaths they mention to me after they died rap music as been getting crappier by the second.. You know your JayZ's and Grand Master Flash and your Old Dirty Bastard type's.. no original things or anything like that..

reply to post by TupacShakur


Tupac was an awesome writer and rapper, but musician?
I personally don't consider rapping to be the same as singing, and programming drums the same as playing an instrument. Did Tupac play an instrument? If so, that would make him a musician.

Originally posted by American-philosopher
Ah once again just like main stream media you don;t mention or place Tupac in the list which is probably the most suspect of all.

Originally posted by TupacShakur
Oh come on, Tupac has to at least be in the top 10.

Come on guys, I was like this close to putting him up there.


Here:


0 (Special for You). Tupac - shot to death - 1996

"Being that he had the top selling CD's in the world and was starring in major motion pictures, which made him a rap and film star," Potash reasoned as motivation to target Pac. "He was also engaged to the daughter of Quincy Jones, a well-established and respected person in the entertainment business, which increased his popularity. He had very close relationships with his extended Black Panther Party family, who acted as his mentors...A high level police detective named Russell Poole got himself assigned to the murder investigation of Biggie, during his investigation he stumbled across the fact that Death Row Records employed many officers who were considered agents. Poole also found typical intelligence operations such as trafficking drugs, guns and laundering money taking place at Death Row Records...Of course [the government killed Tupac.] They orchestrated his assassination." (All Hip Hop)

www.sohh.com...


This is another one where there is tons of information, and I'm not prepared to deliver on it.

Tupac was shot once during an attempted robbery but survived. He suspected Puff Daddy and some others of knowing in advance this was going to occur but not warning him.

As an avid musician, and one hell of a funk bassist if I must say so , I agree with all of your list except for Dimebag.

He was killed by a disgruntled man because Dimebag got caught a few times stealing licks from other guitarists, and called them his own. Not to say he wasn't talented though, we all know he was.

My man Dimebag...
Music isn't the same to me without him making it.
As you can tell, he is my main influence in music.

his style was so unique and fresh, raw and loud.
I love it!

RIP brother.

Good thread, thanks for posting, and mentioning Dime.

reply to post by AnimositisominA


reply to post by Alexander the Great



Even though I was never really a huge Pantera fan I have an appreciation for Dimebag myself. Many of my friends are also huge fans. One person I know has a tattoo of Dimebag across the whole back of his leg.


He was demanding, he was aggressive, and millions of crazed metalheads would follow him anywhere he went. And he did care and have a heart the size of Texas. And, he was killed on the anniversary of Lennon's own shooting. It just doesn't add up for me. It's too easy to see how he made TPTB feel uneasy.

reply to post by bsbray11


So what is it on the pity list now?? he is number 11 on the top 10?

Tupac's death should be covered on AboveTopSecret a LOT more than it is for these reasons.

1. Tupac Shakur was the son of political activists Afeni Shakur and Mutulu Shakur, google the Black Panther Party if you have to.

2. Pac's aunt is Assata Shakur.

3. Tupac was killed in Las Vegas, in the middle of the strip, and the murder is still unsolved.

4. At the time of his dead Pac was being followed 24/7 by the FBI, so how can 3. be possible?

5. Pac was followed by the COINTEL PRO.

reply to post by sheepslayer247


Anybody that plays metal and says that all of their licks are original is lying. Except for Tony Iommi.
Black Sabbath has played every lick known to metal and bands just reuse them with different tunings, or speed them up, slow them down, play them backwards ect.
Dime was an Icon. He changed the face of metal with his sound and technique.

I agree Morrison doesn't surprise me he was avid in drug user and used it as a method for writing his music. So him overdosing really isn't a surprise at all. Hendrix and Lennon stick out the most for me. But I agree Jam Master Jay and Notorious BIG should be on the list as well. Thank you for adding Tupac to the list, even though I still firmly believe he's alive. Elliot Smith was just a weird thing, I mean his girlfriend leaves a kitchen knife and he accidentally falls on it???? Please. Sid Vicious as well. And don't forget the famous Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, and Richie Valence plane crash as well. OH my god I forgot the beast himself Randy Rhodes, died in a plane crash off of Florida. All crazy coincidence if you ask me.


Bob Marley as well why do so many greats die in crazy ways?????? For freaking out loud!