Go!! 
Who is the greatest musician who died before reaching his full potential?
- Thread starter That 70s Guy
- Start date
BikerDude
Dude
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Seriously
Of the rock guys....
Hmmm
I lament the lost potential of Lynyrd Skynyrd the most.
Ronnie in the crash and Alan Collins later.
Because I really feel like they would have done a lot more great work.
Duane Allman for sure.
I think Morrison may or may not have done more great stuff.
He was pretty burnt by the end.
Hendrix is high on the list.
But again with any of the guys who died of drugs the future can't be certain if they had lived.
Hank Williams Sr.
Townes Van Zandt for sure.
Seriously
Of the rock guys....
Hmmm
I lament the lost potential of Lynyrd Skynyrd the most.
Ronnie in the crash and Alan Collins later.
Because I really feel like they would have done a lot more great work.
Duane Allman for sure.
I think Morrison may or may not have done more great stuff.
He was pretty burnt by the end.
Hendrix is high on the list.
But again with any of the guys who died of drugs the future can't be certain if they had lived.
Hank Williams Sr.
Townes Van Zandt for sure.
SanguineRemedy
Speed Demon
@BikerDude already named off most of mine lol
Randy Rhoads
Buddy Holly
Robert Johnson
Eddie Cochran
Amy Winehouse
Brian Jones
Randy Rhoads
Buddy Holly
Robert Johnson
Eddie Cochran
Amy Winehouse
Brian Jones
recgord27
Walking down a dusty road
Duane Allman
Jeff Buckley
Otis Redding
Nick Drake
Jeff Buckley
Otis Redding
Nick Drake
I think Janis Joplin never reached her potential, but then with the booze and drugs, who knows.......
Another who never had a chance to reach potential was Dime Bag Darrell.
It would be easier for me to say who I would resurrect:
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Duane (and now Gregg) Allman
Ronnie Van Zant
John Bonham......so we could have a Led Zeppelin reunion.
Another who never had a chance to reach potential was Dime Bag Darrell.
It would be easier for me to say who I would resurrect:
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Duane (and now Gregg) Allman
Ronnie Van Zant
John Bonham......so we could have a Led Zeppelin reunion.
Black Dahlia
A Seasoned Witch
Randy Rhoads.
He died soo young... as great as he was on those first two Ozzy albums, one can only imagine just what he would have done after them.
Randy Rhoads truly was a shooting star.
He died soo young... as great as he was on those first two Ozzy albums, one can only imagine just what he would have done after them.
Randy Rhoads truly was a shooting star.
It's not fair to label anyone the greatest as its all very subjective and each musician had extreme talent in different fields but favourite might be a better term imo.
I don't endorse calling dead musicians anything more than they were but if I could pick a favourite deceased musician who never really got the chance to reach full potential I'd say Cliff Burton. Many others died due to drugs or alcohol but Cliff was actually very unlucky due to a bus crash. He had very gifted abilities as a bassist and song writing. If you want proof of his diverse ability just listen to the Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets albums with special mentions to songs like Orion, Damage Inc and For Whom The Bell Tolls. Its kinda funny that people think Metallica wouldn't have changed direction if he was still there at the time but I beg to differ. Cliff evolved gradually as a writer and so would the band.
I don't endorse calling dead musicians anything more than they were but if I could pick a favourite deceased musician who never really got the chance to reach full potential I'd say Cliff Burton. Many others died due to drugs or alcohol but Cliff was actually very unlucky due to a bus crash. He had very gifted abilities as a bassist and song writing. If you want proof of his diverse ability just listen to the Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets albums with special mentions to songs like Orion, Damage Inc and For Whom The Bell Tolls. Its kinda funny that people think Metallica wouldn't have changed direction if he was still there at the time but I beg to differ. Cliff evolved gradually as a writer and so would the band.
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Lynch
Here for the cookies and the tunes
Probably the top 4 guys that are 'legendary' (to me) yet still never saw their full potential?
Stevie Ray Vaughan: I can't imagine how much great work we could have seen from him if he hadn't stepped onto that helicopter.
Randy Rhoads: Same as SRV, if only he hadn't have gotten onto that plane.
Greg Allman
Buddy Holly
I don't think I could list any as the "greatest", however, my favorite in the bunch would easily be Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Now, onto some preaching from me... I do NOT consider any of the musicians that died due to a shitty lifestyle (booze, drugs, etc) to have died "tragically". Moon, Bonham, Bon Scott, Janis, Morrison, Jimi, etc... all of these folks died due to self-induced lifestyle choices. That's not tragic (by my personal definition). Folks like Cliff Burton, Selena, John Lennon, Aaliyah, Marvin Gaye, Dimebag Darrell, etc..... these guys (as well as the ones I listed above) were taken from us either via murder or some other accident. Some probably had already hit their peak, others had not.
Being a strung-out junkie who died of an OD, well, so sorry, so sad, but it's not tragic and if they didn't die that day, they could have just as easily died the following day, week, month, etc. So, for that reason, I do not and will not include any in any list I ever make on this topic.
Stevie Ray Vaughan: I can't imagine how much great work we could have seen from him if he hadn't stepped onto that helicopter.
Randy Rhoads: Same as SRV, if only he hadn't have gotten onto that plane.
Greg Allman
Buddy Holly
I don't think I could list any as the "greatest", however, my favorite in the bunch would easily be Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Now, onto some preaching from me... I do NOT consider any of the musicians that died due to a shitty lifestyle (booze, drugs, etc) to have died "tragically". Moon, Bonham, Bon Scott, Janis, Morrison, Jimi, etc... all of these folks died due to self-induced lifestyle choices. That's not tragic (by my personal definition). Folks like Cliff Burton, Selena, John Lennon, Aaliyah, Marvin Gaye, Dimebag Darrell, etc..... these guys (as well as the ones I listed above) were taken from us either via murder or some other accident. Some probably had already hit their peak, others had not.
Being a strung-out junkie who died of an OD, well, so sorry, so sad, but it's not tragic and if they didn't die that day, they could have just as easily died the following day, week, month, etc. So, for that reason, I do not and will not include any in any list I ever make on this topic.
Dave78
Dave's not here, man
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I don't know if Randy Rhodes is the greatest musician who died before reaching his full potential or not, but he's the one who comes to mind.
He seemed to me to be rather one-dimensional on Ozzy's first two solo albums, and I'll always wonder if he would have matured as a songwriter and guitar player. Joe Satriani got better with each successive album, and I've always thought George Lynch's best work was in the 90's after Dokken imploded, so who knows what would have come from Randy later on in the 80's and beyond?
I know he taught classical guitar so he can play, I just didn't hear it on record -- save for the two songs "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll" and "Tonight".
He seemed to me to be rather one-dimensional on Ozzy's first two solo albums, and I'll always wonder if he would have matured as a songwriter and guitar player. Joe Satriani got better with each successive album, and I've always thought George Lynch's best work was in the 90's after Dokken imploded, so who knows what would have come from Randy later on in the 80's and beyond?
I know he taught classical guitar so he can play, I just didn't hear it on record -- save for the two songs "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll" and "Tonight".
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