The life of a musician is a treacherous one. Many die from substance abuse, gunfire or even angry fans, whilst many, though seemingly a lot fewer, die of plain old age. There are some though, who have died from plane or helicopter crashes; many of whom are very well known and sad losses to the music industry. Here are the ten most famous.
10. Randy Rhoads
March 19, 1982: Randy Rhoads (25), the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, died when the Beech Bonanza F35 he was aboard crashed into a house after a wing clipped Ozzy Osbourne’s tour bus. All 3 aboard were killed as a result of the pilot attempting to ‘buzz’ the bus.
9. Otis Redding
On December 10th, 1967, quite a foggy night, Rock ‘n’ roll singer Otis Redding (26), and four members of his Bar-Kays band were killed when their Beechcraft H18 plane crashed in icy Lake Monoma near Madison, Wisconsin. Redding is best known for his hit, “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay”, which was released after his death. Redding had recorded the song just three days previous.
8. Ricky Nelson
On December 31st, 1985, Rock & roll singer Ricky Nelson (45), five members of his Stone Canyon band, and his fiancée, were all killed when a fire broke out on board a DC-3 taking them to a New Year’s Eve performance in Dallas, Texas. Only two people survived the crash landing near DeKalb, Texas. The fire was caused by a malfunctioning heater. Nelson was first known as the son of Ozzie and Harriet in their TV show of the same name in the late 1950s. He later became famous as the singer of such hits as “Travelin’ Man” and “Garden Party.”
7. Aaliyah
August 25, 2001: Singer and R&B vocalist and actress, Aaliyah (22), was killed in a plane crash when leaving the Bahamas following a video shoot. Her Cessna 402-B crashed during takeoff. Investigations revealed that the pilot had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his body, and, apparently, the airplane was overloaded. All nine people on board died.
6. John Denver
On October 12th, 1997, Singer John Denver (53) died when his experimental single-engine Rutan Long EZ plane crashed near Monterey, California. At first, rescuers could not identify the body because the face was burned beyond recognition, but authorities were later able to identify Denver by his fingerprints. Denver was famous for writing and performing “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” “Country Roads”, “Rocky Mountain High”, “Sunshine on My Shoulders (Makes Me Happy)” , and other songs. The crash occurred when Denver inadvertently pressed down on the plane’s right rudder pedal while trying to switch fuel tanks by reaching for the fuel selector switch behind him. The plane had been modified to place the fuel selector switch behind the pilot rather than between his legs.
5. Patsy Cline
March 5, 1963: Patsy Cline (30), ‘Cowboy’ Copas, ‘Hawkshaw’ Hawkins, and Cline’s manager, Randy Hughes, were killed when their Piper PA-24 Comanche plane crashed near Camden, Tennessee, in adverse weather conditions. Cline was famous for her country hit, “Crazy.” Copas and Hawkins were Grand Ole Opry stars. The plane flew into severe weather and crashed at 6:20 p.m., according to Patsy’s wristwatch, found in a forest just outside of Camden, Tennessee, only 90 miles from the destination.
4. Jim Croce
On September 20th, 1973, Rock singer Jim Croce (30), members of his company (accompanist Maurice Muehleisen, manager Dennis Rast, and comedian George Stevens), and the pilot, died when their chartered Beechcraft E18S crashed while taking off from the Natchitoches, Louisiana airport. The plane hit a tree when it failed to gain enough altitude on takeoff. Croce was famous for his rock hit, “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.”
3. Stevie Ray Vaughan
August 27, 1990: Blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan (35) was killed in a helicopter crash near East Troy, Wisconsin. Four helicopters were being used to night-transport the concert group. The helicopter in question, a Bell BHT-206-B Helicopter, remained at a lower altitude and crashed into the ground soon after taking off into dense fog. Failure to attain adequate altitude by the pilot before flying over rising terrain resulted in the deaths of all five aboard.
2. Ronnie VanZant, guitarist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines
October 20, 1977: The Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash killed lead singer and song writer Ronnie VanZant, guitarist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick. Also killed were pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray.
According to the NTSB report, the pilots miscalculated the amount of fuel provided in Lakeland, Florida two days earlier. When they refueled in Greenville, South Carolina on the 20th, they compounded this error by believing they had more fuel than they really did. The airplane was also experiencing some mechanical difficulties which required the pilots to operate the right engine in the “auto-rich” position which burned fuel at an excessive rate. The combination of these problems resulted in nearly complete fuel exhaustion. The pilots changed course and headed for an airport near McComb, Mississippi but the plane stalled near Gillsburg, Mississippi and crashed in swampy woods.
1. Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, The Big Bopper
On February 3rd, 1959, often considered: The Day The Music Died, Rock Hall of Famers Buddy Holly (22), the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) (29), and Ritchie Valens (18) as well as the pilot Roger Peterson died when their Beechcraft Bonanza plane crashed just outside Clear Lake, Iowa, during a stormy winter night. Holly was famous for many hits including “Peggy Sue.” The Big Bopper had one big hit, “Chantilly Lace,” and Valens was best known for his hits, ” Oh, Donna”, and “La Bamba.”
It is really ironic how one of Randy’s last songs he played was called flying high again. Randy is my inspiration to playing the guitar.
Walter Hyatt. ValuJet. Everglades. 1996.
Glenn Miller and Jim Reeves should definitely be on the list. One can easily argue that Reeves should be #1since he was a major star when he died and continued to have #1 hits after his death. Miller's death was the probably the most mysterious-to this day there any many theories about what happened to his plane.
For otis redding it is Lake Monona
Although he's obscure, Kyu Sakamoto had a No. 1 hit in the U.S. with "Sukiyaki" AKA "Ue O Muite Arokou" and should probably be on the list. As with so many of these lists, it needs to be longer. (Don't be offended. In another context, I've heard that remark quite often…)
The Patsy Cline entry should probably include the strangeness before and after the wreck. As I understand it, Cline had detoured to attend a funeral and was returning to her schedule when the crash happened. Then one of the mourners at Cline's funeral died in a car wreck on the way. It was a cluster of violent, accidental deaths.
what about the "mamonas assassinas"??? they're a brazilian rock band from the 90's that have some realy awesome songs, you guys should realy check it out
I am thinking it is not wise to get into a Beechcraft.
I have to agree with former comment, pilot error seems to be more prominent than plane malfunction. My understanding is that Lynyrd Skynyrd’s pilots flew the plane out of fuel and Buddy Holly/Big Bopper/Ritchie Valens pilot was 21 years old and hadn’t f inished his training on instrumentation.
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Stan Rogers, from Canada, he was folks singer …died too in a plane crash.
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Eric Clapton was suppose to be on the helicopter Stevie dies on. Wouldn’t that have been a shame to loose two great guitarist instead of just one
Just a question? Does anyone remember the last album from lynyrd skynyrd, the original cover has flames around the faces of the three that died…I still own that album. It has always kinda seemed symbolic of the crash. I think we lost the best Southern Rock Band ever. No question there!
no mention of the helicopter crash ,that took the life of the Tubes singer,Jane Dornocker, while she was working for NBC News, during a live broadcast….
Just a correction, Ritchie Valens was 17 at the time he died. Not yet 18.
They may not be in your class of music, but the best white gospel group of the 1950s lost their bass, Bill Lyles, and their baritone, R. W. Blackwood, in a plane crash. They came back, nearly as good as ever with replacements from within the Blackwood family and elsewhere. I understand they’re still singing today. (I’m a classically trained musician who loves metal and stadium rock, some good gospel groups, and even a little country).
Musicians: Don’t fly in Wisconsin. Just clog up O’Hare and I94 on your way to rock the Brew City
I can’t believe that CARLOS GARDEL is not in this list! That totally ruined a perfect list. That guy was like the first international “rockstar” ever. He died in 1935 in an airplane crash during one of his world tours. The tragic disaster still echoes all over the world, from N.Y to Tokyo. He “invented the videoclip”, t’was the first music star to make films (Paramount) in US and France with the only purpose to perform a song, like Elvis, Sinatra, and others did later on. In 2010 several statues were erected temporarily throughout 25 towns of Scotland, commemorating his tour of 1930 where he used funds from his appearances in Glasgow and Edinburgh to subsidize small unannounced concerts in rural venues. Warner Bros already cast Jessica Alba, Halle Berry and Lindsey Lohan for a movie in progress about Gardel. Three countries from Europe and America still claims to be his birtplace.
WOW guys, seriously, I can’t believe no one mencioned this dude… Are USA’s people really that closed to the rest of the world culture? This year the US Postal Service released a Commemorative Forever stamp with his image, a musician that died 76 YEARS AGO!!!! Yet, no one here knows nothing about him! lol
By the way, great list nonetheless, totaly agree with Buddy Holly and Lynyrd Skynyrd in the first places.
No.3 Stevie Ray Vaughn performed at a concert in Wisconsin on his fateful day and bordered the helicopter. Another guitar player was also supposed to be on that helicopter with him but backed down at the last minute. A “little” known guitar player named…………….Eric Clapton
thats sad
Your list is Pathetic, First should be listed GLEN MILLER!!! Killed during WWll, his PLANE went missing over the English Channel. Glen Miller is way more Important in history than Ottis!!!!!
I always wonder, these plus the suicides, drunks, choking ‘accidents’, if the performers were asking for much more, and rights, than their managers or the managers of the record company’s were willing to put out. Far cheaper to pay someone to…. do something to your vehicle… with the added plus that usually your product skyrockets in value once your signed artist ceases to exist. Marilyn Monroe? of course she slept with John F Kennedy and the Kennedy boys and was probably wanting to go further, but… c’mon we’re a peace loving population in these here the United States. grins.
I’ll never forget the day Stevie’s helicopter crashed. One of the greatest guitarists of all time, nobody could make that 6 string scream like he could. One of the worst days ever, my dad and I left work when we heard the news, went to his house and drank a bottle of whiskey while listening to every single album.