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When you are a good musician (or author, or actor, or performer), and you die young, you instantly attain immortality.
If Paul McCartney had died immediately after the Beatles broke up, a lot of people would be asking these questions. Instead, they're saying things like "his current music sucks, he used to be so good." You'd probably be saying the same things about Lennon, Cobain, Morrison and Joplin. Because they never were given the opportunity to grow older and adapt themselves to their art at that age. Maybe that's why some of these artists killed themselves. Maybe they knew they would never be able to make it as high as they had before.
There is also the chance that they would have faded into the background and you never would have heard them. Many more people heard of SRV after he died than before he died. If he was still alive, he'd be a brilliant blues player, but he wouldn't be on the pedestal we have put him on. He'd be in the ranks of Clapton, Buddy Guy, B.B. King - excellent musicians all, but not regarded as God.
That being said, I constantly mourn the loss of Freddie Mercury, Keith Moon, and most recently, John Entwistle. Not that he died that young, and he did lead a very full musical life - but when I hear that the Who are going back into the studio, all I can think about is how the thunder will be missing.
I also mourn John Lennon. I think about him often, and I wonder if maybe he would have dumped Yoko and eventually become a recluse.
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You have to laugh at yourself...because you'd cry your eyes out if you didn't. - Emily Saliers
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