MLK's, "I have a dream" speech supercedes any thought of his death. The man is arguably one of the top 5 most important characters in America in the 20th century. I don't think his death helped his legacy. Elvis was Elvis.
Would Bob Marley still be the Truth? Would Princess Di marry Dodi and change her religion(I'm assuming he was muslim, if not forget the second part)? Would Tu Pac be the G.O.A.T?
No, it would be Biggie, assuming he lived as well! Seriously, would James Dean still be considered an American icon? Would Huey Long still be considered such a colorful character? Would Aaron Burr have NOT been considered such a rogue if he hadn't killed Alexander Hamilton?
Jimmy Rabbitte : Elvis isn't soul. Jimmy Rabbitte, Sr. : Elvis is GOD. Jimmy Rabbitte : Well, I never pictured God with a fat gut and a corset singing "My Way" at Caesars Palace.
Would we be able mentally access Lee Harvey Oswald's face so easily? Would Donnie Hathaway's "A song for you" be as haunting?
Would Bonn Scott have collaborated with AC/DC to make an album better (or worse?!) than "Back in Black?
I'm way too young to fully respond, but I think what John Lennon had to say about the world was just as important as something as superficial (in comparison) as his musical talent, which was just massive in its own right. The guy was just special.
would Randy Rhoads have continued playing heavy metal concidering he was getting heavier and heavier into classical guitar before his death? hippie, thats a damn good question....Bon Scott was simply a incredible frontman for ACDC...but it was his death that inspired the greatness that is Back in Black. Would their next album have been so great if he hadnt died?
Would Selena have achieved fame on a larger scale? Would Alexander Hamilton (my favorite founding father) have become president?
agreed.... SRV was so supremely talented....he would have just gotten more famous as his genius was spread to even more people... same goes for any number of great musicians that died well before their prime.
agreed agreed Never saw him much and they had him on the free concert on DirecTv just last weekend. What teh man could do with a guitar... and do it flawlessly ... was simply amazing.
Here are some other music people that died way too young: John Coltrane Lee Morgan Charlie "Bird" Parker Clifford Brown Tina Brooks Sonny Sharrock Jeff Buckley Nick Drake Ian Curtis All of these except for the last 3 were jazz musicians.
"As Famous"? No. The nature of the deaths of most of the people mentioned , assainations, plane crashes, helocopter crashes, car crashes, drowning in their own drug induced puke, etc. lend a exclamation point on their life's stories that make their earthly accomplishments even more noteworthy, i.e. the old newspaper addage. "if it bleeds it Leads". Also , most genius is expened in youth.
I love both of them and never have I thought while listening to them "hey this is really good bc they're dead". But who knows, the exposure definitely helped. Good gangsta rap is good gangsta rap.
If you listen to bootlegs of his performances from the late 70s and early 80s, with the Triple Threat Revue and the early incarnation of Double Trouble, and then compare his playing then to his playing during the last three years of his life, the improvement is tangible (which is saying something considering the baseline we're talking about here). But IMO, it was his singing that really took off after he sobered up. He went from being a decent blues singer with an interesting growl to an extremely good singer with terrific control. His singing on the solo acoustic version of "Dirty Pool" from the SRV boxed set is just astoundingly good. Had he lived, I still think he would have taken his collaboration with Doyle Bramhall to another level, after the Vaughan Brothers tour ended-- I really think there would have been an SRV/Bramhall project, without Double Trouble involved. And that would have been huge, if not a commercial blockbuster.
if aaliyah wouldn't have died, would she have become a big time movie star after starring in the matrix reloaded/revolutions? (note... "romeo must die" and "queen of the damned" were schity movies, so they don't count.... and no... reloaded and revolutions weren't schity movies.) if jonathan brandis wouldn't have died, would he have made a comeback from child actor faves "ladybugs" and "sidekicks"? if rick james didn't die, would he have had enough momentum from the chap' show to carry on his celeb status... another album, movies... reality tv?
