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This blog’s title may deceive you a bit as to the substance of and message in this post. I encourage you to spend a few short moments to read this before the holidays overwhelm you.

David Bowie sang about it on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. You may have read about a performer whose music you enjoyed and whom you admired having taken his or her life. With the death of Neal Casals this past September, I began to do a little research on what is becoming an all too common occurrence in the world of Rock and Roll.

As a fan of rock and roll, we are all too familiar with the untimely deaths of musicians by drug overdoses. The 27 Club is an eerie collection of rock musicians who died at the age of 27. This includes Jim Morrison, Mama Cass Elliott, Jimi and Janice as well as Amy Winehouse. But their deaths were considered accidental, not a deliberate attempt to end their life.

When you think of famous musicians who died by suicide, Kurt Cobain probably comes to mind. The Nirvana frontman killed himself in 1994 at the age of 27. News of his death shook the music world as it occurred with Nirvana on the top of the Rock world. One of the first musicians I recall who may have committed suicide was Sid Vicious, bassist of the Sex Pistols. He lost his life in 1979 at the age of 21 with his band being the face of the Punk music scene. Richard Manuel of The Band took his life in 1986; he was just a month shy of his 43^rd birthday. His was a well-documented, troubled life. He departed this world years after the Last Waltz but during a period when the band reunited without Robbie Robertson. Tommy Boyce, one half of the songwriting team of Boyce and Hart (The Monkees), took his life in 1994 at the age of 55. Michael Hutchence was the frontman of INXS (pronounced In Excess), the Australian rockers. He took his life at the age of 37 in 1997. INXS sold more than 60 million records at the time of his death, a huge success during his time. who were riding high on the record charts until he took his life in 1997. There is some dispute as to whether his death was accidental but has not been proven.

In 2012, Ronnie Montrose, of the band of the same name, took his life in March at the age of 64.His first album, called Montrose, was considered America’s answer to Led Zepplin (NationalRockReview.com) He was suffering from prostrate cancer and was also being treated for clinical depression. Bob Welch, an original member of Fleetwood Mac and also well known for his solo career, ended his life in the same manner that June. Keith Emerson, of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, committed suicide in March of 2016. All three  had reportably been suffering ongoing medical issues. Butch Trucks, one of the founding drummers of the Allman Brothers band,was 69 when he  took his life in January 2017. It had been noted that he was despondent due to his financial situation.

Chris Cornell, the lead singer of Soundgarden and Audioslave, was found dead in his hotel room, hours after a performance at the Fox Theatre in Detroit on May 17, 2017. He was 52. Cornell’s close friend, Linkin Park’s and Stone Temple Pilots’ lead singer Chester Bennington, took his own life at his California home on July 20, 2017, in the same manner as Cornell. Chester was 41 at the time of his deat

This past September, Neal Casals, guitarist and singer/songwriter for such bands as Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Hard Working Americans and Circles around the Sun, took his life two days after performing at the Jam Band festival, Lock’n in Virginia.He was 50 at the time of his death. It was his death that motivated me to do the research for the article. It was while doing this research that I learned more of the history of suicide amongst rock stars.

The deaths of so many rock artists may not be unusual as a percentage of people who take their life by suicide. It might be more than normal due to the eccentricities that many artists indulged themselves in over their careers. It may even be a smaller percentage of deaths than drug overdoses are responsible for. I was not looking to see if the numbers leaned one way or another.

As fans of these artists, we probably didn’t know that these artists were having mental or physical problems which led them to making the decision to end their lives. We were surprised and saddened to learn the news of their untimely deaths. What I discovered was that those close to the artists have known of the struggles they were having, yet were unable or unsuccessful in stopping them from ending their lives.

The Holiday season can be a difficult time for many in our circle of family and friends. Many don’t have family that they want to share the holidays with or friends who include them in their festivities. The holiday season (Thanksgiving through New Year’s day) can be very depressing and lonely for some we know.

Social media has been known to accentuate and exaggerate the wonderful side of our lives. Most of us know that life is not as good as the posts make it appear! Or do we? Social media with all of its apps has exploded the chasm of how many measure the value of their lives…

 Friends may struggle to make sense of their lives compared to what they see posted on social media. What can you do? To begin with, I urge you to be extra observant of those in your lives. If you see something, say something! (Where have I heard that before?). Engage those who may be acting different than their usual selves. Talk to them or connect them with people who are qualified to help. Invite a friend to a holiday gathering or a meal. Don’t leave it up to someone else, as there may not be someone else to take up the gauntlet. Imagine how you would feel if you ignored a signal/sign from someone you know and subsequentially learned that they made the irreversible decision in their life.

During the holidays, most of us are in a giving mood and our financial generosity makes a positive influence in the lives of people we don’t know and will likely never meet. Yet, we get a good feeling when we make a purchase for an Angel tree or donate to a charity. These are examples of people doing the right thing for others. Whether it is with your time or your money, just imagine how much better you will feel this holiday season when you make a positive effect in the lives of someone you know. Please “Share” this with your circle of friends and family if you feel so moved.

#SeeSomethingSaySomething  #RockandRollSuicide #KurtCobain #SidVicious #RichardManual #TommyBoyce #MichaelHutchence #RonnieMontrose #BobWelch #Keith Emerson #ButchTrucks #ChrisCornell #ChesterBennington #NealCasals #HolidayDepression