Learn About the Musicians Who Died From Alcohol

Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose, the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office said Thursday. The 57-year-old musician joins a lengthy list of celebrities who have died as a result of substance addiction. Former actor William Holden, whose golden years were during the 1950s, was a heavy drinker whose antics affected his professional and personal life. The actor was found dead in 2023, with the cause of death later being revealed to be positional asphyxia due to acute alcohol intoxication. The famous rapper was very open about his struggles with addiction and spent time in and out of recovery centers over the years.

List of 2018 deaths in popular music

• Elvis Presley is without a doubt one of the most celebrated vocalists of all time.
• Bon Scott is known as AC/DC’s original lead singer and lyricist.
• Actor and comedian Verne Troyer, well known for playing Mini-Me in the ‘Austin Powers’ film series, died at the age of 49 in 2018.
• His concert injuries caused him to be in constant pain and led him to start taking pain pills, which led to opiate use.
• It only increased when she started dating Blake Fielder-Civil who became her husband and was an addict as well.
• Born on September 7, 1936, in Lubbock, Texas, Buddy Holly was one of the first mainstream rock & roll stars of the 1950s.

Some of country music’s brightest and most impactful stars have struggled with addiction, and those stories are well documented. Sadly, quite a few of their addiction battles ended in overdoses that took their lives, and many of them died shockingly young as a result. Yes, while many musicians have tragically succumbed to addiction, others have managed to overcome their musicians who died from alcohol struggles. Elton John and Steven Tyler are two notable examples of musicians who battled addiction but achieved sobriety and revitalized their careers. Barbara Payton was once an aspiring actress whose promise was blighted by her problems with alcoholism and drug addiction. Author Jack Kerouac, whose second novel ‘On the Road’ (1957) made him an icon of the Beat Generation, struggled with alcohol abuse throughout his life.

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• His cause of death was heart failure, but he was also dependant on drugs and alcohol throughout his career.
• The cause of his death was a gastrointestinal hemorrhage, most likely the result of years of alcohol abuse.
• Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose, the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office said Thursday.
• A child star whose meteoric success as a member of The Jackson 5, Jackson became an internationally influential icon during the 80s through his solo career.
• In February 2012, Houston was found unconscious, face down in a bathtub at the age of 48.

He grew up to be the most influential musician of the ’90s thanks to his incisive songwriting and square jaw. But he also died far too young, committing suicide at just 27 years old. Who knows how he could Alcoholics Anonymous have changed rock in the 21st century.

Famous Musicians Who Died from Substance Abuse

Christopher’s manager, Chi Muoi Lo, previously confirmed the actor’s death in a statement to USA TODAY in October. “This news was incredibly shocking, and I am devastated by his loss. He was a very gifted actor, and more importantly, an amazing friend,” Lo said. His family believed he suffered from acute alcoholism, and it was later confirmed by the coroner that he died from chronic alcohol use. Peter Cook was an English comedian who had a successful career in British television and film.

When he died at 42 years old, his cause of death was Cardiac Arrhythmia, but he also had 14 different drugs in his system including codeine, methaqualone, morphine, and meperidine. Singer-songwriter Janis Joplin’s lifestyle consisted of drinking every day, to the point of blacking out and admitting to friends she did not remember the shows she played whatsoever. She also had a history of drug addictions, especially heroin. The “First Lady of Rock and Roll” overdose may have been caused by her severe anxiety and possible depression. Even though her death is thought to have been a heroin overdose, alcohol also played a role. He had gone to sleep in his car after a night of heavy drinking and suffered from acute alcohol poisoning.

Best known as the lead vocalist of Stone Temple Pilots, Scott Weiland fatally overdosed on cocaine, alcohol, and MDA in 2015. In 2016, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Prince accidentally overdosed on counterfeit Vicodin pills that had been laced with fentanyl. In 2012, best-selling singer Whitney Houston died of an accidental drowning linked to cocaine intoxication and heart disease. Singing songs like “Piece of My Heart,” “Summertime” and “Me and Bobby McGee,” Joplin was both rebel and premier vocalist of her age. Like the two artists above, however, she also died young, at just 27 years old.

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According to a family member, Cobain had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had a painful digestive disorder, which he used heroin to relieve the pain. He went to drug rehab in 1992 but relapsed and survived several heroin overdoses over the next few years. This is when he began having suicidal thoughts and tendencies. Right before his death, he left a detox center and flew back to Seattle. Cobain was found dead in his home from a shotgun wound and an autopsy found heroin and valium in his system. Richard Burton, esteemed actor and on-off husband to Elizabeth Taylor, suffered from alcoholism the majority of his adult life.

Musicians Whose Careers Were Cut Short by Fatal Drug Overdose

After a night of drinking Winehouse was found dead with a blood alcohol level at five times the legal limit. The deaths of musicians due to drug overdoses have highlighted the vulnerabilities and pressures that artists in the music industry often face. Substance abuse among musicians can stem from various factors, including the stress of fame, mental health issues, and the culture of drug use in some parts of the entertainment world. Many of these musicians died at a young age due to their struggles with addiction. Jim Morrison’s official cause of death was listed as heart failure, but a heroin overdose is widely suspected. Jimi Hendrix died from barbiturate-related asphyxia after taking a large dose of sleeping pills.

• A friend found Morrison dead in a tub on the morning of July 3, 1971, in Paris, France.
• During the 1980s, he experimented with hallucinogens and ecstasy, which he used recreationally.
• He had struggled with alcoholism and cocaine addiction throughout his career due to trying to cope with traumatic events, depressive moods, and as a way of helping his creativity.
• The Def Leppard lead guitarist died in 1991 after combining an apparently accidental but nonetheless lethal cocktail of prescription drugs and copious amounts of alcohol.
• The autopsy later revealed that the Hendrix died of asphyxia  caused by vomit brought on by a barbiturate overdose.
• On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson passed away in his home while under his doctor’s supervision.

Jackson may have developed a prescription drug addiction to pain medications since his scalp injury from a fire and his numerous plastic surgeries. His physician was charged with homicide after an investigation found he had been giving propofol for 60 days straight to combat insomnia. The coroner found lethal levels of the drug in his system.

#9: John Bonham

She was very successful initially, but her career quickly declined, in part due to her drinking. Billie Holiday is widely considered one of the most influential female vocalists of the jazz and blues genres. It’s no secret that the life of a rock ‘n’ roll artist is often one of excess.