Oh boy could I go into that. Next you should read "A Saucerful of Secrets" by Nicholas Schaffner. It's basically about the early Pink Floyd where Roger "Syd" Barrett was the main songwriter for all of those early Pink Floyd songs but after Barrett's father died the combination of unresolved grief, hangers on plying him with psychedelics and potential latent mental illness more or less destroyed him. Some of the locations in the book I happened to be near when I was in the UK in 1995 and it seemed to drive home the fact that no matter how successful or rich you are you've got that potential to self-destruct.
Robert Fripp posted in his diary once about several musicians of his acquaintance who were "controlled" by their corrupt managers by supplying drugs and threatening to withold if the managers desires weren't permitted.
Other individuals to look into on this subject:
Skip Spence of Moby Grape
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skip_Spence"Believing he was the anti-Christ, he tried to chopped down the hotel door of band mate, Don Stevenson, attempting to kill him to save him (Stevenson) from himself (Spence)."
Roy Buchanan / Danny Gatton (don't play a tele in Maryland, it leads to destruction)
Jim Gordon of Derek and the Dominos:
Mental illness, violent rage, drug addiction, schizophrenia, murder
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Gordon_(musician)Daniel Johnston (bipolar):
"When Johnston wrestled control of a private airplane away from his dad, took the keys from the ignition, and threw them out of the plane. The plane crashed, but Daniel and his father miraculously survived."
Source:
themanfromthegarage.com/?p=320Roky Erickson:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roky_EricksonAgain schizophrenia, hospitalization, etc
Mayhem (the entire band):
"When the lead singer, named Dead, killed himself by a shotgun blast and the rest of the band proceeded to snap a picture of the scene, use it as the cover on their next album, and make necklaces out of pieces of their band mate’s skull. (see picture)"
Source:
themanfromthegarage.com/?p=320GG Allin:
themanfromthegarage.com/?p=320Nick Drake: Depression - died in 1974 at age of 26 after overdosing on antidepressants.
Ian Curtis - Joy Division: Diagnosed with epilepsy and with a failing marriage he hung himself a week before their first north american tour.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Curtis"At the time of his death, his health was failing as a result of the epilepsy and attempting to balance his musical ambitions with his marriage, which was floundering in the aftermath of his close relationship with journalist Annik Honoré (who in 2010 would claim it was not an "affair" and merely a close and platonic relationship).[7] His wife found Ian's body the next morning; he had used the kitchen's washing line to hang himself."
Kevin Gilbert (this one bums me out - so talented it was ridiculous and headed for great things):
www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/08.01.96/gilbert-obit-9631.htmlThis leads us to think of people like Elvis Presley, Curt Cobain, Courtney Love, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, the list could go on practically forever.
Creativity and mental illness:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity_and_mental_illnessThere could be lots more.
And:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outsider_ArtAnd it could be argued we're nuts too because we persist in writing all of this weird music that isn't necessarily commercially accessible.
