Longevity Tip: Don't be a rock star; Reunion tours kill

People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Just because we get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

It's common wisdom that rock stars "live fast, die young" but is it true? When you think of rock stars dying before their time names like Elvis, Hendrix, Marc Bolan and Kurt Cobain all come to mind. But are these just notable examples or a statistically relevant trend? This is what researchers at the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University set out to find out.

Looking at data from 1956 to 2005 they were able to show that it's true, being a rock star is bad for your health. In fact, being a rock and roll star increases your chances of experiencing a premature death 200-300%.

It turns out that the most dangerous time for a musician is the first five years after becoming popular where the death rate is more than 300% higher than normal. Examples of stars who died in the this 5-year window included Hendrix, Bon Scott of AC/DC and punk rocker Sid Vicious.

Interestingly, for British rock stars who make it to 25 years after success their life expectancies return to near normal. But this isn't holding true for their American counterparts who remain 200% as likely to die prematurely (think Jerry Garcia, Carl Wilson, and Joey Ramone who all died in their 50s). The researchers did not have the data to isolate why this is true but one thought was the popularity of "reunion" tours in the States which "exposes the artists for more years to an unhealthy 'rock 'n' roll' lifestyle".

Drugs, alcohol, and heart failure were all major causes of death but surprisingly so was drowning. Brian Jones drowned in his swimming pool; Jeff Buckley went for a swim wearing steel-toed boots while singing along to a radio playing Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”; Beach Boy Dennis Wilson, got drunk and dived into the sea at Marina Del Rey to retrieve items he had once thrown off his yacht. Randy California (Spirit) also drowned.

Other types of accidents were also responsible for premature deaths, particularly plane (Aaliyah, Jim Croce, John Denver, Buddy Holly, Ricky Nelson), auto (Harry Chapin, Eddie Cochran), and motorcycle crashes (Duane Allman).

Finally and sadly, murder (John Lennon, Bobby Fuller, Peter Tosh) and (Cobain, Darby Crash, Del Shannon) suicide as causes of death are well-represented.

Of course, intensely and selectively looking at data can draw unusual (and somewhat useless) observations as well. For example, February is a particularly dangerous month for rock stars. Richie from British act Manic Street Preachers vanished on 1st February 1995. Sid Vicious overdosed on 2nd February 1979. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash in Iowa on 3rd February 1959 and Karen Carpenter died of heart failure brought on by anorexia on 4th February 1983.

Original story source: Reuters
Rock star death data source: Rock and Roll Baby