Over the years, some of music's greatest icons have suffered tragic fates under truly mysterious
circumstances. Sadly, many of them are yet to be solved, with only a few scarce theories to suggest
what may have really happened. These are a few of those rock 'n roll mysteries.
The New York Dolls were a band ahead of their time. Formed in 1971,
this proto-punk group never quite broke through to fame and fortune, but has since grown to
become one of the most influential bands of the 1970s. Sadly, substance abuse and
fading success had torn the band apart by 1976, leaving its members to pursue their own careers.
Guitarist Johnny Thunders, who had become a poster boy for punk chic, endured some
dark days after leaving the New York Dolls. He was afflicted by a heroin addiction for years,
squandering much of his potential and cutting ties with most of his family. Then, in the 1980s, he
pulled himself together, and seemed to be poised for a serious comeback — only to be diagnosed with
leukemia and given months to live. He moved to New Orleans intending to record one final epic album…
but he never got the chance. Thunders was found dead in his apartment on April 23rd, 1991.
As an ex-addict with terminal cancer, the manner of his death seems more or less obvious,
but some think Thunders's death was a homicide. For one thing, the apartment had been ransacked,
and for another, the toxicology report revealed that the level of drugs in his system
wasn't enough to have killed him. Strangest of all, however, is that his body was said to
be found under a coffee table, folded into a "pretzel" shape. To this day,
some fans question the true nature of the death of this punk icon.
In the late '60s and early '70s, Jim Sullivan built up a dedicated fan base as a country-rock
singer-songwriter, but he never quite "made" it in the industry. It's possible that his
decision to move to Nashville for a fresh start might have yielded the breakthrough he deserved,
but sadly, no one will ever know — because he vanished on the way there.
After releasing his debut album U.F.O. in 1969 and a self-titled follow-up in 1972,
Sullivan grew increasingly frustrated with his career and developed a drinking problem.
He thought relaunching his career in Music City would be a good idea, so he packed up
his VW Beetle on March 4th, 1975, and set off for Tennessee. Along the way, he was pulled over
and given a sobriety test but passed, after which he decided to check into a hotel for some sleep.
However, when investigators later opened up the room, it appeared to be undisturbed, and the
key was locked inside. Sullivan's locked car was found 26 miles away in the middle of the desert,
near a working ranch. He was never seen again, but his manager later claimed he
had once talked about disappearing from his life by walking out into the desert.
By December 1964, Sam Cooke was one of the most successful singers working in America.
His new album Ain't That Good News was doing well, and one of the album's most famous songs,
"A Change is Gonna Come," was set to become a major part of the Civil Rights Movement.
Sadly, Cooke would never get to see this happen, having died on December 11th,
1964. No one argues that the incident leading to his death was bizarre,
and no one argues that it wasn't homicide, either, but his death was officially ruled
justifiable homicide — a conclusion that many people find difficult to believe.
The manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, Bertha Franklin, claimed Cooke had attempted to
sexually assault a young woman he had forced into his room.The woman, Elisa Boyer, had called
the police to report this. Subsequently, Cooke burst into the motel's office, half-naked, and
demanded to know where Boyer was. Franklin later testified that she shot Cooke in self-defense.
"Yeah, I was fighting, scratching, biting, and everything.
Finally I got up, and grabbed a pistol, and I started shooting."
But singer Etta James — who was present when Cooke's body was removed from the
motel — claimed his injuries were much more severe than Franklin had reported.
This has caused some to speculate that Cooke might have been assassinated because of his
growing activism, or that he was killed by criminal elements who wished to control his
song-publishing empire. If that is the case, however, it'll likely never be known for sure.
By 1969, Brian Jones was officially no longer a member of the Rolling Stones,
the band he himself had co-founded. But in truth, Jones hadn't been a part of the band
for a long time. He only performed on two songs on the band's 1969 album Let It Bleed,
and those contributions were hardly essential. Sadly, Jones had fallen into a deep pit of drug
addiction and estrangement from his bandmates, and he was officially fired in June of that year.
A few weeks later, Jones was found dead in his pool. His death was ruled death by misadventure,
but some evidence suggests that he might have been intentionally killed.
The contractor Frank Thorogood has long been suspected of being involved in Jones' death.
Jones had hired Thorogood to do work on his remote farm, but the two had a bitter falling
out over money Thorogood claimed he was owed. The two had an altercation in the pool, with
Thorogood reportedly entering the house shaking badly just as Jones' body was spotted — and acted
very strangely once the musician was confirmed to be dead. Anna Wohlin, Jones' girlfriend,
later told the press that Thorogood had confessed to the killing on his deathbed.
Jones' manager, Tom Keylock, claims his brother, a senior police officer,
said that law enforcement had made mistakes in their investigation,
and decided to cover it up by supporting the accidental death conclusion.
The case was briefly reopened in 2009, but then closed again shortly afterwards.
Reggae legend Bob Marley may have died in 1981, but five years before that, someone
made a dramatic attempt on his life, and to this day no one really knows why. On December 3rd,
1976, a group of men wearing masks and carrying guns broke into Marley's house.
They opened fire, but somehow mostly missed Marley, shooting his manager multiple times
in the chaos. Marley and his wife, Rita, were also wounded, but not nearly as badly.
Jamaica's politics at the time were violent and entwined with the music industry,
and both the ruling People's National Party and the rival Jamaica Labour Party had attempted to
associate themselves with the iconic musician. The PNP had hired guards to patrol Marley's home, but
those guards were mysteriously absent that night, leading some to wonder if the PNP ordered a hit.
"Why didn't they show up for that night? They showed up after the shooting."
On the other hand, some of Marley's friends were in deep debt to local gangsters, and he
was helping to pay the debts for his friend, the famous soccer player Skill Cole, leading
many to theorize that Marley might have invited the trouble on himself. No real investigation
was ever performed, and to this day, no one knows for sure who tried to kill Bob Marley — or why.
The Incredible String Band formed in the 1960s
and quickly built a reputation as one of the most innovative folk-rock groups in history,
merging '60s psychedelia with traditional folk arrangements to create a truly unique sound.
They were even popular enough to be invited to appear at the famous Woodstock
festival in 1969 — although they weren't particularly well received by the crowd.
Christine "Licorice" McKechnie was romantically involved with co-founder Robin Williamson and
became a primary singer and songwriter with the band during the height of their success.
After she and Williamson broke up in 1972,
she left the band, and the group as a whole broke up completely in 1974. McKechnie performed
sporadically over the course of the next 15 years but slowly faded from public view.
By 1987, McKechnie was in the United States, and the last time anyone saw her, she was preparing
for a trek through the Arizona desert — although her sister claims she was in contact with her in
1990. Either way, no one has heard from or seen Licorice McKechnie in at least three decades,
and no one has any idea what happened to her. She simply vanished into thin air.
If you're not familiar with the name Bobby Fuller, you probably at least know his most famous song:
"I Fought the Law," a staple of classic rock set lists across the country.
Fuller didn't write the song, but his Texas-flavored rockabilly version
was a smash hit in 1966, making him and the Bobby Fuller Four overnight sensations.
Fuller's purely American style of rock was a contrast to the increasingly psychedelic
British style popularized by the Beatles, and he was poised to be a bona fide superstar.
Then, on July 18th, 1966, Fuller was found dead. His body was found in his mother's car,
parked outside his apartment, with a plastic hose and a gas can.
It initially seemed like an obvious suicide — until the details started to come out.
Curiously, the car wasn't in that spot half an hour before the body was found,
and Fuller had been dead for some time, with his body found in an advanced state of rigor mortis.
This suggested he'd been moved from where he'd actually died. No one seriously investigated
his death, but many have offered up theories as to what really happened.
The most plausible involves his record label's deep association with the Mafia,
suggesting that Fuller might have fallen afoul of organized crime.
Back in 1995, the Manic Street Preachers were on the cusp of music greatness. Melding punk,
classic rock, and alternative sounds into a thick guitar sound, the band's politically charged
lyrics brought frequent comparisons to their idols, The Clash. And Richey Edwards, the damaged,
gorgeous rhythm guitarist and lyricist, quickly became the face of the band. Sadly,
Edwards struggled with mental health issues, substance abuse, and self-harm, but it was exactly
that damage that lent his passionate, angry lyrics the emotional weight that resonated with fans.
"We just got nothing to lose. 'Cause we're
secure in the knowledge that we already lost a long time ago."
Then, one day, Edwards vanished. On February 1st,
1995, he checked out of his hotel, and was due to meet up with his bandmates to begin
a promotional tour. He got into his car and drove to his home in Wales, but was never seen again.
His car was found near a bridge notorious as a popular site for suicides, and Richards' mental
health was famously fragile. But his body was never found, and toll records show he had driven
over the bridge early in the morning. Fans quickly began speculating that Edwards had faked his own
death, noting that his uncle had vanished for a decade when Edwards had been young,
something that had fascinated the musician. We may never know what actually happened,
but Edwards was declared officially dead in 2008.
Elliott Smith was a classic singer-songwriter who used innovative production techniques to
layer his sound, making his whispery vocals about pain and loss as powerful
as a full-throated howl. After his song "Miss Misery" from the Good Will Hunting soundtrack
was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1998, his career was poised to explode.
Five years later, however, he was dead. Smith's girlfriend, Jennifer Chiba,
said she'd locked herself in the bathroom after an argument, and soon after heard a
scream. When she ran out of the bathroom, she found Smith standing with a knife in
his chest. She claims she ran to him and pulled out the knife, and he collapsed.
She called 911, and Smith died a short time later in the hospital. A note was found that read:
"I'm so sorry — love, Elliot. God forgive me."
Smith had struggled with substance abuse and his mental health issues his entire life, so suicide
initially seemed very plausible. But the details of his death don't necessarily support a suicide
ruling. The note, for example, misspells Elliott's name. There were no "hesitation wounds" typically
found in self-stabbings, and the coroner's report couldn't rule out homicide. Many of Smith's fans
openly accuse Chiba of killing him, and the singer's death remains an open investigation.