Metal Sludge Gossip Board

Baed on Sleek's deadest band, got me thinking... everyone from the famous southern rock bands is dead! (Almost)

Allmans - Dead. 1 left?
Skynyrd - Dead. 1-2 left
Molly Hatchet - Dead. lots of em dead. All of em?

Others? I dunno.


Was it the drugs? Horrible southern diet? Smoking?

Didnt all rock bands do that stuff?

How come All of Smiff is alive and all of the Stones except Watty, but the southerners are lucky to reach 60?

I made a thread about this several years ago. Old age now factors in, but otherwise it's some kind of curse I dunno. Whether it's illness, accidents, or other issues, southern rock bands have some shit going on for sure.

Skynyrd - OP mentioned: All gone except for technically Rickey Medlocke and Artimus Pyle, but the latter doesn't play with them
The Outlaws - 1 original member still touring (Henry Paul), 1 still alive (Monte Yoho)
Molly Hatchet - All original members dead
Marshall Tucker Band - 1 original member (Doug Gray, who still tours but basially emcees shows instead of singing)
Blackfoot - 3 still alive, but only 1 still playing occasionally (Medlocke)
Charlie Daniels Band - Charlie dead, most of his classic lineup dead, not that it matters - no CDB without him
Atlanta Rhythm Section - Revolving door of members, some dead, still a version out there playing

Even contemporary southern rock bands like Blackberry Smoke and the Steel Woods aren't immune to this. Brit Turner, Blackberry Smoke's founder/drummer died last year, and the Steel Woods founder died a few years ago and the band disbanded last year.

Probably other examples too but that's what's off the top of my head.

Almost as unhealthy as sowing the see create American punk rock.

Of the 18 guys in original lineups of the MC5, Stooges, New York Dolls and Ramones, only Iggy Pop is still alive.

I would say a plane crashing by no fault of the band put Skynyrd at a major disadvantage and considering they are arguably the biggest Southern Rock band ever, your stats are gonna be skewed. Also, there are like a handful of really “big” Southern Rock bands compared to every other flavor of rock bands.. as for the Allman Bros, motorcycles are statistically pretty unsafe as well and took 2 members that I can think of off the top of my head. So, it’s not like they all just dropped dead in the their 40s or something.

Wiseacre wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 2:27 am I would say a plane crashing by no fault of the band put Skynyrd at a major disadvantage and considering they are arguably the biggest Southern Rock band ever, your stats are gonna be skewed. Also, there are like a handful of really “big” Southern Rock bands compared to every other flavor of rock bands.. as for the Allman Bros, motorcycles are statistically pretty unsafe as well and took 2 members that I can think of off the top of my head. So, it’s not like they all just dropped dead in the their 40s or something.

While those crashes didnt help, they were a blip on the death toll.

Skynyrd -
Plane crash claimed 2, Father time has taken 7 more

Allmans -
Motorcycles claimed 2, Father time has taken 4 OG members, and 3 more.

All of Molly Hatchet died in their 50s and 60s. Not one made it to 70. Demo23 has a good point, the Ramones and OG stooges too.

HueyRamone wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 5:30 am

Wiseacre wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 2:27 am I would say a plane crashing by no fault of the band put Skynyrd at a major disadvantage and considering they are arguably the biggest Southern Rock band ever, your stats are gonna be skewed. Also, there are like a handful of really “big” Southern Rock bands compared to every other flavor of rock bands.. as for the Allman Bros, motorcycles are statistically pretty unsafe as well and took 2 members that I can think of off the top of my head. So, it’s not like they all just dropped dead in the their 40s or something.

While those crashes didnt help, they were a blip on the death toll.

Skynyrd -
Plane crash claimed 2, Father time has taken 7 more

Allmans -
Motorcycles claimed 2, Father time has taken 4 OG members, and 3 more.

All of Molly Hatchet died in their 50s and 60s. Not one made it to 70. Demo23 has a good point, the Ramones and OG stooges too.

Who the hell wants to be 70?????

Seriously though, I think hard drinking does a lot more long-term damage than drugs, which most people tend to mess around with in their youth. If you dodge the OD bullet and give that shit up, you might stand a fighting chance to meet your grandkids. Those southern boys like their whiskey. Someone who lives hard and drinks hard for decades is gonna have major issues once they get into their 50s and 60s.

demolition23 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 01, 2025 10:23 pm Almost as unhealthy as sowing the see create American punk rock.

Of the 18 guys in original lineups of the MC5, Stooges, New York Dolls and Ramones, only Iggy Pop is still alive.

IOW, they're old...

Cigarettes and fried food

Wait...66.666666666666666666666666666666666% of ZZ Top is ALIVE!

It’s been happening with our 80’s rock bands too.

As for the 70’s bands. Let’s put this into perspective. If you were 30 in 1980 you’d be 75 now! Not everybody lives that long especially on a diet of whiskey and cigarettes and BBQ. Not to mention all the bar fights and guns.

For what it’s worth, Skynyrd is still one of the best live bands out there and I had fun at the Marshall Tucker shows too.

Psychobolia.com wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 2:06 pm Wait...66.666666666666666666666666666666666% of ZZ Top is ALIVE!

Sixty six point six, you say?

Bono Nettencourt wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 1:55 pm

demolition23 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 01, 2025 10:23 pm Almost as unhealthy as sowing the see create American punk rock.

Of the 18 guys in original lineups of the MC5, Stooges, New York Dolls and Ramones, only Iggy Pop is still alive.

IOW, they're old...

Sure, but less than a third of them made it to 70.

ijwthstd wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 2:01 pm Cigarettes and fried food

Yeah, more or less, plus alcohol. A regionally-unhealthy lifestyle combined with some amount of rock star excess.

Besides dead members, living/aging Southern Rock bands have always had the most clearly-unhealthy looking band members. It's funny because it's the only genre where the holy band coming out sloppy and obese doesn't seem weird.

They're all the guys who end up dying of all of the usual suspects in their mid 50s-mid 60s.

aznsquirt wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 4:05 pm

ijwthstd wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 2:01 pm Cigarettes and fried food

Yeah, more or less, plus alcohol. A regionally-unhealthy lifestyle combined with some amount of rock star excess.

Besides dead members, living/aging Southern Rock bands have always had the most clearly-unhealthy looking band members. It's funny because it's the only genre where the holy band coming out sloppy and obese doesn't seem weird.

They're all the guys who end up dying of all of the usual suspects in their mid 50s-mid 60s.

They might have geriatric faces and arteries, but their hair is as lustrous as any 19 year old's!!

And like their southern ancestor Davy Crokett, the guy on the right wears a cool coonskin cap!

It was 50+ years ago and they were all old as fuck even before they became semi-famous

So, what you're saying is that the guys in Jackyl should start looking over their shoulder? Their original singer already died, and the rest of the band is 55+.

you fucking idiot

aznsquirt wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 4:05 pm

ijwthstd wrote: ↑Sun Mar 02, 2025 2:01 pm Cigarettes and fried food

Yeah, more or less, plus alcohol. A regionally-unhealthy lifestyle combined with some amount of rock star excess.

Besides dead members, living/aging Southern Rock bands have always had the most clearly-unhealthy looking band members. It's funny because it's the only genre where the holy band coming out sloppy and obese doesn't seem weird.

They're all the guys who end up dying of all of the usual suspects in their mid 50s-mid 60s.

Two of those guys pictured above are dead

It's because they're not immortal.

Danzig in the Dark wrote: ↑Mon Mar 03, 2025 5:00 am It's because they're not immortal.

Neither are their non-southern contemporaries. How come their death toll doesnt match these bands, then?

Aerosmith: All alive
Kiss: OG's all alive
Zep: All alive apart from one alcohol death at young age
Sabbath: All "real members" alive
Priest: All alive but drummer
ACDC - All alive but Malcolm and Bon at young age
BOC - 1 dead i think?

HueyRamone wrote: ↑Mon Mar 03, 2025 8:53 am

Danzig in the Dark wrote: ↑Mon Mar 03, 2025 5:00 am It's because they're not immortal.

Neither are their non-southern contemporaries. How come their death toll doesnt match these bands, then?

Aerosmith: All alive
Kiss: OG's all alive
Zep: All alive apart from one alcohol death at young age
Sabbath: All "real members" alive
Priest: All alive but drummer
ACDC - All alive but Malcolm and Bon at young age
BOC - 1 dead i think?

Satan.