They Predicted Their Own Death

[AnneNR]

Courtesy of "Ultimate Classic Rock" website is another interesting article of historic note.

 

Most of the time, famous musicians write about what they know: sex, drugs, girls. Stuff like that. Sometimes they go a little deeper, penning songs that aim to get at life’s eternal truths, uncovering little pearls of wisdom among the riffs and ruins. And sometimes they freak everyone out by writing songs that predict their own deaths. And we’re not talking “Yeah, I’ll be dead 50 years from now, baby, so let’s get it on†sorta lines. We’re talking about songs that nail specifics, like date, cause and even the tiniest details of their deaths. Were these Famous Musicians Who Correctly Predicted Their Own Death clairvoyant? Or did they just get lucky in guessing their unlucky demises?

 

**Two years before he released his groundbreaking debut album ‘Are You Experienced,’ Jimi Hendrix recorded a self-mythologizing song called ‘The Ballad of Jimi’ that not only elevated the subject of the song (some dude named Jimi) to a sort of heroic status, it also predicted his death.

The slow, bluesy cut — which Hendrix recorded with R&B artist Curtis Knight — never showed up on an album, but fans are more than aware of it, especially since the song is “dedicated to the memory of . . .  Jimi.†Lines like â€Many things he would try / For he knew soon he’d die,†â€Now Jimi’s gone, he’s not alone / His memory still lives on†and â€Five years, this he said / He’s not gone, he’s just dead†weirdly predict the legend’s death and legacy five years later.

 

***John Lennon famously retired from the shackles of fame and the music business in 1975, walking away from his myth and legend to take care of his baby son. Five years later, he returned to the studio to lay down a whole bunch of songs that would result in the ‘Double Fantasy’ album.

Lennon was so prolific during this period that many of the songs were left unfinished. Following his tragic death on Dec. 8, 1980, the leftover material eventually found its way on posthumous albums. ‘Borrowed Time,’ inspired by a harrowing sailing trip, includes the line â€Living on borrowed time without a thought for tomorrow†and was reportedly the first song recorded after Lennon resumed his career. It ended up on 1984′s ‘Milk and Honey‘ LP, where its lyrics seemed eerily, and sadly, prescient.

 

***There are so many bizarre things going on with Lynyrd Skynyrd's ‘Street Survivors‘ album that we get all weirded out just thinking about them. First, there’sthe cover of the 1977 LP, which features the band engulfed in flames. Knowing what comes next — three days after the album’s release, the band’s plane went down, killing frontman Ronnie Van Zant and others — is enough to freak out even people who aren’t freaked out by these kinds of things.

And then there’s the words to ‘That Smell,’ one of the album’s most popular songs: â€Say you’ll be alright come tomorrow, but tomorrow might not be here for you,†“Angel of darkness upon you,†â€The smell of death surrounds you.†It may have been written as a cautionary drug tune, but following the events of Oct. 20, 1977, ‘That Smell’ takes on a whole new, and creepily prescient, meaning.

 

***Sixteen years before he died of lung cancer in 2003,Warren Zevon recorded a song about a blue-collar worker that pretty much foreshadowed his own death. ‘The Factory’ appeared on Zevon’s 1987 comeback album ‘Sentimental Hygiene,’ and chronicles the life of a man who grows up to be a factory worker just like his dad.

After Zevon hammers home his point about the uselessness of it all, he ends with these stinging lines: â€Kickin’ asbestos in the factory / Punchin’ out Chryslers in the factory / Breathin’ that plastic in the factory.†Zevon died of advanced malignant mesothelioma, which is often caused by exposure to asbestos. Thing is, Zevon never worked in a factory, so his odds of developing cancer there were nil. Yet, somehow, a decade and a half before the end, he predicted the cause of his death.

 

***Marc Bolan looked like a rock star. And he usually sang about the usual rock-star things in his songs with T. Rex. He inspired a whole legion of glitter-wearing fans to follow his every word. And on the 1972 single ‘Solid Gold Easy Action,’ he seemed to have a knack for predicting the future — even foreshadowing his own demise five years later.

Look no further than the opening line of ‘Solid Gold Easy Action,’ a single-only release that eventually showed up on the same year’s ‘Great Hits’ compilation. â€Life is the same and it always will be / Easy as picking foxes from a tree,†Bolan sings as typically glammy guitars spill out a riff. Turns out that the license plate on the car that Bolan was killed in on Sept. 16, 1977, was “FOX 661L.†And oh yeah, it was wrapped around a tree.  

 

 

 

Spooky, huh?

 

AnneNR

 

 

[stacymom2]

Creepy!

[Mary Ellen]

The Zevon ending is disturbing...I'd heard JL's story )-:

[AnneNR]

Here's some more items regarding Mr. Lennon ---

 

Did John Lennon predict his own death?   The Comedy Store - an Off-Ramp special for Nov. 26, 2011

John Lennon was killed December 8, 1980. September 6, 1964, at Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Lennon foreshadowed his death. This report by KPCC's John Rabe features exclusive sound from a news conference held between concerts and recorded by WT Rabe, John's father.

 

"Can we keep the noise level down just a little?" the Beatles' press officer Derek Taylor asks.

The Beatles had two weeks left on their American tour and had doubtless been asked the same questions a million times -- about their hair (they didn’t grow it out to make a fashion statement), about the screaming girls (they’re flattered), about the deeper meaning of their songs (there isn’t one).

 

They answer politely, and when it comes to music, plug their favorite groups, and even get in a few pointed political comments, singling out the Motown and Tamla labels, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and the "dirty" segregation of blacks at some concerts.

 

Someone asks, “Who keeps track of all the money you’re making?â€
The Beatles answer, "Clever accountants."
Reporter: "Who keeps track of the accountants?"
The Beatles (in unison): "The police."

 

The last exchange is chilling.

Derek Taylor (repeating a question from a reporter): "Is it true they’re leaving show business in a year?"
John Lennon: "No."
Unknown Beatle: "Not as far as we know, anyway."
John Lennon: "Unless we get shot or something."

 

YAHOO entertainment and music ---

How was John Lennon able to predict his own death?

 

He once told his friends he did not want to work in a factory all his life, as he would be dead by 40. He also said 'I am a violent man who will die by violent means'. Asked how he thought he would die, he said 'I'll probably be popped off by some loony'. Another example is that in his last demo called 'Help me to help myself' he says 'I tried so hard, to stay alive'. Also 'But the angel of destruction keeps on hounding me'. It's almost like he is speaking from beyond the grave and is describing Chapman. According to his assistant he was obsessed with life and death. In his last interview, he states 'Dead heroes, forget them'. The whole tone of the interview sounded like he was saying goodbye. Is it just a coincidence? Or did he have premonitions? 

 

 

 

 

(October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English rock musician, singer, writer, songwriter, artist, actor and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles.   John Lennon (October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English rock musician, singer, writer, songwriter, artist, actor and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles.

 

Once the Beatles visited Maharishi Yogi in India in the 1960's, John started doing meditations. John Lennon took more than a passing interest in spiritual subjects, and it may have triggered his own clairvoyant abilities.  John Lennon once said "Spiritualism should interest everyone." John attended many seances during his lifetime- an interest still continued by his widow, Yoko, who practices the teachings of psychic Edgar Cayce.

It is believed that John had premonitions that he would be shot. He even stated that his fear of murder caused the Beatles to break up. "We were not bored," he said "and certainly did not run out of songs. I was paranoid about somebody trying to bump us off." When he heard that the Beatles's former road manager had been shot dead by Los Angeles police, he said over and over again, "I'm next, I know it."  But John believed firmly in an afterlife. "I am an optimist about eternity. I believe in life after death. I believe that death is not an end but a beginning."

On the night of 8 December 1980, at around 10:49 p.m., Mark David Chapman shot Lennon in the back four times (the fifth shot missed) in the entrance of the Dakota. Earlier that evening, Lennon had autographed a copy of Double Fantasy for Chapman who had been stalking Lennon since October.

 

Lennon was taken to the Emergency Room of nearby Roosevelt Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival at 11:07 p.m. On the following day, Ono issued a statement: "There is no funeral for John. John loved and prayed for the human race. Please pray the same for him. Love, Yoko and Sean." Chapman pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life where he remains, having been denied all requests for parole.  Lennon's body was cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York; his ashes were then kept by Yoko.

Three weeks before his death, John Lennon had fired his bodyguard. His reply was that any killer would shoot the bodyguard first. When he was still a Beatle, Lennon was asked how he might die. Lennon replied: “I'll probably be popped off by some loony.“