Forever Young: Musicians Who Died in Their Mid-twenties

The Notorious B.I.G. (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997)

Christopher Wallace, more popularly known by his stage name The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper most famed for his alleged involvement in rap’s infamous feud between the East and West Coast scenes. He was killed by an unknown assailant while driving away from the Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles. His second album “Life After Death,” which was released after his murder at age 24, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

Josef Hassid (December 28, 1923 – November 7, 1950)

A Polish violinist of Jewish parentage, Josef Hassid was noted for his intense vibrato; peerless technique; impeccable control; and uniquely temperamental interpretations. A fellow violinist Fritz Kreisler commented of the young prodigy saying, “A Heifetz violinist comes around every 100 years, a Hassid every 200.” His brilliant career was however cut short when he suffered a nervous breakdown during a performance at age 18. Since then, he was in and out of a psychiatric hospital in Surrey, England. He died at the age of 26 shortly after undergoing lobotomy.

Cliff Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986)

Cliff Burton was a bassist, whose unique and creative style of distortion and effects as demonstrated his signature piece “(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth” was what made Metallica famous.  While traveling through Stockholm Sweden during the band’s European tour to promote their third album “Master of Puppets,” Cliff was thrown out of their tour bus when it skidded off the icy road and fell on him resulting in instant death. He was 24.

Otis Redding (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967)

Widely regarded as one of the greatest male soul singers, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer (inducted 1989) Otis Redding was noted for his emotional vocal style. His best known hit is the pensive “(Sittin’ On the) Dock of the Bay.” The 26-year-old Redding was killed along with his manager and 4 members of his backup band when his Beechcraft 18 airplane crashed into a lake in Madison, Wisconsin.

Teddy Diaz (April 1, 1963 – August 21, 1988)

Teodoro “Teddy” Diaz was the founding guitarist of “The Dawn,” a rock band that gained popularity in the late 1980s in the Philippines. Being a passionate musician, he was said to practice on his guitar eight hours a day in his desire to be known as the best guitarist there is. He has become sort of a legend among many Filipino musicians since his death at age 25 from stab wounds inflicted by two drug addicts in front of his girlfriend’s house.

Toše Proeski (January 25, 1981 – October 16, 2007)

Toše Proeski, a Macedonian pop singer-songwriter, was often praised for who was dubbed by the BBC News as the “Elvis Presley of the Balkans.” Having began his career as a teenager, he produced numerous hits that were popular across the Balkans, from central Bulgaria to the entire former Yugoslavia. While traveling through Croatia,Proeski died at age 26 in a horrific accident when the Volkswagen Taoureg he was riding crashed into the back of a truck while traveling through Croatia.

Tammi Terrell (April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970)

Tammi Terrell was a soul singer, best remembered for her duets with Marvin Gaye, producing hits that include “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” and “You’re All I Need to Get By.” In 1967, just when her star was starting to rise, she was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor following her collapse during a concert performance with Gaye. Terrell died three years later at the tender age of 24.

Paul Kossoff (September 14, 1950 – March 19, 1976)

(”Time Away” from the album “Back Street Crawler”)

Best known as a member of the English rock band “Free” and ranked among the top “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” by the Rolling Stone magazine, Paul Kosoff had released a solo album “Back Street Crawler” (1973) and had contributed solos on a number of albums including Jim Capaldi’s “Oh How We Danced” (1972), Martha Veléz’s “Fiends and Angels” (1969); Blondel’s “Mulgrave Street” (1974); Uncle Dog’s “Old Hat” (1972), Michael Gately’s “Gately’s Cafe” (1971) and Mike Vernon’s 1971 album “Bring It Back Home.” His depression over the split up of “Free” and his drug addictions brought about a drastic decline in his health leading to his death from drug-induced heart problems at age 25.

Forever Young Series:

• MUSICIANS Who Died in Their:

  • Early Twenties
  • Mid-Twenties
  • Late Twenties

• ACTORS Who Died in Their:

  • Early Twenties
  • Mid-twenties
  • Late Twenties

• SPORTS PERSONALITIES Who Died in Their:
  • Early Twenties
  • Mid-Twenties
  • Late Twenties

• HISTORICAL PEOPLE Who Died in Their:

  • Early Twenties
  • Mid-Twenties
  • Late Twenties

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