People Who Died

On this day in 1967, Kurt Cobain was born. Based on my age demographic, Nirvana should have been a very important part of my life when I was 16, but like The Beatles, they're just one of those seminal bands that I don't like for a variety of non-specific reasons. That said, I'm crazy about the Charles Cross's biography of Kurt, Heavier Than Heaven. Biographies of musicians are an odd beast because if you like the band, it doesn't really matter if the book's all that great, and if the book's great, it doesn't really matter if you don't like the band.

So, I had that thought, and then I talked to a friend who'd just finished reading the biography of the New York Dolls, then I listened to the Drive-By Truckers cover of "People Who Died," and I figured that God must be telling me to make a list.

Allman Brothers (Duane Allman and Berry Oakley): Midnight Riders: The Story of the Allman Brothers Band by Scott Freeman

D. Boon, Bob Stinson: Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad

Tim & Jeff Buckley: Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley by David Browne

Sam Cooke: You Send Me: The Life and Times of Sam Cooke by Daniel J. Wolff, S.R. Crain, Clifton White, and J. David Tenenbaum

Darby Crash: Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs by Brendan Mullen

Ian Curtis: Touching From a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division by Deborah Curtis

Nick Drake: Nick Drake: The Biography by Patrick Humphries

Marvin Gaye: Trouble Man: Life and Death of Marvin Gaye by Steve Turner

Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Richie Valens: The Day the Music Died: The Last Tour of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Richie Valens by Larry Lehmer

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Lynyrd Skynyrd: Remembering the Free Birds of Southern Rock by Gene Odom

Freddie Mercury: Freddie Mercury by Peter Freestone

New York Dolls (Jerry Nolan, Johnny Thunders, Arthur Kane): Too Much Too Soon: The New York Dolls by Nina Antonia

The Notorious B.I.G.: Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. by Cheo Hodari Coker

Elvis Presley: Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley and Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick

The Ramones (Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee): Ramones: The Complete Twisted History by Dick Porter

Otis Redding: Otis!: The Otis Redding Story by Scott Freeman

Bon Scott: Highway to Hell: The Life & Times of AC/DC Legend Bon Scott by Clinton Walker

Tupac Shakur: Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur by Michael Eric Dyson

Hank Williams: Hank Williams: The Biography by Colin Escott