Then when she died, I was a bit angry. Having that talent, how could she be so tortured? Me, who when I sing, cause people to wonder if a cat is caught in the car engine...What would I have done with a voice like that?
I also bemoan the absence of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Croce and Harry Chapin. What would our musical world be like if they were still around?
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| Harry Chapin photo by RSB Image Works |
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| Janis Joplin photo by frangeek |
Some of the talent I shake my head about belong to people who are still around, but have been hit with the whacky stick (numerous times). Robert Downey, Jr. is one. There was a time when he wandered around, got into a stranger's house and was found, asleep, by the homeowners. In and out of rehab. He is such a talented actor---what did he need drugs for? (However, it looks like he might be on a straighter and more narrow path these days.)
Whitney Houston is another. If you ever saw the "reality" show that trailed after Houston and her husband, you know she was far off the whack-a-doo scale. If I had just a small fraction of her singing talent, or her looks...Where would I be now?
What writer or performer or artist do you miss the most that is "gone," whether that absence is due to death or drugs or mental illness? (It could even be someone from a hundred years ago.)
