4 Rock Songs & Performances That Eerily Foretold The End Of An Artist’s Life

By: Ivan Munoz

One of the most frustrating things for music lovers is hearing a release from one of our favorite artists after they had left us that proves they were just coming up into one of their most fruitful times. Here are four songs that exemplify the tragedy and frustration of losing an artist in their prime, but even more so, indicate a seemingly ominous foresight.

1. John Lennon – Borrowed Time

 Upon listening to the two albums Double Fantasy (1980) and the posthumous release Milk and Honey (1984), you come to the sobering and saddening realization that the 1980s would have been Lennon’s decade. While McCartney held the throne in the 1970s for the most prolific post-Beatle work, it’s clear by listening to these albums that Lennon was on the upswing and ready to rule the decade with his ear for catchy and unique pop and his bitingly honest self awareness and introspection. While Borrowed Time was, on its surface, written about a time Lennon was manning a ship through a storm in the seas of Bermuda while everyone else onboard was sick, his assassination that followed the penning of this song ended up making the subsequent release appear eerily pre-cognizant – almost as if somehow Lennon knew that his own death was impending.

 The silver lining of the dark cloud surrounding the untimely death of this icon is that Lennon, a historically troubled figure, had found peace by the end of his life. Had he lived, this would have resulted in earth-shattering compositions but we can all at least take solace in the fact one of our greatest heroes passed as a fulfilled man.

2. Sam Cooke – A Change Is Gonna Come

There are few songs that ring just as true today as they day they were written. Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Gonna Come is one of these songs. To say we currently live in a tumultuous time is an understatement. You’d think that by now, some 50 plus years later, things would have changed; however many things unfortunately remain the same.  Directly pertaining to the civil rights movement, the subject matter and composition acted as a voice for Black Americans and said exactly what everyone was feeling.

 The version we’ve all come to love was released on December 22, 1964, eleven days after Cooke’s death. At the time, with his recent passing the lyrics were not only potent in their advocacy for equality and the abolishment of a long held system of ingrained oppression- they also took on another meaning and became deeply personal to the story of Cooke’s life.

“It’s been too hard living, but I’m afraid to die, cause I don’t know what’s up there, above the sky”

 “It’s been a long, a long time coming, but I know, a change’s gonna come, oh yes it will”

 The lyrics had become rich with double meaning, Cooke, an RCA-Victor artist, was not only making a statement on society and how it should change, but now approached topics of facing his own mortality and declaring that a change would come. Though not intentionally mentioning the change from the state of living to deceased, his life story would paint this song in a deep color blue of a man who had so much self-awareness and social conscience, he inadvertently predicted his own death.

3. Buddy Holly – Learning The Game

 Recorded in one take as a demo with just Holly and an acoustic guitar in his apartment, Learning The Game is a sentimental song that takes a universal theme and presents it in an easily listenable, sweet, and relatable package.  As most demos often do, what it lacked in final production, it made up for it in raw substance and tactful execution. Featuring Buddy Holly’s signature expressive and melodically rhythmic strumming, the vocal melody of the song is actually hidden within the notes of the guitar chords, making the delivery of the lyrics all the more satisfying as something about it just feels ‘right’.

As we all know, on “the day that music died” Buddy Holly’s light was extinguished when it was burning its brightest. He was 22 years old at the time he wrote this. He didn’t even get a chance to learn the game; the game of life. And yet, he managed to succinctly explain beginnings and endings with a wisdom beyond his years. When listening to this song it has a certain grim nature that you can’t quite put your finger on. It makes you wonder, had Buddy Holly not gotten on that plane, what could have been?

4. Jackie Wilson – Lonely Teardrops

This one is a little different from the others on the list, but worth mentioning since the incident happened literally blocks from where I’m writing this – in Camden County, NJ. In 1975, at the now famous venue, The Latin Casino (a stunning recreation of which was featured in the set of Netflix’s The Irishman), Wilson was passionately belting out his seminal tune Lonely Teardrops, when upon singing the signature line “my heart is cryin’, cryin’”, he collapsed to the floor due to a heart attack. Bystanders in the audience, at first, thought it was part of the performance, but by the time he hit the floor with a chilling crack that ricocheted through the venue, they all realized the situation was far more dire. Though Wilson passed  away 9 years later in 1984, this was the incident that precipitated his death and marked the beginning of the end. 

If you like this content, support Victor by visiting VictorRecords.com and signing up to our mailing list today! Join our historic movement for the future in taking back the music industry.

About The Author

Ivan Munoz is a musician, bassist, singer, musicians advocate, and member of the Victor Talking Machine Company. Along with this Ivan can be found devoting his time to various musical projects, compositions, and working on musical instruments. Click the photo for more!