Musical Artists Who Outlived Their Own Predicted Age of Death
Jimi Hendrix Passed Away Nine Years After a Stint in the Armed Forces
Loudon Wainwright recently turned 79 on September 5, much longer than he had ever thought he would be around, according to his own lyrics title track from Older than My Old Man Now
“He died at 63, that's way too young,” wainwright said in the song. “His father died at 43, from now on it's all gravy, I got twenty years more.”
While 84 is certainly attainable for Wainwright, who God willing will reach that milestone in just four years, he may enjoy an even longer fate. Numerous musicians have predicted their own deaths at specific ages and, fortunately for their fans and family, their life spans exceeded that predicted demise.
Here are five examples of musical artists who, in spite of a predicted age of death, actually lived well beyond it.
1. Graeme Edge
The Moody Blues drummer usually contributed songs to each album, the best of which might have been “22,000 Days” from Long Distance Voyager. The gist of the tune, as indicated by the title, is that the average human will live for 22,000 days. Edge died on November 11, 2021, ending a span of 29, 461 days.
2. Alice Cooper
Twenty years from now, the 77 year old Alice Cooper will reach the age he projected in “Cold Ethyl” from Welcome To My Nightmare. “If I live till 97,,” Cooper swears to his deceased girlfriend. “You'll still be waiting in refrigerator heaven.”
3. Joe Jackson
In “The Evil Eye” from his third album Beat Crazy,” Jackson cannot imagine being around over two decades. “July 17 I'll be eighteen,” he announces (even though his actual birthday is August 11). “I don't think I'll live till nineteen.” The punk turned classical British pianist has far outlived that projection, for he not long ago celebrated birthday number 71.
4. Jimi Hendrix
Although Eric Burdon of the Animals found his friend lifeless on the morning of September 18 in 1970, some die-hard fans insist that Hendrix still is alive. Many inconsistencies were evident with the report of his passing, but he nevertheless is considered a member of the 27 club (Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse). When he was 22, the electrifying guitarist recorded the title track to what would become The Ballad of Jimi , in which he accurately predicts “Five years, this he said, He's not gone, he's just dead.”
5. David Bowie
Mott the Hoople recorded Bowie's “All the Young Dudes,” so the age referred to belongs to David rather than Ian Hunter. “Don't wanna be alive when you're twenty five,” Bowie stated in verse one. Thank goodness he underestimated his stamina, for David remained with us well after that quarter century mark. He died in 2016, just two days after celebrating his 69th birthday.
