Shocking Study: Rock Stars Ascend Stairway to Heaven Earlier Than Most

Coming on the heels of a slew of recent studies confirming the obvious, we have another groundbreaking study just released noting how musicians tend to have a shorter lifespan due to assorted indulgences.

Fame may be the spur that drives young rock bands to success – but it can also be a killer when it finally arrives.

From Elvis to Tupac, a life at the top of the popular music pantheon, devoutly sought after by millions of youngsters, comes with the kind of risks that would make most mothers pale.

The toll of high-octane lifestyles pursued on a tide of popular acclaim is charted in research published today showing successful rock and pop stars are twice as likely as the rest of us to die an early death.

Alcohol, drugs, accidents and violence are the chief perils but as rock stars age, cancer and heart disease pose an increasing threat to abused bodies and shrivelled livers. The risk is highest in the five years after they first achieve fame, the researchers say. The findings are based on more than 1,000 North American and European musicians who shot to fame over the past 50 years. All of them featured in the All Time Top 1,000 Albums, selected in 2000.

The researchers from the University of Liverpool say that while the deaths of individual stars such as Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain have been endlessly debated, no overall assessment of the risks has been made.

In all, 100 of the stars died between 1956 and 2005. The average age of death was 42 for the North American stars and 35 for the European ones. Drugs and alcohol contributed to at least two-thirds of the deaths.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel – at least for European stars. Their risk of dying returned to the same level as the general population 25 years after they achieved fame – provided they survived that long. North American stars however, continued to suffer higher death rates.

Of course, in the cases of Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls et al., drive-by shootings led to their early demise.

I can't wait to see what researchers come up with next. Probably something to do with overeating leading to weight gain or excessive drinking causing alcoholism.