Reaching Popularity After They Kicked the Bucket

Nick Drake

Albums: Pink Moon, Family Tree and Bryter Layter. Prolific in his acoustic guitar and piano, and melancholy in his words, Nick Drake produced some of the most highly influential music – just no one knew it. I kind of love all of his work, but the previous three are my favorite. Family Tree came out this summer and is a compilation of songs that never made it to the other albums. He died when he was 36 from an overdose of antidepressants.

Jeff Buckley

Album: Grace. His voice is high and reaching, while his words reach an even higher ethereal level. His musical tastes were influenced by devotional Indian and Pakistani music to blues to punk. Yet, the actual music he created followed along the lines of a softer, romantic and still crosses the alternative, acoustic-rock line. He died in ’97 at the age of 31 after drowning during a late night swim.

Elliot Smith

Album: New Moon. His weapon to catch and steal the interested of his followers was his acoustic guitar. He also has recently reached the top ten charts of most listened to music in colleges across the country (according to the Rolling Stone). He died at the age of 34 with two mysterious stab wounds to his chest. Some people believe they were self inflicted.

Eva Cassidy

Album: Songbird. She also followed the folk, acoustic, blues, and jazz area of the musical realm and was basically unknown outside of Washington, DC. This album reached number one on the charts in the UK in 2001, yet she died of melanoma in 1996 at the age of 33. Like Drake, she also has had albums released after she died, Songbird just happens to be my favorite of all her albums.

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