BARRY LEVINE: Tragic ends came for many music stars

NOTE: This is the second of two columns looking at music stars whose lives cam to tragic ends at their own hands.

Del Shannon, who had the nation’s No. 1 record with “Runaway” in 1961, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on Feb. 8, 1990, at his Santa Clarita, Calif., home. He was 50.

His other Top 20 singles were ”Hats Off to Larry” in 1961, ”Little Town Flirt” in 1962 and ”Keep Searchin’ ” in 1965. He was the first American to record a John Lennon-Paul McCartney song with his 1963 version of ”From Me to You.”

Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart were a top song-writing duo who did most of the materials for The Monkees. They penned more than 300 songs.

In late 1965, they wrote, produced and performed the soundtrack of the TV pilot for “The Monkees,” including singing lead vocals, which were later replaced, once the show was cast. They also wrote two of The Monkees biggest hits “(Theme from) The Monkees” and “Last Train to Clarksville.”

Boyce also wrote or co-wrote other Top 10 hits including Fats Domino’s “By My Guest,” Curtis Lee’s “Pretty Little Angel Eyes,” Jay & The Americans’ “Come a Little Bit Closer” and Little Anthony & The Imperials’ “Hurt So Bad.”

In declining health following a brain aneurism in 1993, Boyce killed himself Nov. 23, 1994, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana with Krist Novoselic in 1987 and established it as part of the Seattle music scene.

Following the success of their 1991 album “Nevermind” – the first of four No. 1 albums — Cobain was recognized as the “the spokesman of a generation.”

During the last years of his life, Cobain reportedly struggled with heroin addiction, chronic health problems and depression.

Cobain, 27, was found dead at his Seattle home on April 8, 1994. It was officially ruled a suicide by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.

One of the most successful country singers of all-time, Faron Young had 17 Top 40 albums and 56 Top 40 hits on the country chart. He had five No. 1 singles, “Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young” in 1954, “Alone with You” in 1958, “Country Girl” in 1959, “Hello Walls” in 1961 and “It’s Four in the Morning” in 1971.

Young’s declining health – he suffered from emphysema and was recovering from prostate surgery — coupled with his alcoholism were cited as possible reasons that Young shot himself in his head at his home on Dec. 9, 1996. He died in Nashville, Tenn., the following day at age 64.

Australian Michael Hutchence was a founding member, lead singer and lyricist for INXS from 1977 until his death in 1997. He also acted in feature films.

Hutchence’s relationship with TV presenter Paula Yates began while she was married to musician and Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof. Geldof and Yates divorced in 1996. During July of that year, Hutchence and Yates had a daughter.

On Nov. 22, 1997, Hutchence, 37, was found dead in his hotel room in Sydney. The suicide was ruled death by hanging.

INXS enjoyed success during the 1980s with four Top 10 albums and seven Top 10 singles including their No. 1 hit “Need You Tonight” in 1987.

Wendy O. Williams first came to prominence as the lead singer of the punk rock band Plasmatics. Her famous stage theatrics included blowing up equipment and chain-sawing guitars.

After a stint with the Plasmatics, she went solo in 1984, released three albums and left the music industry for the silver screen in 1988.

Called “The Queen of Shock Rock,” Williams was considered the most controversial female singer of her era.

After failing twice to take her life, Williams died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 6, 1998, near her Connecticut home at age 48.

Guitarist Bob Welch was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1971 to 1974 when it changed from a blues to a melodic style. He remained with the group until starting a solo career during the late 1970s.

Welch committed suicide with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest in his Nashville, Tenn., home on June 7, 2012, at age 66. Welch had undergone spinal surgery three months earlier, but doctors told him that he would not fully recover. He was in extreme pain and he did not want his wife to care for an invalid.

Fleetwood Mac did not chart during Welch’s tenure with the band.

Country star Mindi McCready burst onto the music scene in 1996 with her debut album, “Ten Thousand Angels,” which sold more than 2 million copies. Her chart-topping single “Guys Do It All the Time” followed that same year.

Overall, she placed 14 songs and six albums on the country charts.

She struggled, often publicly, with addiction and mental illness.

The Cleburne County, Ark., corner said that McCready died on Feb. 17, 2013, of a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound.

One month earlier, David Wilson, McCready’s boyfriend and the father of her 9-month-old son, was found dead on the same porch where McCready’s body was found. His death was also a suicide.

An English musician and composer, Keith Emerson was a founding member of the rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer in 1970. The keyboardist was a big reason the group enjoyed success throughout the 1970s.

After the group dissolved in 1979, Emerson began working as a solo performer. He rejoined the group in 1990 and remained for two albums and several tours. The group split again during the late 1990s.

ELP had six Top 40 albums topped by “Trilogy” in 1972 with climbed to No. 5. The group also released 16 singles, none of which made the Top 30.

Emerson committed suicide of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on March 11, 2016, at his Santa Monica, Calif., home.

Chris Cornell, 52, lead singer of Soundgarden and Audioslave, hanged himself, the Wayne County (Michigan) Medical Examiner’s Office announced.

Soundgarden was one of the most successful bands coming from the Seattle area.

The cause of death has had a preliminary determination of Cornell hanging himself, the statement said. His body was found on the bathroom floor of his Detroit hotel room on May 18, 2017. His family, however, has said if he killed himself, he didn’t realize what he was doing, possibly because of overuse of a drug he took to battle anxiety.

Soundgarden became one of the biggest bands from Seattle’s exploding music scene, joining, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Wonderland. Cornell was in the Motor City performing with Soundgarden.

Barry “The Old Rocker” Levine is an entertainment writer for The Albany Herald. He can be reached at [email protected].