麻豆社

So many artists and musicians have stories that are tinged with tragedy. Sometimes these events shape their lives and are interwoven into the music they make. With others, the sadness is a counterpoint to the joyous songs they release. Here are five remarkable artists who combated tragedy in their lives and in their work.

It feels especially callous to suggest a certain tragic inevitability when discussing a musician’s life. Jeff Buckley’s sad, early passing at 30 certainly mirrors the death of his musician father Tim, who died at the appallingly young age of 28 but, in many ways, their lives couldn’t have been more different.

Tim Buckley struggled with alcoholic and narcotic demons until he succumbed to a heroin overdose in 1975, leaving behind a collection of brilliant folk-psyche albums. Jeff, who reportedly met him only once, certainly possessed a similar level of talent to his father and their voices are eerily similar. But Jeff Buckley was just starting his career, releasing just one studio album, 1994’s critically acclaimed Grace, and was recording his second when he accidentally drowned while swimming in the Mississippi river. Posthumous releases from this unfinished second album only hint at the potential to come.

Despite looking like the archetypal "hippy chick" and singing delicate songs shot through with poignancy, Judee Sill was far from a conventional 1960s singer-songwriter. Her life was a remarkable, almost cinematic mix of drugs, crime and violence. Growing up, her family life was wildly turbulent. She found herself in reform school at a young age, after being involved in a string of armed robberies. Once released, she moved in with her drug dealer and developed a crippling heroin addiction. Again she turned to crime to feed her habit and soon found herself in jail.

She vowed to clean up and focus on music once released, and her talent was soon spotted and promoted. She toured with Crosby, Stills & Nash and released two critically acclaimed albums in the early 1970s. Even though these records developed a devoted following from fans, they sold poorly and Sill was soon dropped from her label. The combination of this dent to her confidence, a car accident and subsequent struggle with chronic pain, drove her back to drugs and she died in 1979 of either an accidental overdose or suicide. She was so obscure at the time of her death that no obituaries were printed. In recent years, the astounding craft of her songs has attracted a new generation of fans.

Some musicians create with laser-sharp focus, honing their craft until it reaches perfection. With others, their genius lies in collaboration and developing a wide range of influences into something totally unique. Arthur Russell took his classical musician training and created thrilling, entirely individual dance and disco music, getting there via the ports of the avant-garde, minimalism, jazz and punk rock. After playing alongside poet Allen Ginsberg in the early 1970s, Russell moved to New York and threw himself into the avant-garde music scene, outraging purists with his devotion to any musical style that moved him.

He collaborated and released music with a baffling array of bands and under a wide range of monikers. The only album under his own name was 1986’s World of Echo, but he appeared on scores of other releases. Diagnosed with HIV, which eventually led to throat cancer, Russell continued to create and innovate up until his death in 1992. Documentaries, books and compilations, gathering together his disparate releases, have led to his enduring legacy.

With some artists, the music they create is completely at odds with the tragic nature of their lives. Others take these devastating elements and allow them imbue everything they produce. This was certainly the case with Billie Holliday, whose stark emotion drenched every note she sang. Holiday was not just one of the most important jazz musicians of any era, but one of the most influential and innovative musicians of all time.

Music saved her after a turbulent, violent childhood, frequent troubles with the law and a subsequent path into prostitution. Jazz was her salvation, with her talent recognised early on by the greats of the early era. Her growing reputation as a live performer and her incomparable improvisation skills led to success in the 1930s and she was feted throughout America and across jazz-loving Europe. But Billie could never shake off her demons. Alcohol, drugs, financial problems and a string of abusive relationships led to spells in prison and a deterioration of her voice. When she died of cirrhosis in 1959, at the age of 44, she had just 70 cents in the bank and many of her recordings were out of print. Her stature and reputation have grown since her death and she is now seen as an unparalleled vocal icon.

In all areas of the arts, books, films, music and more, there are those figures whose lack of success is utterly baffling. Artists who created brilliant, life-changing work that is entirely ignored at the time. One of the most grievous examples of this has to be Nick Drake. Drake is now, more than 40 years after his death, arguably more famous than he ever was. You can hear his music everywhere, his voice instantly recognisable. But his entire career was a struggle.

During his lifetime the three albums he made, all filled with gorgeous acoustic folk classics, sold in the low thousands. Since the brilliance of his music has been identified and reissues have been released, he has sold in his millions. Starting in 1969, when he created his first album while still studying at Cambridge University, Drake was never a conventional pop star. Painfully shy and famously withdrawn, he rarely did interviews and gradually decreased his number of live appearances until he stopped altogether. A lack of commercial success and growing mental health problems eventually led to his retirement from music. He died in 1974 from an overdose of anti-depressants.