Many great musicians have died prematurely. Even sadder is when their legacy is sullied by tawdry rumors and lies. I have two examples.
Ricky Nelson was the original teen idol, with musical talent to back it up. Featured on his parents’ TV show, Nelson released a slew of hit records when rock was young. With age his career declined but was on the upswing when a plane crash over Texas ended his life in 1985.
Reckless media reports blamed the midair fire on freebasing cocaine, where ether is added and set alight for a more intense high. Not only was this claim baseless—it didn’t happen—but the real cause was clear. The fire started in a faulty heater on the 40-year-old plane, killing all seven passengers. Only the two pilots escaped. Yet even today many people think Nelson and his band got themselves killed.
Or the rumor that singer-songwriter John Denver committed suicide by deliberately running his plane out of fuel. This one went viral online in 1997. Like Nelson, the 53-year-old Denver was no longer a pop superstar, but was in a good place in his life. He had just purchased an experimental plane, ingeniously designed by the legendary Burt Rutan. But modifications by the amateur builder led to safety tradeoffs. Engineer Bruce Tognazzini says when tank-1 emptied, Denver had to twist his body and take his hands off the controls to switch tanks. The plane veered right and plunged into Monterey Bay, California.
Denver was a seasoned aviator, and like Nelson’s pilots he had no drugs or alcohol in his system. These talented musicians deserved a better fate and legacy. Can you imagine, with today’s upsurge in nostalgia, how much they would be loving their senior years? Their peers earn millions playing live shows to new generations of fans. When we think of John Denver and Rick Nelson, remember the music, not the rumors.
I’m Jeff Gentry
Best references:
Pagano, P. (1987, May 29). Probe discounts drugs as cause of air crash that killed Rick Nelson. Los Angeles Times, v106. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-05-29-mn-2163-story.html
Tognazzi, B. (1999, June). When interfaces kill: What really happened to John Denver. Ask TOG: Interaction design solutions for the real world. https://www.asktog.com/columns/027InterfacesThatKill.html
Dumb Ideas that Changed the World copyright 2025 by Jeff Gentry. All rights reserved.
