14 Legendary Musical Artists Who Died Mysteriously

Sam Cooke (1964)

Possibly the greatest “pure” soul singer in American history, Sam Cooke’s career was on the rise after a string of hits when he was shot to death on Dec. 11, 1964, at age 33 in a seedy L.A. motel, allegedly by the hotel’s manager in self-defense.

Various alternate theories have surfaced; however, most of which circle around the idea that Cooke may have been murdered: Etta James, for instance, saw Cooke’s body before he was buried and maintained his injuries were more consistent with those of a beating than a shooting, per The Guardian.

Bobby Fuller (1966)

The “I Fought the Law” singer was found dead at 23 in his car on July 18, 1966 — just a few months after the song became a hit. His body had apparently been doused in gasoline, and several people indicated the presence of bruises on his body.

Initially considered a suicide, Fuller’s death was eventually ruled accidental. However, according to NPR, rumors circulated that he’d been killed by the Mafia or, in one more outlandish theory, the Manson Family.

Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones (1969)

Brian was the eccentric genius behind some of the most daring sounds on the early Rolling Stones’ records, including the marimba on “Under My Thumb.” The English musician died at the age of 27 on July 3, 1969. His death was ruled as an accidental drowning in his pool (and labeled “Death by Misadventure” by the coroner as a nod to his alcohol and drug abuse).

However, U.K. investigative journalist Scott Jones pinned Brian’s death on a builder named Frank Thorogood, the last person to see the musician alive. Sussex police reviewed the case in 2009 based on Scott’s evidence but decided none of the new information was enough to overrule their initial decision (via The Guardian).

Jim Morrison of The Doors (1971)

Given Jim Morrison’s legendary hedonism, considering his death “mysterious” might seem odd. After he was found dead in the bathtub in a Paris apartment on July 3, 1971, his official cause of death was listed as a heart attack — though no autopsy was ever performed on the Doors frontman, as it wasn’t required by French law.

In 2014, per The Telegraph, singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull accused late drug dealer and ex-boyfriend Jean de Breiteuil as the man behind Morrison’s death, alleging he administered a too-strong dose of heroin to Morrison.

Paul Williams of the Temptations (1973)

On Aug. 17, 1973, Paul Williams (top left) was found dead inside a car parked in an alleyway with a gun nearby shortly after an argument with his girlfriend. He had reportedly spoken of suicide to friends in recent months.

That said, the coroner’s report stated that Williams used his right hand to shoot himself in the left side of his head — think about the logistics of that — and the gun used in the shooting had fired two shots that night, only one of which killed Williams.

Donny Hathaway (1979)

Donny Hathaway lived with paranoid schizophrenia and was known to be not particularly attentive about adhering to his medication routine. Though his career was rebounding from a low point in 1979, he started behaving erratically during a recording session on Jan. 13. Hathaway then went back to his 15th-floor room at the Essex House Hotel in New York City and jumped to his death at the age of 33 (via The New York Times).

Rumors have persisted that Hathaway owed money to the mob around this time, though it would have been hard to separate his ravings about “white men being after him” from the symptoms of his mental illness.

Gary Driscoll of Rainbow (1987)

Gary Driscoll of the British rock group Rainbow was found murdered in his Ithaca, N.Y., home on June 8, 1987, with no apparent motive. Separating fact from invention is difficult, but there have been rumors that there was more than one murderer, the killing was drug-related and — perhaps most disturbingly — that Driscoll was either dismembered or flayed alive. It remains an unsolved case to this day.

Chesney “Chet” Baker (1988)

Chet Baker fell to his death from the balcony of a hotel in Amsterdam on May 13, 1988; he was 58 years old. Battling addiction and financial woes, it would be easy to assume Baker’s death had some malicious aspect to it. (After all, he was beaten over drugs so badly in the late 1960s that most of his teeth were knocked out.)

Drugs were found in his system, and it is widely assumed that his death was accidental. However, given Baker’s enduring legacy, it’s likely to remain a point of rumor circulation.

Cornelius “Cornell” Gunter of the Coasters (1990)

Cornelius “Cornell” Gunter — R&B singer and member of The Coasters —was shot and killed in his car in Las Vegas on Feb. 26, 1990. He was shot through the windshield at an intersection, and witnesses reported Gunter arguing with a man from his car shortly before the shooting, according to the Los Angeles Times. No arrests were made, and the murder of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee remains unsolved.

Johnny Thunders of the New York Dolls (1991)

Like Morrison, Johnny Thunders’ death on April 23, 1991, was hardly a surprise. Though it was ruled officially drug-related, toxicology reports later determined the drugs in the guitarist and singer’s system were not at a fatal level. (Thunders had also been suffering from advanced leukemia at the time.)

His New Orleans hotel room, however, had been ransacked. Dee Dee Ramone wrote in his 2000 autobiography, Lobotomy: Surviving the Ramones, that “Johnny had gotten mixed up with some bastards … who ripped him off for his methadone supply. They had given him LSD and then murdered him.”

Richey Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers (1995)

Richey Edwards had a long history of mental health issues by the time he went missing on Feb. 1, 1995, just before his band, Manic Street Preachers, was supposed to fly to the U.S. for a promotional tour.

Though his car was found abandoned near Severn Bridge — a common suicide spot in the U.K. (via The Independent) — Edwards became one of rock’s most famous missing persons for a time, with sightings in tropical islands and India. His sister criticized the police’s handling of the case, with the family not declaring Edwards legally dead until Nov. 23, 2008, upon which his status changed to “missing, presumed dead.”

Tupac Shakur (1996)

Shakur’s 1996 murder has sparked countless conspiracy theories. Often rumored as the victim of an inter-gang dispute, some have even pointed the finger at hip-hop moguls Sean “Diddy” Combs — who was reportedly jealous of Shakur’s friendship with late Bad Boy artist Biggie Smalls (né Christopher Wallace) — and Suge Knight for ordering the deed.

In his 2011 self-published book, Murder Rap, former LAPD detective Greg Kading claimed to have proof that Combs and Knight were responsible for Shakur’s death, and the Los Angeles authorities suppressed the evidence (via Rolling Stone).

Combs, however, denied the allegations in an email to L.A. Weekly in 2011, writing, “This story is pure fiction and completely ridiculous.”

Though supposedly one of Shakur’s songs contains the hidden message “Suge shot me,” there has never been any conclusive evidence linking the former Death Row CEO and co-founder to Shakur’s death. Knight himself has denied killing Shakur and even told TMZ (presumably jokingly) in 2014 that the rapper is, in fact, still alive.

Even more strange, Haaretz reported that the FBI files released in 2011 revealed Shakur had received death threats from the Jewish Defense League, an organization characterized as a terrorist cell.

After Shakur’s murder, Duane “Keefe D” Davis (or “Keffe D” as prosecutors have noted) — the uncle of deceased Crips gang member Orlando Anderson, the suspected shooter who later died in a separate gang-related incident in 1998 — was arrested and charged in connection with the crime.

While Davis has maintained his innocence, authorities believe he orchestrated the killing as retaliation in the middle of a growing gang feud involving his nephew.

Davis’ trial was scheduled for March 2025 but at the last minute was pushed to February 2026, per ABC News.

Biggie Smalls/Notorious B.I.G. (1997)

A similar group of rumors has surrounded Smalls’ (a.k.a. Notorious B.I.G.) unsolved murder, according to New York Daily News. While some have posited the unfounded theory that government agents killed both Smalls and Shakur to end the perceived “East Coast/West Coast” rap battle of the ’90s, the FBI’s files on the “Juicy” rapper’s death on March 9, 1997, include a reference to rare ammo used in the shooting that was also found in the home of LAPD cop David Mack.

At the time of the murder, Mack was moonlighting as a bodyguard for Knight and was arrested for bank robbery that same year. The FBI also found a black Chevy Impala SS in Mack’s possession — the same vehicle the agency claims was driven by the killer. Smalls’ family named Mack in a 2005 wrongful death lawsuit, but the case was dismissed from court, reported Rolling Stone. 

The late LAPD Detective Russell Poole, who died in 2015, was a vocal proponent of the theory that Knight ordered unknown assassins — possibly Mack — to commit the crime. To this day, Mack has not been prosecuted for any crime related to Smalls’ murder, and he has continued to maintain his innocence. Knight has also denied ordering anyone to kill Smalls.

Elliott Smith (2003)

Musician Elliott Smith (né Steven Paul Smith) died at age 34 on Oct. 21, 2003, of what were two seemingly self-inflicted stabs to the heart. However, there were wounds on his hands consistent with defensive marks, and the coroner’s report made no mention of typical “hesitation wounds” seen in suicides by stabbing.

The Guardian reported that detectives concluded his death was “possibly suspicious” at the time, though nothing ever came of a further investigation.