What Killed Every Pop Star

0:00 Violent gang murders, a devastating plane crash,

0:03 and a shocking number of drug overdoses

0:05 that always seem to happen at the age of 27?

0:09 You know their songs, you know their albums,

0:11 but do you know how our most treasured musicians

0:13 and pop stars died?

0:15 Let's start with Michael Jackson,

0:17 who in 2009 was killed by his personal physician

0:20 in an extremely reckless attempt

0:23 to treat Michael's insomnia.

0:24 He accidentally administered him

0:26 an improperly balanced cocktail of medications,

0:29 including the anesthetic and sedative propofol

0:32 that caused him a cardiac arrest.

0:34 His doctor was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter

0:37 and the death was unnecessary and heartbreaking to millions.

0:41 It's actually a key reason why I say rich people,

0:44 despite all their money,

0:45 often receive some of the worst healthcare.

0:48 Buying your way into good health with expensive scans,

0:51 medications, and specialty tests can unexpectedly backfire

0:55 just like it did for MJ.

0:58 Liam Payne was a member

0:59 of the British boy band One Direction.

1:01 He died in 2024 in a tragic accident

1:04 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

1:06 Allegedly, Liam returned to his hotel

1:08 behaving erratically and violently.

1:10 He was held back to his room and the police were called.

1:13 By the time they arrived,

1:14 forensic reports indicate Liam had passed out

1:17 on the balcony of his third floor hotel room

1:19 and tumbled 45 feet to the courtyard below.

1:23 The fall ended his life and an autopsy revealed

1:25 he had traces of alcohol, cocaine,

1:28 and antidepressants in his system.

1:30 This combo can easily lead to disorientation,

1:33 poor coordination, and even syncope.

1:35 While the fall had been ruled accidental,

1:38 two men are still facing charges

1:40 for having sold Liam the drugs.

1:42 Norma G.

1:43 Mortensen became the first American sex symbol

1:46 after a massive career as a movie star in the 1950s,

1:50 but you probably know her better

1:51 by her stage name, Marilyn Monroe.

1:54 She not only recorded popular songs

1:56 like "A Diamond's Our Girl's Best Friend"

1:58 and starred in classic films like "Some Like It Hot,"

2:01 unfortunately, she likely suffered

2:03 from serious mental health problems and substance abuse.

2:07 At just 36 years old,

2:08 she was found dead inside her Los Angeles home

2:11 after an overdose of barbiturates.

2:13 It's a type of insomnia medication

2:15 that we no longer use for that purpose.

2:17 It was thought that this tragedy

2:19 was potentially self-inflicted, but conspiracy theorists will tell you

2:23 that she was actually killed by President Kennedy

2:26 and his brother, Robert,

2:27 who were entwined in some salacious love triangle

2:30 and wanted her silenced.

2:32 Still waiting on good evidence for that one.

2:35 Another conspiracy, how about the death of Elvis Presley?

2:39 The first American rock star

2:41 and arguably the most iconic musician

2:44 since Beethoven, Mozart, he's one of the big guys for sure.

2:48 After growing up poor in rural Mississippi

2:51 and drawing great inspiration

2:52 from gospel music, R&B, and country,

2:55 he went on to record multiple platinum-selling records,

2:58 star in box office hits,

3:00 and perform in an extravagant Las Vegas residency.

3:04 He was also an early health influencer

3:06 getting a polio vaccine

3:08 before his appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show"

3:10 to encourage Americans to get vaccinated

3:12 against the disease.

3:14 Unfortunately, his healthy behaviors ended there.

3:17 Elvis became nocturnal, a prescription drug abuser,

3:20 and a potential food addict.

3:22 Get this, he once flew his private jet

3:24 across the country to Denver, Colorado

3:26 just to eat the Fool's Gold Loaf sandwich,

3:30 a deep-fried peanut butter and jelly and bacon monstrosity

3:34 that came in somewhere around 8,000 calories.

3:37 It was this extreme lifestyle that ultimately did him in.

3:40 Elvis died on the bathroom floor

3:42 of his Graceland mansion of a myocardial infarction

3:45 or a heart attack in 1977,

3:47 likely contributed to by his heavy prescription drug abuse.

3:51 Or he got on an alien spaceship and flew to another planet.

3:54 Pick whichever internet chat room rumor you prefer.

3:57 Amy Winehouse was a British musical icon

4:00 who became a mainstream success in 2006

4:04 because of her album "Back to Black,"

4:06 which contained the hit song "Rehab."

4:08 Unfortunately, the lyrics of

4:10 "They tried to make me go to rehab"♪ But I said no,

4:13 no, no♪- Were tragically ironic

4:16 as Amy suffered from substance abuse

4:18 and related conditions throughout most of her adult life.

4:21 In 2011, she was found dead in her London home

4:24 from excessive alcohol consumption.

4:26 She is a member of the Heartbreaking 27 Club,

4:29 a group of pop culture icons that all died at the age of 27.

4:33 In one of her final projects,

4:35 she actually collaborated on an album with Tony Bennett,

4:39 the suave and cool crooner whose career spanned 70 years.

4:43 He continued to perform well into his 90s

4:46 until he was finally taken by Alzheimer's disease,

4:49 a condition that slowly kills brain cells

4:52 and makes the brain shrink.

4:53 Interestingly, with the lifestyle research we have now,

4:56 we believe about 40% of cases could be prevented.

4:59 And while his voice may have been legendary,

5:01 it was not as good as Whitney Houston's,

5:05 who Tony Bennett said had the greatest voice of all time.

5:09 She was a Grammy-winning musical artist

5:11 and also had a successful run as an actress,

5:13 starring in the 1992 movie "The Bodyguard"

5:17 alongside Kevin Costner, where she famously sang "I Will Always Love You."

5:22 Her marriage to musician Bobby Brown was tumultuous,

5:25 and she also struggled with substance abuse

5:28 that negatively impacted her incredible voice.

5:30 In 2012, Whitney Houston was found dead in her bathtub

5:34 with an autopsy revealing accidental drowning

5:37 with contributing factors, heart disease and cocaine intoxication.

5:42 Tupac Shakur was a key figure in the establishment

5:45 of America's 1990s gangsta rap movement.

5:48 His activist message in music and film shined through,

5:51 speaking truth to power about corrupt policing practices

5:55 and America's prison industrial complex.

5:57 On the night of September 7th, 1996, Tupac was in Las Vegas,

6:02 leaving their arena after watching a Tyson fight.

6:05 Tupac was then hit in the chest four times

6:07 in a drive-by shooting by a hidden assailant who sped off.

6:11 Tupac died six days later.

6:13 The case ran cold for nearly 30 years until 2023,

6:17 when Dwayne Davis was arrested and charged

6:20 as the ringleader of the group that carried out the murder.

6:22 Unfortunately, this was just one

6:24 of the many high-profile gang-related killings in the 1990s,

6:29 followed by that of Biggie Smalls, or Notorious B.I.G.,

6:34 legally known as Christopher Wallace.

6:35 He was another pioneer of the '90s gangsta rap movement,

6:39 reviving the East Coast rap scene

6:41 in my old stomping grounds of Brooklyn.

6:43 He actually dropped out of high school to sell drugs,

6:45 but he was also bursting with natural talent,

6:48 earning him a Grammy nomination

6:50 and opportunities to collab with Michael Jackson.

6:53 It was highly suspected that this East Coast rap revival

6:56 ultimately led to his death,

6:58 as Tupac was a West Coast rapper

7:00 and Biggie was from the East.

7:02 He was just 24 years old and his murder remains unsolved.

7:06 Frank Sinatra was a defining singer

7:08 and songwriter of the 20th century,

7:10 who also dazzled audiences with his performance on stage

7:14 and on the silver screen.

7:16 His cultural impact was tremendous,

7:18 from winning Oscars to performing with Dean Martin

7:21 and Sammy Davis Jr.

7:23 as the Rat Pack,

7:24 to helping JFK win the presidential election

7:27 by serving as a liaison between the administration

7:30 and the Italian mob, allegedly.

7:34 He died at the age of 82 from a heart attack,

7:36 likely contributed to by a lifetime of alcohol

7:39 and tobacco use.

7:41 Remember that we have clear proof that alcohol,

7:43 especially when consumed in large amounts, is cardiotoxic.

7:48 John Lennon was the iconic Beatle

7:49 who helped ignite the British invasion of rock music

7:52 in the 1960s.

7:53 He co-wrote legendary songs like "A Hard Day's Night"

7:56 and "Imagine" that have been inescapable in pop music.

8:00 His death sent shockwaves around the world

8:02 when it was announced on Monday Night Football

8:04 on December 8th, 1980.

8:07 [Howard] John Lennon, outside of his apartment building

8:09 on the west side of New York City,

8:11 the most famous, perhaps, of all of the Beatles,

8:14 shot twice in the back,

8:16 rushed to Roosevelt Hospital dead on arrival.

8:21 A crazed fan seeking fame named Mark David Chapman

8:24 sat waiting for the legendary Beatle to emerge

8:27 from the Dakota, his famous apartment building

8:30 on the Upper West Side of New York.

8:31 When he did, Chapman shot him in the back and shoulder.

8:35 As Lennon's body lay bleeding on the New York sidewalk,

8:37 the doorman turned to Chapman and said,

8:40 "Do you know what you just did?"

8:41 He excitedly replied, "I just shot John Lennon."

8:44 Creepy.

8:45 As Howard Cassell said on Monday Night Football,

8:48 John was quickly transported to a nearby hospital

8:50 where he was declared dead on arrival.

8:53 John Lennon is not the only Beatle that we lost, though.

8:57 George Harrison, who was responsible for songs like

9:00 While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Here Comes the Sun.

9:04 In 1999, he was attacked in his own home by an intruder

9:08 and received multiple stab wounds,

9:10 but he survived with a collapsed lung.

9:13 It would have taken an even more aggressive killer

9:15 to take down George Harrison.

9:17 Unfortunately, that would wind up being oral cancer,

9:20 likely caused by a lifetime of heavy smoking.

9:23 The Beatles weren't the only British rock band

9:25 to dominate the airwaves, though.

9:27 Paving the way for Freddie Mercury

9:29 of the band Queen, who pioneered an original sound

9:33 of operatic rock music amidst a decade of disco.

9:36 He was not only one of the most dynamic

9:38 musical performers of all time, but a queer icon.

9:42 Known for his sexually fluid lifestyle,

9:44 unfortunately, the sexual freedom of that era

9:47 likely led him to contracting and dying

9:49 from complications related to AIDS,

9:51 Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

9:54 AIDS is caused by HIV, a sexually transmitted infection,

9:58 and damages a person's immune system,

10:00 making them highly susceptible

10:02 to other diseases and complications.

10:04 Today, pharma breakthroughs have created

10:06 antiviral treatments that protect HIV patients

10:09 from developing AIDS, allowing for an almost

10:12 identical lifespan to those without the condition,

10:15 given an early diagnosis.

10:17 Prince's rise to fame came in 1983

10:19 when his first crossover hit, "Little Red Corvette,"

10:23 had a music video air on MTV,

10:25 garnering him a massive, massive audience,

10:28 making him one of the first black musicians

10:30 to air on the network.

10:32 His album, "Purple Rain," won an Academy Award,

10:35 and he's also known for having delivered

10:37 perhaps the most legendary Super Bowl halftime show ever

10:40 in 2007 in Miami in the rain.

10:44 He was the definition of cool.

10:45 He was an electric performer, but decades

10:48 of leaving it all on the stage took a toll on his body,

10:51 leaving him in a lot of pain, which led him

10:53 to use prescription pain medication.

10:56 2016, he was at his home in Minnesota

10:58 when he collapsed inside of an elevator

11:00 after taking what he thought was prescription Vicodin,

11:03 an opioid pain reliever, but was instead

11:06 a counterfeit medication laced with deadly amounts

11:09 of fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more potent.

11:12 He didn't even know what he was taking.

11:15 David Bowie was a prolific British rock star

11:17 who released 26 albums in just 50 years.

11:21 This guy worked.

11:22 His hits "Young Americans" and "Heroes"

11:24 are only a couple of the dozens of his songs

11:27 that dominated the charts in the '70s and '80s.

11:30 In 2004, he survived a heart attack while on stage

11:34 and retreated from public life for about a decade.

11:37 He never stopped making music, though,

11:38 producing work until 2016 when he died of liver cancer,

11:43 a condition he kept so secret that many

11:45 of his bandmates didn't even realize he was terminally ill.

11:50 George Michael was a British pop star

11:51 who blew up thanks to MTV with this massive hit,

11:55 "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by his band Wham!,

11:59 which went on to become the first

12:00 Western pop band to tour China.

12:03 In 1998, he was arrested for disorderly conduct

12:07 when an undercover police officer observed him

12:10 performing a lewd act in a public restroom in Beverly Hills.

12:14 You can read the details on your own if you'd like,

12:16 but the incident forced George Michael

12:18 to come out of the closet on CNN

12:20 and establish himself as one of the most

12:22 prominent gay figures in media.

12:24 Unfortunately, his popularity waned

12:26 over the next 15 years or so, and his drug use increased.

12:29 He died on Christmas Day in 2016

12:31 from dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis

12:35 and fatty liver.

12:37 Kurt Cobain was the singer and leader

12:38 of the '90s old rock band Nirvana.

12:41 By all accounts, he had a happy childhood

12:43 until his parents divorced, which sent him spiraling

12:47 and changed his outlook on the world.

12:48 He funneled this point of view into the music

12:51 for his band Nirvana, which released a debut album

12:54 called "Nevermind," and whose single,

12:56 "Smells Like Teen Spirit," became a defining song

12:59 of the '90s and the alt-rock genre.

13:01 He married singer Courtney Love, and the two had a child,

13:04 but unfortunately, things for Kurt weren't going well.

13:07 He claimed to suffer for years from stomach pain,

13:11 which led to depressive symptoms,

13:13 which he medicated with heroin and painkillers.

13:15 He actually overdosed on champagne and Rohypnol,

13:18 which is seven times more potent than Valium,

13:21 while he was in Rome and was sent to a rehab facility

13:24 in Southern California.

13:25 He escaped, fled north to his home in Washington State,

13:28 where his life ended at just 27 years old.

13:32 Marvin Gaye was a soul musician known

13:34 as the Prince of Motown, and while his music

13:37 may have been romantic and rich,

13:39 his death was truly heartbreaking.

13:41 In 1984, he had enjoyed enormous industry success,

13:45 but also racked up debt due to his cocaine addiction.

13:48 The 44-year-old singer moved in with his parents

13:51 in an attempt to get on his feet.

13:53 Unfortunately, his relationship with his abusive father

13:55 had reached a breaking point.

13:57 The two started an argument that led

13:58 to a physical altercation in the house.

14:01 In Marvin's growing cocaine-induced paranoia,

14:04 he had actually given his father a revolver

14:07 to protect the family.

14:08 This would lead to his death.

14:10 Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his own father

14:12 with that very gun.

14:14 The L.A.

14:14 County Coroner's Office officially stated

14:16 that he suffered a gunshot wound to his chest,

14:19 perforating his heart, lung, and liver.

14:22 His father pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter

14:25 and received a sentence of probation,

14:27 with the judge ruling Marvin had provoked the attack,

14:30 and any prison time could be a death sentence

14:33 for the frail old man.

14:34 According to Marvin's brother, who cradled him in his arms

14:37 during his final moments, his last words were,

14:40 "I got what I wanted.

14:41 "I couldn't do it myself, so I made him do it."

14:45 Johnny Cash was a country music singer

14:47 whose late-in-life medical issues were pretty interesting.

14:50 In 1997, at the age of 65, he announced

14:53 that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's,

14:55 a neurologic condition that affects movement.

14:58 But this was wrong.

14:59 Further testing revealed he actually had

15:01 multiple systems atrophy, another neurologic disease,

15:05 but this was wrong too.

15:07 In 2000, he announced that he's been misdiagnosed

15:10 yet again, and actually he had autonomic neuropathy,

15:13 a nerve condition that's actually caused by diabetes.

15:17 It was complications from the disease

15:19 that led to respiratory failure

15:21 that eventually took his life in 2003.

15:24 But talk about malpractice.

15:26 Mac Miller was a rapper in the 2010s

15:28 whose debut album, "Blue Slide Park,"

15:31 became the first independently distributed debut album

15:35 to reach the top of the Billboard album chart in 16 years.

15:38 He was a rising star in entertainment until his death

15:42 at just 26 years old, where he accidentally overdosed

15:46 on alcohol, fentanyl, and cocaine.

15:49 Earl "DMX" Simmons was a rapper known for huge hits

15:53 like "Party Up" and "Ex Gon' Give It To Ya,"

15:55 which were definitely hit songs

15:57 in my high school on Staten Island.

15:58 In 2021, just at 50 years old,

16:01 DMX had a cocaine-induced heart attack in his home,

16:04 went into cardiac arrest, and reportedly went 30 minutes

16:08 without receiving oxygen to his brain.

16:10 I'm not saying chest compressions would've saved his life,

16:12 but in this scenario is exactly the scenario

16:15 I say you should do them.

16:16 Two inches deep, 100 beats per minute,

16:19 to circulate any remaining oxygen in the blood

16:21 to the rest of his body, after calling for help, of course.

16:25 He was transported to a hospital

16:26 where he was left in a vegetative state for several days

16:29 until he died.

16:31 Jeff Buckley was a folk rock artist

16:33 who had a bright musical future ahead of him

16:35 until a tragic day in 1997 outside of Memphis, Tennessee.

16:39 Singing along to Led Zeppelin on a nearby radio,

16:43 Jeff ran fully clothed into a tributary

16:45 alongside the Mississippi River for a fun swim.

16:49 A passing speedboat sent a powerful wake his way

16:52 and he disappeared.

16:53 Six days later, a passenger in a riverboat spotted his body

16:56 amongst the branches in a nearby harbor.

16:58 The death was ruled an accidental drowning

17:00 and he was just 30 years old.

17:03 Bob Marley was the trailblazing pioneer

17:05 of reggae music from Jamaica,

17:07 defining a sound that to this day

17:10 is synonymous with his part of the world.

17:12 In the 1970s, he became the face of Jamaican culture

17:15 in contrast to its political chaos,

17:18 which led to his assassination attempt.

17:21 Late one night, a violent trio ambushed Marley's home,

17:24 littered his house with bullets.

17:26 The men emptied their clips and sped off.

17:29 Bob survived with only minor wounds

17:30 and days later went on to play in front of tens of thousands

17:33 at the Smile Jamaica Festival in a call for peace.

17:37 He lived a few more years until he noticed

17:39 a small black spot just under his toenail,

17:42 which he thought might just be an old soccer injury.

17:45 Unfortunately, it was actually acral litiginous melanoma,

17:49 a rare form of skin cancer.

17:51 Doctors suggested he get his toe removed

17:53 to prevent the spread of this cancer,

17:55 but Bob Marley refused, opting for a less invasive surgery.

17:59 Unfortunately, the cancer did spread to his body

18:02 and he died in 1981 at just 36 years old.

18:07 Aretha Franklin defined the golden age of soul music

18:10 in the US and was the first woman inducted

18:12 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

18:15 She died of pancreatic cancer in 2018 at the age of 76.

18:19 It's a condition known for its depressingly low

18:22 five-year survival and one we were hoping

18:24 to develop a vaccine to prevent

18:27 until RFK Jr.

18:28 defunded that research last year.

18:32 Jimi Hendrix was an explosive musical talent

18:36 of the 1960s in the US and UK,

18:38 impressing audiences with his stage persona

18:41 and remarkable ability to improvise electric guitar solos

18:45 in front of thousands.

18:47 He was really only scratching the surface of his career

18:50 when he lost his life at just 27 years old

18:53 after aspirating his own vomit

18:55 after overdosing on sleeping pills.

18:59 Buddy Holly, Richie Valens,

19:00 and JP "The Big Bopper" Richardson

19:03 unfortunately all belong on the same entry

19:06 because the three of them died together.

19:08 In 1959, the three musicians and their bands

19:11 were touring the Midwest.

19:13 Their tour bus had no heat,

19:14 making the long drives between Midwestern cities

19:17 brutally cold in that winter snow.

19:19 Buddy Holly was fed up with the conditions

19:21 and chartered a small private plane for him,

19:24 Richie, and "The Big Bopper" to use

19:26 on their way to their next gig.

19:28 The plane took off and immediately was taken over

19:31 by high winds and snow.

19:32 The pilot tried his best to control the airplane,

19:35 but the weather was just too strong.

19:37 The four men crashed and died in a cornfield

19:40 just five miles from the airport.

19:42 The event was so culturally traumatic

19:44 that musician Don McLean wrote his famous song,

19:47 "American Pie," all about it,

19:49 calling it the day the music died.

19:52 Tina Turner was known as the queen of rock and roll

19:55 and dominated music for 60 years until her passing at 83

20:00 after a battle with a long illness,

20:03 likely some sort of combination of the following.

20:06 First, she was diagnosed with hypertension in 1978

20:09 and left it untreated.

20:10 This contributed to the eventual stroke

20:12 she suffered in 2013.

20:14 Shortly after, she was diagnosed with intestinal cancer.

20:18 Her treatments weren't going well,

20:20 so she unfortunately turned

20:21 to dangerous homeopathic treatments,

20:24 which made things significantly worse

20:26 and resulted in advanced kidney failure.

20:29 She actually wrote in her memoir,

20:31 "The consequences of my ignorance

20:33 "ended up being a matter of life and death."

20:37 Janis Joplin was a powerhouse singer

20:39 whose death signaled the end of the '60s for many Americans.

20:44 She was another member of the 27 Club

20:46 dying of a heroin overdose in her guest room

20:48 at the Landmark Hotel in Los Angeles.

20:50 To this day, fans book the very room she died in

20:54 and write heartfelt messages to her in the closet.

20:57 Jim Morrison was the lead singer of The Doors.

21:00 He called himself the Lizard King

21:02 and became a rebellious icon

21:04 for American youth in the 1960s.

21:07 He is the last member of the 27 Club on our list

21:10 dying in a bathtub in a Paris hotel room,

21:13 or so it would seem.

21:14 His death was officially ruled

21:15 as being caused by heart failure,

21:17 but an autopsy wasn't performed

21:19 as it wasn't required by law in France in 1971.

21:23 It's rumored that Jim had actually died

21:25 of a heroin overdose in the bathroom of a nightclub

21:28 the evening before, and the drug dealers responsible

21:31 carried him back to his hotel

21:33 and stuffed him in the bathtub to cover their tracks.

21:36 Ray Charles was nicknamed the Genius

21:39 and wrote American classics like "Georgia on My Mind"

21:42 and "Hit the Road Jack."

21:44 He was born with sight, but developed juvenile glaucoma

21:48 that took his vision by the time he was seven years old.

21:51 While he may not have been able to see the keys

21:52 on the piano, he could feel the music,

21:55 eventually pulling in 12 Grammys

21:57 and five more after he died.

21:59 As he aged, he suffered from hip pain

22:01 and eventually received a hip transplant,

22:03 which he'd hoped would allow him to continue touring.

22:06 Unfortunately, during this process,

22:08 doctors also discovered he had extensive liver disease,

22:12 which took his life when he was 73.

22:15 Click here to see me react to musicians

22:17 getting injured while performing on stage,

22:19 even Lady Gaga's in the video.

22:21 And also, while it's fascinating to see

22:22 how these pop stars passed away,

22:24 it's definitely tragic to see

22:26 how many battled substance abuse.

22:28 If you or anyone you know is struggling,

22:30 you can find resources in the description below,

22:33 and as always, stay happy and healthy.