I followed with fascination the echo of the consecutive deaths of Jorge Martínez and Robe Iniesta. For this time, we cannot complain that “our dead” have gone unnoticed: the media have turned their attention, even if in some cases they may not have understood much about their artistic evolution (or lack of evolution, which is particularly tragic in the case of Jorge, a formidable artist locked in his own myth of Northern Barbarian with Fender guitar).
But on the networks, other evaluations have slipped in. Some illnesses suggest that they asked for it, that they hastened their end by following the rock road: they reduce this professional path to the caricature of incessant bacchanals of alcohol, illicit drugs and unprotected sex. Resist the power of legends, the stillness of clichés, resentment of the bold. In the background, people whisper that devoting themselves to rock and adjacent music is a dangerous option.
They immediately bring out the joker of the 27 Club: the disappearances of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones or Amy Winehouse at that age. A theory that they attempt to reinforce with the incorporation of the casting of bluesman Robert Johnson, of whose death nothing is known and who certainly had a very different professional career. These are very striking but statistically banal coincidences, which can be explained by a chain of circumstances: rapid rise to fame, easy access to recreational substances, relative absence of protection networks.
Currently, musicians are very aware of union risks. Their managersI want to think, they also take more care of the artists. And the company is taking precautions. At certain levels, at the insistence of insurers, medical checks are required before a long trip. Keith Richards, certainly not the most reliable witness, boasted of having even toured the United States accompanied by FBI agents, who ensured that the material that he consumed was of quality. Hard to believe but we know tours of the Rolling Stones raise millions of dollars.
A 2015 Australian study claimed that devoting yourself to rock music could mean losing 25 years, compared to the average length of a more sedentary and regulated life. For some, it may be reassuring to know that there is a higher risk of suicides, accidental deaths and homicides around the world. hip-hopso marked by gangs and guns: remember the parallels between the disappearances of the Notorious BIG and Tupac Shakur.
I have my doubts. The study methodology is based on an extensive database but limited to notable deaths reported in the media. It also does not take into account the contrasts in lifestyles between tribes, which would explain that the modest report of suicides in the blues are multiplied by eight in the infinitely larger world of heavy metal.
The duration of artists’ careers responds to the particularities of each genre: jazz, folk and blues are more tolerant of prolonged activity, while we still do not know the trajectory of practitioners of more recent expressions, such as electronic music. And where can you find the equivalents of a Willie Nelson? At 92, the Texan continues to record and perform on stage. Even Bob Dylan, a mere octogenarian, looks at him with envy.
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