Such a goal is laudable, but it wouldn't be simple, Hart says. Although the leading cause of death in Bellis' study was drug and alcohol abuse -- accounting for one in four deaths -- cancer, accidents and cardiovascular disease also ranked high, he noted.
Mamas and Papas singer Cass Elliott, for example, died of a heart attack, but obesity was probably the root cause of her early demise. Elvis Presley, dead at age 42, also had a heart attack but misused drugs and had several other health problems. Rastafarian Bob Marley was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in his toe but refused, because of his religious beliefs, to have an operation that might have cured him. The cancer spread, and the reggae icon died of it.
And there are plenty of examples of musicians who cling to the edge and live to tell about it. Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, 63, has defied the odds, surviving decades of hard partying, touring and even a reported fall from a tree last year.
Others see the error of their ways. Shock rocker Alice Cooper, 59, once drank prodigious amounts of alcohol and celebrated violence at his concerts. Now he attends church, plays golf, does commercials for an office supply store -- and, one would hope, gets an annual physical.
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Shari.Roan@latimes.com
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)10 who died young
Rock and pop stars are more than twice as likely to die at a young age than the rest of the population, researchers have found.
John Lennon: 40, homicide
Kurt Cobain: 27, suicide
Janis Joplin: 27, drug overdose
Buddy Holly: 22, airplane crash
Jim Morrison: 27, unknown
Tupac Shakur: 25, homicide
Dennis Wilson: 39, drowning
John Bonham: 32, alcohol poisoning
Cass Elliott: 32, heart attack
Bob Marley: 36, cancer
-- Shari Roan
