Rock & Roll deaths
[back] Assassinations   [back] Operation CHAOS

"To put down the youth movement entailed assassinating political leaders and musicians who spoke openly against the Nixon regime."--- Alex Constantine

[The elimination of politics in music (by murder, directly and indirectly), combined with mind control was Operation CHAOS.]

See: Chaos  COINTELPRO

Quotes
Mind control around music and film

A-Z
Harrison, G
Hendrix, Jimi
Hutchence, Michael
Jones, Brian
Joplin, Janis
Lennon, John
Marley, Bob
Morrison, Jim
Presley, Elvis

Laurel Canyon

Joan Baez

Articles
[2009 Nov] The Jimi Hendrix Political Harassment, Kidnap and Murder Experience by Alex Constantine

Inside The LC: The Strange but Mostly True Story of Laurel Canyon and the Birth of the Hippie Generation by Dave McGowan

Get Up, Stand Up ... for the CIA: Dr. Lowell Taubman's Counterfeit Analysis of the Origins of Bob Marley's Cancer  By Alex Constantine

[1998] Secret & Suppressed: Alex Constantine by Adam Parfrey

[1976] OPERATION CHAOS The CIA's War Against the Sixties Counter-Culture by Mae Brussell

What Did Princess Diana, John Denver And Sonny Bono Have In Common? Were They Killed By The Vatican-Led New World Order! By Greg Szymanski

Attending Physician: Jimi Hendrix was WATERBOARDED to Death w/Red Wine

Book
The Covert War Against Rock by Alex Constantine ISBN 092291561
[2004] Rethinking John Lennon’s Assassination. The FBI’s War on Rock Stars By Salvador Astucia, April 2004

Rock Star Deaths

CATEGORY

Qty

Percentage

Auto accident

12

15

Aircraft crash

11

13

Murder

12

15

Suicide

11

13

Gunshot/accidental

1

1.2

Accidental alcohol OD

2

2.4

Accidental drug OD

12

15

Anorexia nervosa

1

1.2

Shot by police

1

1.2

Heart attack

8

10

Drowning

2

2.4

Cancer

3

3.6

Alcoholism

3

3.6

Heroin addiction

1

1.2

Tuberculoses

1

1.2

Bizarre accident*

1

1.2

 

 

 

TOTAL

82

100%

OPERATION CHAOS The CIA's War Against the Sixties Counter-Culture by Mae Brussell, November 1976
JOHN CARPENTER,
45 yrs, Sept. 18, 1976, killed by hit and run driver, Ben Lomand, Calif. Part of the earliest rock scene, once managed Grace Slick, wrote for Rolling Stone from issue one through eight, disc jockey at KPFK, music critic for L.A Free Press. Got "totally crazed" and committed himself to a mental institution for a while.

TIM BUCKLEY, 28 yrs, June 29, 1975, Los Angeles. Just returned from a concert in Dallas, Texas, about to make a movie of Woodie Guthrie's "Bound for Glory." Death caused by heroin-morphine-pentathol. Police eyewitness to his taking the drug. Joe Falsia, Buckely's manager "never knew Tim used drugs." Richard Keeling charged with his murder.

THE CHASE, August 11, 1974, Four in rock group killed, airplane crash. Bill Chase, Jazz trumpeter with Woody Herman, Walt Clark, drummer, John Emma, guitarist, and Wallace Wouhne, organist. Three years ago the Chase had a single, "Get It On," that became a hit. Popular with radio stations. Played often in Las Vegas, Japan, Africa, released three albums.

JIM CROCE, 30 yrs. old, Sept. 20, 1973. Airplane crash, Louisiana. Recorded hit albums, including "Bad, Bad LeRoy Brown." Degree in psychology from Villanova U., sang at small colleges. Croce's widow filed a $2.5 million suit against Federal Aviation Administration. Allegations that preparation of maps on the airport runway were faulty, leaving a tree unmarked which the fatal plane struck.

BRIAN JONES, July, 1969, London. One of the original members of the Rolling Stones. Unique musician, helped the group get started, under control of drugs by 1966, took LSD that caused personality changes and depression. Seemed to have brain damage and disintegrated. Compared his arrests and planted grass to the treatment Lennie Bruce had received, forced to drop from the group. Keith Richards, of the Stones, said,

"Some very weird things happened the night Brian died. We had these chauffeurs working for us, and we tried to find out. Some of them had a weird hold over Brian. I got straight into it and wanted to know who was there and couldn't find out. The only cat I could ask was the one I think who got rid of everybody, and did a whole disappearing thing so that when the cops arrived, it was just an accident. Maybe it was. I don't know. I don't even know who was there that night, and finding out is impossible. It's the same feeling with who killed Kennedy. You can't get to the bottom of it."

"Mick Jagger"
Tony Scaduto

MAMA CASS ELLIOT, 33, former member of Mamas and Papas, London. Found dead in her apartment. "Probably choked to death on a ham sandwich," or "possibly of heart attack. The coroner said it "appears the singer had not died of natural causes." She was propped up in bed, and had been dead for a considerable time before her body was found. Had just completed two weeks at the London Palladium, was ready to tour Britain, was in excellent mental spirits. Performed at the Monterey Pop.

JANIS JOPLIN, 27 yrs., Oct. 3, 1970, Los Angeles. Cause of death listed as "drug overdose, accidental." Lawsuit in 1974 claimed "it was possible that something unknown triggered a fatal reaction." Fought alcohol and drug usage most of her adult life. Body at autopsy didn't show large amounts of morphine. The night she died, Janis was with a mysterious character who accompanied her to the Landmark Hotel, L.A. She made three calls to her drug "connection" on the hotel switchboard. No arrests or effort to locate this party. Went to the lobby, bought cigarettes, talked, walked back to her room, and fell on the floor inside the door. Was taking pills to stop drug habit? Engaged to be married, slim, tan, recording what was to be a tremendous success, Pearl, happy with her band, climbing out of darker days when she dropped dead. Sang at Monterey Pop with Big Brother and the Holding Company. One of the top blues-acid rock stars.

DONALD REX JACKSON, 31, Sept. 28, 1976. Automobile accident. Manager for the Grateful Dead, just set group up for a national tour. Car swerved off the road, killed instantly.

AL JACKSON, 39 yrs., October, 1975. Former drummer with Booker T. and the MG's. Back up drummer for Otis Redding. Shot to death five times, Memphis, Tenn. Cause of death "apparent robbery." Produced Stax Records.

JIMI HENDRIX, 27 yrs., Sept. 18, 1970. Cause of death clouded. Suggestions of drug plants, mafia connections, murder. Kidnapped shortly before he died. Surrounded by groupie females, one of whom boasted giving him his first acid trip. Affected by acid, depression, interfered with performances. One of top stars at Monterey Pop. Into rock-blues, jazz. Media assumption of "suicide" or "drug overdose" like Joplin. Earned millions. Freaked out and couldn't do his serious music.

JIM MORRISON, 27 yrs., July 3, 1971. Paris, France. Lead singer for the Doors. Cause of death "heart attack," or "pneumonia" or "died peacefully of natural causes." Best known hit "Light My Fire." Author "The Lords," "The New Creatures." Poet, UCLA graduate, writer, musician, politically controversial. Completed tour of Europe, South Africa, writing a movie script in Paris. Sometime irrational behavior on stage. Harassed by police, some false arrests, some charges later dropped. Described as "appearing to be in a hypnotic trance." Found guilty of using "lewd and lascivious conduct" in Miami, Florida, March, 1969. His arrest the excuse for "rally for decency" by singers, TV personalities. Deeply affected by the death of Brian Jones. (Janis Joplin died a month after Jimi Hendrix. Jim Croce died a day after Gram Parsons.) Group broke up after Morrison's death.

PAMELA MORRISON, April 27, 1974, Hollywood, Calif. Wife of Jim Morrison. Cause "an apparent drug overdose." A hypodermic syringe discovered in the apartment. No mention of drugs in her system or if there were needle marks.

RICHARD FARINA, Carmel Valley, Calif. Motorcycle crash. Author, musician, just completed a book, attended autographing party, drove down the road, met fatal crash. Brother-in-law of Joan Baez, married to Mimi. Recorded a new album "The Falcon." "Celebrations for a Gray Day," as described on the jacket, "Goldwater was about to win the California primary and the skies were somewhat uneasy."

ROBBIE McINTOSH, 28 yrs., Sept. 23, 1974, Los Angeles, died from heroin and strychnine that he believed was cocaine. Host Kenneth Moss, Freelandia Airlines, might have been singled as the target. Moss formed new charter, low cost airline. Cher Bono at the party, saved the life of Alan Gorrie. Gregg Allman working for Jimmy Carter's nomination at the time. Allman's drug arrests just before elections, Cher's attending a party where drugs with poison administered, might have caught McIntosh as innocent victim. Moss was charged with murder. (Janis Joplin's known drug connection was not held for her death.)

SAL MINEO, 1975, Los Angeles. Stabbed in back. One time singer, actor, whose next role was to play Sirhan Sirhan. Controversial movie about the hypnotic state of Sirhan, and LAPD suppression of evidence on the Robert Kennedy assassination. Robert Hall was allegedly following Mineo the night he was killed.

ROD McKERNAN, "PIG PEN" 27 yrs. old, March 1973, Corte Madera, Calif. Member of Grateful Dead, organist, singer. Body found in an apartment by neighbor who hadn't seen him for a few days. Coroner's office reports, first accounts probably natural causes, probably liver disease. Had been suffering from cirrhosis of the liver, swelling of blood vessels in his throat. No explanation for his sudden death, or why not at the hospital, or gone for help. Hadn't touched alcohol for two years.

PHIL OAKS, 35 yrs. old, April 1976, New Jersey. "Death by hanging." No suicide notes, nobody sure why Oaks died. Active during Vietnam war, got depressed 1971, using alcohol. Sang at Madison Square Garden, with Bob Dylan, "An evening with Salvadore Allende" in 1974, obsessed with JFK assassination. Developed two personalities, John Train and Phil Oaks. Talked of death, had erratic behavior. "Band of robbers" in Africa one of the reasons for his depression. Oaks was attacked Hendrix was kidnapped just before his death. Known as the troubadour of the "New Left," one of the FBI's target groups.

STEVE PERRON, 28 yrs., Aug. 8, 1973. San Antonio, Texas. Died from inhaling vomit fumes during sleep. Composer, writer, lead singer for Children. Was off drugs, preparing to cut new album for Ode Records. Wrote "Francine" for ZZ TOP, hit records. Composed over 100 songs. Married, child, happy, productive composing when died.

GRAM PARSONS, 26 yrs., Sept. 19, 1974, Calif. Cause of death shrouded in mystery. Autopsy report "inconclusive." Body taken off airplane on way to Louisiana, cremated 200 miles away from L.A. Composer, singer, musician. Former theology student from Harvard who went into country-western music, sang with the Byrds, Flying Burritos, Submarine Blues, and Emmylou Harris. Made some informal recordings with actor Brandon DeWilde, child star of "Shane" and "Member Of The Wedding", who died in July 1972 in a car accident in Denver, Colorado. DeWilde was driving to a stage play performance of "Butterflies Are Free", in which he was starring.

Once happy family life, conventional, turned on to LSD, drugs, alcohol, became depressed, left mysteries about what happened to him. Phil Kaufman, ex-convict charged with drug smuggling, lived with Charles Manson two months, managed Parsons. Kaufman took Gram to Joshua Tree Inn, where he died, and removed the coffin to the desert, where the body was assured of never having another autopsy.

OTIS REDDING, 26 yrs., December 1967. Airplane crash over Wisconsin. First star of Monterey Pop to die. Brought soul to every American city. Best known hit record "By the Dock of the Bay." A poll before his death claimed Redding the most popular musical star in Europe.

JIMMY REED, 50 yrs., Aug. 29, 1976. Natural causes, "died the night before he was set for a California tour." Blues writer, harmonica player, influenced Dylan, Steve Miller, Grateful Dead.

VINNIE TAYLOR (CHRIS DONALD), 25 yrs., April 1974, Virginia. Lead guitarist for Sha-Na-Na. Played at Woodstock. Found by National Guard in motel room following a concert in Va. On way to appear in Pittsburgh, Pa. for a sell-out performance.

CLARENCE WHITE, Car crash. Los Angeles, Calif. One of the Byrds. Close friend of Gram Parsons.

PAUL WILLIAMS, 34 yrs., Aug. 23, 1973, Detroit, Michigan. Found dead in the car, gun on his lap. One of the original Temptations. Did the choreography for Temptations. Had solved drinking problems, emotional crisis. Dead only a few blocks from Motown, where first records made.