One of my favorite musicians of all time is Jazz Trumpeter Chet Baker. This blog is named for him. While this blog isn't a jazz blog, I from time to time will post some Chet Baker related items. I just realized that next month would have been his 80th birthday. "Would have" because his personal demons got the best of him and in 1988 he committed suicide while under the influence of drugs.



It's always amazing to see people who are immensely talented and insanely gifted in their element. When you see someone who's in the zone and are seemingly on top of the world. There are few people who achieve that level of greatness, and it's sad when you see them fall. When it becomes clear that they are unable to control their demons and/or overcome them.

For some people it's fame, other people it's drugs or alcohol. Different people have different flaws, but one common thread among the super talented borderline genius people, be it musicians comedians or writers or whatever:

They're all completely damaged people.

Think about it. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Rodney Dangerfield, Lenny Bruce, Ernest Hemingway and so many more battled their own addictions and feelings of inadequacies. Dealt with their self-flagellations and struggled to hide them from their audience, often failing.

And we failed them. Because we accepted their shortcomings, we acknowledged their addictions, their demons, and we said "that's okay. We don't care because of your talents."

What if someone had said to River Phoenix that it didn't matter how much of a brilliant actor he was, that he needed to get his shit together? What if someone had slammed him against the wall and really tried to put the realization into his head that he was fucking up a once in a lifetime opportunity. To do something he loved, something he was great at, and that he was loved worldwide for. All because he couldn't overcome his addiction to drugs.



What if someone had gotten to Kurt Cobain and had him put somewhere to get off the drugs? Had gotten him help instead of kowtowing to his whim because he was a rock star? Would we still have him around today?

What about Jimi Hendrix? What about Lenny Bruce? What about John Belushi? What about the countless genius performers that went before their time because they couldn't control their addictive personalities and their personal demons?

Think of all the great music, all the great performances, all the jokes we'll never hear. All because we were too caught up in the moment to say "hey...you need help".

Instead of doing blogposts about the latest singer to get high and make a fool of themselves at a concert, there should be more people reaching out and trying to get those people help.

And you can read this and think "what 'liberal crap'" but be honest with yourself: You don't wish someone had done that with Jimi Hendrix? With Jim Morrison? That someone hadn't gotten to Big Pun and had him lose all that weight he had on him that did him in? That someone hadn't gotten to Tupac and Biggie and had that nonsense beef squashed before it led to two of the greatest rappers of all time being murdered senselessly?

Someone hadn't gotten to Eazy and warned him about AIDS before he fucked up his life and died?

It's not just Rockers and the such. It's all our favorite musicians, athletes, artists, etc.

We killed them through ambivalence to their problems. As long as we got a new album every now and again we were fine. Making bullshit excuses like "oh the drugs helped them create awesome music" and whatnot.

Those drugs also helped make sure you didn't get as much music. Thankfully my all time favorite singer, D'Angelo, has seemingly gotten back on track and is set to release an album in the next several months (hope hope hope). He was spiralling fast with drugs and alcohol.



Same with Whitney Houston and she managed to get her shit together, and get away from Bobby Brown.

Keep all that in mind the next time you read about your favorite artist spazzing out and you just chalking it up to "oh that's just them being them" or something like that.

Because when they die because we didn't make a point to express our concern, when we simply make youtube videos and blog posts about how funny so and so was, we encourage that.

Obviously a random person can't affect a famous musician all by themselves. But the internet has shown us that differences CAN be made by everyday people.

You just need to step up and do it.