Things Found At Rock Star Death Scenes

Some rock stars are as known for their illustrious careers as for their outrageous, untimely, or simply bizarre deaths. Sadly, a rock star's lack of privacy tends to follow them beyond the grave, as pictures, inquests, and theories about their death flood the internet as soon as they pass away. Social media access paired together with humans' age-long morbid fascination with death means that, today more than ever, fans will dig deep into the stories behind their rock idols' deaths.

Even in the case of unsuspicious rock star deaths, there can be a fair amount of discussion. When David Bowie died in January 2016, his social media accounts announced (via BBC): "[Bowie] died peacefully, surrounded by his family." However, subsequent articles picked on the matter. The Guardian suggested that Bowie's 2016 song "Lazarus" is not a hint at his imminent death, as the video was created before his terminal cancer diagnosis, despite rumors that Bowie knew it would be his swan song. NME went as far as uncovering a moment in the 1970s when a psychic told Bowie he would die aged 69. So imagine the attention and speculation a rock star's death gets when the cause is not as obvious, or when there are drugs involved. Let's explore some of the strangest things found at rock star death scenes.

The following article contains references to substance abuse, eating disorders, and suicide.

As Grammy reports, Amy Winehouse won a staggering five Grammys in 2008 — she was only in her 20s. Her 2006 album, "Back to Black," topped the charts worldwide. But the singer became famous both for her incredible singing and her drug use and eating disorder. Her brother, Alex Winehouse, told The Guardian he believes it was her bulimia, not her rampant drug use, that brought her demise: "You knew just by looking at her ... She would have died eventually, the way she was going, but what really killed her was the bulimia." 

Amy Winehouse was severely affected by her fame and the pressures of the music industry, as her best friend Tyler James confessed to The Times. The lack of anonymity and pressures of being a star increased her drug abuse and eating disorder. In June 2011, BBC announced she canceled her tour to solve personal issues. On July 23, her bodyguard found her fully clothed, face-down on the bed of her North London home — she had died of alcohol poisoning, as the Daily Mail confirms through two official inquests. Next to her body was a laptop, where she'd been watching videos of herself. On the floor were two empty vodka bottles — the scene is symbolic of just how deadly fame was to Amy Winehouse.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

The Mamas and the Papas' haunting voice belonged to Cass Elliot — she was well-beloved by her audiences, but, as Vogue suggests, she wasn't spared from the fatphobic views in the United States at the time. Her very band had this lyric in their 1967 song "Creeque Alley:" "No one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass." Elliot had struggled with her weight for decades, as she once commented (via The Guardian), "I've been fat since I was seven, and being fat sets you apart."

She started a radical diet: She fasted four days a week for seven months in a row, eventually losing 110 pounds in 1968 but ending up in the hospital. In 1969, Time reported that Elliot was continuing a dangerous diet. She joked that it cost her $2,000 a pound, as she had to cancel $250,000 worth of shows while she was in the hospital. "The Mama Cass diet can give you acute tonsillitis, hemorrhaging vocal cords, mononucleosis, and a case of hepatitis," she said.

On July 29, 1974, Mama Cass was found dead inside her London apartment, reports Vogue. She had suffered a heart attack (the result of her intense diets). But it was the ham sandwich found on her bedstand that triggered a fatphobic rumor — that Elliot had died choking on the sandwich. It was a bad joke that ignored Elliot's many efforts to lose weight and, in a way, her illustrious career.

Chris Cornell was one of the big faces of the grunge era as the leader of Soundgarden and in 2017, he and his band were on tour after a temporary hiatus (via All That's Interesting). Soundgarden would give their very last show at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan, on May 17. After the show, Cornell retreated to his room at the MGM Grand Hotel. But about half an hour before midnight, his wife noticed the lights in their Los Angeles home were flickering on-and-off — Cornell could activate them from an app on his phone, so she started worrying about his state of mind. When his wife called him, Cornell reportedly slurred his words — She didn't believe him when he said he'd only taken a couple of Ativan doses (anti-anxiety medication). So she called Cornell's bodyguard, Martin Kirsten, to go check on him.

Just after midnight on May 18, Kirsten entered the room and found a very disturbing death scene, as Digital Music News reports. Cornell had taken his own life using an exercise band. The police officers that arrived at the scene eventually also found medication bottles containing prednisone, omeprazole, and lorazepam. The death scene photos also show Cornell's guitar, guitar case, sunglasses, a deodorant bottle, and a contact lenses case.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

While Whitney Houston became an internationally acclaimed singer, she also struggled with substance abuse and a tumultuous personal life (from childhood trauma to difficult relationships, as Vanity Fair explains). During the 1990s and 2000s, Houston was married to musician Bobby Brown, and their relationship became a frequent topic of discussion, with mentions of serious drug abuse and even violence (via Yahoo! News).

However, Brown spoke on A&E's "Biography: Bobby Brown" (via Yahoo! News) and explained that both he and Houston had serious addiction problems — he wasn't the "bad boy" painted by tabloids as the negative influence who got Houston hooked to drugs. He added that the battery allegations, which eventually ended their marriage, related to an accident where he was aiming for Houston's dealer and instead hit her face.

Houston and Brown's marriage ended in 2007, as per Insider, but she continued to overindulge in narcotics. On February 11, 2012, she was found dead in a bathtub at the Beverly Hills Hilton, as the Daily Mail reports. At the scene were a hairbrush, two hair bands, several prescription drugs, and olive oil, which was mixed in with the water. The official cause of death was drowning, facilitated by heart disease and cocaine use, as per ABC News.

Much like Jimi Hendrix or Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin was the epitome of the hippie era. She was also a fresh voice in a male-dominated genre and a very promising artist. But, as per her friend Peggy Caserta's memoir, "I Ran Into Some Trouble" (via All That's Interesting), the two of them struggled with heroin addiction. On October 4, 1970, Joplin was discovered dead in her Hollywood hotel room. She was found clutching money in one hand and a box of cigarettes in the other.

Three days later, her body was cremated and her ashes were scattered by her family into the Pacific Ocean. But this was bad news for Caserta, who believes Joplin didn't really die of a heroin overdose, as she had used the same batch around the same time as her and it wasn't particularly potent. The full reality of her death — as well as her clutching money and cigarettes — might remain a mystery forever.