Ed Kilgore says:
I don’t know why, but you can sort of imagine John Lennon at 74, while it’s impossible with other rock stars who died young, like Hendrix and Joplin. Maybe it’s because he was already semi-retired when he was assassinated.
I understand his point. My imagination may be a little more robust, but I understand his point. I think, however, that the reason that we can picture Lennon at 74 more easily than Hendrix or Joplin or (for that matter) Jim Morrison is because we got to see what Lennon would look like in a post-60’s world. I don’t think most Beatles fans liked what they saw at the time, with Lennon holed up in the Dakota with Yoko Ono making music of an uneven quality. We’re probably grateful that we didn’t have to see Jim Morrison adjust to MTV or Jimi Hendrix trade yucks with Arsenio Hall. On Janis, we agree. She was a meteorite who had no chance of lasting.
Still, I look at the career of Carlos Santana and I can picture a similar career for Hendrix where he just kept plodding along, finding new coalitions of musicians to collaborate with and inspire. The main thing is, we didn’t have to watch these musicians make decisions and compromises that undermined our respect for their talent and integrity.
