Would Dime/Pantera and Jimmy Hendrix be praised as much if they didn't die?

mapexzil

Member
Idk I know they were both great musicians and I'm a big Pantera fan myself, but I feel like people sometimes praise them more because they're dead and not because of their music. I know there are a lot of people who are all "RIP Dime!" and all the only song they know is Cowboys.

tell me what you think
 
How many musicians die each year? How many of them are praised as much as Hendrix? Don't think death has much to do with it. We all die.
 
Of course they sell more after they die. It's with all great or semi-great artists, when they die they sell more. Look at Elvis, John Lennon, Hendrix. Look at Michael Jackson, most things were going downhill since his pedofilia-charges, but after he died, people suddenly bought alot more. I may sound cynical, but this is how it is. Picasso is another example of this.
 
Jimi died before I was born, but even in the 90s, the guitar mags couldn't shut up about Dime.

Any time someone dies young, though, there's always that sense of lost potential that leads to renewed interest in the artist's work.
 
Maybe, maybe not. Both artists were praised a lot when they were alive too.

The thing about a pre-mature end is the artists don't have time to go down hill and release bad albums that don't have the magic of earlier works, or fade off and make people wonder "what ever happened to?"
 
Hendrix, certainly. Look how many "other" great guitar players emulate Hendrix, to some extent. Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, (the late) Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, etc.​
Dime, not so much. Pantera, they just happened to be one of the "flagship" bands of that sound/era. Personally, I like Zakk Wilde better.​
 
I wasn't a big fan of either and knew very little about Dime Bag, but from what I have seen Jimi had more raw talent and his death was unfortunate, but I think the way Dime Bag died was a bit more tragic or violent for sure. I think they would have gone the route of most old rockers. Doing reunion shows and making albums but for some reason we seem to idolize
and worship those who die before their time.
 
if an artist is at their peak (i know that no one knows if it was their peak but just go with me) when they die they will be over hyped. although hendrix was great, if he hadn't died and didn't look as cool as he did, he wouldn't be as big nowadays. their are a lot of wannabies and posers, i believe this is the same with BOB MARLEY. so many people love him because they think he was all about the ganja!
 
I honestly don't think dime gets as much praise as he should. I mean he does from pantera fans, and most metal fans, but I don't think he gets as much respect outside of that realm. I am not a metal guy, but I think he is a fantastic player, and a great soloist. It is clear to me that not only does he have talent, he also has that "x-factor" that makes him great. he put alot of soul and groove into metal.

as for jimi, I mean he died before I was even born, and I will sit here and praise him. He is the best guitarist of all time in my opinion. It really
 
Hendrix was taking a step in a different direction in his, "latter" years. He was really tired of playing flashy, and being expected to play Purple Haze everynight. If you watch videos from 69-70 you will see a much more subdued Jimi....but he gave us much richer performances....(Machine Gun...Band of Gypsys....or Hear My Train Comin'..off Jimi Plays Berkeley). I think he was really concentrating of making better music, and ditching the gimmicks that brought him a huge amount of attention. (He was the highest paid act in the world for a time)....I think had he lived, we may have seen an entirely different side of Hendrix, like the posthumous album Cry of Love....songs like Angel...not sure if they would have been well received. Its possible he could he faded in popularity.....but I prefer not to think of that scenario......
 
Can't say much about Hendrix, b/c I wasn't around back then, but I think Dime got as much respect & recognition when he was alive as he does now. His death might have might have given him more legendary status, but guitar players and all Pantera fans in general were pretty much in awe of his playing.

Hendrix was innovative, and for awhile I thought he might have been over-hyped by people...but listen to that guitar tone, there is nothing else like it. Even today. Its a very unique sound.
 
Hendrix was taking a step in a different direction in his, "latter" years. He was really tired of playing flashy, and being expected to play Purple Haze everynight. If you watch videos from 69-70 you will see a much more subdued Jimi....but he gave us much richer performances....(Machine Gun...Band of Gypsys....or Hear My Train Comin'..off Jimi Plays Berkeley). I think he was really concentrating of making better music, and ditching the gimmicks that brought him a huge amount of attention. (He was the highest paid act in the world for a time)....I think had he lived, we may have seen an entirely different side of Hendrix, like the posthumous album Cry of Love....songs like Angel...not sure if they would have been well received. Its possible he could he faded in popularity.....but I prefer not to think of that scenario......

Yeah, Jimi had grown tired of playing the same songs over and over and doing the playing the guitar behind his back and with his teeth. He wanted to explore other things. I remember Miles Davis said that he and Jimi got together and jammed shortly before Jimi died. Unfortunately they never got to record anything because Jimi died shortly after. It would have been interesting because Miles was always looking for new directions to take his music and I think they could have made some really good music together.

Maybe, maybe not. Both artists were praised a lot when they were alive too.

The thing about a pre-mature end is the artists don't have time to go down hill and release bad albums that don't have the magic of earlier works, or fade off and make people wonder "what ever happened to?"

I think that does play a big part of it. Especially in Jimi's case because he wanted to go in different directions and it's very possible that if he had lived his music might not have been as well received.

Dimebag may not have had as much of a chance of losing popularity as Jimi because he probably would not have moved much outside of what he was playing. At least, I don't recall hearing that he had any intentions of doing so. However, he probably wouldn't be as revered as he is now had he lived. A musician dying in his prime always tends to add more reverence to their name.

Either way, both were outstanding musicians who should be remembered for their contributions because they influenced so many.
 
I don't know enough about Pantera to comment on Dime, but I don't think death had anything to do with Jimi being so famous.

Fact is, many of the effect pedals that are common amongst guitarists today are things that Jimi (along with his producers, engineers, etc) created in the studio for the first time. He really created a lot of the effects that are now common for guitarists to just be able to step on a pedal and have. So, historically, I would say Jimi is one of the few musicians to every truly CHANGE music, which is why he is still so revered.

I would have killed to hear that Hendrix/Miles album they were going to record. Miles even bought Jimi a new guitar, to give to him at the sessions, but never got to give it to him. I would bet that music would be less popular than anything Hendrix had done to that point, but would blow my mind.
 
I haven't really noticed Dime's praise go up much after his death; he was always hailed as one of the absolute top players in metal, ever since Cowboys From Hell in the early '90s.
 
I am reading an article on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, and he is quoted as saying in 1901, "They say that a man is never properly appreciated until he is dead."
 
if an artist is at their peak (i know that no one knows if it was their peak but just go with me) when they die they will be over hyped. although hendrix was great, if he hadn't died and didn't look as cool as he did, he wouldn't be as big nowadays. their are a lot of wannabies and posers, i believe this is the same with BOB MARLEY. so many people love him because they think he was all about the ganja!

YES this is what I am talking about. At this band camp that I go to all these kids think they're cool by being all "OMG John Bonham!!! Jimmy Hendrix!" and they're 13 or 12; posers.
 
Maybe, maybe not. Both artists were praised a lot when they were alive too.

The thing about a pre-mature end is the artists don't have time to go down hill and release bad albums that don't have the magic of earlier works, or fade off and make people wonder "what ever happened to?"

You're exactly right. As much as I love them both (and many people may hate me for saying this), compare Coltrane to Miles Davis. Coltrane died way too young; he could have been putting out so much cool stuff. Miles kind of went down hill toward the end of his life though...
 
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YES this is what I am talking about. At this band camp that I go to all these kids think they're cool by being all "OMG John Bonham!!! Jimmy Hendrix!" and they're 13 or 12; posers.

There will always be posers and wannabe's but I don't think the death factor has too much to do with it. Our culture romanticizes death, therefore the artists death seem tragic but appropriate at the same time. While nothing could be further from the truth. They were just regular people, who played music, and then died fairly young. Not everyuone who dies before their time is revered, for instance Def Leppard. I mean hoenstly, who gives a shit about that guy? No offense, but not I!
 
Idk I know they were both great musicians and I'm a big Pantera fan myself, but I feel like people sometimes praise them more because they're dead and not because of their music. I know there are a lot of people who are all "RIP Dime!" and all the only song they know is Cowboys.

tell me what you think
George Harrison, John Lennon, Janis Joplin, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchells, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Freddie Mercury, Elvis Presley, Dimebag, Buddy Rich, and Kurt Cobain were all respected performers before they died. Of course there are Monet's and Lenny Bruce's out there who weren't appreciated until after their death, but the majority of music legends were music legends while they were still alive.
 
There is nothing the rock 'n roll community loves to do more than to remember and romanticize their dead heroes. All artists die eventually and for some reason, they're appreciated more after they're gone. Whether you're talking about Mozart or Picasso or Hendrix or Cobain, they all seem to follow the same pattern.
 
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