Biggest "What if's" in Music History...and Who Gave All

I thought this could be educational and entertaining.

What-if:
My nominee is Peter Green (founder of Fleetwood Mac). No doubt, the band has stood the test of time, but I only became educated about Green maybe 8 years ago.

The guy had it all, and I would have appreciated some more years of glory.
(Honorable Mentions: Joplin and J Van Zant)

Gave-all:
Johnny Cash. Pure and perfect to the end.
(Honorable Mentions: Bowie and Zevon)

My biggest “what if’s” would be where would music be if Jimi, Bob Marley and Morrison didn’t die?

What if The Beach Boys learned to mix in the studio before the beetles and peppers?

What if Sid never met Nancy. Probably the same ending, just later....

What if Lennon wasn't murdered and The Beatles got back together for 20 years, or we just had another 30 years of Lennon's catalog?

Drumming legends Keith Moon OD'ing and John Bonham choking on his puke a couple years later.

The things that could have been....

What if Britney Spears never went crazy in the 2000s

The Pantry wrote:Drumming legends Keith Moon OD'ing and John Bonham choking on his puke a couple years later.

The things that could have been....

Bonham is a good one because the band called it quits then and there.

Floyd Robertson wrote:What if Lennon wasn't murdered and The Beatles got back together for 20 years, or we just had another 30 years of Lennon's catalog?

This is another good one. I really liked his solo work.

Good thread.

I'll go with Elliot Smith. A tortured soul with an incredible gift for songwriting. What if he hadn't died under auspicious circumstances.. we'd have even more of his gift to keep us company.

What if Ice Cube never left NWA? An argument could be made that 2Pac and Biggie are both still alive as a result.

What if Keith Richards takes another train?

If 16 year-old Brenda Spencer doesn't go shooting up San Diego's Grover Cleveland elementary in 1979, Bob Geldof doesn't write "I Don't Like Mondays", then he doesn't have the cache to organize Live Aid, "We Are the World" never gets recorded, Bob isn't knighted and his daughter Peaches doesn't die of a drug overdose in 2014.

So there's that.

The biggest what if is what if people still paid for music? How many great artist pursued something else because it is so hard to make a living off of music now.

steveschneider wrote:The biggest what if is what if people still paid for music? How many great artist pursued something else because it is so hard to make a living off of music now.

not a bad point.

lots of touring.

Robert J Sakimano wrote:

steveschneider wrote:The biggest what if is what if people still paid for music? How many great artist pursued something else because it is so hard to make a living off of music now.

not a bad point.

lots of touring.

Which in many ways is going full circle. Constant touring was the way most musicians used to make money.

LooseGoose wrote:

Robert J Sakimano wrote: not a bad point.

lots of touring.

Which in many ways is going full circle. Constant touring was the way most musicians used to make money.

Truth. It's not inherently a bad thing.

LooseGoose wrote:

Robert J Sakimano wrote: not a bad point.

lots of touring.

Which in many ways is going full circle. Constant touring was the way most musicians used to make money.

Royalties used to mean something back in the day though. Occasionally I’ll read an article from a 60s 70s legend talking about the current business model or a new indie star that will talk about how they could make more money working at Burger King.

steveschneider wrote:

LooseGoose wrote:

Which in many ways is going full circle. Constant touring was the way most musicians used to make money.

Royalties used to mean something back in the day though. Occasionally I’ll read an article from a 60s 70s legend talking about the current business model or a new indie star that will talk about how they could make more money working at Burger King.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that until the 60s/70s the big royalties were in sheet music sales.

LooseGoose wrote:

steveschneider wrote:

Royalties used to mean something back in the day though. Occasionally I’ll read an article from a 60s 70s legend talking about the current business model or a new indie star that will talk about how they could make more money working at Burger King.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that until the 60s/70s the big royalties were in sheet music sales.

Yeah, I read both Jagger and Eno make points about how it was a small period where music was really lucrative. I don’t know the exact start date when but it makes sense that 50s or 60s would be it.

What if Syd Barrett didn't lose his marbles?

Cameron wrote:What if Syd Barrett didn't lose his marbles?

The best Floyd music was them mourning his collapse into mental illness. So id argue they’d be worse.

My fav has always been Yoko takes the bullet for Lennon.

We get "I've lost Yoko" solo album and then a Beatles reunion at Live Aid. They cash that in for a comeback album / tour in 1989.

steveschneider wrote:

Cameron wrote:What if Syd Barrett didn't lose his marbles?

The best Floyd music was them mourning his collapse into mental illness. So id argue they’d be worse.

I tend to agree with this. Not a fan of PF's early stuff.

Dr. Strangelove wrote:My fav has always been Yoko takes the bullet for Lennon.

We get "I've lost Yoko" solo album and then a Beatles reunion at Live Aid. They cash that in for a comeback album / tour in 1989.

Most New Yorkers would choose that a mentally ill person wouldn't have access to a hand gun so that the tragedy would never have happened. Yoko is a legendary New Yorker and she's well loved in the city.

steveschneider wrote:

Dr. Strangelove wrote:My fav has always been Yoko takes the bullet for Lennon.

We get "I've lost Yoko" solo album and then a Beatles reunion at Live Aid. They cash that in for a comeback album / tour in 1989.

Most New Yorkers would choose that a mentally ill person wouldn't have access to a hand gun so that the tragedy would never have happened. Yoko is a legendary New Yorker and she's well loved in the city.

Yeah well I'm not a fan.

If she takes the bullet you know we get an album out of that. Live Aid is a no brainer. I'm just postulating on a full blown Beatles reunion but think it would have happened.

In regards to the gun: 
Chapman bought the gun legally six weeks before the shooting from J&S; Sales, LTD, a shop in Honolulu, Hawaii, where Chapman had been living. He reportedly paid $169. Chapman had a permit and no police record and the dealer wouldn't have had any reason to block the sale. 


Authorities at Honolulu's airport said Chapman probably got the gun past airport security simply by placing it in his luggage. At the time, baggage checked with an airline was not searched or X-rayed. Chapman flew first to Atlanta, then on to New York City.

steveschneider wrote:

Cameron wrote:What if Syd Barrett didn't lose his marbles?

The best Floyd music was them mourning his collapse into mental illness. So id argue they’d be worse.

Watch Out Pylon! wrote:

steveschneider wrote:

The best Floyd music was them mourning his collapse into mental illness. So id argue they’d be worse.

I tend to agree with this. Not a fan of PF's early stuff.

I like Piper at the Gates of Dawn, but it's not on the same level as Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, etc. If Syd had stayed on, we might have missed out on a lot of classic tunes and gotten more stuff about mice and bicycles.

Cameron wrote:

steveschneider wrote:

The best Floyd music was them mourning his collapse into mental illness. So id argue they’d be worse.

Watch Out Pylon! wrote:

I tend to agree with this. Not a fan of PF's early stuff.

I like Piper at the Gates of Dawn, but it's not on the same level as Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, etc. If Syd had stayed on, we might have missed out on a lot of classic tunes and gotten more stuff about mice and bicycles.

Agreed. I guess Brian Eno and Jimmy Page have both expressed they wanted to work with Barrett. Would be pretty sweet if either one of them had produced a solo record for him.

If Syd doesn't lose it is there room for Waters in a 1970s Floyd? 

I'd say Rog would strike out alone in the early 70s. Syd was the main songwriter until he flamed out. Look at who the tracks on Piper. Waters was (is) extremely difficult to work with and is responsible for the vast majority of the Floyd songbook. I don't think he would stay on board in a secondary position.