'90s Musicians You Might Not Know Died

Alternative singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt released multiple albums in the '90s and 2000s to cult acclaim. His 1996 major label debut "About to Choke" was reissued posthumously in 2010, with Pitchfork writing, "It was dark, death-obsessed, and the only potential singles were a country-leaning song about small-town gentrification." Indeed, these themes of morbidity and anti-capitalism would

Alternative singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt released multiple albums in the '90s and 2000s to cult acclaim. His 1996 major label debut "About to Choke" was reissued posthumously in 2010, with Pitchfork writing, "It was dark, death-obsessed, and the only potential singles were a country-leaning song about small-town gentrification." Indeed, these themes of morbidity and anti-capitalism would prove prophetic. 

Partially paralyzed following an accident in his youth, Chesnutt discussed how his paralysis affected his music in an interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air. Mere weeks before his death, he told Gross, "It was only after I broke my neck and after even like maybe a year later that I really started realizing that I had something to say." 

Chesnutt took his own life on Christmas Day 2009, following mounting debts. He was 45. According to the The Guardian, Chesnutt had approximately "$70,000 in unpaid medical bills and had recently been served with a lawsuit by a Georgia hospital," at the time of his death. In an interview with The Quietus, conducted just months before his death, Chestnutt lamented the "grind" of "worrying about paying the bills ... It diminishes the joy that you can get out of music sometimes." However, he did concede his love for his 20+ year career, calling it "a triumph" and "a thrill" in the sense that he had been "living the indie rock & roll dream." 

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

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