Better to Burn Out Than Fade Away?

In the catetgory of Tell Us Something We Don't Know: A new study out of Liverpool (or all places) finds that rock stars more likely to die young than you or me!  Fancy that!  But at least it's been quantified, in study of nearly 1500 rockers from 1956 to 2006.   Oddly, the NYT, with so many stiffs to choose from, illustrates its story with Mick "Still a Dancing Fool" Jagger.  

In one detail, the study found that rockers with solo careers die sooner than those in groups, which makes perfect sense as they would tend to be more famous and have more money and drugs.  Also:  a large number had troubled childhoods.  Finally: those who became stars after 1980 have a better survival, also quite obvious (think of say, super healthy Sting vs. a Jimbo Morrison).   So let's recall one of my faves, Gram Parsons, who went all the way, even with his body burned.