One of the saddest things about a rock icon passing away is that they never know when their very last performance will be. However, we think these four finales to famous rock careers punctuated their respective musicians’ lives on the stage quite beautifully.
1. Jim Morrison
When it comes to stellar finales of rock careers, few end with a song titled “The End”. However, that’s exactly what the late great Doors frontman did in 1970. The show at The Warehouse in Louisiana didn’t exactly go well; Morrison was out of his mind and there are a few different descriptions of how badly the set went.
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However, what we do know is that the band performed “The End” before physically ending the show. The Doors decided to take a break and try to get Morrison back to his old self, but he unfortunately died at just 27 years old the next year.
2. Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen was no stranger to reinvention and changing things up. When he performed “Save The Last Dance For Me” in December of 2013, fans were surprised. He opted not to perform an encore of “Hallelujah” (he already played the song earlier that night) and decided to reinterpret “Save The Last Dance For Me” in front of a live audience of excited New Zealanders. The way he sang The Drifters cover sounded like a plea to be remembered, rather than a love song. Cohen passed away just a couple of years later.
3. David Bowie
David Bowie had a few finales during one of the greatest rock and pop careers of all time. However, his performance of “Life On Mars?” back in September of 2005 was his very last live song. And it’s quite a beautiful sendoff, in our opinion.
Bowie performed his last set at Fashion Rocks with Arcade Fire and Mike Garrison for this stunning last “dance” of sorts. Bowie lived for over a decade after this performance and even released new music, but this 2005 performance was his final bow on stage.
4. John Lennon
John Lennon passed away in 1980, but his last major performance on stage took place in 1974. He decided to shock and surprise fans by joining fellow rock star Elton John on stage at the famed Madison Square Garden. He performed a rendition of “I Saw Her Standing There”, quite famously (mostly) written by Paul McCartney. He then quit doing major gigs for good until his untimely passing six years later. We think it was a heartbreaking but beautiful return to Lennon’s roots as a Beatle.
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