Which musicians rose from homelessness?
December 18, 2010 1:15 PM Subscribe
Inspired by this post: which musicians were once homeless?
I'm not so much interested in people who used to crash on couches for a bit or people who chose to be nomads. Which musicians used to be homeless for reasons more or less out of their control?
I'm not so much interested in people who used to crash on couches for a bit or people who chose to be nomads. Which musicians used to be homeless for reasons more or less out of their control?
Ben Bridwell from Band of Horses.
posted by squid in a people suit at 1:22 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by squid in a people suit at 1:22 PM on December 18, 2010
Kurt Cobain claimed to have lived under a bridge, though I don't know how much actual evidence there is to support this.
posted by easy, lucky, free at 1:26 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by easy, lucky, free at 1:26 PM on December 18, 2010
Ted Hawkins. "There Stands the Glass" and "Bring It On Home to Me." Additional bio here.
posted by MonkeyToes at 1:31 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by MonkeyToes at 1:31 PM on December 18, 2010
Blind Willie Johnson, who died in the burnt-out ruins of his house. His composition, Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground, is on the Voyager Spacecrafts' golden records, which are currently speeding along through the outer solar system, some of the farthest-flung man-made objects in the universe.
posted by The White Hat at 1:41 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by The White Hat at 1:41 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I can't say if it came about by choice or lack of control (ie, alcoholism), but it would seem that Tom Waits has intimate knowledge of a Buick's backseat.
posted by Paris Elk at 1:43 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by Paris Elk at 1:43 PM on December 18, 2010
KRS-One lived on the street and in shelters as a teen.
posted by chrchr at 2:03 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by chrchr at 2:03 PM on December 18, 2010
Seasick Steve: "Hobos are people who move around looking for work, tramps are people who move around but don't look for work, and bums are people who don't move and don't work. I've been all three."
posted by afx237vi at 2:09 PM on December 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by afx237vi at 2:09 PM on December 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
The Jewel story of "homelessness" is pure fantasy, and I know this from the source. I doubt the Kurt Cobain story really constitutes homeless in the sense of nowhere else to go.
Dan Treacy from the TV Personalities really did live on the streets (some years after his peak of fame), for reasons of mental breakdown and psychological disorders.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 2:14 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Dan Treacy from the TV Personalities really did live on the streets (some years after his peak of fame), for reasons of mental breakdown and psychological disorders.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 2:14 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
It depends on where you set the bar for 'homeless' and 'chose' and 'control' (these are never easy questions, especially in light of things like addiction and mental health issues, and I'd argue that bringing artists into it just complicates it further), but maybe John Fahey.
And as easy, lucky, free hints, some musicians exaggerate their 'homeless' past as a way of grabbing some street cred.
posted by box at 2:19 PM on December 18, 2010
And as easy, lucky, free hints, some musicians exaggerate their 'homeless' past as a way of grabbing some street cred.
posted by box at 2:19 PM on December 18, 2010
The girl from Crystal Castles was a homeless runaway crust-punk.
posted by kickingtheground at 2:40 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by kickingtheground at 2:40 PM on December 18, 2010
Woody Guthrie abandoned his first wife and went on the road during the 1930's.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 2:46 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 2:46 PM on December 18, 2010
Dan Treacy from the Television Personalities.
(Ah, he's already mentioned I see on preview. But maybe the interview link is of interest.)
posted by dayintoday at 3:12 PM on December 18, 2010
(Ah, he's already mentioned I see on preview. But maybe the interview link is of interest.)
posted by dayintoday at 3:12 PM on December 18, 2010
Ella Fitzgerald.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:51 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:51 PM on December 18, 2010
One of my bass hero's, Jaco Pastorius near the end of his short life was homeless while losing the battle with alcohol and bi-polar disease
posted by Redhush at 9:09 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Redhush at 9:09 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Charles Gayle was homeless for something like 20 years.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 9:18 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by Joseph Gurl at 9:18 PM on December 18, 2010
Boy George and Joe Strummer are/were both ex-squatters, a category which covers a lot of UK musicians.
posted by tallus at 9:38 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by tallus at 9:38 PM on December 18, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by puritycontrol at 1:19 PM on December 18, 2010