It will be 20 years in April since Kurt Cobain killed himself, taking his own life at the age of 27. But instead of joining that infamous club, what if the Nirvana frontman were alive today? Same for Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Jimi Hendrix; dying at age 27 leaves a permanently lasting image of youth.
Florida-based Sachs Media Group has partnered with photo restoration and manipulation company Phojoe to answer that age-old question: What would dead rock stars look like today if they were alive?
We’ll never know for sure, but these “Rock & Roll Heaven” portraits are pretty impressive. Sachs described the project, which included input from former Boston Globe music writer Elijah Wald and University of Massachusetts professor Dr. Reebee Garofalo, as “a heartfelt tribute to the memory of beloved artists who helped shape generations of music fans, in order to keep their memory alive for future generations.”
You know, aside from the music.
Included in the 12-image series are Keith Moon, Karen Carpenter, Elvis Presley, and others. Apparently Bob Marley would morph into Mr. Butch, and Morrison would get wicked ferrety. Elvis has a bit of a swine vibe, Hendrix has a bit of Cosmo Kramer going on. Aging sucks.
Who else would you like to see in Round 2? How about Ian Curtis, Marc Bolan, and the Manic Street Preachers’ Richey Edwards — assuming he’s actually dead, of course.
