Cocaine, Alcohol Cited as Factors in Jay Reatard's Death

Autopsy results for Jay Reatard reveal that the musician died of "cocaine toxicity" and that alcohol was also a "contributing factor in his death," Memphis' Commercial Appeal reports based on the Shelby County, Tennessee medical examiner's findings. As Rolling Stone previously reported, Reatard was found dead in his Memphis home on January 13th. He was 29.

Remember more artists lost before their time.

"He was devoted to the Flying V and punk rock," Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis told Rolling Stone. "I'll miss Jay." Added Matador Records founder Chris Lombardi, who released Reatard's Watch Me Fall in 2009, "Jay was a juggernaut of amazing musical ideas. He was a genius — a nihilistic genius but a genius nonetheless."

Related Stories:
• Jay Reatard Remembered by J Mascis, Bandmates in Days After Untimely Death
• Memphis Garage Rocker Jay Reatard Dead at 29
• Album Review: Jay Reatard's Watch Me Fall

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Song Stories

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell | 1974

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.

More Song Stories entries »

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