The Tragic Stories Behind 5 Songs That Became Hits After the Artists Died

Professor of Rock · May 17, 2026 · 32m

Sometimes the most powerful voices in music stay silent for years and decades… never getting their due until after they’ve left this planet. You could call them post-mortem hitmakers. Today, we’re covering 5 artists who poured their hearts into their craft only to face rejection and obscurity while they were alive… but then their music went viral after their deaths. We’ve got a singer Chris Rainbow who was dubbed the "one-man Beach Boys” when he put out several records in the 70s, but his songs went nowhere. He passed away in 2015 from Parkinson’s with zero hits to his name, but now, a decade…