The Last Days of a Drummer: How did Keith Moon die?
Some of the biggest and wildest men in rock and roll feel like they are truly invincible. As much as the rock and roll lifestyle does a number on anyone who ever bothered to put a handful of chords together, there are many times when people try to test the limits of their body and sanity whenever they get up onstage. However, looking at the typical standards for a rock and roll animal like Joe Walsh or John Bonham, Keith Moon was in a league of his own when working with The Who.
Whereas Pete Townshend was the brains of the group whenever he wrote some of their rock operas, Moon was the court jester whenever they took to the stage. There were many opportunities for him to fly off the handle in the studio, but he seemed to be like a feral beast whenever he got behind the kit, only matched by his ability to throw the most insane parties after the show, which involved everything from throwing televisions out of windows to lighting off cherry bombs in the toilets in every hotel they stayed in.
But the kind of excess also came at the expense of his playing style after a few years. After desperately trying to put the booze down for years, Moon had been prescribed Clomethiazole, a drug that was used to offset the effects of alcoholism. While he did everything he could, his roadies had begun to notice changes in the way that he played, with Moon himself becoming more self-conscious when working on his final album with the group, Who Are You.
Once he had some time off from the group, though, he seemed to have as much of that outgoing spirit that he did in the early days. Everything looked like it was turning a corner for Moon, but on the morning of September 7th, 1978, the beating heart behind one of the greatest bands of all time would be silenced forever.
So, how did Keith Moon die?
After coming home from a screening of The Buddy Holly Story, Moon came home and took more pills to offset his symptoms. Waking up the next morning, the drummer had some breakfast before coming back to bed. While his girlfriend, Annette, later went downstairs to sleep to get away from his snoring, she awoke to find him unresponsive, having passed away in his sleep from an overdose of Clomethiazole.
When looking at the toxicology report, though, Moon had suffered a major overdose than what many had suspected. In an attempt to drastically correct himself, there were 26 undissolved tablets in his system at the time of his death. And while The Who would attempt to carry on, it was clear that they were going to be operating at half-capacity the minute that Moon passed away.
Who was Keith Moon’s replacement?
That’s not to say that they couldn’t have great hits later in their career. While Face Dances featured the first appearance of Kenney Jones on drums, taking over for Moon, there was always going to be a bit of a transition period, with Roger Daltrey saying that he was dissatisfied with Jones’s drumming multiple times through the years.
As of late, though, the band have kept it in the rock and roll family by bringing Zak Starkey into the mix. Although Starkey certainly had the chops to play the drums thanks to his father, Ringo Starr, the one person who gave him his first drum kit was ol’ Uncle Keith back when he was first taking an interest in music.
But while many people have sat at the back of the stage drumming for The Who since Moon’s death, it was never about trying to one-up the man who set the world of rock and roll drumming on fire. Moon was a one-of-a-kind drummer and one of the wildest people to ever touch the stage, so whenever someone tries to play those massive drum fills in the middle of ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ or play along with something like ‘The Seeker’, it’s all about doing service to the one that opened the door for all of them.
