Vic Chesnutt November 12, 1964 – December 24, 2009 @themusicsover

Vic Chesnutt
November 12, 1964 – December 24, 2009

Vic Chesnutt was a respected singer-songwriter from the Athens, Georgia area.  Chesnutt began writing songs when he was just five years old.  He’s one of those rare talents that was rightfully called a songwriter’s songwriter.  When he was 18, Chesnutt was invloved in a car accident that left him confined to a wheelchair and in need of medical care through the rest of his life.  His big break came in the late ’80s when R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe discovered his talent and produced his first two albums.  Over the course of his career, he released over a dozen studio albums.  In 1996, artists like Madonna, R.E.M., and the Smashing Pumpkins came together to record his songs for an album that was to help him with his skyrocketing medical bills.  Ironically, he wasn’t eligible to collect the funds since he had medical insurance.  Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to cover the expenses.  On December 24, 2009, Vic Chesnutt slipped into a coma due to reasons that were not immediately announced but speculated to have been a suicide attempt.  It was later reported that he passed away within hours after going into the coma. He was 45.