Nick Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974)

English musician Nick Drake should have been a shooting star in the industry, but instead found himself unable to sell records & attract an audience. On the night of November 25, 1974, Drake took an overdose of a prescription antidepressant named amitriptyline & fell asleep to never wake again. Leaving no note behind, Drake left those around him wondering, unable to determine whether it was intentional or accidental. Regardless of the circumstances, a bit of genius was gone, Drake would never have the opportunity to fully bloom & find his audience. Though grimly & perhaps ironically as well, after his death he became more known to the public.



Drake produced three albums: Five Leaves Left (1969), Bryter Layter (1970), & Pink Moon (1972), which were packaged into a 3-album set called Fruit Tree. None sold more than 5,000 copies, Drake never found success in a live show & was not inclined to agree to interviews further inhibiting his ability to find success which he craved. Since his death, his life has been presented in a few biographies, a couple of documentaries, & perhaps soon, a major motion picture. I suggest you give his music a listen, especially to those who are in a somber mood.

Evelyn McHale

A photo of Evelyn McHale who lept for her death from the observation deck of the Empire State Building on May 1, 1947. McHale landed on a UN limousine, fortunately the driver was not in the car at the time of the incident. A few minutes after she landed, a photographer named Robert Wiles snapped this photo of the fallen angel.

From McHale's NY Times obituary, Empire State Ends Life of Girl, 20:

At 10:40 A. M., Patrolman John Morrissey of Traffic C, directing traffic at Thirty-fourth Street and Fifth Avenue, noticed a swirling white scarf floating down from the upper floors of the Empire State. A moment later he heard a crash that sounded like an explosion. He saw a crowd converge in Thirty-third Street.

Two hundred feet west of Fifth Avenue, Miss McHale's body landed atop the car. The impact stove in the metal roof and shattered the car's windows. The driver was in a near-by drug store, thereby escaping death or serious injury.

On the observation deck, Detective Frank Murray of the West Thirtieth Street station, found Miss McHale's gray cloth coat, her pocketbook with several dollars and the note, and a make-up kit filled with family pictures.

The photo ran in Life magazine with the caption:

On May Day, just after leaving her fiancé, 23-year-old Evelyn McHale wrote a note. 'He is much better off without me ... I wouldn't make a good wife for anybody,' ... Then she crossed it out. She went to the observation platform of the Empire State Building. Through the mist she gazed at the street, 86 floors below. Then she jumped. In her desperate determination she leaped clear of the setbacks and hit a United Nations limousine parked at the curb. Across the street photography student Robert Wiles heard an explosive crash. Just four minutes after Evelyn McHale's death Wiles got this picture of death's violence and its composure.

• http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60D16FA3F58147B93C0A9178ED85F438485F9

• http://www.everydayfiction.com/the-unstoppable-evelyn-mchale-by-jason-stout/ - fictional account of McHale's death

Dear Suicide does not encourage suicide, if you are suicidal call 1-800-Suicide or speak to your physician immediately. You are not alone.