If Rock Icons Were Still Alive Today, They’d Look Like This

Ever wondered what some of music’s biggest legends would be doing today if they hadn’t shuffled off this mortal coil for the great gig in the sky?

Well, Kurt Cobain would’ve continued in the opposite direction of his stadium-hogging drummer, Lennon would’ve rocked harder and embraced experimental hip-hop, and by now Hendrix would have made that dream collaboration with Miles Davis becoming jazz-rock’s equivalent of George Clinton.

At least, that’s according to a bunch of musicologists who’ve speculated on the possible future careers of some of music’s fallen legends as part of a project initiated by the Sachs Media Group, and the Florida company’s rock and roll loving top brass, Ron Sachs.

Not only has Sachs enlisted two music academics to conjure up a hypothetical look into an alternate rock history, but has also commissioned photo restoration and manipulation company Phojoe to create a gallery of just what the likes of Bob Marley, Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, and other deceased stars would look like if they were still alive today, as Examiner reports.

(L-R: Kurt Cobain, Bob Marley, and John Lennon)

(L-R: Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison)

The creepy look into ‘Rock & Roll Heaven‘ gathers 12 (slightly morbid) portraits of rock’s biggest names “if they had not died before their time,” designed as a heartfelt tribute to the memory of beloved artists who helped shape generations of music fans, in order to keep their memory alive for future generations.”

Along with the aged, wrinkled imaginings of the Nirvana, Beatles, and Doors frontmen is the imagined biographies from Dr. Reebee Garofalo, a University of Massachusetts Boston professor and scholar, and Elijah Wald, a music writer of more than 10 years for the Boston Globe, and author of 11 music books – including How the Beatles Destroyed Rock ’n’ Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music.

The two musicologists’ musings on the alternate rock history’s of these rock legends is pretty fascinating stuff. For a full rundown of the rock stars, aged as they’d be if they were alive today and what they’d have achieved, head here to our full gallery or click through to the slideshow below.

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