Artists with short careers, but huge popularity and impact

Joy Division
Operation Ivy
Indian Summer

 

Right... and the Beatles were 8, and the OP counted them right? So what’s the problem?

 

Hear.

 

I’m surprised no-one has mentioned Jeff Buckley yet; he only released one album before he died.

Best nomination on this thread so far has been the Pistols.

 

If Buddy Holly didn't pop into your head as soon as you read the thread title it should have.

 

Quite a few jazz musicians made a large impact with short careers.

Clifford Brown
Charlie Christian
Jimmy Blanton
Chick Webb
Booker Little

 

Sublime

 

M/A/R/R/S brought the acid house underground to the top of the pop charts with their debut single "Pump Up the Volume" and never recorded another note together.

 

Many artists who died in their prime:
Janis Joplin
Otis Redding
2Pac
Amy Winehouse
The Doors
Eddie Cochran
Elliott Smith
Sam Cooke
Joy Division
SOPHIE (no huge popularity, but very influencial)

 

Skip Spence shone bright then faded.

 

I should’ve specified: I’m going by date of record deal, as a proxy for when the artist started to achieve real professional success.

 

Hank Williams died at age 29.

 

Nick Drake - less than 3 years between his first and final studio albums being released.

 

May I go Classical? I know it's unfair listing them since there are centuries of musicians to cover, but I'd really like to know why so many of them died at such an early age LOL... So here we go:

Franz Schubert
Georges Bizet
Fryderyk Chopin
Carl Maria von Weber
Amadeus Mozart
Ludwig van Beethoven

Besides Mendelssohn, Mussorgksy, Schumann and quite a few others that are being left unmentioned who were also as strongly influential on generations of musicians to come after.

 

Minor Threat... only existed for ~3 years, but hugely influential.

 

Except for Ritche Valens.

Gave us at least three rock classics. Length of career: Six months.

 

Good one. God, EVERY punk band to form after 1984 cites them as an influence

 

Buddy Holly
The Sex Pistols
The Specials
The Jam
Small Faces

 

The. Modern. Lovers.

 

Going along with Minor Threat

 

Hüsker Dü sort of counts - they existed from early 1979 until December 1987 (officially broke up in January 1988), but their period of importance only lasted from at the earliest Metal Circus (late 1983) or more likely Zen Arcade (mid-1984) until the late 1987 tours made after their last album, Warehouse: Songs and Stories (released January 1987). They released three single albums (New Day Rising, Flip Your Wig, and Candy Apple Grey) in between Zen Arcade and Warehouse, which were both double albums by the vinyl-driven standards of the time.

 

The Mark I version of Mission of Burma definitely qualifies - formed in early 1979, broke up in March 1983. (They didn't reform until almost 20 years later, and then the Mark II portion of their career lasted almost 15 years.)

 

MC5

 

Syd Barrett certainly. Only 1 album with Floyd and 2 questionable solo albums but we’re still talking about him.