Singer-Songwriter Vic Chesnutt Dies at 45

Vic Chesnutt, who blossomed as a singer-songwriter after a car wreck at 18 left him confined to a wheelchair, died today at 45 after several days in a coma following a drug overdose. His record label announced his death, but not the cause, and some reports say the overdose of muscle relaxants was a suicide attempt.

Chesnutt, who was married and lived in Athens, Ga., was discovered by REM frontman Michael Stipe, who produced his first two folk-rock albums in the 1990s, the New York Times reports. “You know, I’ve attempted suicide three or four times. It didn’t take,” Chesnutt told NPR earlier this month. “I’ve flirted with death my whole life.”
(More Vic Chesnutt stories.)