10 Worst Burnouts In Rock History

Most people tend to remember Pink Floyd as the band that helped open their musical third eye. Instead of just the generic rock tunes about love, drugs, and the musical lifestyle, Floyd were always much more concerned with the nature of reality and how we connect with other human beings. While these are strong subjects for sure, it didn't come without its fair share of experience.

Long before Roger Waters started to paint masterpieces like the Dark Side of the Moon and the Wall, the original iteration of Pink Floyd was with Syd Barrett out front, who's songs took on a more fanciful form of psychedelia. Though the actual material was serviceable for the '60s, Barrett's experimentation with drugs eventually led him down a dark path he wouldn't soon recover from. Taking the stage, Barrett would end up zoning out and not be physically able to perform, leading to the rest of the band ditching him with David Gilmour filling in on guitar.

Compared to the usual rock star excesses, Syd had lost almost all semblance of sanity, which led him into hermit like seclusion until his eventual death in the '00s. That's not to say that Floyd didn't carry his spirit along, with his sad demise being a focal point of albums like Wish You Were Here. Even though there was loads of potential for Barrett, he is more known today as prog rock's sacrificial lamb.