Talent Kills

I was just wondering why all the great music artists, at least the ones I really like, have to die. Some of the most amazing stuff I have ever heard was made by people that died, either by drugs or suicide or a combination. Hendrix, Elvis, Jeff Buckley, Elliot Smith. Sure, they aren't all in the same category, but my list of favorite artists or albums would be rife with dead people.

How come people like Britney Spears or Toby Keith don't die "young"? Is it that the truly talented have too much and it kills them? Is it that whatever is the source of their creativity is also the source of whatever it is that drives them to behavior that kills them? Kind of like how genius always seems to be separated from insanity by a paper thin margin. Maybe we aren't meant to be very smart or creative or interesting as a species. That would at least explain why the planet is largely populated with halfwits and bores.