Singer-Songwriter Vic Chesnutt Has Died After Intentional Overdose

(HMG) – Singer-songwriter Vic Chestnutt is dead at age 45. Vic’s label, Constellation Records, has released a statement confirming his death: “Surrounded by family and friends, Vic Chesnutt died in Athens Georgia this afternoon, Friday 25 December at 14:59,” the statement reads. “In the few short years that we knew him personally, Vic transformed our sense of what true character, grace and determination are all about. Our grief is inexpressible and Vic’s absence unfathomable. We will make more information available according to the wishes of Vic’s family and friends.”

There’s widespread speculation on the Web, that Chesnutt committed suicide and the Los Angeles Times reports he died of an intentional overdose of prescription muscle relaxants.  Chesnutt waged a very long and public battle with inner demons since before the release of the autobiographical album Little in 1990. After becoming confined to a wheelchair withonly limited use of his arms at age 18 following a car accident, he openly struggled with depression, anxiety and alcoholism, and had acknowledged heavy drug use.  But he fashioned a prolific career, as a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, and guitarist after being discovered by REM singer Michael Stipe in the late 1980s, releasing more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and many more while collaborating with other musicians, including Widespread Panic and Elf Power. He released two albums in 2009 alone, At the Cut and Skitter on Take Off.  But Chestnutt struggled with his health problems, and was frustrated by difficulties maintaining adequate health insurance and paying off his extensive medical bills.