Billy Corgan opens up about mental health in music, says industry is “designed to mess with your head”
nme.comBilly Corgan has opened up about the poor state of mental health care in the music industry, opining that it holds a lack of awareness and resources for artists struggling with mental illness.Earlier this week, The Smashing Pumpkins’ frontman appeared on New York’s WFAN Sports Radio, where he gave an interview on the Boomer & Gio program.
At one point in the show, Corgan was asked about how happy he feels now as an adult, after experiencing an abusive childhood.Speaking candidly, the singer-songwriter said (per Loudwire): “I don’t know if you can be happy in the music business because the music business is sort of designed to mess with your head.
I think the music business in particular has been very late to the game with mental health and artists.Corgan then pointed to Jimi Hendrix – who died from an incident linked to drug addiction at age 27 – as an artist who died young in a preventable situation stemming from mental illness. “Think of all the music that Jimi Hendrix didn’t make,” he said. “We’re still talking about Jimi Hendrix 54 or 55 years after his death.
I get lost in there because it’s so sad to me.”He went on to note that music’s issue with mental health is systemic, with the industry being late to catch up with others.
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