ABSTRACT
In colloquial sense, the word “tragedy” is commonly employed to refer to any event that causes great distress, and it has at times been invoked when discussing the failure of the Stooges in the record industry. However, in its original usage, which comes from ancient Greek drama, tragedy has a much more specific meaning. According to Aristotle, it involves the reversal of fortune and downfall of a dramatic protagonist due to a character flaw or bad decision on their part. Theodore Gracyk observes that “rock re-creates Romanticism’s contradictions when the ideology of artistic freedom comes up against the reality that the musicians are engaged in a commercial enterprise.” In November 1970, a space opened up in the second guitar slot when Cheatham decided to return to his position as a roadie. By all accounts, he was never fully confident in his own playing onstage, and sometimes his amp would even be turned down.
