Relephant bonus: Beauty Shapes Us All.

I can still remember the first time that I ever heard The Beatles.

Even though I was born decades after their formation, I pretty much instantly formed a crush—like many women and girls before me—on the beloved John Lennon. Then as a slightly older child a friend introduced me to guitar great Jimi Hendrix—I was completely blown away. However, it wasn’t until my obsession with Nirvana in sixth grade that my love and passion for music was thoroughly and completely solidified. Their sound, to me, was new and fresh and Nevermind was the very first CD that I ever bought. (Incidentally it was my high school boyfriend’s—now husband’s—first CD purchase too. Actually, I don’t think that’s unusual—they shaped an entire generation.) My first devastating blow came along with Nirvana as well. Kurt Cobain’s death when I was in junior high rocked me to the core, and in a much different way than his music had. I felt heartbroken and grief for someone I had never even met, but his lyrics and originality had deeply connected with my rebelliously youthful heart. His loss, to me and to many, many  others, was profound. And with Kurt Cobain’s death, I discovered and finally understood something else: that more than our fair share of legendary musicians had been taken too soon. I finally understood the tragedy and sadness—for what will never be—that comes along with losing a brilliantly talented artist at such a young age—and several before even hitting 30 years old. I know, also, that I’m not the only one so primitively and soulfully affected and intertwined with my musical heroes. Imagine, then, my excitement and surprise when I came across depictions of what these musicians I’ve just named—along with others like Karen Carpenter and the Who’s Keith Moon—would like today if they had lived. Sachs Media partnered with photo restoration and manipulation company Phojoe in a project titled, “Rock & Roll Heaven: How they would look today.” Several legendary musical artists are included, along with a short bio. Sachs Media Group describes the mission of this provocative collaboration as follows:

“What might some of the rock ‘n’ roll era’s greatest stars have achieved and what might they look like now, if they had not died before their time? To explore these tantalizing questions, Sachs Media Group partnered with photo restoration and manipulation company Phojoe to create this gallery of images. It is a heartfelt tribute to the memory of beloved artists who helped shape generations of music fans, in order to keep their memory alive for future generations.”

Kurt Cobain Bob Marley John Lennon Elvis Presley   To see more of this aging magic, go here. For more:

Every body gets Old (even Barbie)

Want 15 free additional reads weekly, just our best?

Get our weekly newsletter.

Ed: Bryonie Wise