Yeah and his singing wasn't bad either...shame what happened to him.
While he might have been making goat-roping music, he lived a Rock N Roll lifestyle - with the usual penalties/probable outcomes. At more than one point in his life, he was reduced to playing county fairs to fuel his addictions.
But, he was a consummate performer. Even when he did his county fairs he put on a great show. Sure, it was a coke-fueled adventure, balanced by a crippling alcohol addiction, but he still put on a show.
I'd posit that being a professional musician comes with a work-related hazard of addiction to any number of illegal substances. Much like a shoe maker is going to get carpel tunnel, a professional musician is going to end up addicted to some substance(s). It's just that common.
As someone who has been a professional musician, let's just say that I can relate. It's an easy world to slip into if you're not careful. (For several periods of my life, I made my living with my musicianship. In other periods, music supplemented my income. Then, for some other periods of my life, I just kept performing because it was a habit in and of itself.)
It's a long story which I'm willing to share parts of but you can make the usual assumptions and be accurate enough, negating my need to type out a novella. Let's just say that I've had some experiences many people wouldn't have had, some good and some not so good. I have no shame in sharing those stories, but it's a whole lot to type...