Shortly after the original "Hooker 'n Heat" sessions, Wilson, who had always suffered from depression, was said by some to have attempted suicide by driving his van off the road near Hite's home in Topanga Canyon. Unlike other members of the band, Wilson did not have much success with women and was deeply upset and frustrated by this. His depression also worsened over time. On September 3, 1970, just before leaving for a festival in Berlin, the band learned of Wilson's death by barbiturate overdose; his body was found on a hillside behind Hite's home. De la Parra and other members of the band believed that his death was a suicide. Wilson died at the age of 27, just weeks before Jimi Hendrix, and then Janis Joplin, died at the same age.