Johann Strauss ll

popular name: Coleman Hawkins

date_of_death: May 19, 1969

age: 64

cause_of_death: Liver disease

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Coleman Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and considered by many to be the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. Hawkins was one of the most influential tenor saxophonists in the history of jazz and a major figure in shaping the instrument’s role in the genre. He rose to prominence in the 1920s as a member of Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra, where his powerful tone and harmonic sophistication helped establish the tenor saxophone as a leading jazz instrument. In the 1930s Hawkins spent several years in Europe before returning to the United States and recording his landmark 1939 version of Body and Soul, a revolutionary performance that emphasized improvisation and advanced harmony and became one of jazz’s most celebrated recordings. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s he remained at the forefront of jazz, collaborating with emerging bebop musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk, showing a rare ability to adapt to new styles. Known for his rich, full tone and complex improvisations, Hawkins recorded extensively and continued performing internationally until the late 1960. Hawkins's virtuosic, arpeggiated approach to improvisation, with his characteristic rich, emotional, and vibrato-laden tonal style, was the main influence on a generation of tenor players that included Chu Berry, Charlie Barnet, Tex Beneke, Ben Webster, and Vido Musso. While Hawkins became known with swing music during the big band era, he had a role in the development of bebop in the 1940s.

popular name: Lemmy Kilmister

date_of_death: December 28, 2015

age: 70

cause_of_death: Prostate cancer, cardiac arrhythmia, and congestive heart failure

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Inspired by the Beatles and worked as a roadie for the Jimi Hendrix Experience in the 1960s, Lemmy Kilmister was the pure embodiment of the rock 'n' roll spirit. A fixture at the Rainbow on Hollywood Blvd when not on the road, Lemmy had his first taste of success as a member of Hawkwind, where he developed a distinctive bass style and sang lead vocals on the 1972 hit "Silver Machine." In 1975, Kilmister founded Motorhead, a band that has had an enormous influence on the heavy metal genre, largely because of Kilmister's furious bass playing, guttural vocals and innovative songwriting. His unique style brought punk influences to heavy metal, resulting in metal classics such as "Ace of Spades" and "Overkill." Kilmister also co-wrote songs for Ozzy Osbourne's 1991 album, "No More Tears," including the No. 2 hit "Mama, I'm Coming Home" and the Grammy-winning "I Don't Want To Change the World." The intimidating warrior with a wart and rasping voice, always with a bottle of whiskey in his hand and a cigarette in his mouth was also a really kind guy; one of the nicest in the business.

popular name: Buddy Rich

date_of_death: April 2, 1987

age: 69

cause_of_death: Respiratory and cardiac failure related to a malignant brain tumor

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Beyond his flamboyant, sometimes volatile character, beyond his classic wardrobe and his status as the preferred guest on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson Buddy Rich was a magnificent drummer. His recording and performing resume - Bunny Berigan, Harry James, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Tatum - is unparalleled by any other drummer living or dead.