Arnold Schoenberg

popular name: Jimmie Lunceford

date_of_death: July 12, 1947

age: 45

cause_of_death: Coronary occlusion

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Jimmie Lunceford was one of the most underrated American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleaders in the golden years of the Swing Era. Any list of the greatest bands of the swing era usually starts with those of Count Basie, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington. Except in select circles, Jimmie Lunceford's orchestra is apt to be farther down the list. Yet the Lunceford band, for a few brief years in the 1930's, was one of the most exciting big jazz bands that ever played. The Lunceford band managed to be both tightly rehearsed and loose enough to swing with a tangible swagger, and its arrangements constantly took listeners by surprise, both with its original compositions and in its unexpected treatment of pop songs. But the Lunceford Orchestra didn't last as long as Basie, Goodman or Ellington simply due to the fact that Jimmie Lunceford was tight with a dollar. For the rest of the 1930's the Lunceford band rolled along on a seeming stream of success. But toward the end of the decade the cozy family began to disintegrate. The band spent months on the road playing endless one-night stands because that brought in more money than longer engagements. The money came in, but it did not filter down. There were occasional days off (without pay) and even vacations were unpaid. ''When you're young, you can go a long way on ambition,'' Ed Wilcox said afterward. ''But when you get older you want some of the things older people have, and Jimmie didn't want to give enough money. Jimmie was used to treating us like little boys who left Memphis with him, but we had become grown men and we needed more.''

popular name: O'Kelly Isley

date_of_death: March 31, 1986

age: 48

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: The eldest of the Isley Brothers, Kelly started singing with his brothers at church when in 1944 he and his three younger brothers (Rudy, Ronnie and Vernon) formed The Isley Brothers and toured the gospel circuit. Following the death of Vernon (hit by car while riding his bike), the brothers decided to try their hand at doo-wop and moved to New York to find a recording deal. O'Kelly and his brothers co-wrote their first significant hit, "Shout" in 1959. While the original version only peaked at the top 50 of the Hot 100, subsequent versions helped the song sell over a million copies. Later moving on to other labels including Scepter and Motown, the brothers would have hits with "Twist & Shout" in 1962 and "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)". Kelly Isley during the Isleys' 1970s heyday was usually photographed wearing a cowboy hat and Western type of clothing. In 1985, the brothers released the Masterpiece album. It is Kelly who sings most of the lead of the Phil Collins ballad, "If Leaving Me Is Easy", on the album with Ron backing him up. Kelly's last appearance as member of the Isley Brothers was in 1986 on the song "Good Hands" from the Wildcats soundtrack. In 1985 Kelly contracted cancer and lost weight, which was shown on the group's album cover of Masterpiece. On March 31, 1986, O'Kelly suddenly died of a heart attack at the age of 48 at his home and the grave of O'Kelly Isley can be found at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey.

popular name: Dorsey Burnette

date_of_death: August 19, 1979

age: 46

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: The Burnette brothers, Dorsey and Johnny, are best remembered for their seminal rockabilly recordings for Coral in the mid-1950s. With lead guitarist Paul Burlison and brother Dorsey, Johnny Burnette founded the pioneering, but largely overlooked rockabilly group the Johnny Burnette Rock 'n' Roll Trio in the early 50s. And while they never enjoyed national acclaim like their good friend Elvis Presley, the group produced some of the wildest rockabilly of the era.