Al Jackson Jr.

popular name: Scrapper Blackwell

date_of_death: October 7, 1962

age: 59

cause_of_death: Murdered (solved but no arrest)

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Scrapper Blackwell, together with Leroy Carr are arguably the two most underrated blues musicians of the 1920s and 1930s. What is undeniable is the two together created some of the most recorded blues classics including How Long, How Long Blues, Mean Mistreater Mama and When the Sun Goes Down

popular name: Jerry Vale

date_of_death: May 18, 2014

age: 83

cause_of_death: Natural causes

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: A tenor with a smooth, polished delivery, Vale was a longtime fixture at Columbia Records who recorded more than 50 albums and hundreds of songs. He first hit the charts in 1953 with “You Can Never Give Me Back My Heart”. His other enchanting hits included “Volare,” “Al Di La,” “Two Purple Shadows,” a cover of Eddy Arnold‘s “You Don’t Know Me,” “I Live Each Day,” “Have You Looked Into Your Heart,” “Dommage, Dommage (Too Bad, Too Bad)” and “My Little Girl (Angel All A-Glow).” The boyish Vale sang all over the world during his long career, including at Carnegie Hall in New York and in Las Vegas, where his friend, Frank Sinatra, set him up with a gig at The Sands in the ’50s that would last for 22 weeks, four shows a day. Vale, who was of Italian descent, showed his love of Italian music with his albums, I Have But One Heart (1962) and Arrivederci, Roma (1963), full of Italian standards such as "Amore, Scusami", "Ciao, Ciao, Bambina", "Arrivederci, Roma", and "O Sole Mio". His renditions of "Volare", "Innamorata (Sweetheart)", and "Al di là" became classic Italian-American songs. Vale performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, made cameo appearances as himself in the Martin Scorsese films Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995) and played a lounge singer in the independent comedy A Wake in Providence (1999). He passed away in his sleep at his Palm Desert home.

popular name: Willie Dixon

date_of_death: January 29, 1992

age: 76

cause_of_death: Heart failure

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Willie Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar. However he is best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post–World War II sound of the Chicago blues. Dixon's songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles in which he participated. A short list of his most famous compositions includes "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", "Spoonful", and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". These songs were written during the peak years of Chess Records, from 1950 to 1965, and were performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Bo Diddley. Dixon was an important link between the blues and rock and roll, working with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley in the late 1950s. During the 1960s, his songs were adapted and/or stolen by numerous rock artists including Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck and, of course, Led Zeppelin. Dixon received a Grammy Award and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Upon his death, he was laid to rest at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.