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: Lead Belly

date_of_death: December 6, 1949

age: 60

cause_of_death: Lou Gehrig's disease

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Lead Belly (born Huddie William Ledbetter) was a renowned American folk and blues musician. His life was marked by his powerful voice, virtuosic 12-string guitar playing, and a history filled with both talent and adversity. More than any other blues/folk artist, Lead Belly possessed and recorded a library of ballards, blues, dance songs and minstrels richer than any other performer this century. As a young man, Lead Belly developed a strong love for music and was influenced by a wide range of styles, including traditional folk, blues, and gospel. Unfortunately his life took a dramatic turn in 1917 when he was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison. Released in 1925, Lead Belly returned to farm labor during the day and juke joints and honky tonks at night. Five years later he found himself back in prison for attempted murder. During his incarceration, he gained a reputation for his singing and guitar playing, and his performances caught the attention of a couple of folklorists, John and Alan Lomax, who recorded his music. This led to his release from prison in 1933. After being freed, Lead Belly followed Alan Lomax to New York City where he recorded over 200 songs for the Library of Congress and American Record Company. During his time in NYC he recorded such classics as “Goodnight Irene,” “The Rock Island Line,” "Black Betty" and “Midnight Special.” After serving a brief sentence for assault in 1939, he began working with other folk artist such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Brownie McGhee. He moved to Hollywood for a brief time but moved back to NYC for good in 1947. Separated from his southern roots, Lead Belly failed to build a black audience and what few records he did sell were to white, urban hipsters. He toured Paris hoping to build a European audience but that too was a financial failure. During what came to be his final tour he began to notice spasms in both hands. Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), he passed away shortly after on December 6, 1949 at the age of 60. In a sadly ironic twist, he was virtually penniless when he died only to have his song “Goodnight, Irene” became a million-record hit for the singing group the Weavers. Upon his death he was laid to rest at Shiloh Baptist Church Cemetery in Mooringsport, Louisiana.

popular name: Big Mama Thornton

date_of_death: July 25, 1985

age: 57

cause_of_death: Heart and liver disorders due to longstanding alcohol abuse

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Janis Joplin called her one of her inspirations and Living Blues magazine described her as "two hundred pounds of boogaloo." Of course, fans and musicians alike just called her Big Mama Thornton. An aggressive blues shouter, who also played the drums and a biting country-style harmonica, Miss Thornton helped bring to rock-and-roll the legacy of such seminal blues singers as Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith and Memphis Minnie. A major influence on younger blues and soul singers, including Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin, her growling, visceral rendition of the Jerry Leiber- Mike Stoller song ''Hound Dog'' directly influenced Presley's version, which became a No. 1 pop hit in 1956. Miss Thornton's own song ''Ball and Chain'' became a signature for Janis Joplin in 1968. A rhythm-and-blues singer and songwriter from Alabama, Thornton was the first to record Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog" in 1952, which became her biggest hit staying seven weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B chart and selling almost two million copies. Thornton's other recordings included the original version of "Ball and Chain", which she wrote. Stop me if you heard this story but this phenomenal blues artist died penniless in a small Los Angeles boarding house near the airport and now shares a grave with two other family members.