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: Johnny Hodges

date_of_death: May 11, 1970

age: 62

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Johnny Hodges was one of the most influential alto saxophonists in jazz history and is best known for his long association with Duke Ellington. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1907 and raised in nearby Boston, Hodges began as a pianist and drummer before focusing on saxophone. By the late 1920s he had joined Ellington’s orchestra, where his rich tone, lyrical phrasing, and expressive vibrato quickly made him one of the band’s standout soloists. For nearly four decades—mainly from 1928 until his death in 1970—Hodges helped define the Ellington sound, delivering memorable performances on compositions such as Passion Flower, Isfahan, and Prelude to a Kiss. During the early 1950s Hodges briefly left Ellington to lead his own small groups, recording popular rhythm-and-blues–inflected instrumentals and albums for labels like Verve Records. Despite this successful period as a bandleader, he rejoined the Ellington Orchestra in 1955 and remained a central figure in the ensemble’s recordings and international tours. Renowned for his smooth, blues-tinged style and elegant ballad playing, Hodges influenced generations of saxophonists and remains a defining voice of swing-era jazz.

popular name: Hawkshaw Hawkins

date_of_death: March 5, 1963

age: 41

cause_of_death: Plane crash

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Hawkshaw Hawkins was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 1960s. He was known for his rich, smooth vocals and music drawn from blues, boogie and honky tonk. At 6 foot 5 inches tall, Hawkins had an imposing stage presence and he dressed more conservatively than some other male country singers. In 1962 he recorded his biggest hit, "Lonesome 7-7203". It first appeared on the Billboard country chart as a March 2, 1963 release, three days before Hawkins died. The song was absent from the charts for the two weeks following his death, but re-appeared on March 23 and spent 25 weeks on the chart, four of them at No. 1. Hawkins died in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was married to country star Jean Shepard.