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: 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: Steve Peregrin Took

date_of_death: October 27, 1980

age: 31

cause_of_death: Asphyxiation after inhaling a cocktail cherry during drug use

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: One-half of the founding members of T. Rex with Marc Bolan, Steve Peregrin Took was by all accounts a remarkable musician and songwriter - when he was sober. After two years and three albums, Took's push to perform more of his own material – as well as his drug use – had driven a wedge between Marc and Steve and Took was fired from the group. He went on to a series of short-lived bands, but never came close to the success Bolan achieved without him. Sadly, relegated to the history books as the Pete Best of glam rock, he is cruelly remembered as the rock star who choked on a cocktail cherry and died.