Arnold Schoenberg

popular name: Toy Caldwell

date_of_death: February 25, 1993

age: 45

cause_of_death: Cardiac arrest brought on by cocaine use

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Toy Caldwell was a musician, songwriter and occasional vocalist of the 1970s Southern Rock group The Marshall Tucker Band. A founding member of the band, Caldwell remained with the group until 1983. During their glory years, The Marshall Tucker Band had seven gold and two platinum albums, peaking in the mid-1970s with songs such as "Heard It in a Love Song," "Can't You See" and "This Ol' Cowboy." After 15 years with the band, he left in 1985 to begin a solo career and released his debut album, "Toy Caldwell," a mix of rock 'n' roll, country, blues and pop with a lyrical thread of romantic entanglements.

popular name: Karen Carpenter

date_of_death: February 4, 1983

age: 32

cause_of_death: Heart failure due to anorexia nervosa

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Karen Carpenter was an American singer and drummer, who formed half of the sibling duo the Carpenters alongside her older brother Richard. With a distinctive three-octave contralto range, she was praised by her peers for her vocal skills and was named Rolling Stone's Top 100 Vocalists. Carpenter's struggle with and eventual death of heart failure related to her years-long struggle with anorexia would later raise awareness of eating disorders and body dysmorphia and their possible causes. On February 1, 1983, Carpenter saw her brother for the last time and discussed new plans for the Carpenters and for resumed touring. Three days later, on February 4, Carpenter was scheduled to sign final papers making her divorce official. Shortly after waking up on that day, she collapsed at her parents' home in Downey. Paramedics found her heart beating once every 10 seconds (6 bpm). Carpenter was pronounced dead at Downey Community Hospital at 9:51 a.m. The vocalist and drummer behind three number-one singles, five number-two singles on the Billboard Hot 100, 15 number-one hits on the Adult Contemporary chart and 12 top-10 singles was only 32 years old.

popular name: Sergei Rachmaninoff

date_of_death: March 28, 1943

age: 69

cause_of_death: Melanoma

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Sergei Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor and is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Rachmaninoff’s music is known for its complexity and the rich melodies that take audiences on a journey of soaring, expansive emotions. His various piano concertos bear testament to a mastery and knowledge of that instrument’s nuances that puts him among the greatest artists in classical music. He didn’t have that one distinctive piece that makes a connection to his music easy, such as Ludwig von Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5,” Pyotr Illich Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” or Richard Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries.” Rachmaninoff’s signature piece, his “Piano Concerto No. 2,” is considered the greatest piano concerto ever written—an intense display of piano virtuosity that illustrates the composer’s depth and breadth better than anything in his repertoire. His early fame came with the Prelude in C-sharp Minor, but his first symphony's failure in 1897 led to a deep depression and creative crisis. He eventually recovered and made a triumphant return with his Piano Concerto No. 2, which remains one of his most beloved works. Rachmaninoff became internationally known for his virtuosic piano playing and deeply expressive compositions, including the Piano Concerto No. 3, Symphony No. 2, and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. After leaving Russia due to the 1917 Revolution, he settled in the United States, where he focused more on performance and conducting, composing less frequently. His final major work, Symphonic Dances, reflects a nostalgic and reflective tone. Upon his death, he was interred at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.