Arnold Schoenberg

popular name: Pete Drake

date_of_death: July 29, 1988

age: 55

cause_of_death: Emphysema

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Pete Drake was one of the greatest pedal-steel musicians who played on 118 Gold and Platinum albums with artists ranging from Bob Dylan, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, Marty Robbins, Elvis Presley, Ernst Tubb and George Jones. His session work alone on Bob Dylan's "John Wesley Harding" and "Nashville Skyline" made him the choice session player in Nashville from the 1960s through the late 1980s. Equally in demand in the studio and at the Grand Ole Opry, Drake was always an innovator. He has been credited with popularizing the "talking" guitar long before Peter Frampton and Jeff Beck made it to the airwaves. As Drake's career and reputation grew, he branched out into production, publishing and became the owner of a highly successful recording studio on Music Row in Nashville. His work with Ernst Tubb (with whom he produced 20 of Tubb's greatest hits) earns him a place as a leader of the Nashville Sound. Pete Drake was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2021, 33 years after his death.

popular name: Big Bill Broonzy

date_of_death: August 15, 1958

age: 55

cause_of_death: Throat and lung cancer

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Big Bill Broonzy was an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist and was one of the few country blues musicians of the '20s and '30s to find success when the music evolved into an electric, urbanized form. From his initial sides with Paramount in 1928, he followed the music's development closely. Switching to electric guitar and adding drums to his music in the late 1930s, he helped pave the way for the Chicago bluesmen that followed him. In the 1950s a return to his traditional folk-blues roots made him one of the leading figures of the emerging American folk music revival and an international star. His long and varied career marks him as one of the key figures in the development of blues music in the 20th century. Broonzy copyrighted more than 300 songs during his lifetime, including both adaptations of traditional folk songs and original blues songs. As a blues composer, he was unique in writing songs that reflected his rural-to-urban experiences. In 1980, he was inducted into the first class of the Blues Hall of Fame, along with 20 other of the world's greatest blues legends. In 2007, he was inducted into the first class of the Gennett Records Walk of Fame, along with 11 other musical greats, including Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Gene Autry, and Lawrence Welk. Upon his death, he was laid to rest at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island Illinois.

popular name: Johnny Winter

date_of_death: July 16, 2014

age: 70

cause_of_death: Emphysema combined with pneumonia

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: When it comes to the world of blues and rock 'n' roll, few names command as much respect and admiration as Johnny Winter. A true guitar virtuoso and a master of his craft, Winter's influence on the genre is immeasurable. John Dawson Winter III was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas. He burst onto the world blues scene in the 1960s, dazzling crowds with his fast licks while his trademark long, white hair flew about from under his cowboy hat. He and his brother Edgar — both born with albinism — were both renowned musicians. From the opening notes of "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo", his blues-infused rock anthem, to the soulful wails of "Still Alive and Well" and the electrifying riffs of "Mean Mistreater", each song showcases Winter's unparalleled skill as a guitarist and his ability to seamlessly blend blues, rock, and boogie-woogie into a sound uniquely his own. Rolling Stone magazine listed him as the No. 63 best guitar player of all time in 2015. He released more than two dozen albums and was nominated for several Grammy Awards, winning his first one posthumously in 2015 for Best Blues Album for “Step Back.” Johnny Winter, who played at Woodstock in 1969, was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1988.