Boxcar Willie

popular name: Béla Bartók

date_of_death: September 26, 1945

age: 64

cause_of_death: Leukemia

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Béla Bartók was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and one founders of comparative musicology (ethnomusicologist). He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century, and he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hungary's greatest composers.

popular name: Gene Krupa

date_of_death: October 16, 1973

age: 64

cause_of_death: Heart failure coupled with leukemia and emphysema

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Before Keith Moon, before John Bonham there was the one and only Gene Krupa - one of the greatest drummers and drum kit innovators in the 20th century. With his arms flailing behind the drum kit, Krupa forever changed the role of the drummer and provided his fans with an everlasting visual and musical image of the swing era. In 1936 he joined Benny Goodman and Teddy Wilson for the first incarnation of the Benny Goodman Trio (later expanding to a quartet with Lionel Hampton) where his drum work made him a national celebrity. His tom-tom interludes on the hit "Sing, Sing, Sing" were the first extended drum solos to be recorded commercially. After his gig with Goodman he continued to record with his own group, Tommy Dorsey, Gerry Mulligan and starred as himself in several Hollywood musical-based films. In addition to his drum skills, he was also a well regarding composer with compositions which he wrote or co-wrote included "Some Like It Hot" in 1939, "Drum Boogie", "Boogie Blues", his theme song "Apurksody", "Ball of Fire", "Disc Jockey Jump" with Gerry Mulligan, "Wire Brush Stomp", "Hippdeebip", "Krupa's Wail", "Swing is Hee", "Quit and Roll 'Em" with Sam Donahue, and "How 'Bout This Mess". Even today Krupa’s reputation still looms large in pop culture: Rolling Stone recently put him at Number 7 in its list of the 100 greatest drummers of all time.

popular name: Lil Hardin Armstrong

date_of_death: August 27, 1971

age: 73

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Lil Hardin Armstrong was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, singer, and bandleader. She was the second wife of Louis Armstrong, with whom she collaborated on many recordings in the 1920s with the Louis Armstrong Hot Five and Hot Seven ensembles. On February 4, 1924, Armstrong married Lil Hardin Armstrong, King Oliver's pianist. Armstrong's second wife helped him develop his career, urging Armstrong to seek more prominent billing and develop his style apart from the influence of Oliver. At her suggestion, Armstrong began to play classical music in church concerts to broaden his skills; and Armstrong began to dress more in more stylish attire to offset his girth. Her influence eventually undermined Armstrong's relationship with his mentor, especially concerning his salary and additional money that Joe "King" Oliver held back from Armstrong and other band members. Shortly after Armstrong, with Lil Hardin, formed the famous Louis Armstrong Hot Five and later the Hot Seven jazz bands that launched Armstrong's career to new heights. After her divorce from Armstrong when he had a liaison with Alpha Smith, sometimes billing herself as "Mrs. Louis Armstrong", Hardin led an "All Girl Orchestra", a mixed-sex big band which broadcast nationally over the NBC radio network. In the same decade she recorded for Decca as a swing vocalist and performed as piano accompanist for other singers. Hardin returned to Chicago and the house on East 41st Street. She made a trip to Europe and had a brief love affair in France, but mostly she worked around Chicago, often with fellow Chicagoans. Collaborators included Red Saunders, Joe Williams, Oscar Brown Jr., and Little Brother Montgomery. After living a full and complete life, Miss Lil was at the piano at a Louis Armstrong memorial concert shortly after his death when she slumped over and died while playing The St. Louis Blues at the age of 73. She was laid to rest at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Illinois.