Elvin Shepherd

popular name: Mahalia Jackson

date_of_death: January 27, 1972

age: 60

cause_of_death: Post surgical complications to remove a bowel obstruction

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Known as the Queen of Gospel Music, Mahalia Jackson was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to the development and spread of gospel blues in black churches throughout the U.S. During a time when racial segregation was pervasive in American society, she met considerable and unexpected success in a recording career, selling an estimated 22 million records and performing in front of integrated and secular audiences in concert halls around the world. Nationwide recognition came for Jackson in 1947 with the release of "Move On Up a Little Higher", selling two million copies and hitting the number two spot on Billboard charts, both firsts for gospel music. Jackson's recordings captured the attention of jazz fans in the U.S. and France, and she became the first gospel recording artist to tour Europe. She regularly appeared on television and radio, and performed for many presidents and heads of state. In January 1972, she received surgery to remove a bowel obstruction and died in recovery. Although news outlets had reported on her health problems and concert postponements for years, her death came as a shock to many of her fans. She received a funeral service at Greater Salem Baptist Church in Chicago where she was still a member. Fifty thousand people paid their respects, many of them lining up in the snow the night before, and her peers in gospel singing performed in her memory the next morning. The day after, Mayor Richard Daley and other politicians and celebrities gave their eulogies at the Arie Crown Theater with 6,000 in attendance. Her body was returned to New Orleans where she lay in state at Rivergate Auditorium under a military and police guard, and 60,000 people viewed her casket. She was later laid to rest at Providence Memorial Park in Metairie, Louisiana.

popular name: Bessie Smith

date_of_death: September 26, 1937

age: 43

cause_of_death: Severe internal injuries to the entire right side of her body due to car collision

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: The first major blues and jazz singer on record and one of the most powerful voices of all time, Bessie Smith rightly earned the title of "The Empress of the Blues." Bessie Smith was a rough, crude, violent womanl who was also the greatest of the classic Blues singers of the 1920s. The pioneering singer influenced blues, jazz, rock and beyond with her powerful voice and inventive delivery. During her career Bessie recorded 160 singles for Columbia Records and was often accompanied by the finest musicians of the day, notably Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Fletcher Henderson, James P. Johnson, Joe Smith, and Charlie Green. A number of Smith's recordings—such as "Alexander's Ragtime Band" in 1927—quickly became among the best-selling records of their release years. Bessie Smith, the Empress of the Blues, who toured the country in her own 72-foot custom-built railroad car sold hundreds of thousands of records, and was the highest-paid black entertainer of the 1920s. Bessie's first contract with Columbia paid $125 per releasable recording. But in April 1923, her new 8-year contract gave her $1,500 up front plus increased the amount paid for each record to $150. Between 1923 and 1931, Bessie recorded 160 songs and became one of Columbia's best-selling artists. But if that sounds like a lot of money, Smith's version of "Downhearted Blues" sold a reported 780,000 copies in 1923.

popular name: Ric Ocasek

date_of_death: September 15, 2019

age: 75

cause_of_death: Hypertensive heart and coronary artery disease

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Musician, primary vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, record producer, and frontman for the American new wave band The Cars, Ric Ocasek led the Cars to huge international success from 1978 until 1988. The Cars reached their highest UK chart position, No 3, with My Best Friend’s Girl in November 1978 and enjoyed hits with Just What I Needed, Let the Good Times Roll, You Might Think, Let’s Go and, best and biggest of all, the aching ballad Drive (sung by the late Benjamin Orr). In addition to his work with The Cars, Ocasek recorded seven solo albums, and his song "Emotion in Motion" was a top 20 hit in the United States in 1986. Ocasek also worked as a record producer for artists such as Motion City Soundtrack, Suicide, Bad Brains, Weezer, Nada Surf, Guided by Voices, and No Doubt. In 2018, Ocasek was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Cars.