Joey Ramone

popular name: Whitney Houston

date_of_death: February 11, 2012

age: 48

cause_of_death: Drowning due to coronary artery disease and cocaine intoxication

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Whitney Houston was arguably one of the greatest American singers of modern history. Nicknamed "The Voice", she generated sales of over 200 million records worldwide and is one of the bestselling music artists of all time. Houston has influenced many singers in popular music, and is known for her powerful, soulful vocals and vocal improvisational skills. She is the only artist to have had seven consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, from "Saving All My Love for You" in 1985 to "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" in 1988. Houston enhanced her popularity upon entering the movie industry, most notable among her films include "The Body Guard" with Kevin Costner and "Waiting to Exhale" with Angela Bassett. Sadly in her final years she treated her talent with the frustrating indifference. While she sold more records and received more awards than almost any other female pop star of the 20th century, she spent most of her last years mired in a drug addiction that sapped her will and ability to sing and left her a broken shell of her former self.

popular name: Billy Joe Royal

date_of_death: October 6, 2015

age: 73

cause_of_death: Died in his sleep

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Billy Joe Royal was a Georgia-born singer who debuted on Columbia Records with "Down in the Boondocks" in 1965, which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. But he struggled to match his initial success with his subsequent records and starting in the late 1980s, he reinvented himself as a country singer. He was known for songs like "I'll Pin a Note on Your Pillow," ''Tell it Like it is" and "Till I Can't Take it Anymore" and was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1988.

popular name: Udo Jürgens

date_of_death: December 21, 2014

age: 80

cause_of_death: Cardiac arrest

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Udo Jürgens, was an Austrian composer and singer of German origin of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, composed close to 1,000 songs, and sold over 104 million records. He is credited with broadening German-language pop music beyond the traditional post-war "Schlager" (hit song) in the 1950s by infusing it with a modern pop appeal and French chanson style. His compositions and arrangements attracted fans of all ages. A few of his memorable recordings include "Griechischer Wein", "Aber bitte mit Sahne", "Mit 66 Jahren", and—one of his biggest successes—"Buenos Días, Argentina". Until his death at age 80, he continued to fill venues in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Jürgens collapsed during a walk in Gottlieben, a town on Lake Constance north of Zurich, Switzerland, and died of heart failure later at a hospital.