Joey Ramone

popular name: Art Pepper

date_of_death: June 15, 1982

age: 56

cause_of_death: Stroke

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Considered by many to be the the world's great altoist of his generation, Art Pepper was an alto saxophonist anda longtime fixture in West Coast jazz circles. He first started jamming at the age of 13 on Central Avenue (the black nightclub district in South Central L.A. in the 1940s). At the age of 17, he began playing professionally with Benny Carter and then became part of the Stan Kenton orchestra, touring with that band until 1943. After he played primarily with his own group. Despite his addiction to heroin, his substance abuse and legal travails did not affect the quality of his recordings, which maintained a high level of musicianship throughout his career until his death in 1982.

popular name: Eddy Howard

date_of_death: September 12, 1914

age: 48

cause_of_death: Cerebral hemorrhage

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Eddy Howard was an American vocalist and bandleader who was popular during the 1940s and 1950s who scored his first No. 1 single for Eddy Howard and his Orchestra, "To Each His Own" which spent five non-consecutive weeks at the top of the U.S. pop chart in 1946. The song was a tie-in with the 1946 Paramount film, To Each His Own, which brought Academy Awards for Olivia de Havilland and screenwriter Charles Brackett. The recording first reached the Billboard chart on July 11, 1946 and spent a total of 19 weeks on the chart. The recording sold over two million copies by 1957, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. In 1949 Howard signed to Mercury Records. His popularity continued into the 1950s with tracks such as "Maybe It's Because", and "(It's No) Sin", which became Howard's second No. 1 tune, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. It was also a million selling hit for The Four Aces. Howard's last hit was "The Teen-Ager's Waltz", which peaked at No. 90 on the Billboard Top 100 chart in 1955. Howard's star rose again during the 1960s as part of the revival of interest in Big Band music after which he semi-retired to Palm Springs, California. Upon his death, he was laid to rest at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.

popular name: Elvis Presley

date_of_death: August 16, 1977

age: 42

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Elvis Presley was an American singer, musician and actor. He is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century and is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll". He is the best-selling solo music artist of all time, and was commercially successful in many genres, including pop, country, R&B, adult contemporary, and gospel. He won three Grammy Awards, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. Presley made his film debut in "Love Me Tender". After touring and starring in films, by 1973 Elvis's health was in major and serious decline. Twice during that year, he overdosed on barbiturates, spending three days in a coma in his hotel suite after the first incident. On the evening of Tuesday, August 16, 1977, Presley was scheduled to fly out of Memphis to begin another tour. That afternoon, Ginger Alden discovered him in an unresponsive state on a bathroom floor. According to her eyewitness account, "Elvis looked as if his entire body had completely frozen in a seated position while using the toilet and then had fallen forward, in that fixed position, directly in front of it. ... It was clear that, from the time whatever hit him to the moment he had landed on the floor, Elvis hadn't moved."