Joey Ramone

popular name: Al Wilson

date_of_death: April 21, 2008

age: 68

cause_of_death: Kidney Failure

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Al Wilson is best remembered for the #1 pop hit "Show and Tell". From the age of 12 Wilson was already singing professionally - his own spiritual quartet and singing in the church choir, even performing covers of country & western hits. After a two-year military stint, Wilson settled in Los Angeles, touring the local nightclub circuit before joining the R&B vocal group the Jewels; from there he landed with the Rollers, followed by a stint with the instrumental combo the Souls. In 1966 singer Johnny Rivers not only signed Wilson to his Soul City imprint, but also agreed to produce the sessions that yielded the 1968 R&B smash "The Snake." The minor hit "Do What You Gotta Do" appeared that same year, but Wilson then largely disappeared from sight until 1973, when he issued the platinum-selling Weighing In -- the album's success was spurred by the shimmering "Show and Tell," a Johnny Mathis castoff that sold well over a million copies. "The La La Peace Song," released in 1974, proved another major hit, and two years later, "I've Got a Feeling We'll Be Seeing Each Other Again" peaked at number three on the R&B chart. With 1979's "Count the Days" Wilson scored his final chart hit and spent the next two decades touring local clubs and lounges before succumbing to kidney disease at the age of 68. He was laid to rest at Evergreen Memorial Park in Riverside, California.

popular name: Ray Manzarek

date_of_death: May 20, 2013

age: 74

cause_of_death: Cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer)

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Ray Manzarek was an American singer, producer, film director, and author. He was best known as the co-founder of the rock band The Doors with singer and lyricist Jim Morrison. Manzarek was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of the Doors. USA Today defined him as "one of the best keyboardists ever".

popular name: Cab Calloway

date_of_death: November 18, 1994

age: 86

cause_of_death: Pneumonia

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Cab Calloway was an American jazz singer, dancer, bandleader and actor. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York. He was a popular vocalist of the swing era, and mixed jazz and vaudeville. Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the most popular big bands in the United States from the early 1930s to the late 1940s. Calloway had several hit records in the 1930s and 1940s, becoming known as the "Hi-de-ho" man of jazz for his most famous song, "Minnie the Moocher", originally recorded in 1931. He had a very successful career that spanned over 65 years.