Joey Ramone

popular name: Sam Cooke

date_of_death: December 11, 1964

age: 33

cause_of_death: Homicide - gunshot wounds

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Sam Cooke's intonation was exquisitely exact. His command of pitch and texture were flawless. His skills as a vocalist were - and remain over sixty years since his untimely death - unsurpassed by the vocal royalty of his day. Neither Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin or Ray Charles could reach his status as a stylist and vocalist of widespread, enduring influence. Yet Sam Cooke - producer, songwriter, performer, label owner and supreme architect of gospel-pop crossover - will forever be remembered with a tinge of sadness and mystery.

popular name: Big Bill Broonzy

date_of_death: August 15, 1958

age: 55

cause_of_death: Throat and lung cancer

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Big Bill Broonzy was an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist and was one of the few country blues musicians of the '20s and '30s to find success when the music evolved into an electric, urbanized form. From his initial sides with Paramount in 1928, he followed the music's development closely. Switching to electric guitar and adding drums to his music in the late 1930s, he helped pave the way for the Chicago bluesmen that followed him. In the 1950s a return to his traditional folk-blues roots made him one of the leading figures of the emerging American folk music revival and an international star. His long and varied career marks him as one of the key figures in the development of blues music in the 20th century. Broonzy copyrighted more than 300 songs during his lifetime, including both adaptations of traditional folk songs and original blues songs. As a blues composer, he was unique in writing songs that reflected his rural-to-urban experiences. In 1980, he was inducted into the first class of the Blues Hall of Fame, along with 20 other of the world's greatest blues legends. In 2007, he was inducted into the first class of the Gennett Records Walk of Fame, along with 11 other musical greats, including Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Gene Autry, and Lawrence Welk. Upon his death, he was laid to rest at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island Illinois.

popular name: Rick Nelson

date_of_death: December 31, 1985

age: 45

cause_of_death: Plane crash

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: The youngest member of America's "perfect family," Rick Nelson parlayed the free publicity that the television show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett afforded into a successful musical career. With teen idol good looks and talent to match, Nelson's legacy began with such million-seller pop classics as "Poor Little Fool" and "Hello Mary Lou" and ended with the more introspective "Garden Party."