Joey Ramone

popular name: Béla Bartók

date_of_death: September 26, 1945

age: 64

cause_of_death: Leukemia

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Béla Bartók was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and one founders of comparative musicology (ethnomusicologist). He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century, and he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hungary's greatest composers.

popular name: Gilbert Bécaud

date_of_death: December 18, 2001

age: 74

cause_of_death: Lung cancer

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Gilbert Bécaud was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release that became an English language hit as "What Now My Love". He remained a popular artist for nearly fifty years, identifiable in his dark blue suits, with a white shirt and "lucky tie"; blue with white polka dots. His favourite venue was the Paris Olympia under the management of Bruno Coquatrix. He debuted there in 1954 and headlined in 1955, attracting 6,000 on his first night, three times the capacity. Bécaud composed over 450 songs and sold millions of records over the years, and seemed almost never to spend an evening away from a stage - in one year he gave 249 concerts. He sang in six languages, a fact that helped his overseas tours, but was always happiest at the Olympia in Paris, where he topped the bill more than 30 times. Upon his death in 2001, he was laid to rest in Cimetière du Père Lachaise, Paris France.

popular name: Les Brown

date_of_death: January 4, 2001

age: 88

cause_of_death: Lung cancer

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Les Brown was an American musician, big band leader and composer best known for his nearly seven decades of work with the big band Les Brown and His Band of Renown (1938-2001). The Band of Renown began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils, led by Brown while he was a student at Duke University. During his tenure the band had ten number-one hit songs including "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm", "Sweet and Hot" and "Sentimental Journey" featuring Doris Day. Les Brown and the Band of Renown also performed with Bob Hope on radio, stage and television for almost fifty years. They did 18 USO Tours for American troops around the world, and entertained over three million people. Les Brown was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Today the band performs under the direction of his son, Les Brown, Jr.