Joey Ramone

popular name: Big Mama Thornton

date_of_death: July 25, 1985

age: 57

cause_of_death: Heart and liver disorders due to longstanding alcohol abuse

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Janis Joplin called her one of her inspirations and Living Blues magazine described her as "two hundred pounds of boogaloo." Of course, fans and musicians alike just called her Big Mama Thornton. An aggressive blues shouter, who also played the drums and a biting country-style harmonica, Miss Thornton helped bring to rock-and-roll the legacy of such seminal blues singers as Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith and Memphis Minnie. A major influence on younger blues and soul singers, including Janis Joplin and Aretha Franklin, her growling, visceral rendition of the Jerry Leiber- Mike Stoller song ''Hound Dog'' directly influenced Presley's version, which became a No. 1 pop hit in 1956. Miss Thornton's own song ''Ball and Chain'' became a signature for Janis Joplin in 1968. A rhythm-and-blues singer and songwriter from Alabama, Thornton was the first to record Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog" in 1952, which became her biggest hit staying seven weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B chart and selling almost two million copies. Thornton's other recordings included the original version of "Ball and Chain", which she wrote. Stop me if you heard this story but this phenomenal blues artist died penniless in a small Los Angeles boarding house near the airport and now shares a grave with two other family members.

popular name: Marc Bolan

date_of_death: September 16, 1977

age: 29

cause_of_death: Automobile accident

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: As the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for T Rex, Marc Bolan captivated generations with his strutting music and hyper-sexual charisma. Sporting makeup, glitter, a top hat with flowing locks of gorgeous hair, Bolan was on the forefront of glam rock with such classics as Jeepster, 20th Century Boy and, of course, Bang a Gong. Even 50 years since his tragic death Marc Bolan remains one of the most iconic figureheads in the history of British music.

popular name: Robert Nighthawk

date_of_death: November 5, 1967

age: 57

cause_of_death: Heart Failure

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Robert Nighthawk was a blues musician who was one of the foremost blues slide guitarists of his era providing new type of blues by combining acoustic Delta Blues and electric Chicago Blues. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1983.