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: Eddie Cochran

date_of_death: April 17, 1960

age: 21

cause_of_death: Automobile accident

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Eddie Cochran was an American rock and roll musician and songwriter with such hits as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", "C'mon Everybody" and "Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire in the mid-1950s and early 1960s. He was one of the first musicians to experiment with multitrack recording, distortion techniques, and overdubbing even on his earliest singles. His image as a sharply dressed young man with a rebellious attitude epitomized the stance of the 1950s rocker and with only one album during his lifetime and passing at the age of 21, in death he achieved iconic status.

popular name: Jimmy Dorsey

date_of_death: June 12, 1957

age: 53

cause_of_death: Cancer of the throat

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Jimmy Dorsey was a prominent American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and bandleader who played a key role in the big band and swing eras of the 1930s and 1940s. His father, a coal miner turned music teacher, taught Tommy and Jimmy to play and appreciate music. They both started by learning to play the cornet, but Jimmy would soon learn and excel at the clarinet and alto saxophone while Tommy would perfect playing the trumpet and trombone. The brothers would form their first band, Dorsey’s Novelty Six, while they were still teenagers. In 1927 they began recording on their own label, The Dorsey Brothers and Their Concert Orchestra, though it did not officially debut until 1934. During this period of time, the lead vocals for their orchestra was Bing Crosby. Their combined orchestra did not last long. Tension and rivalry ran high among the brothers and less than a year after their official debut, Tommy left to form his own band. On the night of May 30, 1935, the growing tension between the two brothers exploded. As the band started “I’ll Never Say ‘Never Again’ Again,” the two started to argue about the tempo and in the middle of the performance Tommy walked off the stage, abandoning his brother and the band. They both went on to successful solo careers when they reunited 1953 and co-led The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra again. They appeared on the television program “Stage Show”, which famously introduced Elvis Presley to national TV audiences. Before his sudden death at the age of 53, Jimmy Dorsey had eleven number one hits with his orchestra in the 1930s and the 1940s including "Green Eyes", "Blue Champagne", "Tangerine", "Bésame Mucho" and "Pennies from Heaven" with Bing Crosby. Upon his death he was laid to rest at Annunciation Blessed Virgin Mary Cemetery.