Joey Ramone

popular name: James Booker

date_of_death: November 8, 1983

age: 43

cause_of_death: Renal failure related to chronic abuse of heroin and alcohol

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Booker was a New Orleans rhythm and blues keyboardist whose unique style combined rhythm and blues with jazz standards. Musician Dr. John described Booker as "the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced." Flamboyant in personality and having an extraordinary technical facility, he was known as "the Black Liberace" as well as "The Piano Prince of New Orleans". Booker's two-fisted, syncopated keyboard style was a major influence on New Orleans rhythm-and-blues in the 1950's and 1960's, and he was known in New Orleans as a flamboyant pianist who was likely to toss a Chopin etude into the middle of a boogie-woogie. He had a hit with ''Gonzo,'' an organ instrumental, in 1960, and played on stage and in recording sessions for Wilson Pickett, Lloyd Price, Aretha Franklin, Bobby ''Blue'' Bland, B. B. King, Ringo Starr, the Coasters, the Doobie Brothers and others. But his career was largely confined to New Orleans. And despite his legendary consumption of drugs and alcohol (he lost his left eye to drug abuse) he is considered by most the finest, wildest and most unpredictable pianist of his time.

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.

popular name: Willie Dixon

date_of_death: January 29, 1992

age: 76

cause_of_death: Heart failure

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Willie Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar. However he is best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post–World War II sound of the Chicago blues. Dixon's songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles in which he participated. A short list of his most famous compositions includes "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", "Spoonful", and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". These songs were written during the peak years of Chess Records, from 1950 to 1965, and were performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Bo Diddley. Dixon was an important link between the blues and rock and roll, working with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley in the late 1950s. During the 1960s, his songs were adapted and/or stolen by numerous rock artists including Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck and, of course, Led Zeppelin. Dixon received a Grammy Award and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.