Joey Ramone

popular name: Jackie Wilson

date_of_death: January 21, 1984

age: 49

cause_of_death: Complications of pneumonia after massive heart attack

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Jackie Wilson was an American singer who was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a master showman and one of the most dynamic singers and performers in the 20th century. Among his hits are "Lonely Teardrops," "Baby Workout," "Reet Petite", "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" and "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher". His performance style is often cited as a significant influence on contemporary and later artists such as Elvis Presley, James Brown, and Michael Jackson.

popular name: Keith Emerson

date_of_death: March 11, 2016

age: 71

cause_of_death: Self-Inflicted gunshot wound to the head

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Keith Emerson was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer who was perhaps best known as one-third of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. After leaving the Nice in 1970, he was a founding member of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), one of the early progressive rock supergroups. Emerson, Lake & Palmer were commercially successful through much of the 1970s, becoming one of the best-known progressive rock groups of the era. He proved, without a shadow of doubt, that through his work with the Nice and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, who were both able to demonstrate that pop, classical music and jazz could not only co-exist but feed fruitfully off each other. Emerson reached a summit of success with ELP in the early 70s, when the group achieved a string of hit albums including Tarkus and Brain Salad Surgery, exploiting cutting-edge musical technology alongside outrageous showmanship. Emerson was a pioneer in the use of the Moog synthesiser and was the first musician to take the instrument on tour. Emerson remained active with ELP reunions and his own solo material. Suffering from depression, health and marital problems he took his own life at his home in Santa Monica, California.

popular name: Gene Autry

date_of_death: October 2, 1998

age: 91

cause_of_death: Lymphoma

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Gene Autry, nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning style on radio, in films, and on television for more than three decades beginning in the early 1930s. Autry was the owner of a television station, several radio stations in Southern California, and the Los Angeles/California Angels Major League Baseball team from 1961 to 1997. From 1934 to 1953, Autry appeared in 93 films, and between 1950 and 1956 hosted The Gene Autry Show television series. During the 1930s and 1940s, he personified the straight-shooting hero—honest, brave, and true. Autry was also one of the most important pioneering figures in the history of country music, considered the second major influential artist of the genre's development after Jimmie Rodgers. His singing cowboy films were the first vehicle to carry country music to a national audience. In addition to his signature song, "Back in the Saddle Again" and his hit "At Mail Call Today", Autry is still remembered for his Christmas songs, most especially his biggest hit "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" as well as "Frosty the Snowman", "Here Comes Santa Claus", and "Up on the House Top". Upon his death, he was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.