Joey Ramone

popular name: Frank Alamo

date_of_death: October 11, 2012

age: 70

cause_of_death: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Frank Alamo was a French singer who achieved his greatest success in the 1960s. With his boy-next-door image and plaintive voice, the yéyé singer Frank Alamo was an engaging "idole des jeunes" – teenage idol – and a constant presence in the French charts between 1963 and 1969. His hit records included "Biche ô ma Biche" ("Sweets for My Sweet"), "Je veux prendre ta main" ("I Want to Hold Your Hand"), and "Je me bats pour gagner" ("A Hard Day's Night"). In all, he released 30 singles over a five-year period in the early and mid-1960s, including some original songs. Alamo retired from the music business when he married in 1969, becoming a photographer and later a manager in the automobile industry. In 1983, he was chasing a beautiful blonde girl who was driving a funny car, she brought him to a factory and there Frank Alamo bought not a single car but the whole plant: the Dallas jeep company. He sold it in 1996 in order to give further singing performances however he never able to capture his original success. He died just one day before his 71st birthday.

popular name: Lucio Dalla

date_of_death: March 1, 2012

age: 68

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Lucio Dalla was a popular Italian singer-songwriter, musician and actor who belonged to a genre of Italian songwriters known as “cantautori,” whose lyrics gave voice to the aspirations and frustrations of a postwar generation seeking societal change. Even at a young age he was playing professionally and at 16 he performed with Chet Baker, the American jazz trumpeter, whom he credited as one of his main influences. However it wasn't until 1971 when he catapulted to fame with a series of albums that sold well and drew critical acclaim. One of his best-known songs, “Caruso,” sold millions of copies and has been recorded by a long list of singers including Julio Iglesias, Luciano Pavarotti and Josh Groban. Dalla’s popularity continued and spanned decades and even the month before his death, he participated in the San Remo Festival of Italian song, a popular competition. In addition to his own albums, Dalla also composed songs for famous Italian film directors such as Mario Monicelli, Michelangelo Antonioni, Pupi Avati, Carlo Verdone and Michele Placido. He also wrote an opera inspired by Puccini’s Tosca. Interested in all forms of art, Dalla was also the curator of a contemporary art gallery in Bologna.

popular name: Dick Dale

date_of_death: March 16, 2019

age: 81

cause_of_death: Heart and kidney failure

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Dick Dale was an American rock guitarist. He was the pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scales and experimenting with reverb. Dale was known as "The King of the Surf Guitar", which was also the title of his second studio album. Dale was one of the most influential guitarists of all time and especially of the early 1960s. Most of the leading bands in surf music, such as The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean and The Trashmen, were influenced by Dale's music, and often included recordings of Dale's songs in their albums. His style and music influenced guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Eddie Van Halen and Brian May. He has been mentioned as one of the fathers of heavy metal. Many credit him with tremolo picking, a technique that is now widely used in many musical genres (such as extreme metal, folk etc.). His speedy single-note staccato picking technique was unmatched until guitarists like Eddie Van Halen entered the music scene.