Joey Ramone

popular name: Muddy Waters

date_of_death: April 30, 1983

age: 70

cause_of_death: Heart failure and cancer related complications

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: If blues is an original American art form, then Muddy Waters should be considered an original American icon. An extraordinarily potent singer, songwriter and guitarist, Waters was the architect of Chicago Blues. Backed by Little Walter, Otis Spann, Ernest "Big" Crawford, Baby Face Leroy and Jimmy Rodgers his music was the single greatest influence on the British blues artists of the sixties. Active up until his death at age 70, he was and always will be the original Hoochie Coochie Man.

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: David Ruffin

date_of_death: June 1, 1991

age: 50

cause_of_death: Drug overdose - crack cocaine

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: David Ruffin is an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the original members and lead singers of the Temptations from 1964 - 1968. His vocals can be heard on the legendary Motown hits My Girl, Ain't Too Proud to Beg and I Could Never Love Another before Ruffin's drug use and massive ego caused the band to fire him. As a solo artist, Ruffin found occasional success, but he experienced a hard road, dying of a cocaine overdose two years after he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.