Joey Ramone

popular name: Falco

date_of_death: February 6, 1998

age: 40

cause_of_death: Automobile accident

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: His name was Falco, and the image of sharp suit and slick-back hair already set him apart from the glam rockers and post-punks of the late 80s. He was a musician; a singer; a rapper. A gentleman, a womanizer; he hated garden gnomes and loved chaos. He was honest, plain, but one in a million. With the hit song (and matching music video) "Rock Me Amadeus" etched into our very brains, the infectious chorus of 1986 hit went on to become the only number one on the Billboard Hot 100 spoken in German. It became an international hit, climbing the charts of countless nations. Proving that he was no one-hit wonder, Falco had several international hits including "Der Kommissar" (1981), "Vienna Calling", "Jeanny", "The Sound of Musik", "Coming Home (Jeanny Part II, One Year Later)", and posthumously "Out of the Dark". But it was "Rock Me Amadeus" that reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1986, making Falco the only artist in history whose principal language was German, to score a vocal number-one hit in the United States. According to his estate, he has sold 20 million albums and 40 million singles, which makes him the best-selling Austrian singer of all time. Sadly his life was cut short when his rental car collided with a bus outside of the resort town of Villa Montellano.

popular name: Ronnie James Dio

date_of_death: May 16, 2010

age: 67

cause_of_death: Stomach cancer

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Ronnie James Dio was an American heavy metal singer, songwriter and composer who is considered by many to be one of the great heavy metal vocalist. He fronted or founded numerous groups throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heaven & Hell. His successful career began in 1967 when he formed the rock band Elf, which became a regular opening act for Deep Purple. In 1975, Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore founded the band Rainbow and hired Dio to be his lead singer; during his tenure, the band released three studio albums. Dio quickly emerged as one of heavy rock's pre-eminent vocalists. In 1979, Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne as Black Sabbath's lead singer and appeared on three studio albums with the band, all three of which met with success: Heaven & Hell (1980), Mob Rules (1981) and Dehumanizer (1992). In 1982, he left to form the band Dio, which itself had two albums certified platinum by the RIAA. In 2006, he founded the band Heaven & Hell with ex-bandmate Tony Iommi. He was awarded the "Metal Guru Award" by Classic Rock Magazine in 2006. He was also named the "Best Metal singer" at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in 2010 and ranked as the genre's best vocalist in 2013 by music journalist Sacha Jenkins.

popular name: Johnny Ace

date_of_death: December 25, 1954

age: 25

cause_of_death: Accidental gunshot to the head

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: A popular R&B singer with a string of eight hits in a row including "Cross My Heart" and "Please Forgive Me", he blew his brains out on Christmas Day between sets after telling everyone ‘It’s okay! Gun’s not loaded… see?’ Interestingly enough, "Pledging My Love" was a posthumous R&B number 1 hit for 10 weeks beginning February 12, 1955, thus Johnny Ace became the first artist to reach the Billboard pop charts only after death.