Joey Ramone

popular name: Claude François

date_of_death: March 11, 1978

age: 39

cause_of_death: Electrocuted in the bathtub

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Claude François was a popular French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of "Comme d'habitude" (composed by Jacques Revaux), the original version of "My Way" (as made famous by Frank Sinatra) and composed the music of "Parce que je t'aime mon enfant", the original version of "My Boy". Among his other famous songs are "Le Téléphone Pleure", "Le lundi au soleil", "Magnolias for Ever" and "Alexandrie Alexandra". He also enjoyed considerable success with French-language versions of English-language songs, including "Belles! Belles! Belles!" (The Everly Brothers' "Made to Love"), "Cette année là" ("December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)") and "Je vais à Rio" ("I Go to Rio"). François has sold over 35 million records and was about to embark for the United States when he was accidentally electrocuted in March 1978 at age 39. Then French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing is quoted as saying Claude François was, to him, "the French equivalent of The Beatles".

popular name: Dolores O'Riordan

date_of_death: January 15, 2018

age: 46

cause_of_death: Drowning due to alcohol intoxication

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Dolores O'Riordan was an Irish musician who achieved international fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band the Cranberries. O'Riordan was the principal songwriter of the band, and additionally performed acoustic and electric guitars. She became one of the most recognizable voices in alternative rock, and was known for her lilting mezzo-soprano voice, signature yodel, use of keening, and strong Limerick accent. She was only 21 when the Cranberries reached the US Top 10 with their second single, Linger, which established them as a headline act there. In the UK, the influential music press decreed them unexcitingly traditional, but the public disagred - enchanted by the group’s melodies, and especially by O’Riordan’s haunting voice; their debut album topped the British chart and the next three were Top 10 hits. It was a similar story in the rest of Europe and Australia. You can visit the grave of Dolores O'Riordan at Caherelly Graveyard in Limerick, Ireland.

popular name: Lefty Frizzell

date_of_death: July 19, 1975

age: 47

cause_of_death: Stroke

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Widely considered one of the greatest country singers who ever lived, Lefty Frizzell's body of work gives little indication of the enormous stylistic impact he had on country music beginning in the 1950s. Had Lefty died the way Hank Williams died - hard, fast and young - he'd probably be remembered with the same respect Hank commands today. But as it was, Lefty fought through a twenty-five-year career to keep his personal life together and his soul intact, only to eventually succumb to his own worst habits at the young age of 47. In the end, his recording career lasted 25 years. He had six Billboard No.1 hits and charted a total of 39 songs. The big hits include: “I Love You a Thousand Ways,” “Always Late,” “Long Black Veil,” “That’s the Way Love Goes,” “I Never Go Around Mirrors,” “If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time,” “Mom and Dad’s Waltz” and “Saginaw, Michigan.” He later was voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.