Joey Ramone

popular name: Herb Reed

date_of_death: June 4, 2012

age: 83

cause_of_death: Heart disease and lung disease

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Herbert Reed is best remembered as the last surviving original member of the do-wop group The Platters. As the only member of The Platters who sang on all of the 400+ songs recorded by the group, his vocals can be heard on The Platters' biggest hits including "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "The Great Pretender", "Twilight Time", and "My Prayer".

popular name: Mahalia Jackson

date_of_death: January 27, 1972

age: 60

cause_of_death: Post surgical complications to remove a bowel obstruction

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Known as the Queen of Gospel Music, Mahalia Jackson was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to the development and spread of gospel blues in black churches throughout the U.S. During a time when racial segregation was pervasive in American society, she met considerable and unexpected success in a recording career, selling an estimated 22 million records and performing in front of integrated and secular audiences in concert halls around the world. Nationwide recognition came for Jackson in 1947 with the release of "Move On Up a Little Higher", selling two million copies and hitting the number two spot on Billboard charts, both firsts for gospel music. Jackson's recordings captured the attention of jazz fans in the U.S. and France, and she became the first gospel recording artist to tour Europe. She regularly appeared on television and radio, and performed for many presidents and heads of state. In January 1972, she received surgery to remove a bowel obstruction and died in recovery. Although news outlets had reported on her health problems and concert postponements for years, her death came as a shock to many of her fans. She received a funeral service at Greater Salem Baptist Church in Chicago where she was still a member. Fifty thousand people paid their respects, many of them lining up in the snow the night before, and her peers in gospel singing performed in her memory the next morning. The day after, Mayor Richard Daley and other politicians and celebrities gave their eulogies at the Arie Crown Theater with 6,000 in attendance. Her body was returned to New Orleans where she lay in state at Rivergate Auditorium under a military and police guard, and 60,000 people viewed her casket. She was later laid to rest at Providence Memorial Park in Metairie, Louisiana.

popular name: Darby Crash

date_of_death: December 7, 1980

age: 22

cause_of_death: Suicide - intentional heroin overdose

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Darby Crash was an American punk rock vocalist and songwriter who co-founded the seminal Los Angeles punk band the Germs. As the lead "singer" a typical show featuring Crash would consist of a wretched version of the Archies' "Sugar, Sugar" (complete with Crash pouring sugar over the audience), food fights, a revolving door of untalented musicians, and a lead singer so loaded on smack he would smear the audience with blood from self-mutilation. All of this and more was beautifully captured in Penelope Spheeris's landmark 1981 film The Decline and Fall of Western Civilization.