Joey Ramone

popular name: Gioachino Rossini

date_of_death: November 13, 1868

age: 76

cause_of_death: Colorectal cancer

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Gioachino Antonio Rossini was the most significant Italian composer of the first half of the nineteenth century. Although he wrote many songs including chamber music and piano pieces, Rossini is most famous for his 39 operas, in particular his comic operas for which he set new standards of composition. Gioachino Rossini’s most famous works include The Barber of Seville (1816), Cinderella (La Cenerentola) (1817) and William Tell (1829). Influenced by the French, he broke traditional forms of opera using unusual rhythms and bring the orchestra to the fore, however his style was tempered by changing tastes and a move away from a more formal ‘classicist’ style to Romanticism. When the family moved to Lugo in 1802, Rossini began studying music with a local priest and was inspired by his collection of Mozart and Haydn. A quick learner, by the age of 12 Rossini had composed six sonatas and two years later he joined Bologna’s Philharmonic School and composed his first opera – Demetrio e Polibio (1806). In 1810 alone, Rossini staged his first opera in 1810 to great success and financial reward and this was quickly followed by three more operas in addition to directing Haydn’s The Seasons in Bologna. In 1812, his two-act comedy La pietra del paragone ran for 53 performances at La Scala in Milan bringing him more financial benefits. Gioachino Rossini announced his retirement from opera in 1829 at the age of 37. However, he continued to compose music after his retirement. Rossini's final opera was Guillaume Tell, which premiered in 1829. Afterwards he negotiated a contract with King Charles X of France for a lifetime annuity in exchange for his retirement. Unfortunately, the July Revolution of 1830 deposed King Charles X and deprived Rossini of his pension. Rossini returned to Paris in 1855 and wrote Petite messe solennelle in 1864. Four years later he  died in France in 1868 after an unsuccessful operation for colorectal cancer. He was buried at Santa Croce Basilica in Florence, Italy.

popular name: Mississippi Fred McDowell

date_of_death: July 3, 1972

age: 68

cause_of_death: Abdominal Cancer

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Inspired by seeing the legend Charley Patton playing in a juke joint, McDowell secured his reputation without a back catalog of historic blues recordings but rather by playing around the world to enthusiastic fans of low country blues.

popular name: Patsy Cline

date_of_death: March 5, 1963

age: 30

cause_of_death: Plane crash

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Patsy Cline was an American singer and performer and is considered by many to be one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century and was one of the first country music artists to successfully cross over into pop music. Patsy had several major hits during her short eight-year recording career, including two number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country and Western Sides chart. Struggling to make ends meet for the first half of her career, she scored a #2 hit on the charts with Willie Nelson's "Crazy" in 1961. In November 1961, she was invited to perform as part of the Grand Ole Opry's show at Carnegie Hall in New York City followed by an in-residence at the Mint in Las Vegas (a first for a female country music singer), as did appearances at the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall (a performance for which Cline did not get paid). But with the exposure and radio play of "Leavin' on Your Mind" and "Crazy," Cline was on her way to stardom. In a letter to a friend, she wrote: "It's wonderful — but what do I do for '63? It's getting so even Cline can't follow Cline." Among her many awards during her brief career, Patsy would be the first solo female artist inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October 1973.