Joey Ramone

popular name: John Bonham

date_of_death: September 25, 1980

age: 32

cause_of_death: Pulmonary aspiration (choked on his own vomit)

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: John Bonham was and remains the greatest, most influential Rock Drummer of all-time and best known as the drummer for Led Zeppelin. Describing the style of John Bonham's drumming instantly conjurs up visions of the thunderous power he created. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for the groove, his contributions to rock music were revolutionary, and his talent unmatched and irreplaceable. So it came as no surprise that when he passed away suddenly, Led Zeppelin disbanded. In 1995 he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Led Zeppelin. In 2016, Rolling Stone ranked him first in its list of the "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time".

popular name: Bunny Berigan

date_of_death: June 2, 1942

age: 33

cause_of_death: Cirrhosis of the liver

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Bunny Berigan was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader who rose to fame during the swing era of the 1930s and early 40s. Although he composed some jazz instrumentals such as "Chicken and Waffles" and "Blues", Berigan was best known for his virtuoso jazz trumpeting, successfully fuse the nuanced tonal palette of Bix Beiderbecke with the bravura power of Louis Armstrong. A tall handsome dark-haired Irishman, Berigan was a charming, popular and charismatic performer deeply adored by his fans and admired by fellow musicians. The road to fame was long and hard for Berigan. He labored in less than stellar ensembles during his early years, grinding out distracted dance music in hotel orchestras at uninspiring residencies. But starting around 1930 there was growing demand for his gifts from the Dorsey Brothers, the Boswell Sisters, Paul Whiteman, Red Norvo, Artie Shaw, Bing Crosby, the CBS and NBC radio networks and the Columbia, Vocalion, Decca, Victor and Brunswick record companies. More than 600 surviving records, transcriptions and airchecks are evidence of Berigan’s brilliant gift for making a song his own. Playing the trumpet equally well from the bottom to the top of its range, his horn soared above the finest bands of the Swing era, gracing the biggest hits of Glenn Miller, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey. His 1937 classic recording "I Can't Get Started" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1975 and he was inducted in the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame in 2008.

popular name: Jam Master Jay

date_of_death: October 30, 2002

age: 37

cause_of_death: Homicide - gunshot wounds

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Jam Master Jay was a musician and the DJ of the influential hip hop group Run-D.M.C. During the 1980s, Run-D.M.C. became one of the biggest hip hop groups and are credited with breaking hip hop into mainstream music. On October 30, 2002, Jam Master Jay was fatally shot by an unknown person in New York City in a recording studio on Merrick Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens.