Joey Ramone

popular name: Whitney Houston

date_of_death: February 11, 2012

age: 48

cause_of_death: Drowning due to coronary artery disease and cocaine intoxication

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Whitney Houston was arguably one of the greatest American singers of modern history. Nicknamed "The Voice", she generated sales of over 200 million records worldwide and is one of the bestselling music artists of all time. Houston has influenced many singers in popular music, and is known for her powerful, soulful vocals and vocal improvisational skills. She is the only artist to have had seven consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, from "Saving All My Love for You" in 1985 to "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" in 1988. Houston enhanced her popularity upon entering the movie industry, most notable among her films include "The Body Guard" with Kevin Costner and "Waiting to Exhale" with Angela Bassett. Sadly in her final years she treated her talent with the frustrating indifference. While she sold more records and received more awards than almost any other female pop star of the 20th century, she spent most of her last years mired in a drug addiction that sapped her will and ability to sing and left her a broken shell of her former self. Upon her death, she was laid to rest at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, NJ.

popular name: Johannes Brahms

date_of_death: April 3, 1897

age: 63

cause_of_death: Neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer with liver metastases and liver failure

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Johannes Brahms was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, voice, and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works. He worked with leading performers of his time, including the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim (the three were close friends). Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire including Symphony No. 3 (1883), Piano Quintet (1865), Academic Festival Overture (1880) and Hungarian Dances (1869–1880). He is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the "Three Bs" of music, a comment originally made by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow.

popular name: Frank Frost

date_of_death: October 12, 1999

age: 63

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: One of the foremost Delta blues harmonica players of his generation. Frank Frost only picked up the harmonica after an accident damaged his hand that prevented him from continuing with guitar. Taught by Sonny Boy Williams II, Frank recorded with the likes of Jack Johnson, Robert Nighthawk and his son, Sam Carr and numerous other blues giants. Frost performed at the King Biscuit Blues Festival in his home town of Helena, Arkansas, on October 8th just four days before he died. He was a sick man, and playing with tears in his eyes, knowing the years of cigarettes and alcohol had taken their toll.