Queen Candice Anderson

popular name: Elvin Shepherd

date_of_death: June 2, 1995

age: 72

cause_of_death: Undisclosed

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Elvin "Shep" Shepherd was a legendary saxophonist whose career spanned half a century. He traveled with such big name bands as Buck Clayton, Bill Doggett, Billy Ekstine, Erskin Hawkins, Lucky Milinder, and Nat Towles. During his storied career he also accompanied such artists as Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Ray Price, Della Reese, and Dakota Staton.

popular name: Alain Bashung

date_of_death: March 14, 2009

age: 61

cause_of_death: Lung cancer

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Alain Bashung was a French singer, songwriter and actor credited with reviving the French chanson in "a time of French musical turmoil" and was one of the most influential and admired French singer/songwriters of the last 40 years. His songs were heavily influenced by American blues and rock, but he belonged to the world of Parisian chanson, inheriting the tradition of Charles Trenet, Georges Brassens and Serge Gainsbourg. He is often regarded in his home country as the most important French rock musician after Serge Gainsbourg. He rose to prominence in the early 1980s with hit songs such as "Gaby oh Gaby" and "Vertige de l'amour", and later had a string of hit records from the 1990s onward, such as "Osez Joséphine", "Ma petite entreprise" and "La nuit je mens". He has had an influence on many later French artists, and is the most awarded artist in the Victoires de la Musique history with 12 victories obtained throughout his career. Bashung died at age 61 after a two-year battle with lung cancer.

popular name: Arthur Smith

date_of_death: April 3, 2014

age: 93

cause_of_death: Natural causes

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith was a musician, composer, and record producer, as well as a radio and TV host. He produced the first nationally syndicated country music show on television: The Arthur Smith Show". A talented and respected country music instrumental composer, guitarist, fiddler, and banjo player his first big hit recording was the instrumental "Guitar Boogie", which he wrote and recorded in 1945. It sold over three million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. Renamed "Guitar Boogie Shuffle", it became a rock and roll hit by Frank Virtue and the Virtues. Virtue served in the Navy with Smith and counted him as a major influence. Other musicians who have been influenced by Smith include Nashville studio ace Hank "Sugarfoot" Garland, Roy Clark, and Glen Campbell. Smith was also noted for his "Feudin' Banjos" (1955), which was also recorded by Lester Flatt. It was revived as "Dueling Banjos" and used as a theme song in the popular film, Deliverance (1972). Released as a single, it became a hit, played on Top 40, AOR, and country stations alike. It reached the Top Ten and hit #1 in the US and Canada. Just a few of the dozens of awards and accolades he received during his lifetime include: BMI Song of the Year Award 1973, Grammy - Dueling Banjos (1973), Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) Special Citation of Achievement, The Broadcasters Hall of Fame – North Carolina Association of Broadcasters (1990), South Carolina Hall of Fame (1998), Legends Award – Western Film Festival (2003) and BMI Legendary Songwriter Award (2006). Charlie passed away in 2014 at the age of 93. He was laid to rest at Magnolia Memorial Gardens in Charlotte, North Carolina.