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: Bob Casale

date_of_death: February 17, 2014

age: 61

cause_of_death: Heart failure

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Bob Casale was a founding member of the influential new wave band Devo. Often referred to as "Bob 2" to distinguish him from bandmate Bob Mothersbaugh, Casale played rhythm guitar and keyboards, contributed backing vocals, and was a key part of Devo's sonic experimentation with synthesizers and sampling. He joined Devo in the early 1970s alongside his older brother Gerald Casale, one of the band's conceptual founders. Casale was known for his technical expertise and grounded demeanor, often serving as the stabilizing force within the band. He contributed to all of Devo’s studio albums, including their 1980 breakthrough Freedom of Choice, which featured the hit single "Whip It." Beyond his work with Devo, Casale worked as an audio engineer and producer, collaborating with Mark Mothersbaugh’s Mutato Muzika on numerous film, television, and commercial projects. He continued to perform with Devo during their reunions and later tours. Upon Bob Casale's unexpected passing, his grave can be found at Standing Rock Cemetery in Kent, Ohio.

popular name: Ruth Wallis

date_of_death: December 22, 2007

age: 87

cause_of_death: Alzheimer's disease

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Ruth Wallis performed risqué cabaret numbers for listeners worldwide during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. She was known as the Queen of the Party Song, and began her career performing jazz and cabaret songs. Ruth was a veteran of ten comedy albums which sold worldwide for over two decades. She traveled extensively as an international star doing her own songs and appeared in top supper clubs in Las Vegas, Miami and was a sensation and sell out on her tours of Australia, London and New Zealand. In the sixties, her albums enjoyed great success and were released on her own Wallis Originals label. Her signature number was "The Dinghy Song” which sold more than 250,000 copies. Her songs were banned from Boston radio and her records were seized by custom agents in Australia, but the incidents only made her more popular. In the end Ruth Wallis wrote the words and music to over 150 songs and her career spanned three decades and four continents. Wallis’s work was the inspiration for the off-Broadway revue, “Boobs! The Musical: The World According to Ruth Wallis” in 2003.