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: Sonny Bono

date_of_death: January 5, 1998

age: 62

cause_of_death: Massive head injuries caused by skiing into a tree

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Singer, songwriter, actor and entertainer Sonny Bono began his career struggling to write songs while working as a waiter, a construction worker, a truck driver and a butcher's helper. In his 20's he immersed himself in the music business as a songwriter and singer with Specialty Records, where he worked with Sam Cooke and Little Richard. Soon he teamed up with the legendary record producer Phil Specter, where he wrote songs (''You Bug Me, Baby,'' and ''Needles and Pins'') and sang background for groups like the Righteous Brothers. The turning point of his career took place when the exotically beautiful 16-year-old named Cherilyn Sarkisian, who called herself Cher, drifted into his life. The pair first achieved fame with two hit songs in 1965, "Baby Don't Go" and "I Got You Babe". The couple's career as a duo ended in 1975 following their divorce. In the decade they spent together, Sonny and Cher were nominated for two Grammy Awards and sold over 40 million records worldwide. Rolling Stone ranked them No. 18 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time. Sadly, it was on January 5th, 1998 when Sonny took off alone snow skiing and later slammed into a tree. Bono's body was found late Monday afternoon in a narrow, wooded area between two ski runs at the Heavenly Ski Resort. He died instantly from massive head trauma.

popular name: Artie Shaw

date_of_death: December 30, 2004

age: 94

cause_of_death: Natural causes

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Artie Shaw led one of the United States' most popular big bands in the late 1930s through the early 1940s. Though he had numerous hit records, he was perhaps best known for his 1938 recording of Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine." Before the release of "Beguine," Shaw and his fledgling band had languished in relative obscurity for over two years and, after its release, he became a major pop artist within short order. The record eventually became one of the era's defining recordings. Musically restless, Shaw was also an early proponent of what became known much later as Third Stream music, which blended elements of classical and jazz forms and traditions. At the height of his popularity, he remained a force in popular music and jazz before retiring from music completely in 1954.