Sun Ra

AKA:
Le Sony'r Ra
Birth Name:
Herman Poole Blount
Birth Date:
May 22, 1914
Birth Place:
Birmingham, Alabama
Death Date:
May 30, 1993
Place of Death:
Birmingham, Alabama
Age:
79
Cause of Death:
Cumulative effects of congestive heart failure, respiratory failure, and multiple strokes
Cemetery Name:
Elmwood Cemetery and Mausoleum
Claim to Fame:
Music
With over 200 albums over his 6 decade career, Sun Ra was revered in Europe as a genius and staged hundreds of concerts, at times with a nearly 100-piece orchestra. Taking the stage with his Arkestra members wearing wild costumes and flowing cloaks, concerts would include extended percussion jams, poetry, light shows, dancers and wicked progressive jazz. In later years the Arkestra, with Ra's eccentric piano style, began to re- create Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington and Jimmy Lunceford jazz classics of the Thirties amongst its more contemporary works to remain somewhat commercially relevant.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Elmwood Cemetery and Mausoleum

600 Martin Luther King Jr Drive

Birmingham, Alabama, 35211

North America

Map:

Grave Location:

Block 25

Grave Location Description

Driving towards the middle of this 400+ acre cemetery, look for Block 25 and circle around the section and park when you see the “Christu” monument about 40′ off the road. Herman Sonny Blount’s simple flat marker is just 2 rows in front of Christu.

Grave Location GPS

33.486446, -86.849373

Photos:

[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]

Read More About Sun Ra:

Videos Featuring Sun Ra:

See More:

Dimebag Darrell

popular name: Dimebag Darrell

date_of_death: December 8, 2004

age: 38

cause_of_death: Multiple gunshot wounds to the head

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: As the cofounder with his brother Vinnie of Pantera and Damageplan, Dimebag Darrell was not only one of the most influential heavy metal guitarist but considered one of the greatest guitarist of modern times. Sadly his fame extended to his brutal death while performing onstage at the Alrosa Villa Nightclub in Columbus, Ohio.

Johnny Ace

popular name: Johnny Ace

date_of_death: December 25, 1954

age: 25

cause_of_death: Accidental gunshot to the head

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: A popular R&B singer with a string of eight hits in a row including "Cross My Heart" and "Please Forgive Me", he blew his brains out on Christmas Day between sets after telling everyone ‘It’s okay! Gun’s not loaded… see?’ Interestingly enough, "Pledging My Love" was a posthumous R&B number 1 hit for 10 weeks beginning February 12, 1955, thus Johnny Ace became the first artist to reach the Billboard pop charts only after death.

Carl Lee Cunningham

popular name: Carl Lee Cunningham

date_of_death: December 10, 1967

age: 19

cause_of_death: Plane crash

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: As a member of the Bar-Kays, Carl played drums for Otis Redding and died in the plane crash that took the life of Otis Redding, Phalon Jones, Carl Cunningham, Ronnie Caldwell, guitarist Jimmy King and valet Matthew Kelly. Only Ben Cauley survived the crash.

Back to Top