Music History Events: Died Young
August 5, 1962 Marilyn Monroe dies of a barbiturate overdose at age 36 in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California. Musically, she's known for an iconic performance of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."
April 22, 1962 Jerry Lee Lewis loses his first son, Steve Allen (named after the TV host and good friend), in a tragic drowning accident at the age of three.
November 5, 1960 Country singer Johnny Horton, age 35, dies in an automobile accident near Milano, Texas.
February 6, 1960 R&B singer Jesse Belvin, who co-wrote the Penguins' hit "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)," dies in a car crash at age 27.
October 7, 1959 Singer/actor Mario Lanza dies at a weight loss clinic in Rome, possibly from a pulmonary embolism or a massive heart attack (no autopsy was performed). He was 38.
February 7, 1959 New Orleans blues guitarist Eddie Jones, known as Guitar Slim, struggling with alcoholism, dies of pneumonia at age 32.
April 10, 1958 Rock 'n roll singer Chuck Willis dies at age 30 of peritonitis.
March 12, 1955 Charlie Parker dies at age 34 after years of drug abuse deteriorate his health.
December 25, 1954 Up-and-coming R&B star Johnny Ace, age 25, is killed when he shoots himself backstage at a concert in Houston, possibly while playing Russian Roulette. His song "Pledging My Love" becomes a hit after his death.
June 17, 1954 Danny Cedrone, guitarist featured on Bill Haley & His Comets' "Rock Around The Clock," dies at age 33 after falling down stairs and breaking his neck.
May 16, 1953 Jazz guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt dies of a brain hemorrhage at age 43.
January 1, 1953 Hank Williams dies of a heart attack in the back seat of a Cadillac while traveling to a concert in Ohio. He was 29.
December 15, 1944 Glenn Miller, a world-famous bandleader who joined the Army in 1942 and has been entertaining troops with his Army Air Force Band, vanishes when the plane taking him from England to Paris disappears over the English Channel. The plane is never found; Miller, age 40, is presumed dead.
December 15, 1943 Jazz pianist Fats Waller dies of pneumonia at age 39. Composed "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose."
May 14, 1942 Film composer Frank Churchill - who wrote several classic Disney numbers including "Heigh-Ho" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 40.
August 16, 1938 Blues legend Robert Johnson dies after being poisoned by a jealous man. Like many famous musicians who died young, he was 27 when he passed.
May 26, 1933 Country singer Jimmie Rodgers dies at age 35 after a long battle with tuberculosis (which he sings about in "T.B. Blues.")
March 15, 1929 Alabama blues pianist Pinetop Smith is shot and killed at age 24.
November 4, 1847 German composer Felix Mendelssohn dies after a series of strokes at age 38.
September 23, 1835 Italian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini dies of peritonitis at age 33.
November 19, 1828 Austrian composer Franz Schubert dies in Vienna, Austria, at age 31. The cause is listed as typhoid fever, though some scholars believe it was syphilis.
June 5, 1826 German composer Carl Maria von Weber dies of tuberculosis at age 39.
June 30, 1792 Classical era composer Antonio Rosetti dies at age 42.
February 19, 2020 The rapper Pop Smoke is shot and killed at age 20. Five months later, his debut album, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, is released and goes to #1 in the US.
December 8, 2019 Juice WRLD, a 21-year-old rapper known for his hit "Lucid Dreams," dies after suffering a seizure onboard a private jet.
October 14, 2019 Choi Jin-ri, the South Korean singer/actress known as Sulli, commits suicide at Busan aged only 25.
September 7, 2018 Rapper Mac Miller dies at 26 of an apparent drug overdose.
June 18, 2018 The 20-year-old rapper XXXTentacion (Jahseh Onfroy) is shot and killed while leaving a car dealership in Deerfield Beach, Florida.
April 20, 2018 The Swedish DJ Avicii (Tim Bergling) dies at 28.
December 19, 2016 Country songwriter Andrew Dorff, brother of actor Stephen Dorff, dies at age 40. Penned hits for artists such as Martina McBride ("Ride"), Kenny Chesney ("Save It for a Rainy Day"), Blake Shelton ("Neon Light") and Hunter Hayes ("Somebody's Heartbreak").
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