Original name:John Winston Lennon: 9th October 1940 - 8th December 1980 an iconic English 20th century composer and singer of popular music, best known as the founding member of The Beatles, in which he and Paul McCartney formed the massively successful Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership throughout the 1960s. Lennon's songwriting was an integral part of The Beatles' profound commercial, social, economic and political impact. His melodies, written during the Lennon-McCartney era, and later, in his solo career, are distinctive and unabashedly romantic. Lennon's lyrics reflected his personal and career demands, philosophical outlook, his unease with his fame and current events. Murdered outside his home, the Dakota building in New York by fan Mark Chapman. Mark Chapman, had asked Lennon for an autograph and then waited six hours for Lennon's return, before shooting him. Chapman pleaded guilty and received life in prison. He had just released his first album in several years -"Double Fantasy". Cremated. Allegedly part of his ashes are in the "Strawberry Fields" memorial and part are in Yoko Ono's apartment in the Dakota Building. John Lennon Official Website!

 

Original name: Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley (February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981) was a Jamaican musician, singer-songwriter, and Rastafarian. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands: The Wailers (1964 – 1974) and Bob Marley & the Wailers (1974 – 1981). While flying home from Germany to Jamaica for his final days, Marley became ill, and landed in Miami for immediate medical attention. He died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami, Florida on the morning of May 11, 1981 at the age of 36. The spread of melanoma to his lungs and brain caused his death. His final words to his son Ziggy were "Money can't buy life. Head over to the official Bob Marley Official Website.

 

Original name: Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988), nicknamed "The Big O," was an influential Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, guitarist and a pioneer of rock and roll whose recording career spanned more than four decades. Orbison is best known for the songs, "Ooby Dooby," "Only the Lonely," "In Dreams," "Oh, Pretty Woman," "Crying," "Running Scared," and "You Got It". He is known for his smooth tenor voice, which could jump three octaves with little trouble. He was also rarely seen on stage without his trademark black sunglasses. Orbison headed down to Nashville on 4 December and on Tuesday, 6 December, spent time shopping for model airplane parts and flying them, but during the afternoon he complained of chest pains. He collapsed at his mother's house just before midnight. At 52 years of age, the singer was reported dead at 11:54 pm on 6 December 1988. He had suffered a massive heart attack.
Want more info? Head to the Official Roy Orbison Website.

 

Original name: Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson, later known as Rick Nelson (May 8, 1940 –December 31, 1985), was an American singer, musician, and Golden Globe-nominated actor. With more than 50 Hot 100 hits, Nelson was second only to Elvis Presley as the most popular rock and roll artist of the 1950s and 1960s. In 1985, Nelson joined a nostalgia rock tour of England. It was a major success, and it revived some interest in his work. He tried to duplicate that effect in the United States, and he began a tour of the South. While on that tour, on his way to a New Year's Eve concert in Dallas, Texas, he died in a plane crash in De Kalb, Texas. Nelson was buried in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. The last song he sang on stage before his death was Buddy Holly's "Rave On". Holly had also perished in a plane crash. Want more info on Rick: Official Rick Nelson Web Site

 

Original name: John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an Emmy Award-winning American comedian, actor and musician, notable for his work on Saturday Night Live, National Lampoon's Animal House, and The Blues Brothers. Belushi was known for his drug use, and it eventually cost him his life. On March 5, 1982, Belushi, age 33, was found dead in his room at Bungalow #3 of the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. The cause of death was a speedball, an injection of cocaine and heroin. On the night of his death, he was visited separately by friends Robin Williams (at the height of his own drug exploits) and Robert De Niro, each of whom left the premises, leaving Belushi in the company of assorted others, including Cathy Smith. More info on John awaits you here.

 

Original name: John Henry "Bonzo" Bonham (May 31, 1948 – September 25, 1980) was an English drummer and member of the band Led Zeppelin. He was renowned for his power, speed and "feel" for the groove. Bonham is described by the Encyclopædia Britannica as "the perfect model for all hard rock drummers that have followed him". On September 24, 1980, John Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals at Bray Studios for the upcoming tour of the United States, the band's first since 1977. During the journey Bonham had asked to stop for breakfast, where he downed four quadruple vodkas (roughly sixteen shots). He then continued to drink heavily when he arrived at the studio. A halt was called to the rehearsals late in the evening and the band retired to Page's house, The Old Mill House in Clewer, Windsor. After midnight, Bonham had fallen asleep and was taken to bed and placed on his side. Benji LeFevre and John Paul Jones found him dead the next morning. Bonham was 32 years old. More On John is here.