The Day the Rock Star Died

Amy Winehouse was an English singer and songwriter whose stunning voice easily followed in the footsteps of Janis Joplin and Billie Holiday. Her debut album, Frank, was a critical success in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her follow-up album, Back to Black (2006), led to five 50th Annual Grammy Awards, and a record of most Grammys won by a female artist in one night. In short, a music legend who died at the young age of 27, from alcohol intoxication on July 23, 2011. Her album Back to Black posthumously became one the UK's best-selling albums of the 21st century.

Michael Hutchence was the founding member, lead singer and lyricist of rock band INXS from 1977 until his death on November 22, 1997. Hutchence was the archetypal rock showman. He exuded an overtly sexual, macho cool with his flowing locks, and lithe and exuberant stage movements. His private life was often reported in the Australian and international press, with a string of love affairs with prominent actresses, models and singers. Hutchence's relationship with UK television presenter Paula Yates began while she was married to musician and Live Aid organiser Bob Geldof. During July of the same year, Hutchence and Yates had a daughter. On the morning of November 22, 1997, Hutchence was found dead in his hotel room in Sydney. His death was reported by the New South Wales Coroner to be the result of suicide.

Buddy Holly was a central figure of late 1950s rock and roll. With hits, "That'll be the Day," "Everyday," and "Peggy Sue." Holly made his second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in January 1958 and soon after, toured Australia and the UK. In early 1959, he assembled a new band and embarked on a tour of the midwestern U.S. After a show in Clear Lake, Iowa, he chartered an airplane to travel to his next show, in Moorhead, Minnesota. Soon after take-off, the plane crashed, killing him, Ritchie Valens & The Big Bopper, in a tragedy later referred to by Don McLean as "The Day the Music Died."