Blender's 50 Most Awesomely Dead Rock Stars

Eric M. told me over MSN earlier that I shouldn't commit any Fraser River Massacres, and not to get too crazy. He said that he was protecting the citizens of Richmond... as if I were THAT mean and depraved! :P


Blender's 50 Most Awesomely Dead Rock Stars

50. Appetite for Self-Destruction

Layne Staley
1967-2002
Alice in Chains frontman

Cause of Death: Overdose
Report: He was "obviously dead"

Inelegantly Wasted: Locking himself away in his apartment and doing drugs for five years until he died, only to be found two weeks later after his accountant noticed he hadn't spent any money for a while, Staley's was one of the grimmest rock deaths ever. Despite selling 11 million albums, Alice in Chains were always in the shadow of the twin peaks of Seattle rock, Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Similarly, after Kurt Cobain sensationally took his own life, Staley's death -- long after grunge's own -- caused little stir. A local vigil held the day after his body was discovered drew only 200 mourners.

Breaking the Chain: No new material has been posthumously released. In 2005, Alice in Chains performed a Tsunami benefit show with guest singers including Maynard James Keehan of Tool, but there are no permanent reunion plans.

Memory Layne: Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder recorded the tribute 4/20/02, a reference to the date he heard of Staley's death. Staind also marked the singer's passing with the song Layne. Staley's mother, Nancy McCallum, established the Layne Staley Fund, a drug-treatment charity for heroin-addicted musicians that hosts an annual benefit.

Forecast for 2006:


49. Songs of the South

Stephen Foster
1826-1864
America's first professional songwriter

Cause of Death: Impoverishment
Oh! Susanna, don't cry for Stephen

Tarnished Star: The 19th century's most famous tunesmith had no copyright protection, and so made no bank. The composer of Camptown Races and Oh! Susanna died after a feverish collapse in a cheap New York hotel. His fortune was the 38 cents in his pocket.

Two-Faced: Pennsylvania native Foster wrote about the South, but rarely left the North. He was white, but used the now-horrifying slang of blackface minstrelsy. None of this helped his post-civil-rights-era rep. In 1996, the only two African-American members of the Yale Glee Club protested three Foster songs slated for a public performance; two were cut and the Glee Club president publicly burned a copy of the music.

Salvage Job: Foster's status began changing around the time documentarian Ken Burns made the Civil War hip again. Ken Emerson's 1997 biography, the first in 60 years, contextualized Foster's functional racism; a PBS doc and a tribute album followed. Americana lovers from Dylan on down revived Foster's songs; twinkle-toed choreographer Mark Morris wrote a dance using them. Foster's still not quite the bomb, but his phantom's on the mend.

Forecast for 2006:


48. More Than A Woman

Aaliyah
1979-2001
R&B princess

Cause of Death: Plane crash
Aaliyah duets with Beyonce?

One in a Million: Talked-up as her generation's answer to Diana Ross before her death, Aaliyah has since achieved a kind of sainthood, destined to be remembered for her "Beautiful smile, long hair and the voice of a hummingbird," as Missy Elliott put it on her 2002 tribute, Can You Hear Me.

The Final Cut: Unlike those made legends by their demise, Aaliyah remains a superstar-in-waiting. Despite her string of Timbaland-produced hits, only her final album, Aaliyah, topped the charts, and there was always a feeling she was about to step up another level. Hollywood, for one, was calling -- she was the best thing in Queen of the Damned and had three movies in production when the plane she was traveling in crashed just after takeoff.

Peer Plaudits: Her family, who settled a negligence suit with the aircraft's operators out of court, established the Aaliyah Memorial Fund and announced that a portion of the profits from her music would be donated to charities. Posthumous compilation I Care 4 U went platinum, but there's little unreleased material left for future releases -- and her planned collaboration with Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor will sadly remain forever unrealized.

Forecast for 2006:


47. "Mack" in Black

Bobby Darin
1936-1973
Finger-popping vocalist

Cause of Death: Complications from open-heart surgery
Did Darin's ex-wife predict his death?

Swinging Into Oblivion: A showbiz trooper, Darin literally worked himself to death. In 1973 he was making $75,000 a week in Vegas, but he pushed his chronically weak ticker until an infection felled him. His son Dodd now maintains his dad's estate with the help of Darin's longtime manager, Steve Blauner.

Unhip Years: A catalogue wavering between the Rat Pack and the counterculture hurt Darin's reputation. Hits like his finger-snappin' Mack the Knife killed on oldies radio, but his folk-rock efforts weren't freaky enough for Gen X. A classy 1995 box set showed range, but failed to focus interest.

Big Mack With Cheese: Advertisers love Darin -- Kodak, Oral B, and Carnival Cruise Lines have hawked products using his plastic croon. But there's a fine line between love and exploitation: The estate sued McDonald's in 1989 over a campaign imitating Mack the Knife. The case could have set an intellectual-property precedent, but was settled.

Lost at Sea: Just when baby Darin imitators Michael Bublé and Jamie Cullum surfaced, superfan Kevin Spacey released the disastrous biopic Beyond the Sea, sinking all hope for a revival.

Forecast for 2006:


46. The Metal Lennon

"Dimebag" Darrell Abbott
1966-2004
Pantera guitarist

Cause of Death: Shot dead by fan
Get your Dimebag bracelet now!

Dropping the Dime: Largely unknown in the mainstream during his lifetime, death made Abbott suddenly world famous -- when he became the first musician ever murdered onstage, shot repeatedly by deranged gunman Nathan Gale in Columbus, Ohio.

Live and Dangerous: As guitarist in Pantera, Abbott was part of one of the most successful hard-rock band of the '90s: The band's 1994 release, Far Beyond Driven, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and was nearly as instrumental in the demise of hair metal as the advent of grunge.

The Memory Remains: Pantera split in 2001, and Abbott's next band, the somewhat less influential Damageplan, released just one album and dissolved the instant he died. Those wishing to remember Abbott in model form can purchase a commemorative action figure -- only 3,333 made at $99 apiece.

My Best Friend's Shredding: David Draiman of Disturbed described the day Abbott was killed as "the 9/11 of rock."

Forecast for 2006:


45. Before He Got Old

Keith Moon
1946-1978
Hyperactive Who drummer

Cause of Death: Choked on vomit after OD on pills
Was the Rolls in the pool a myth?

Who Went First: Neither Moon's early death nor the fact that he left an estate valued at just $750,000 was surprising for a rock superstar who spent his extensive off-time between Who tours and albums partying and spending hard. He died intestate, making it difficult for his daughter, Amanda, to collect what she could have. But even though Pete Townshend wrote almost all the Who's songs, today they're licensed so widely and lucratively -- in commercials for cars, computers and allergy medicine as well as the title music for all three CSI TV shows -- that Moon's share likely exceeds seven figures.

Peer Plaudits: Though widely recognized by other drummers as a unique stylist and breathtaking performer, Moon remains best-known as the godfather of nihilistic rock-star excess -- and for a career of stripping naked in airports, destroying hotel rooms and drum kits, and consuming record quantities of alcohol and pharmaceuticals.

Give the Drummer Some: Bandmate Roger Daltrey's 10-year quest to produce a biopic of Moon finally bore fruit last October when Mike Myers agreed to handle the role.

Forecast for 2006:


44. Dances With Werewolves

Warren Zevon
1947-2003
Mordant singer-songwriter

Cause of Death: Lung cancer
Warren and Elvis walk into a bar...

Life After Death: In 2002, the heavy-smoking Zevon was diagnosed with cancer and given three months to live. In fact, he survived for over a year -- in which time he was the subject of a VH1 documentary, appeared as the sole guest on an episode of The Late Show With David Letterman, and recorded a CD, The Wind. Released two weeks before his death, the album debuted at No. 16 on the Billboard charts (its predecessor had failed to crack the top 200).

Mr. Bad Example: Both a one-hit wonder and a much-covered songwriter whose titles have so far inspired two movies (Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead and I'll Sleep When I'm Dead), Zevon's legacy is peculiarly diverse. But it's safe to say that Werewolves of London will feature on radio stations' Halloween playlists until the universe implodes.

Peer Plaudits: As soon as Zevon's condition was made public, Bob Dylan began including a range of his songs in his live shows, while a 2004 tribute album featured Dylan, Springsteen, and the Pixies. Last year another covers CD, Hurry Home Early, was recorded by up-and-coming artists.

Forecast for 2006:


43. Cash From Chaos

Sid Vicious
1957-1979
The Sex Pistols' couldn't-play bassist

Cause of Death: Heroin overdose
Did he really murder Nancy?

Pretty Vacant: Sid contributed nothing to the Pistols' music, but everything to their legend, checking out while on bail for the murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen at New York's Chelsea Hotel. Actual royalties are limited to proceeds from perennial Sid single My Way and album tracks from unlovable exploitation albums, but value accrues from the estate's co-ownership of priceless film footage of the band, wrested from flamboyant former manager Malcolm McLaren in 1987. Sid's mom, Anne Beverley, was the initial beneficiary before she, too, OD'd in 1996. Today, the estate is controlled by high-powered MGM executive Anita Camarata.

His Way: The apotheosis of punk's spiky biker look and wrecked moron schtick, Vicious has become antiestablishment shorthand, co-opted by stars as varied as Rancid's Lars Frederiksen, Avril Lavigne, and Duff McKagan -- who still steadfastly rocks Sid's trademark padlock-on-a-neckchain. Conversely, John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon's undignified recent foray into British reality TV has devalued the Pistols brand, while Sid wannabe Pete Doherty has rendered the affably doomed junkie archetype somewhat tired. A TV documentary, Sid: The Last 24 Hours, airs later this year in the U.K.

Forecast for 2006:


42. The Wages of Funk

Rick James
1950-2004
Lycra-jumpsuited satyr

Cause of Death: Enlarged heart, pneumonia, effects of multiple drugs
It's Rick James' grave, b**ch!

He Knew From Superfreaks: James' off-stage adventures included a $10,000-a-week coke habit and holding women hostage on two occasions, torturing one with a hot crack pipe. Unfortunately, his musical life was less sensational in later years. While his death brought some interest in the catalogue -- including the hits Super Freak and Hammer's rap doppelganger U Can't Touch This, both of which make money for James's daughter Ty and sons Rick Jr. and Tazman -- all James' later albums tanked, and the double CD he'd been working on with Kanye West among others is as yet unreleased.

Saved by Chappelle: Comedian Dave Chappelle singlehandedly rehabilitated James's badass image with a Falstaffian characterization that made "I'm Rick James, bitch" the tagline of 2004, fueling DVD sales of Chappelle's comedy show to well over $50 million and bringing James back into the public eye. Paramount optioned James' unpublished autobiography, Memoirs of a Super Freak, as a starring vehicle for Chappelle. But if neither book, film, nor double CD come out, some posthumous lean years may follow James's legendary high times.

Forecast for 2006:


41. Great White Father of the Blues

Alan Lomax
1915-2002
Folklorist and ethnomusicologist

Cause of Death: Complications from stroke
Lomax ponders sexuality & tenors

Old Folks' Home: Lomax is celebrated for finding and recording Muddy Waters and promoting a long list of American folk legends including Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. Along with Harry Smith, whose folk recordings for the Smithsonian would become a touchstone for generations of serious folkies and eggheads, Lomax's work forms the spine of the recorded American folk legacy.

Life After Death: Lomax's estate got fat in recent years when his recordings were used on the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? and sampled extensively on Moby's Play. The estate also has a rare reputation for diligence in tracking down descendants of performers to pay them royalties.

In the Vault: Lomax's catalogue of recordings is enormous, and Rounder Records has spent the last decade compiling and releasing nearly 100 CDs of his work, with plans for many more.

The Bad News: Lomax's reputation has been tarnished recently by allegations that he played down the contribution of his collaborators -- particularly legendary African American scholar and musicologist John Work III -- and that he stiffed Muddy Waters out of a promised $20 recording fee.

Forecast for 2006:


40. Misery Loves Company

Elliott Smith
1969-2003
Morose indie troubadour

Cause of Death: Suicide by stabbing
Suicide or Murder?

Enduring Mystery: Smith was transformed from cult miserablist into Joaquin Phoenix-endorsed doomed genius poet as details of his drug-addled final months emerged. Adding grist to the controversy mill, a Kurt-like murder theory circulates, based on medical examiner Lisa Scheinin's report that "possible defensive wounds" on his arms and hands "raise the possibility of homicide."

Life After Death: Smith's posthumous 2004 album From a Basement on the Hill hit the Billboard charts at No. 19, 80 places higher than his previous release, although super-harrowing tracks such as Suicide Machine were excised by Smith's complicated estate (father Gary, birth mother Bunny, and Elliott's stepmother Marta).

In the Vault: A cache of twenty-two unreleased songs were leaked onto the Internet in fall 2005, fueling persistent rumors of another archive release, while Smith's contributions to the soundtrack for the film Thumbsucker maintain the illusion of an artist more prolific in death than in life. The inevitable tribute album, To: Elliott From: Portland, is slated for February 2006.

Forecast for 2006:


39. Rhapsody in Blues

Robert Johnson
1911-1938
Delta blues progenitor

Cause of Death: Pneumonia
Sold his soul to the Devil?

Sympathy for the Devil: The myths surrounding Johnson's early death have helped build the enduring legend of the doomed blues Prometheus cursed for his gifts. The most popular story -- that he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his guitar skills -- inspired the 1986 Ralph Macchio vehicle Crossroads.

Estate of Confusion: Johnson died with neither legitimate children nor will, leaving his recordings to an unknowing family until 1973, when the last heir, a half-sister, was located by a music historian, to whom she assigned all rights to the small estate. When Columbia's The Complete Recordings went platinum not long after its 1990 release, however, royalties to the estate rose to $1.3 million and a truck driver named Claud L. Johnson emerged, claiming to be Johnson's illegitimate son. In 2000, after an eight-year hearing, he was named sole heir.

Peer Plaudits: Johnson is the blues icon: Eric Clapton famously said that "his music remains the most powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice." The White Stripes covered his Stop Breaking Down Blues, and if you think Jack White's penchant for fedoras owes nothing to Johnson, think again.

Forecast for 2006:


38. Freddie's Dead

Curtis Mayfield
1942-1999
Politicized soul pioneer, quadriplegic

Cause of Death: Never verified, though years of poor health followed his paralysis after a 1990 onstage accident.
The soul lives on

Enemy of Estate: From '60s R&B trio the Impressions through his monumental solo career, Mayfield recorded more than 100 charting singles and amassed an impressive estate. In 2003, however, Mayfield's widow Altheida successfully settled a suit to remove Marv Heiman, the artist's manager and trustee, from the family's trusts, alleging that Heiman had paid himself millions in fees and caused tax difficulties for both her and her six children.

Peer Plaudits: Mayfield's music continues to be part of hip-hop's DNA: Kanye West's recent song Touch the Sky is essentially Curtis's Move On Up with different lyrics. In 2002 Mayfield's family placed an ad in Billboard thanking rappers like Snoop and Jay-Z who had sampled his music (and provided a contact number, presumably to drum up more business). The same year, Heiman was quoted as saying he received five sample requests a month -- each one can fetch up to $350,000 for Mayfield's estate.

Forecast for 2006:


37. Diva Down

Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes
1971-2002
TLC firebrand

Cause of Death: Car crash
Is she easily replaced?

Microphone Fiend: The most successful female R&B group of all time, TLC sold 22 million albums in the U.S. alone -- and the rapping and maverick behavior of Lopes was what really set them apart.

On the TLC Tip: After Lopes was killed while taking a vacation in Honduras, a reported 10,000 people attended her funeral in Atlanta. Seven months later, TLC's fourth album, the well-received 3D, was released with Left Eye's vocals on five of the tracks - and a greatest-hits CD followed the next year. The 2005 reality TV show R U the Girl With T-Boz and Chilli offered hopefuls the chance to perform and record with the remaining members, though emphatically not as a replacement for Lopes. A single, I Bet, was cut with the show's winner, O'so Krispie, but failed to chart.

Coming Soon: Later this year, VH1 will show The Last Days of Lisa Lopes, a feature-length program including exclusive home video footage shot by the singer during her final retreat in Central America.

Forecast for 2006:


36. Dead Air

John Peel
1939-2004
Pioneering BBC DJ

Cause of Death: Heart failure
Peek inside his record collection

Last Night, a DJ Saved My Career: Peel was an early champion of acts from Pink Floyd to the Fall and the White Stripes. Admired by hipsters on this side of the Atlantic, he was utterly beloved in his native U.K., where the first anniversary of his final broadcast was marked by "John Peel Day" - during which the BBC devoted six hours of programming to its former employee, and more than 300 concerts were held in his honor.

Life After Death: Peel's autobiography, for which he was paid $2.6 million and which was posthumously completed by his wife, became an instant bestseller in Britain when published last fall. Many of those who benefited from the DJ's long career of patronage feature on the predictably eclectic range of Peel Sessions CDs - the latest, featuring Galaxie 500, hit stores last November - while a planned website supervised by Peel's son Tom will continue his mission of showcasing new acts.

Peer Plaudits: After news broke of Peel's death, Radiohead's Thom Yorke moaned, "Who am I going to listen to now?"

Forecast for 2006: src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/Flamsterette_X/Music/SideArrow.gif">


35. The American Sid Vicious

Darby Crash
1959-1980
Singer of L.A. punk act the Germs

Cause of Death: Intentional heroin overdose
What they do is secret...

Early Exit: Dying at 22, with only one album to his name, the self-mutilating star of L.A. hardcore earned the postmortem mystique of a goth Peter Pan. Although Crash blew it on the death date (John Lennon was shot 24 hours later, eclipsing Darby's newsworthiness), his timing was otherwise perfect. Neither his fledgling solo career nor brief stay in England - from which he returned looking ominously like Adam Ant - augured greatness.

Crashing In: The Germs' rep has solidified since Crash's death, thanks to Rhino's MIA: The Complete Anthology and shout-outs from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, and the Offspring. But the real surge should come later this year, with the release of Rodger Grossman's What We Do Is Secret. Recreating Crash's gambol through L.A.'s punk scene, the film, whose music supervisor is Germs guitarist Pat Smear (lately of Nirvana and Foo Fighters), features performances by Bijou Phillips as Germs bassist Lorna Doom and Shane West (a.k.a. Dr. Ray Barnett on ER) as Crash himself - donning blue contacts and prosthetic chipped teeth for the role.

Forecast for 2006:


34. Deceased DJ

Jam Master Jay
1965-2002
Run-D.M.C. turntablist

Cause of Death: Murder
Another hip-hop murder conspiracy

Hip-Hop Pioneer: Despite being in one of the most important and successful hip-hop groups of all time, Jay reportedly left as much as $500,000 in debts at the time of his shooting. The trio's biggest hits came on the small Profile Records, and they stayed with the label even after declaring bankruptcy in 1993. After Jay's death, friends and admirers - including Russell Simmons, LL Cool J, and Eminem - contributed to a fund to help support his family.

Peer Plaudits: Just before his death, Missy Elliott paid tribute to Jay by sampling Peter Piper on Work It. And right after his death, Adidas released a limited-edition "Run-D.M.C. Superstar" shoe, and a Dr. Pepper commercial memorialized the DJ. There's little chance Run-D.M.C. itself will continue, however: The three albums released since Jay's death have all been retrospective compilations.

The Future: While the family has championed a Jam Master Jay Foundation for Music to support inner-city music programs, the DJ's murder rather than his music appears destined to keep him in the public eye, with federal prosecutors examining alleged ties between Queens gangs and the rap world.

Forecast for 2006:


33. Sunken Stone

Brian Jones
1942-1969
Weird, druggy Rolling Stones guitarist

Cause of Death: Drowned in his swimming pool
Sex, drugs & rock 'n' roll

This Could Be the Last Time: Lewis Brian Hopkins-Jones founded the Rolling Stones and steered them into their weirdest territories, but by early June 1969, the original junkie rock star was enough of a drug casualty that they booted him. A month later, he was dead... and the supposed mystery of his youthful demise has continued to make him considerably more famous than, say, living ex-Stones Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor.

Baby, You're out of Time: The 2005 British biopic Stoned depicted Jones's death as a murder - but even if he's exhumed, as one former girlfriend has suggested, it's past the point where anyone but his fan club could care.

Time Wasn't on His Side: Jones' songwriting contribution to the Stones was minimal (a handful of co-written non-hits), and they shrugged off his influence after ditching him. His most significant musical legacy may be helping to invent the "world music" concept by producing The Pipes of Pan at Jajouka, a recording of Moroccan musicians issued in 1971 - or maybe having the Brian Jonestown Massacre named after him.

Forecast for 2006:


32. Hello and Goodbye

Jeff Buckley
1966-1997
Angst-ridden indie pinup

Cause of Death: Drowning
His inspirations hit the big screen

Mystery White Boy: Buckley's otherwordly voice, moody good looks, and bloodline (his dad, singer-songwriter Tim Buckley, also died young) made him a cult hero; drowning in a Mississippi riptide made him perfectly tragic. He has inspired songs by peers from Aimee Mann to Rufus Wainwright, and is the industry standard for dreamy singer-songwriter comparisons.

A Prolific Afterlife: Mary Guibert, Buckley's mother and estate manager, joked that she'd become "Jeff Buckley Inc." after his death. She oversees his growing post-mortem catalogue, including three versions of his debut, Grace, one of them a Legacy Edition that pushed sales of the record to nearly 800,000. Buckley's archives may be limited, but Guibert's skilled repackaging keeps them fruitful. Further feeding the myth are a 2004 documentary, a thoughtful bio (recently optioned for film), and a heady book on Grace by Princeton prof Daphne Brooks.

Dial Jeff for Sad: Buckley's voice has become the sound of onscreen sorrow: Recently, characters have grieved to his version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah in The West Wing, The O.C., House, and the Nic Cage flick Lord of War.

Forecast for 2006:


31. Sample Sale

Chic
Disco hit factory

Causes of Death:
Bernard Edwards (1952-1996): Pneumonia
Tony Thompson (1954-2003): Cancer
C'est Chic!, R.I.P.

Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah: Despite the deaths of two founding members, Chic remain a cash cow. The single Le Freak sold six million copies in the U.S. alone; that was frosting for Edwards and partner Nile Rodgers, who, as writers or producers, moved upwards of 100 million records by Sister Sledge, David Bowie, and Duran Duran. Rodgers's 1995 Sony deal for his catalogue earned him millions; luckily, he's still breathing.

Ghosts in the Machine: The Chic vault has been hip-hop's hall closet since the Sugarhill Gang sampled Good Times in 1979. Artists from the Beastie Boys to Joe Budden love them so much that in 2003, Rodgers was declared the most-sampled artist of all time. He and Edwards settled with the Gang after hearing Rapper's Delight, gaining credit and a hefty royalty - and beginning the regulation of sampling.

Life After Death: Rodgers now oversees bestselling X-Box soundtracks and is still pushing a reconstituted Chic, with a 2006 studio album in the works.

Forecast for 2006:


30. This Byrd Has Flown

Gram Parsons
1946-1973
Long-haired godfather of country rock

Cause of Death: Drug overdose
His death in detail

If You Gotta Go: If he had merely invented country rock and guest-starred at the early-'70s court of the Rolling Stones, Parsons would be a cult figure. But the circumstances surrounding his death - ODing at the Joshua Tree Inn, his body "stolen" from LAX by his road manager and set alight in the desert in a bungled attempt at open-air cremation - elevated him immediately into rock legend.

It's Better to Burn Out: Commercial failures at the time, Parsons's two solo albums, GP and Grievous Angel, are now considered classics. His estate is controlled jointly by his ex-wife and daughter Polly Parsons, whose proactive celebration includes two tribute albums, two legend-heavy 2004 concerts that featured Keith Richards and Norah Jones and recent "visual scrapbook" / biography, Grievous Angel.

Peer Plaudits: Parsons's stock has risen rapidly in the past decade, thanks to a new generation of alt-country-influenced rock acts such as Wilco. He was also the subject of an acclaimed documentary, Fallen Angel, and the rather less successful 2004 Johnny Knoxville movie Grand Theft Parsons.

Forecast for 2006:


29. Elegy For E

Eazy-E
1964-1995
N.W.A founder, Gangsta rap godfather

Cause of Death: AIDS-related pneumonia
A funeral, gangsta style

Wicked Stepmother: Days before his death, Eazy (born Eric Wright) married girlfriend Tomica Woods in a bedside ceremony at Los Angeles's Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and made her CEO of his Ruthless Records and co-trustee of his estimated $35 million estate. Less than 24 hours after Eazy's death, a Ruthless employee sued Woods for claiming wrongful ownership of Ruthless. Other women (E had nine children by seven mothers) retained lawyers to make sure E's children were taken care of after his death.

Gone but Not Forgotten: Despite Eazy's pivotal role in the late-'80s rise of Cali hip-hop, his passing didn't spark the obsessive national media remembrance that Tupac's later did. However, his hospitalization occasioned more calls to the Cedars-Sinai switchboard than any other celebrity patient, including George Burns and Lucille Ball.

Legac-E: More than 10 years after Eazy's death, there has been little in the way of new material; Ruthless released one posthumous album, a 1995 greatest-hits collection and a 2002 album / DVD. However, his oldest son, Lil Eazy-E, is prepared to carry the torch with his own album, Prince of Compton.

Forecast for 2006:


28. The White Stuff

Barry White
1944-2003
Walrus of Love

Cause of Death: Kidney failure resulting from hypertension
Barry speaks from beyond the grave

Wearing White: After 40 years of lushly orchestrated come-ons, White remains the alpha and omega of low-register seduction. Upon his demise, the mammoth loverman immediately entered the textile pantheon reserved for hip-hop's fallen heroes, receiving his place on T-shirts alongside Tupac, Biggie, and Tony Montana. Puffy kicked this off by taking the stage at MTV's 2003 Video Music Awards in a T-shirt emblazoned with White's name.

Mo' Money, Mo' Problems: With nine children, an estranged wife, and a longtime girlfriend, White's estate was destined for a legal quagmire. Soon after his death, White's girlfriend of seven years filed a child-support claim against his estate, alleging that the singer had sired her month-old daughter; a year later, she offered to drop the case in exchange for a house. Glodean, White's estranged wife, retained control of the estate and musical catalogue.

Peer Plaudits: Always a favorite source for samplers, White remains an ironclad musical cue for everyone from G-Unit songstress Olivia to Polish MC Kosman. Even the Pillsbury Doughboy shilled to the strains of Barry in a 2005 television spot.

Forecast for 2006:


27. Always And Forever

Luther Vandross
1951-2005
Smooth soul loverman

Cause of Death: Complications arising from a stroke
Luther's strangest tribute

Peer Plaudits: Vandross sold 25 million records in his lifetime, and he certainly didn't want for celebrity tributes after his death in July last year: "No one heard anyone that brought that much soul," said Mary J. Blige. His name was invoked onstage everywhere from the Live 8 concert to a New York show swiftly organized by radio station KISS-FM featuring Jaheim, Erykah Badu, and Jill Scott, to the American Idol live tour. After a two-day wake, his funeral featured live performances from Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder; Usher and Patti LaBelle sang his greatest hits on Oprah, while an all-star tribute album, So Amazing, featuring Beyoncé, John Legend, Elton John, and Jamie Foxx went straight into the charts at No. 4 in September 2004, selling more than 100,000 copies in its first week.

Never Too Much: Whether more Vandross-related product will be released remains to be seen, although his elevation into the pantheon of classic soul singers means his back catalogue may prove irresistible to samplers: Even before his death, his work had been utilized on tracks by Kanye West, Young Gunz, and Janet Jackson.

Forecast for 2006:


26. Long Black Veils

The Band
Sepia-toned tunesmiths

Causes of Death:
Richard Manuel, vocalist (1943-1986): Suicide by hanging
Rick Danko, vocalist and bassist (1943-1999): Heart failure
Radio Woodstock tribute to Rick Danko

When I Recycle My Masterpiece: Dylan's legendary former backing outfit have been well served since their 1976 breakup was marked by Martin Scorsese's concert movie The Last Waltz. Their back catalogue has been milked steadily via reissues and compilations, including the recent The Band: A Musical History, they have been the subject of several biographies and they have influenced countless bands, from the Eagles to Broken Social Scene.

Always Read the Fine Print: The Band's songs have been used in numerous film soundtracks and covered widely: There are at least 27 versions of This Wheel's On Fire, 42 of The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, and 50 of The Weight. Unfortunately for the remaining members of the band and the individual estates of Danko and Manuel, singer-guitarist Robbie Robertson took almost all of the songwriting credit and convinced all but drummer Levon Helm to sell him their publishing rights. Nowadays, Robertson pals around with computer billionaire Paul Allen, while multi-instrumentalist Garth Hudson has declared personal bankruptcy three times.

Forecast for 2006:


25. Death And Glory

Joe Strummer
1952-2002
Eco-friendly Clash frontman

Cause of Death: Heart attack
Pioneering punk rock politics

Bad Timing: Strummer expired in the middle of a comeback - his new band, the Mescaleros, had great buzz, and with a Hall of Fame induction and the 25th-anniversary reissue of the Clash's London Calling on the calendar, a reunion was rumored. Since his death, his reputation has only grown.

Rebel Sell: By 2005, three Strummer documentaries and four biographies had joined the tide of Clash homages (Julien Temple is reportedly making another doc now). Astralwerks also reissued two obscurities - the soundtrack to the 1987 film Walker, and Elgin Avenue Breakdown, from Strummer's pre-Clash band the 101'ers - which were both well-received.

Still a Do-Gooder: Strummer still kicks ass as a social activist. His commitment to "carbon neutral" living (planting trees to compensate for greenhouse gases) inspired the memorial Rebel's Wood, a fan-funded seedling forest on the Isle of Skye. Meanwhile, his widow Lucinda established a memorial foundation to build affordable workspaces for musicians, although its first hoped-for renovation lost out to a Georgian mansion on the BBC's home-makeover show Restoration.

Forecast for 2006:


24. The Naked and the Dead

Michael Hutchence 1960-1997
Priapic INXS singer

Cause of Death: Autoerotic asphyxiation
The complete coroner's report...

Live Fast, Die Young, Leave a Pantsless Corpse?: Hutchence died while still young and good-looking, but the circumstances of his end - found hanging naked on the back of a hotel-room door, having inadvertently strangled himself while masturbating - hardly burnished his Dionysian sex-god image. Later still, more sordid details of his demise were provided in a TV documentary by his girlfriend Paula Yates.

Life After Death: INXS's polished dance-pop aged poorly in the post-grunge years, and Hutchence's death didn't help. His self-titled solo debut was posthumously released in 1999, to little fanfare.

Mystify: His family will never see any of his money, as most of the $14 million fortune he left at his death was irretrievably lost in a collection of secret companies and trust funds set up to protect it.

Harsh Reality: Hutchence's bandmates carried on as INXS without him, enlisting a series of replacements culminating in last year's reality show Rock Star: INXS, selecting J.D. Fortune, a 32-year-old Canadian former Elvis impersonator, as permanent vocalist.

Forecast for 2006:


23. Dark Horse

George Harrison
1943-2001
Quiet Beatle and Hare Krishna

Cause of Death: Cancer
The BBC pays their respect

All Things Must Pass: Never the most fiscally prudent Beatle - his mismanaged film company, HandMade Films, once left him $23 million in debt - Harrison was still worth $245 million at his death; despite reports that half his fortune was left to the Hare Krishnas, it all went to wife Olivia and son Dhani.

Life After Death: While less aggressively marketed than John Lennon, there has been a steady stream of posthumous Harrison product: a release for his final album, Brainwashed, his late-'70s back catalogue digitally remastered and, most recently, a digital sprucing-up for the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh.

In the Vault: In death as in life, Harrison's solo achievements are dwarfed by the Beatles'. Their company, Apple, prides itself on being a model of English good taste - eschewing talk of the Beatles "brand" - but still has a packed release schedule. Since Harrison died, there have been DVD issues of the Anthology, A Hard Day's Night, The First U.S. Visit, Let It Be... Naked, and the box set The Capitol Albums. While Harrison's solo vault may be empty, there are plenty of Beatles projects on the way.

Forecast for 2006:


22. Dark Victory

Ian Curtis
1956-1980
Joy Division's voice from beyond

Cause of Death: Hanged himself on a clothing rack
Leave flowers for the fallen frontman

Ice Age: Curtis checked out after watching Werner Herzog's extra-depressing movie Stroszek, immediately dignifying his group's statuesque dirges with a scary seal of authenticity. A month later, posthumous single Love Will Tear Us Apart became Joy Division's biggest-ever U.K. hit, but his bereft bandmates (by then trading as New Order) resisted Curtis' transformation into tortured postpunk poster boy, painting the epileptic singer as a "silly bastard" who dug beer and girls.

New Dawn: Joy Division's 45 recorded songs didn't make anyone rich: not the surviving band members - whose royalties were funneled into the unsuccessful Haçienda nightclub until it went bust in 1997 -- nor the Curtis estate (widow Deborah and daughter Natalie). But the '90s saw a resurgence of the group as an influence on the Smashing Pumpkins, Hole, Nine Inch Nails, and Moby. Deborah's weepy '95 memoir, Touching From a Distance, provides the basis for a Curtis biopic (provisionally titled Control) to be directed by Anton Corbijn this spring, while in the U.K. last year, Love Will Tear Us Apart was topped for the title of Best Song of the Last 25 Years only by British pop star Robbie Williams' Angels.

Forecast for 2006:


21. Crack of Doom

Ol' Dirty Bastard
1968-2004
Wu-Tang wild man

Cause of Death: Heart failure brought on by drug overdose
Is his "Mixtape" worth the money?

Rusty's Wild Years: Ol' Dirty Bastard remains one of hip-hop's most original - and best-loved - talents, both for his music and for his outlaw lifestyle. Yet his death came just as he was starting to piece his career back together after years lost to drugs and prison. Work on a TV reality show and a new album had begun, but most of the material is now in limbo. Even the Wu-Tang Clan's much-anticipated tribute to Dirty, I Go Through Life, has yet to be released, while there's an ongoing dispute over control of his estate between his mother and his widow, Icelene Jones.

Peer Plaudits: Aware the world is a less vivid place without him, hundreds attended ODB's funeral in Brooklyn, including a black-clad Mariah Carey. But efforts to turn public affection into album sales have stalled, with Damon Dash not only bungling the release of A Son Unique, the record ODB was working on at the time of his death, but also provoking the ire of his widow with plans to put ODB's initials on a new line of sneakers.

Forecast for 2006:


20. Stayin' Alive

Maurice Gibb
1949-2003
One-third of the Bee Gees

Cause of Death: Heart attack during surgery
Make your check payable to...

Life After Death: The youngest Bee Gee left an estate valued at over $60 million after his unexpected death, a figure due to be bumped up significantly in 2006. A Bee Gees stage musical, You Win Again, is scheduled to open simultaneously in London and New York. In addition, the Bee Gees' back catalogue reverts to their ownership in 2006: Expect to be lavished with reissues. There's also talk of a $30 million Hollywood remake of Saturday Night Fever -- a successful stage version is still running in London. Meanwhile, Gibb's paintball store, Commander Mo's, continues to do brisk business in Miami.

Fraternal Disharmony: It briefly seemed as if Maurice Gibb would be the recipient of two separate tribute events: Brother Barry claimed that he had been "deliberately disinvolved" in brother Robin's plans for a concert and a tribute album featuring Paul McCartney, Snoop Dogg, and Beyoncé, and was planning his own separate homage. However, in December, Robin claimed that reports of the feud were untrue and that Barry would be included in any tributes.

Forecast for 2006:


19. Pearly Gates

Janis Joplin
1943-1970
Southern Comfort-soaked blues shouter

Cause of Death: Heroin overdose
Mercedes, hell, she dug Porsches

Pearl Jams: The tortured 28-year-old was still working on her solo debut, Pearl, when she OD'd in Hollywood's Landmark Hotel. Her will left her estate to her family, and $2,500 for her friends to "have a ball." Released four months later, Pearl topped the charts for nine weeks and yielded her biggest hit, the No. 1 single Me and Bobby McGee. Since Joplin's death, her music has been remastered and collected on numerous greatest-hits collections and a couple of box sets; she received a Lifetime Achievement Award Grammy in 2005.

The Show Must Go On: Two biopics are currently in production. One has Pink as Janis; the other, more improbably, stars Renee Zellweger.

Like the '60s Never Happened: Joplin's back catalogue is no great money-spinner, but the throwaway anti-consumerism song Mercedes Benz was licensed to Mercedes for a 1995 commercial ("A hoot," said Janis' sister). Early last year, Joplin's estate announced plans for The Search for the Pearl, an unappealing-sounding reality TV show casting for a modern Janis along the lines of INXS's Rock Star, but since then, things have been quiet.

Forecast for 2006:


18. Bad Air Day

Ronnie Van Zant
1948-1977
Lynyrd Skynyrd leader

Cause of Death: Plane crash
Bo's no Ronnie, but he'll do...

Life After Death: The success of the kings of Southern rock was barely interrupted by the plane crash that killed Van Zant and devastated his band three days after the release of their sixth album. Dozens of releases followed, ranging from an excellent box set to a screed of shoddy compilations; 26 million albums have been sold and Freebird has been played on the radio more than two million times; this year, Skynyrd will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Double Trouble: Skynyrd re-formed in 1987 with Van Zant's younger brother, Johnny, on vocals. This incarnation's albums are middling at best, but fans remain keen to hear the Ronnie-era hits live, reportedly to the tune of $100,000 a night -- of which Van Zant's estate receives a cut. Despite a legal agreement with the widows of Ronnie and guitarist Steve Gaines that the band must have at least three original members in order to use the name, after bassist Leon Wilkeson died in 2001, they continued with just two from the classic lineup.

Peer Plaudits: Van Zant's life was the basis of the Drive-By Truckers' 2001 concept album Southern Rock Opera.

Forecast for 2006:


17. Bohemian Eulogy

Freddie Mercury
1946-1991
Theatrical Queen frontman

Cause of Death: Pneumonia exacerbated by AIDS
Is Fred really dead?

Get Rich or Die Trying: In 1990, Queen's worth stood at $25.9 million; in the wake of the publicity following Mercury's widely mourned demise, that figure rose to $44 million for 1993.

The Show Must Go On: In 2002, the Queen musical We Will Rock You debuted in London and grossed $60 million in its first two years... with subsequent productions following in Australia, Russia, Germany, Spain and Las Vegas. That success prompted the release of "new" Queen product, as have the live activities of the current Paul Rodgers-fronted version of the band. While the latter diminishes Queen's brand value, the personal reputation of Mercury has been enhanced, with critical opinion generally agreeing that Rodgers is unfit to wear his predecessor's crown, metaphorical or otherwise.

Peer Plaudits: Playing a Queen cover is a surefire way to please a crowd while allowing them a moment of unabashed stadium-rock flamboyance -- Green Day routinely encore with We Are the Champions; a 2005 tribute album, Killer Queen, featured Sum 41 and Flaming Lips. Finally, without Freddie Mercury, the Darkness's Justin Hawkins would probably be working as a plumber.

Forecast for 2006:


16. One-Two-Three-Down

The Ramones
New York punk's original pinheads

Causes of Death:

Jeffrey "Joey Ramone" Hyman, vocalist (1951-2001): Lymphoma
Doug "Dee Dee Ramone" Colvin, bassist (1952-2002): Fatal Heroin OD
John "Johnny Ramone" Cummings, guitarist (1948-2004): Prostate Cancer

The Simpsons got it all wrong

We're a Happy Family: Death came as blessed relief for the Ramones, cursed to tour forever thanks to perennially poor album sales and Johnny's bullying drive. Even as Da Brudders were being feted at a Thirtieth Anniversary Tribute at L.A.'s Avalon ballroom in 2004, rockdoc End of the Century was exposing the squabbling reality of life in the band.

Hey Ho! Let's Grow!: Their debut album cost only $6,200 to make, but the three-CD box set Weird Tales of the Ramones has sold 10,000 copies at $65 a pop. The money now accrues to widows Barbara Zampini and Linda Cummings and to the estate of Joey Ramone, while surviving drummers Tommy Erdelyi and Marc "Marky Ramone" Bell earn a smattering of royalties.

Peer Plaudits: A 10-foot Johnny statue unveiled by celebrity friends Lisa Marie Presley and Vincent Gallo looms over Dee Dee's remains at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery; Joey was honored when the corner of Bowery and Second Street in Manhattan was renamed Joey Ramone Place.

Forecast for 2006:


15. The Final Curtain

Frank Sinatra
1915-1998
Leader of the Rat Pack

Cause of Death: Heart attack
Attack of the Rat Pack

His Way: Death only enhanced the appeal of a man who had been a household name throughout his career. Most of his estimated $200 million estate is held in private trust funds, but the rights to his music and image are split between the children from his first marriage and his fourth wife, Barbara, a former model and dancer who took issue with some of the children's sanctioned merchandising, such as the "singing" souvenir plate.

Life After Death: A seemingly endless stream of reissues has kept interest in Sinatra's music alive, but his name can sell anything: Sinatra, an $8.7 million production featuring video projections of Frank in action accompanied by a 24-piece orchestra, is due to open in London in spring 2006, while an Oris Frank Sinatra watch retails at $2,850.

Peer Plaudits: The aura of suited cool that Sinatra perfected in the early '60s continues to endure -- through HBO's The Rat Pack and the London stage production The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas -- regardless of recent, legend-tarnishing Sinatra books, including former valet George Jacobs' sex-and-Mafiosi tell-all Mr. S and 2005's unflattering Sinatra: The Life.

Forecast for 2006:


14. Spinning In His Grave

DJ Screw
1971-2000
Innovative Houston mixmaster

Cause of Death: Heart attack induced by codeine OD
Hey, DJ, play that screwed & chopped

That's a Nasty Cough: Screw, a.k.a. Robert Earl Davis Jr., pioneered Houston's slo-mo "screwed" production style, tailor-made for the Houston rap scene's high of preference: chugging codeine. These days, every Dirty South record comes in a "chopped and screwed" version — and so did the last Transplants album, too...

Nix on the Mix: Incredibly prolific, Screw created hundreds of mixtapes, which he sold out of both his record store and home. These highly influential recordings provided the DNA for the current Houston rap explosion -- Mike Jones? Paul Wall? They'd be nowhere without his woozy, downtuned experiments. His cousins continue to sell his music through the record store, Screwed Up Records and Tapes, on the city's south side.

Fame Without Fortune: While Screw's bank account may be static, his legend nevertheless continues to grow: Protégés like Big Moe, Big Pokey and Lil' Flip continually sing his praises, and several of them participated in the tribute album Forever and a Day, while the DVD documentaries Soldiers United for Cash and The DJ Screw Legacy have brought in a little income for his family.

Forecast for 2006:


13. Trouble Man

Marvin Gaye
1939-1984
Suffering soul icon

Cause of Death: Shot dead by his father
This Gaye didn't belong in the military

From the Vault: Gaye's 23-year, velvet-voiced legacy was well-served by his death - coming in the early days of the CD revolution, it gave both Motown and CBS / Columbia all the more reason to launch a complete remaster program; in 1995, Motown followed this with the box set The Master 1961-1984.

Debts Get It On: Gaye's sudden, shocking murder threw his already dicey finances into further disarray. Not only did he not have a will at the time of his death, but he also still owed ex-wife Anna Gordy $293,000 from their divorce settlement, and was $2 million in arrears for back taxes - later repaid from royalties. In 2000, Gaye's three children issued bonds against his future recording royalties, generating an eight-figure payday for the estate.

Peer Plaudits: 10,000 attended a funeral that featured Stevie Wonder singing and a reading from Smokey Robinson; many songs have been dedicated to Gaye, including Diana Ross' Missing You and the Commodores' Night Shift. With no fewer than six Gaye biographies and a recent Hennessy campaign using Gaye's image from What's Going On as an imprimatur of urban sophistication, he remains as iconic as ever.

Forecast for 2006:


12. Latina Legacy

Selena
1971-1995
Spanish-language superstar

Cause of Death: Shot by No. 1 fan
"It was just like John Lennon."

Life After Death: More than a decade after being gunned down by her fan club president, Yolanda Saldivar, Selena's global sales and celebrity have been eclipsed by another Latino singer-cum-filmstar - Jennifer Lopez, whose big break came when she played the slain singer in the biopic Selena. But she remains a major figure in Latin music.

The Show Must Go On: This year, 50,000 fans attended the Selena Vive! tribute concert in Houston, Texas, featuring Gloria Estefan and Paulina Rubio. At more than three hours long, it became the highest-rated and most-viewed Spanish-language show in U.S. television history, adding a substantial boost to sales of her back catalogue (around 20 posthumous collections have been released to date) and other merchandise, which includes a Selena doll, Selena perfume, and Selena baseball caps in rhinestone and leopard-print.

Más Selena: There are plans for a Selena stage musical to open in Mexico City, and while the Selena boutique in San Antonio has closed and plans to open another in Monterrey were shelved, the branch in her Texas hometown of Corpus Christi - and the Selena museum there - continue to do business.

Forecast for 2006:


11. This Isn't The End

Jim Morrison
1943-1971
Doors singer; Lizard King

Cause of Death: Suspected heroin OD
Is the Lizard King a CIA agent?

Wallow in the Mire: Morrison's memory has sustained considerable abuse since his interment in Paris' Père Lachaise cemetery. Nonetheless, Doors drummer John Densmore has refused multimillion-dollar offers for use of Doors music in ads - against protests from keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger, who enlisted ex-Cult singer Ian Astbury to fill Morrison's leather trousers in a 2002 tour as Doors of the 21st Century. A suit from Densmore and Morrison's estate (the parents of Morrison and of his late wife Pamela Courson) forced a name change - to "D21C."

Touch Me, Jay-Z: The Doors didn't become massive until 1979, when The End was featured in Apocalypse Now. After 1980, Morrison bio No One Here Gets Out Alive became a bestseller, and a greatest-hits album sold 2 million copies. Interest remained steady until spiking at Oliver Stone's Val Kilmer-starring The Doors, which dealt a near-lethal blow to Morrison's dark aura by co-starring Meg Ryan. Redemption came in 2001, when Jay-Z's Takeover built its ominous momentum on a sample of the Doors' Five to One.

Forecast for 2006:


10. No Longer Hitting The Road, Jack

Ray Charles
1930-2004
Pioneering legend of soul, gospel, country, blues and jazz

Cause of Death: Complications from liver disease
Could he take down Stevie Wonder?

Charles in Charge: Charles' posthumous plaudits were both lengthened and amplified by the release, four months after his death, of the highly successful biopic Ray, which reminded audiences worldwide of the singer's genre-hopping talent, amazing rags-to-riches story - and also of his womanizing, heroin-injecting ways.

Get Rich or Die Tryin': Charles' 2002 CD, Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again, didn't even chart, but after his death... the duets CD Genius Loves Company hit Billboard's No. 1, sold more than 3 million copies, and earned him eight posthumous Grammys. In September 2005, Rhino Records released another duets CD, Genius & Friends, and a 146-track box set, Pure Genius. The following month, Charles appeared on Forbes' list of the Top-Earning Dead Celebrities, with an income of $7.88 million.

Ray Charles on Their Mind: Last year, residents of Tampa, Florida, objected to a plan to rename a street after Charles, suggesting that, since the neighborhood was already rife with drug dealers, associating it with a former smack addict probably wasn't going to help much.

Forecast for 2006:


9. Marley's Ghost

Bob Marley
1945-1981
The first Third World superstar

Cause of Death: Brain, lung and liver cancer
Assassinated by the C.I.A.?

Print the Legend: Reggae's heavyweight champion had to wait for death to make him a U.S. superstar. The week he was diagnosed with cancer, he played Madison Square Garden - opening for the Commodores. But the posthumous collection Legend has sold more than 17 million copies worldwide; his estate, controlled by his widow, Rita, and his 11 children, earns some $6 million a year; and his catalogue has been assessed at a value of $100 million.

No Woman, No Cry: Shortly after Marley's death, widow Rita unknowingly signed away numerous rights to his $30 million estate, and had to spend millions in lawsuits to establish herself and Marley's children as sole controllers of his name and likeness. But Rita now controls a record company, museum, guided tours, a music festival, and several foundations.

Life After Death: Universal, which owns Marley's work on Island, has recently purchased his earlier Jamaican catalogue, and a new edition of the definitive biography, Catch a Fire, is about to be published. Yet beyond the faithful, the forecast is cloudy: recent projects intended to introduce Marley to new listeners have been duds.

Forecast for 2006:


8. He Did Have A Gun

Kurt Cobain
1967-1994
Reluctant spokesman for a generation
here
Cause of Death: Suicide
Mounting murder suspicions

Dough from Woe: Worth less than $1 million when he died, Cobain's future royalties were valued at $100 million.

Smells Like Mean Spirit: Posthumous Nirvana releases have been dogged by undignified wrangling over Nirvana LLC, the partnership established by widow Courtney Love, drummer Dave Grohl, and bassist Krist Novoselic to control the band's musical legacy. While 1994's Unplugged in New York and the live compilation From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah proved no problem, the band's final studio track, You Know You're Right, emerged on a 2002 greatest-hits set only in return for Love's handing over some demos for use on the box set With the Lights Out.

Kurt on Camera: While the documentary Kurt & Courtney investigated conspiracy theories surrounding Cobain's death, Gus Van Sant's Last Days - a meandering account of the death of a junkie rock idol called Blake, loosely based on Cobain - might have been more to Kurt's taste.

Dear Diary: In 2002, Love received a reported $4 million for the rights to publish Cobain's journals, even though one entry cites "the rape of my personal thoughts" as Cobain's reason for his dislike of fame.

Forecast for 2006:


7. A Long, Strange Trip

Jerry Garcia
1942-1995
Bearlike Grateful Dead leader

Cause of Death: Heart attack after years of heroin addiction
A Garcia Almanac that's dead on

The Dead Bill Gates: Garcia's estate, valued at $9.9 million at his death, generates millions more annually through recordings, artwork and licensed goods - from area rugs to Clos du Blois' J. Garcia wine.

Celebrity Deathmatch: Garcia's estate has been viciously contested by ex-wives, lovers, and pals. Captain Trips was posthumously sued by his personal trainer as well as by an acupuncturist, his office manager, and a guy who said he babysat him during bad acid trips.

Noodlers Unite: Garcia inspired the entire jam band counterculture, which spawned Dave Matthews and Phish, as well as the worst band names ever, from String Cheese Incident to the Disco Biscuits.

Make It Stop: Beyond the usual icon's legacy - three biographies, a new biopic project improbably produced by Malcolm in the Middle actor Justin Berfield - the homegrown Garcia recording industry stands as an ideal for post-mortem stardom. The Dead recorded just about everything, with no two concerts alike, and the stock of unreleased Dead recordings is valued as high as $400 milion, including a catalogue of 500 Garcia solo concert recordings.

Forecast for 2006:



6. 'Scuse Me While I Kiss The Sky

Jimi Hendrix
1942-1970
Left-handed guitar genius

Cause of Death: Choked on own vomit after barbituate O.D.
Jimi things...

Life After Death: Hendrix's recording career lasted less than four years, but it's still among the zeniths of electric-guitar playing. But self-appointed "musical curator" Alan Douglas diluted his legacy by releasing album after album of outtakes, unfinished tapes, and live recordings for several decades.

The Vault: In the '90s, Hendrix's late father, Al, and stepsister Janie, funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, successfully sued for control of the Hendrix archives. They formed the company Experience Hendrix and have kept a tight rein on the catalogue, raking in over $50 million from album sales, merchandise, and ads from Pepsi and Audi. By 2001, Hendrix - worth only $500,000 when he died - was No. 5 on Forbes magazine's list of the top-earning dead celebrities. He has since dropped out of the Top 10, and in 2004, Janie was unsuccessfully sued by Jimi's younger brother Leon, who had been written out of their father's will.

Lasting Legacy: His Star Spangled Banner has become audio shorthand for the '60s, and there have been a pile of Hendrix biographies, but Andre 3000's planned Hendrix biopic seems to have fallen through.

Forecast for 2006:


5. Fallen Idol

John Lennon
1940-1980
Onetime Beatle; anthemic activist

Cause of Death: Murdered by stalker Mark Chapman
He was on Nixon's sh**list

Shot You Down: Chapman said in 2004 that in killing Lennon, he intended "to steal [his] fame." But death proved the genesis of the Lennon myth, and the Lennon business: His estate earned $22 million in 2005 alone.

Oh, Yoko: Lennon's profile is sustained both by continuing public fascination and the hands-on management of his musical legacy by his widow, Yoko Ono. Immediately after his death, the single (Just Like) Starting Over and the album it was taken from, Double Fantasy, reached No. 1 in the Billboard charts. His name has since been attached to everything from children's toys (the "Real Love" range based on his sketches of animals) to Liverpool's John Lennon Airport (slogan: "Above us only sky").

Peer Plaudits: His violent death cemented Lennon's status as a counterculture icon - in spite of biographies that depict his last years as a tangle of drug addiction, self-doubt, and an obsession with numerology. Hollywood is now taking an interest with Chapter 27, starring Jared Leto as Mark Chapman. The producers might hope it fares better than Lennon, the Yoko-endorsed Broadway musical that closed in September 2005 after just six weeks.

Forecast for 2006:


4. Marked For Death

Tupac Shakur
1971-1996
Original Gangsta

Cause of Death: Murdered in a drive-by shooting
Corpses don't release singles

Life After Death: In death, Tupac became a T-shirt and poster icon—hip-hop's answer to James Dean - and one of the biggest earners in music. In 2003, his estate brought in $12 million, a stark contrast to the $150,000 in his bank account when he was shot.

America's Most Wanted: Tupac released just four albums in his lifetime - but at least 14 have appeared since then. Before his death, he had recorded an estimated 200 unreleased tracks, which are now controlled by his mother, Afeni Shakur. Although many of these releases fall well below the standards Tupac himself set, recent Eminem-assisted albums Resurrection and Loyal to the Game sold more than 1 million copies each.

Peer Plaudits: Tupac looms large over the generation of rappers who followed him: Eminem says he's "the greatest songwriter who ever lived." His mother has also sought to glorify his name, founding the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Currently offering dance / vocal / and yoga classes, a seven-foot bronze statue of her son stands in the gardens.

Forecast for 2006:


3. The Whopper

Elvis Presley
1935-1977
Singer, King of Rock & Roll

Cause of Death: Heart attack
The King lives! (on tape...)

Get Dead and Start Earning: Culturally, the King's real reign was a mere 18 months - from 1956 to '57. Dead, he earns 10 to 20 times more than he did alive: With licensing, merchandising, and CD sales (including three recent box sets and a No. 1 hits CD), the Elvis industry is worth $45 million a year.

Life After Death: Gruesome narcotic and dietary details of the King's twilight years emerged around his demise, later followed by Albert Goldman's muckraking biography. But more recent critical reassessments like Peter Guralnick's scholarly two-volume study have redeemed Elvis' artistic legacy. Graceland draws 600,000 pilgrims a year; there are 500 active fan clubs and 35,000 professional impersonators; and several organized religions have formed around Elvis, including the First Presleyterian Church of Elvis the Divine.

King, Inc.: Elvis' estate was managed by his sole heir, Lisa Marie Presley, but in 2004, she sold 85% of his assets to sports- and music-promoting kingpin Robert F.X. Sillerman. He plans to probe Europe, Australia, and Japan to find new markets for Elvis, the blue-chip stock of dead rockers.

Forecast for 2006:


2. Ready To Die

The Notorious B.I.G.
1972-1997
Heavyweight rap icon

Cause of Death: Shot in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles
Ill freestylin' at 17

Larger Than Life: He was hailed as the finest rapper of his generation thanks to his keen eye for detail and lyrical virtuosity... and even in death, Biggie's reputation matched his near-400-pound physical presence. The posthumous Life After Death entered the album charts at No. 1, and went on to sell more than 10 million copies.

Death Wish: While his rival Tupac achieved a kind of martyrdom, Biggie's demise left only thoughts of what might have been. He didn't leave the comprehensive vault of unfinished tracks Tupac did, and while 1999's Born Again sold almost 2 million copies, it didn't approach his best work. But although the recent Duets collection is subtitled The Final Chapter, Bad Boy Records recently announced the extension of Biggie's musical legacy - into a collection of specially created cell phone ringtones.

Peer Plaudits: Biggie was an inspiration to the next generation of New York rappers - Jay-Z paid due homage by sampling Juicy on The Blueprint 2's A Dream. His mother has also fought almost singlehandedly to keep his memory alive, setting up the charitable Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation, publishing a memoir, Biggie, and - most intriguingly - announcing plans for a movie treatment of her son's life by Training Day director Antoine Fuqua.

Forecast for 2006:


1. Black Celebration!

Johnny Cash
1932-2003
Country's eternal outlaw

Cause of Death: Complications due to diabetes
All things "Man in Black"

Cashing In: The career resurgence that began in 1993 when Tom Petty told Rick Rubin that he should record Cash for his American Recordings label has been uninterrupted by the death of the Man in Black, his image now frozen forever as the noble sufferer in the award-winning video for Hurt. Rubin's Unearthed box set surfed the immediate sympathy wave, but more than two years later, the deceased Cash thrives as a touchstone of cool. The Oscar-catnip biopic Walk the Line does a good job of sexing up the craggy Cash and his late wife June while boosting the early music, and a recent career-spanning comp, The Legend of Johnny Cash, has become a chart staple. Wisely... daughters Rosanne, Tara, Kathleen, and Cindy and son John knocked back a 2004 idea from Preparation H, who wanted to use Cash's 1963 hit Ring of Fire in their advertising - a business opportunity Cash might have grabbed at his mid-'80s Columbia nadir, when he thought nothing of recording songs like The Chicken in Black.

Cash Cow: Cash's stock is now so high, Rubin can use the still-unreleased American V, the last volume of Cash-recorded material he has in the vault, as collateral against which to renegotiate American's contract with Universal. Now due sometime in 2006 after more than 12 months' delay, tracks will likely include First Corinthians 5:55 and, aptly, Ain't a Grave Can Hold Me. Expect a double..

Forecast for 2006: