Blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, who died in a helicopter crash early Monday in East Troy, Wis., is one of many prominent musicians who have met early deaths in air accidents.
Vaughan died of massive internal and head injuries suffered when a helicopter he was riding in slammed into a ski hill, a coroner says.The two-time Grammy Award-winning guitarist and four others died in the crash just after Vaughan performed at nearby the Alpine Valley Music Theater with his brother, Jimmie, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray and Buddy Guy.
The others killed in the crash were the pilot and three members of Clapton's entourage. There were no survivors.
Vaughan had a platinum album with his band Double Trouble in "Couldn't Stand the Weather," released in 1984. That year, he won a Grammy Award for best traditional blues recording for a song called "Flood Down in Texas." This year, he won a Grammy in the contemporary blues category for "In Step."
Here's a list of other musicians who have died in aircraft accidents:
Dec. 31, 1985: Rick Nelson died in a New Year's Eve plane crash near De Kalb, Texas. Nelson, 45, achieved rock 'n' roll stardom in the late 1950s and early '60s with hits like "I'm Walkin' " and "Travelin' Man." He was featured, along with the rest of his family, on the long-running TV series "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet."
March 19, 1982: Randy Rhoads, lead guitarist for heavy metal star Ozzy Osbourne, was killed when the plane in which he was flying buzzed Osbourne's tour bus and crashed into a house in Leesburg, Fla. He was 25. Rhoads won a Guitar Player magazine award for Best New Talent of 1981.
Oct. 21, 1977: Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Stevie Gaines of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band, which carved a niche in the rock world with its image as hard-drinking, boisterous Southerners, were killed in a plane crash in McComb, Miss.
Sept. 20, 1973: Jim Croce died in an air crash near Natchitoches, La., at age 30. He put together a string of rock hits such as "Time in a Bottle" in the 1970s.
Dec. 10, 1967: Rhythm and blues artist Otis Redding died in a plane crash in Wisconsin along with members of his band, the Bar-Kays. He was 26. His greatest hit "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" was released just three days before the crash.
July 31, 1964: Country music singer Jim Reeves, known for hits like "Welcome to My World" and "He'll Have to Go," died at age 39 in a light plane crash near Nashville along with his manager, Dean Manuel, 30.
March 5, 1963: Patsy Cline, whose country hits included "Crazy" and "She's Got You," died in a plane crash near Camden, Tenn., at age 31. Also killed were Grand Ole Opry stars Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins and pilot Randy Hughes, Miss Cline's manager.
Feb. 3, 1959: A plane carrying singers J.P (The Big Bopper) Richardson, Buddy Holly and Richie Valens crashed near Mason City, Iowa, en route to a show in Fargo, N.D. The Big Bopper, whose big hit was "Chantilly Lace" in 1958, was 29. Holly, whose hits included "Peggy Sue," was 22. Valens, famous for songs like "La Bamba" and "Donna," was 18.
Dec. 15, 1944: Big band leader Glenn Miller was in a plane flying over the English Channel en route from Bedford, England, to Paris, where he was to give a show. The plane never arrived. Two members of the British Royal Air Force said the musician's plane might have been hit by bombs jettisoned over the English Channel by RAF bombers.