From the jazz age of Billie Holliday to the punk era of Sid Vicious, from rock 'n' roll to soul, fame in the music world has come with been accompanied by money, drink, drugs and hard living, and for many the price of success has been early, and often violent, death. This book looks at the lives and untimely deaths of more than 50 performers, including Elvis Presley, Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Sam Cooke, Freddie Mercury, John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Mama Cass and Marvin Gaye. They are tales of love and success, self-indulgence and despair.