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Musicians Who Died Under Mysterious Circumstances  
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Below is the list of some musicians who died under mysterious circumstances.

	Bobby Fuller (22 October 1943 - 18 July 1966): An inventive and compulsive musician, Bobby Fuller made his recording debut in 1961. The singer's stature seemed assured, but on 18 July 1966 any hope for a bright future was cut short when Fuller's badly beaten body was discovered in a parked car in Los Angeles. His death was attributed to asphyxia through the forced inhalation of gasoline, but further investigations as to the perpetrators of this deed remain unresolved.
	Albert Ayler (13 July 1936 - November 1970): His first few albums were taped either in Europe or for European labels, but his reputation was made with the recordings for the NY label ESP, established by Bernard Stollman particularly to promote Ayler's music. On 25 November 1970 his body was recovered from New York City's East River. One bizarre rumor claimed that there was a bullet hole in the back of the neck. Ayler had not been seen for some 20 days before his body was discovered, and the circumstances of his death remain unclear. The theory that he had been killed by the police has been given much currency. However, he had been very depressed about the breakdown suffered by his brother, Donald Ayler. But, Gary Peacock is quoted in January 1998 Hot House: "Someone had shot him in the back of the head. Some said it was drugs. But my experience was that he wasn't a druggie. My own suspicion is probably female-related in a way."
	Blind Lemon Jefferson (July 1897 - December 1929): Jefferson was one of the earliest and most influential rural blues singers to record. His later recordings seemed to lose some of the originality and impact of his earlier work but he remained popular until his sudden and somewhat mysterious death. Legend has it that he froze to death on the streets of Chicago, although a more likely story is that he died of a heart attack while in his car, possibly during a snow storm, and was abandoned by his driver. At this date it is unlikely that the truth will ever be established.
	Larry Williams (10 May 1935 - 2 January 1980): His first record was a cover of Price's Just Because, which reached number 11 on the R&B chart for Williams and number 3 for Price. Backed by fellow Specialty artist Little Richard's band, Williams recorded his own Short Fat Fannie. To follow up his song about the fat girl, Williams next recorded one about a skinny girl, Bony Moronie, which was almost as big a hit. A number of singles and an album were issued by Specialty up until 1959 none of which were hits. That year he was arrested for selling drugs and sentenced to prison, causing Specialty to drop him and his career to fade. In January 1980, Williams was found in his Los Angeles home with a gunshot wound in the head, ruled to be self-inflicted, although it was rumoured that Williams was murdered owing to his involvement with drugs and, reportedly, prostitution.
	Lenny Breau (August 5, 1941- August 12, 1984): In 1968 & 69, Lenny recorded two albums for RCA with his Winnipeg trio featuring Ron Halldorson (electric bass) and Reg Kelln (drums). The first album was a studio session produced in Nashville by Chet Atkins, and the second was recorded in Hollywood at jazz club, "Shelly's Manne Hole", produced by Danny Davis. From late 1969 through 1973 Lenny played primarily in Toronto and Ottawa & worked as a sideman for Moe Koffman, Jimmy Dale, Beverly Glenn Copeland and Anne Murray, to name a few. He also led his own trio with various sidemen and performed at such venues as "The Riverboat " & "George's Spagetti House" in Toronto. Lenny was found dead in the swimming pool of his apartment complex on August 12, 1984. Although his death was originally thought to be an accidental drowning, it was soon discovered that he had actually been murdered. The LA Coroner report determined that Lenny had been strangled; the case remains unsolved to this date.
	Rodd Keith (January 30, 1937 – December 15, 1974): Keith has become a cult figure among record collectors for his work in the "song-poem" (send us your lyrics) industry in the late 60s and early 70s. Rodd spoke of making a movie. It was said that he liked to take pictures and had bought one of the first video type cameras available. Rodd described how the main character in this movie would jump to their death from a freeway overpass. Nobody thought much about it at the time. Two weeks later Rodd either jumped or fell to his own death in much the same way he described. Some of his friends thought he was depressed, perhaps the result of something in his childhood. Others swear that Rodd could have never taken his life intentionally. He certainly wasn't happy having spent so many years doing demos. There's a rumor going around that Rodd actually had his death leap filmed. It's probably a distortion of Rodd's movie story.
	Wardell Gray (13 February 1921 - 25 May 1955): Wardell Gray was one of the top tenors to emerge during the bop era. His LesterYoung- influenced tone made his playing attractive to swing musicians as well as younger modernists. Gray recorded with Charlie Parker in 1947. His solos on "Twisted" (1949) & "Farmer's Market" (1952) were turned into memorable vocalese by Annie Ross a few years later. Ironically, Wardell Gray, who in the late '40s was an inspiration to some younger musicians due to his oppostion to drug use, himself became involved in drugs & died mysteriously in Las Vegas when he was just 34. Gray died in circumstances that have never been fully resolved: his body was found in the Nevada Desert, his neck broken. The official report gave the cause of death as a drug overdose, though there was no autopsy, and rumours persisted that Gray had been murdered—either for failing to pay gambling debts or simply as a random victim of racial violence.
	Jesse Belvin (15 Dec 1932 -6 February 1960): He co-wrote one of the biggest hits of the 1950s - "Earth Angel," a hit for The Penguins in 1955 - and his recording of "Goodnight My Love" was used by Dick Clark as the closing theme for "American Bandstand". It had been an ugly scene: White supremacists managed to halt the show twice, shouting racial epithets and urging the white teenagers in attendance to leave at once. There had been at least six death threats on Belvin. So, speeding away from Arkansas was truly a relief, and a cause for celebration. Jesse died at the scene. As word reached the black community in Belvin's hometown, LA, there were immediately rumors of foul play. One of the first state troopers on the accident scene stated that both of the rear tires on Belvin's black cadillac had been "obviously tampered with." He gave no more details, causing even more speculation. The fact that Belvin had phoned his mother twice in the last three days, every time telling her about

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