The first great rock & roll pick was made in 1970 by J. Buffalo on Janis Joplin and went directly to the "Creme de la Creme" page, where you can also find the Merry Little Breezes/Montressor duet on John Lennon. Others who rocked our world include:

July 3, 1971 - Jim Morrison (8) - Dr. Death, E. Hourihan

Doors' lead singer Jim Morrison put a lot of miles on his body, but only Dr. Death and E. "Weasel" Hourihan stayed on the case when Morrison retired to a quiet life in Paris. When the Lizard King died of heart failure in the tub at 27, prompted by an overdose of drugs and alcohol, they were on hand to sing an eight-point duet. Today, Morrison's grave at the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris is a shrine, easily outdrawing the nearby resting places of Molière, Chopin, Bizet, Proust, Isadora Duncan and Édith Piaf. Likewise, Dr. Death's usual seat at Vic & Irv's in Seabreeze, New York, draws thousands of devotees each year.

December 20, 1973 - Bobby Darin (7) - D. Perriman Jr.

D. Perriman Jr. announced his arrival as one of the Game's great stylists with the fourth solo of his rookie season, when the man who made "Splish Splash" died after heart surgery.

July 29, 1974 - Mama Cass Elliott (7) - T. Novick, K. Tyner

Mama Cass did not choke to death on a ham sandwich, as rumored, but died of a heart attack in a London hotel suite. The duet by T. Novick and K. Tyner was no rumor, and was stylish indeed.

August 16, 1977 - Elvis Presley (6) - D. Beach, J. Buffalo, S. Greenstein, T. King, L. Lantz, The Last Roundup, The Ridzinski's, B. Rounds, Miss Sally, C. Tremper

Usually a large crowd prevents a hit from being stylish, but in this case, it was The King, and everyone who noticed his frequent trips to the hospital for "rest," or who guessed the toll taken by weight swings, deserves to be commended. You can bet that everyone on this list remembers where he or she was the moment they got the news. For S. Greenstein, it was the off-ramp of Route 81 entering Syracuse. For The Last Roundup, it was the first day on a new job as a reference librarian. "I had him!" he shouted, and then was faced with explaining the comment to his new employers.

September 6, 1978 - Keith Moon (7) - Ghostwriter, Miss Sally

Coming off Elvis the year before, Miss Sally was there again, this time with Ghostwriter, for a duet on the Who's legendary free spirit, alcohol abuser and pyrotechnic drummer Keith Moon, who died at 31 of an overdose of Heminevrin, a drug used to control his alcoholism. Coincidentally, he shuffled off these mortal bonds in the same hotel suite where Cass Elliott had died of a heart attack four years earlier.

February 2, 1979 - Sid Vicious (8)

The Sex Pistols' Sid Vicious got of jail, got a pizza, got some heroin and less than 13 hours after his release, he lit up the scoreboard for 30 gamesters, too numerous to mention.

June 29, 1979 - Lowell George (7) - Ghostwriter, S. Greenstein, L. Smith

In 1978, Rolling Stone magazine reported that singer, songwriter, producer and Little Feat guitarist Lowell George was no longer using drugs or alcohol. Shortly thereafter, Little Feat played Syracuse's Landmark Theatre where Ghostwriter watched George drink eight beers in the course of the set. L. Smith and S. Greenstein were in the same packed house.Loving George's music but not wanting to sniff at seven points, they listed him for 1979 and cashed in quickly when George died of a drug overdose.

February 9, 1981 - Bill Haley (5) - P. Grise

Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" signaled the official arrival of Rock & Roll in 1955, and Florida gamester P. Grise never forgot. "There I was listening to old Rock & Roll, considering how vulnerable rockers are to the vices of our time. I decided to put quite a few young and old stars on my list. Bill, being one of the three or five arguable Fathers of Rock & Roll, seemed quite likely." In the end, harried by a brain tumor and excessive drinking, and behaving in a manner described as erratic, paranoid and bizarre, Haley died of a heart attack. "I heard the news while sitting in the hot tub listening to oldies. We raised a toast to the master and bubbled on."

December 28, 1983 - Dennis Wilson (7) - Razor

A troubled youth, Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys was an even more troubled adult. He summered with Charles Manson, and married five times. His cravings for heroin, cocaine, alcohol and sex were prodigious. At the age of 39, while drunk, he leapt off his boat into icy ocean water and didn't return to the surface. Razor, who realized that Brian Wilson wasn't the only troubled Beach Boy, was there for the solo.

April 23, 1991 - Johnny Thunders (7) - Mr. Dit

"The question was not why he died but how he had lived so long," writes Jeff Pike in The Death of Rock & Roll. A ferocious guitarist and heroin addict, Johnny Thunders played with The New York Dolls, and by 1981 the Replacements had written him a tune called "Johnny's Gonna Die." Ten years later he was found in a New Orleans hotel room dead of an overdose of alcohol and methadone. Only Mr. Dit remained for the final show. "I had Johnny on my list for some time, ever since I saw a performance of his in the mid-Eighties. I knew of his predilection to mix heroin and alcohol, a combo that has ruined many an addict."

November 24, 1991 - Freddie Mercury (6) - OPEC

The lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury revealed that he was suffering from AIDS one day before he died. For OPEC to list him 11 months before the fact was truly astounding. "We Will Rock You," indeed. How did they react? "We were universally ecstatic. What a hit! All those points!"

June 28, 1993 - G.G. Allin (7) - Skul

Kevin "G.G." Allin of the Murder Junkies had been arrested no less than 50 times in performance, for obscenity and assault, but only Skul was there for his seven-point swan song. Allin died of a drug overdose a day after fighting with an audience and crashing through a set of French doors.

April 5, 1994 - Kurt Cobain (8)

On one hand, Nirvana it wasn't for rock star Kurt Cobain, who wrote lyrics like, "I hate myself and I want to die." And he seemingly proved sincere, with an armload of heroin and a mouthful of Remington 20-gauge semi-automatic Model 11 shotgun in the greenhouse atop his garage at his lakeside home in Seattle. Believing his every word were 10 gamesters including Cala Vera, Capital Punishment, Daisy Pusher, Doom Patrol, Mr. Dit, Mr. Goodvibes, OPEC and Skul.

But, on the other hand, how is it that a man with three times the lethal dose of heroin and Valium suddenly pumped in his bloodstream has time to carefully roll down his sleeves, button his cuffs, put away his works, and reach for a shotgun? And how is it that Cobain was the first person to ever commit suicide in this way, overdose and gunshot? And how is it that the shotgun, the shells, and the pen used to write the "suicide note" had no fingerprints on them? And why did the suicide note make no mention of Cobain killing himself? And what of Cobain's announcement of his intention to divorce Love, write her out of his will and move east? And why, after telling the press that Courtney Love offered him $50,000 to kill Cobain, and passing a polygraph test on this testimony with flying colors, did rocker Eldon Hoke, "El Duce," suddenly find himself dead in a train yard in Riverside, California, on April 19, 1997? For the moment, we're not putting this one on the Suicide page.

February 18, 1995 - Bob Stinson (7) - Death Warmed Over

Bob Stinson was lead guitarist of The Replacements; he lost his long battle with drugs with an overdose in 1995. Death Warmed Over was there, and used the seven points to leave Club Nula and sweep past 125 gamesters with one hit.

July 30, 1995 - Biggie Tembo (7) - The National Health

Biggie Tembo of the Bhundu Boys was the king of Zimbabwean pop music. The National Health, in a 1995 letter, told his story: "He was just one of those feelings who makes the Game so delicious. Ever since I saw a TV special on his UK tour in the late 80's, he's been on my mind as a possibility. No one could belt out rhythms like him for 4 hours a night, 7 days a week on a 6-month tour without an outside agency's support, whether medicinal, alcoholic or drawing on too much mental input. Much as I loved the music, I couldn't imagine how a character like that could survive for too long. Since he split from the Bhundus, I'd lost track of him, but the mental image of his crazed, relentless, almost maniacal performances wouldn't go away. He wasn't going to retire in his mid-30's, eating crumpets and taking tea, that's for sure. When the news broke, it was out of the blue, but not a surprise, if you know what I mean." After a series of failed career moves, Biggie Tembo took his own life in a mental hospital.

April 2, 1998 - Rob Pilatus (7) - Tomb Essence, Worm Feast

Rob Pilatus won a Grammy as half of Milli Vanilli, but was stripped of the award when it was revealed the duo had been lip synching. Never able to recover from the disgrace, Pilatus died of an overdose of pills and alcohol in a Frankfurt, Germany, hotel room.

March 27, 2000 - Ian Dury (5)

Thirty-five gamesters paid tribute at the passing of rock legend Ian Dury, who coined the phrase "sex and drugs and rock & roll."

September 17, 2000 - Paula Yates (6) - Mme Morte

Paula Yates was lived a life in the spotlight and to many was the quintessential rock chick, a talented pop music show presenter who pursued and won Sir Bob Geldof (of the Boomtown Rats and Live Aid fame) and bore him three children -- Trixibelle, Peaches Honeyblossom and Pixie -- then decamped and took up with Michael Hutchence of INXS, bearing Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily. But in 1997, Hutchence died suddenly and then Ms. Yates learned that her birth father was actually Hughie Green (a little something her mother never shared with her and a shock that could have killed anyone). She had written books on parenting, but her drug troubles led to the loss of custody of her three children by Geldof. On a Sunday, she was found dead in her apartment of a drug overdose. No one but Mme Morte had read the tea leaves on this one; it was her first solo, and a beauty.

November 16, 2000 - Little Joe C (8) - Mortis the Cat

Diminutive yet assertive Joe Calleja aka Little Joe C provided vocals and shock value for Kid Rock, and a booming eight-point solo for Mortis the Cat. Joe was heard on Kid Rock's Devil without a Cause, did a solo version of "Kyle's Mom's a Big Fat Bitch" for the South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut soundtrack and was at work on a solo project when he died after a lifelong battle with celiac disease.

Next up, Timing. Or back to Greatest Hits.