The Death of Rock: Inhalation of a Toxic Substance
Key
Some entries have special notations prior to their names. They represent induction into one of the following Halls of Fame:- * denotes induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
- # indicates induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
- ^ symbolizes induction into the Blues Hall of Fame.
- Malcolm Hale
- carbon-monoxide poisoning, the result of a faulty space heater (1968). He was 27. Hale was the lead guitarist for Spanky and Our Gang. He had gone to bed drunk at a girlfriend's, and even though the band called her to wake him, she refused. Twenty-eight hours later, she discovered that he was dead. You can read about Hale's connection to the Curse of 27. "Sunday Will Never Be the Same," "Like to Get to Know You," "Lazy Day"
- Tony Thompson
- inhalation of freon. He was 31. Thompson was lead vocalist of the R&B group Hi-Five. In 2007, his body was discovered near an air conditioning unit within an apartment complex near his home. He had died from inhaling a toxic amount of freon. (Fellow group member, Roderick "Pooh" Clark, passed away at the age of 49. See 2022.) "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)," "I Can't Wait Another Minute"
- Tommy Tucker
- (Robert Higginbotham); he was 48 (1982). Tucker died from inhaling carbon tetrachloride while refinishing his home's hardwood floors. Tucker was most famous for 1964's "High-Heel Sneakers". ("Long Tall Shorty" was the follow-up.)