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Famous Artists |
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9.Dark Horse
George Harrison
Cause of Death: Cancer Drop-Dead Jam: 'Here Comes the Sun' The BBC pays their respect All Things Must Pass: Never the most fiscally prudent Beatle—his mismanaged film company, HandMade Films, once left him $23 million in debt—Harrison was still worth $245 million at his death; despite reports that half his fortune was left to the Hare Krishnas, it all went to wife Olivia and son Dhani. Life After Death: While less aggressively marketed than John Lennon, there has been a steady stream of posthumous Harrison product: a release for his final album, Brainwashed, his late-’70s back catalogue digitally remastered and, most recently, a digital sprucing-up for the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh. In the Vault: In death as in life, Harrison’s solo achievements are dwarfed by the Beatles’. Their company, Apple, prides itself on being a model of English good taste—eschewing talk of the Beatles "brand"—but still has a packed release schedule. Since Harrison died, there have been DVD issues of the Anthology, A Hard Day’s Night, The First U.S. Visit, Let It Be...Naked and the box set The Capitol Albums. While Harrison’s solo vault may be empty, there are plenty of Beatles projects on the way.
10.No Longer Hitting the Road, Jack
Ray Charles
Cause of Death: Complications from liver disease Drop-Dead Jam: 'Georgia on My Mind' Could he take down Stevie Wonder? Charles in Charge: Charles’s posthumous plaudits were both lengthened and amplified by the release, four months after his death, of the highly successful biopic Ray, which reminded audiences worldwide of the singer’s genre-hopping talent, amazing rags-to-riches story—and also of his womanizing, heroin-injecting ways. Get Rich or Die Tryin': Charles’ 2002 CD, Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again, didn’t even chart, but after his death the duets CD Genius Loves Company hit Billboard’s No. 1, sold more than 3 million copies and earned him eight posthumous Grammys. In September 2005, Rhino Records released another duets CD, Genius & Friends, and a 146-track box set, Pure Genius. The following month, Charles appeared on Forbes’s list of the Top-Earning Dead Celebrities, with an income of $7.88 million. Ray Charles on Their Mind': Last year, residents of Tampa, Florida, objected to a plan to rename a street after Charles, suggesting that, since the neighborhood was already rife with drug dealers, associating it with a former smack addict probably wasn’t going to help much. |
