There are plenty of musicians who died before getting definitive time in the musical spotlight. Tega -- a rapper who was affiliated with Nelly's St. Lunatics -- is sadly in that category, as he passed on while he was in the midst of climbing the musical ladder.

Tega -- whose real name was Oretga Devon Henderson -- was part of Da Camp, a rap group that often performed with Nelly and Murphy Lee. By 2009 the group had put out some mixtapes and was in the process of completing a full-length album.

But by the end of May of that year, Tega had died after succumbing to injuries sustained in a shooting.

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Founding member and one third of the Beastie Boys, Adam "MCA" Yauch died today after a three year battle with cancer. The hugely influential rapper was diagnosed in 2009 after a tumor was found on his salivary gland. The Beastie Boys have not played together live since the diagnosis, having to cancel several concerts and push back the release date on their most recent record, Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 on account of the illness.

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Levon Helm

There will never be enough praise that could be directed to Levon Helm. Notwithstanding his incalculable contribution to the Band's brilliant rock & roll ride, Helm's titanic craftsmanship and distictive voice provided a heartbeat to an untold amount of musical acts. Not only did he inspire others, he helped cultivate and nurture a earthy genre of rock music.

Helm's death on Thursday from throat cancer sparked emotional tributes -- and for good reason. Helm connected himself to countless music spheres: Touring with Bob Dylan, creating an immense catalog of influential songs with the Band and luring in younger fans with his Midnight Rambles.

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That high lonesome sound is resonating through the hollers today as Bluegrass music lovers and banjo enthusiasts alike are mourning the death of Earl Scruggs.

A musical innovator in the truest sense of the word, Scruggs died from natural causes at a Nashville area hospital. He was 88.

As a professional banjo player, Scruggs performed for audiences over seven decades. At 21, he was asked by bluegrass legend Bill Monroe to join the original incarnation of his band, the Blue Grass Boys. Scruggs employed a three finger banjo style - played with picks on his thumb, index and middle fingers - that the audiences of the Grand Ole Opry took a shine to immediately. The banjo licks that he developed are now standard fare for new players and his banjo instruction manual, Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo (1968), helped popularize the instrument and the bluegrass genre to a younger, more urban generation.

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Dave Hagerty Memorial Facebook Page

Dave Hagerty, the leader of the band Fattback, is getting a songbook made in his honor.

A local musician is putting the finishing touches on a book showcasing the music of Fattback member Dave Hagerty, who passed away two years ago.

Stu Leal tells RFT Music on Thursday that he is the process of finishing up a book that features Hagerty's lyrics and chords. Hagerty died in August 2010 from injuries he sustained in a hit-and-run accident. He was 28.

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Lantern Lights

Lantern Lights is the nimble pop project of Gareth Schumacher and Kari Wasoba. The pair will release their first album tomorrow night at Foam Coffee and Beer (3359 Jefferson Avenue) -- the self-titled effort was the subject of a recent Homespun column.

You don't want to wait on this band. Wasoba and Schumacher are moving to LA in the next month, and this will be your only chance to catch the duo in St. Louis until it's no longer their hometown. And while Lantern Lights is brand new, both its members have long participated in this area's music scene. Christian Schaeffer asked them about the ups and downs of making music in River City and why they're making the move.

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Whitney Houston's decline doesn't erase her musical legacy.

The news of Whitney Houston's death sparked a disparate reaction amongst the music fans. People expressed every emotion imaginable -- distress, distain, reverence and befuddlement. The varied response correlates with Houston's troubled personal life, which gripped the later stages of her career.

But lost amidst some focus on her visible struggles with drugs and her rocky relationship with Bobby Brown is Houston's remarkable impact. From a commercial standpoint, Houston was one of the best-selling female artists of all time -- and one of the most popular musical acts of the 1980s and 1990s. She possessed a voice that was often imitated but rarely duplicated.

Still, Houston's influence extends beyond her commercial appeal or even her talent. She set a number of musical benchmarks that will take a generation or two to be met or surpassed. Here's a look at key points of Houston's musical legacy:

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Overshadowed in death by the passing of Don Cornelius of Soul Train, St. Louis R&B and gospel singer David Peaston also died on February 1, 2012, from complications from diabetes. He was 54.

Peaston was part of St. Louis gospel royalty. His mother was Martha Bass, singer in the foundational gospel group the Clara Ward Singers, and his sister was Fontella Bass, who needs no introduction.

With his agile, deceptively devastating high tenor voice, Peaston received his break after a move to New York and his celebrated appearances on the Showtime at the Apollo TV series. His signature performance number was "God Bless the Child," a song that he utterly transformed, drawing on jazz scatting and a creamy phrasing that would boil over into something else entirely, something only a very great sacred singer can harness and set free.

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Soul Train creator and host Don Cornelius made an expansive impact on popular culture.

Music fans are still reeling from the death of Don Cornelius, the unmistakable and irreplaceable host and creator of Soul Train.

Cornelius was found dead on Wednesday in Los Angeles of what police believe to be a self-inflicted wound. The Chicago native and Korean War veteran was 75.

With the sadness emanating from Cornelius' death is increased focus on his expansive legacy. He created and hosted a show that became a revolutionary outlet for black musicians and unrepresented genres. Soul Train was a venue that brought extremely talented artists -- from powerhouses like Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye to rap superheroes Run DMC -- to a wider audience.

Cornelius himself was an attraction, delivering an utterly smooth delivery and championing an array of outstanding catchphrases. No matter how turbulent the day, Cornelius would wish America nothing more than "peace, love and soul."

Given the Soul Train's longevity, it is not terribly surprising that a number of musicians closely associated with St. Louis made appearances on the show. In honor of Cornelius, here's a sampling of St. Louis natives that appeared on Soul Train:

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Tony Perolio, October 6 1981-January 25 2012.

Anthony Perolio was a Marine, a gifted drummer, an engineer, an athlete, a leukemia survivor, a loving husband and the father of two joyous poodles. His on-paper accomplishments, though varied and many, pale in comparison to who Tony was when he woke up every morning and went to sleep every night -- a kind, wonderful person who gave amazing hugs and never saw a face he didn't smile at.

Tony died on January 25, 2012 at the age of 30. He is survived by his wife Jessica, his parents, Steve and Connie, his sister Andrea and half-brother Adam. A visitation will be held on Monday, January 30 and a funeral service will follow on Tuesday at the Journey Church.

In November 2006, Tony was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and was told he had days to live. He underwent a stem cell transplant in May 2007 that beat the cancer. He completed an engineering degree at Washington University and got engaged to the love of his life in 2008. In January 2009, he was diagnosed with GVHD, or graft-versus-host-disease, where the body fights against the transplant. Though common in transplant patients, Tony's GVHD was out of the ordinary, confounding some of the top oncologists in the nation. In September 2011, he was told that his health would continue to dissipate without drastic measures. He re-entered Barnes-Jewish Hospital in January 2012 for chemotherapy and treatment and spent his final days surrounded by his family, friends and devoted wife.

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