[Judee Sill (October 7, 1944 - November 23, 1979)

Judee's father and brother both died in separate incidents when Judee was quite young. Her mother's subsequent marriage to Tom and Jerry animator Kenneth Muse was marked by heavy drinking, and this, combined with her rebellious nature, drove Judee away from home and into a life of crime and drug use in her teens.

Having learned her signature gospel-inflected keyboard style during her incarceration for writing bad checks, Sill kicked her heroin addiction and decided to pursue songwriting.

Her eponymous debut album was released to major acclaim in 1971 and was followed two years later by Heart Food. She recorded demos for a third album in 1974(they were released in 2005 under the title Dreams Come True.)

Unable to draw a sizable crowd yet unwilling to play as a support act, Sill saw her name and moderate fame both recede, and she eventually disappeared from view entirely. Rumors abound as to what happened next, although it is definitely known that she returned to her heroin addiction as well as becoming heavily involved with cocaine.

Following a car accident and its resultant physical pain, Judee Sill struggled with drug addiction and dropped out of the music scene, finally dying of a cocaine overdose in November 1979.
] - Wikipedia article with some edits http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judee_Sill