Rock Me Amadeus' Singer Dies In Car Crash

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Falco, a classical music wunderkind-turned-two-hit wonder, died in a traffic accident Friday in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic two weeks shy of his 41st birthday.

The Austrian musician, born Johann Holzel, emerged in 1982 with the synth-heavy Top 40 smash "Der Kommisar" and then re-emerged four years later with the equally-poppy, No. 1 hit "Rock Me Amadeus."

According to AP reports, Falco suffered a fatal head injury when his sport utility vehicle collided with a bus as he was pulling onto a highway near the resort of Puerto Plaza.

Although Falco had few hits in the U.S., the prodigal artist recorded more than ten albums (not including various "best of" and "remix" packages) during his career and was believed to have just completed a new record prior to his death.

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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