Pioneering musician/hip-hop artist MCA (Adam Yauch) of the Beastie Boys died at New York-Presbyterian hospital on May 4, 2012. He was 47 years old.

Yauch was diagnosed with cancer of the salivary gland in 2009. An especially rare form of cancer, salivary gland cancer effects only 2 in 100,000 people. MCA was on the younger side of the spectrum of those afflicted by the illness.

The Beastie Boys had recently been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April. MCA's health prevented him from joining Mike D and Ad-Rock in accepting the award, but he sent a letter of gratitude. The Beastie Boys are only the third hip-hop act to be inducted into the RnR Hall of Fame (after Grandmaster Flash and Run-DMC).

MCA is survived by wife Dechen Wangdu and 13-year-old daughter Tenzin Losel.

R.I.P MCA/Adam Yauch, 1964-2012. You will be missed.

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Joey Ramone lived at these apartments with his mother and brother. He recalls the experience as being an influence for the song "Beat on the Brat":

"There was a playground with women sitting around and a kid screaming, a spoiled, horrible kid just running around rampant with no discipline whatsoever. The kind of kid you just want to kill. You know, 'beat on the brat with a baseball bat' just came out. I just wanted to kill him."- Joey Ramone

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When Joey Ramone was eighteen, he checked himself into St. Vincent's Hospital. The diagnosis was obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and he felt there were voices that made him repeat things. As Mark Leigh (Joey's brother) put it: "The doctors said...it would render him useless to function in society for the rest of his life."

Hey Ho, Let's GO. Hey Ho, Let's GO.

St. Vincent's Hospital closed on April 30, 2010, after being open for 160 years.

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Hillside Cemetery is the final resting place for Joey Ramone (aka Jeff Hyman). He died on April 15, 2001.

On the tombstone it reads "Hyman, Jeff. May 19, 1951- April 15, 2001. Loving son and brother. A.K.A. Joey Ramone. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer."

Probably could of added "godfather of punk" without much objection.

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On November 30, 2003, this corner was officially renamed "Joey Ramone Place" by the city of New York. It is the block where Joey once lived with bandmate Dee Dee Ramone, and near the former site of CBGB.

Interestingly, the Joey Ramone Place sign is the most stolen sign in New York City. Most street signs are placed between 12 to 14 feet, but this one is now hung at 20 feet to deter theft.

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