Melanie Thornton

Best known as the lead singer of the platinum-selling Eurodance duo La Bouche, Melanie Thornton created some of the most enduring dance hits of the 1990s. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 13, 1967, she moved to Germany in 1991 and joined La Bouche in 1994. Thornton co-wrote the platinum-selling singles "Sweet Dreams" and "Be My Lover," both of which became Top 10 hits for La Bouche in America, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Australia. After leaving the group's lineup in 2000, she released her solo debut, Ready to Fly, in May 2001. While touring Europe later that year in support of an upcoming Christmas single, Thorton's plane crashed into a hillside near Zürich, Switzerland. She died in the crash at age 34. Her song "Wonderful Dream (Holidays Are Coming)" was released posthumously and became her final hit, cracking the Top 10 in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.