a Phil Brodie Band Info Page
"Births & Deaths"
These birthdates and death dates are unique to this site,
I have been working on them for over 8 years now.
PLEASE give credit or link if copied
PAGES UPDATED DAILY
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JULY: Charts ~ JULY: On This Day ~ JULY: Quiz
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JULY
SADLY DEPARTED
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RESPECT - OBITUARIES
2011 .. 2010 .. 2009 .. 2008 .. 2007 .. 2006 .. 2005 .. 2004 .. REQUESTS
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MORE BIRTHDAYS & PASSINGS & TRIBUTES
January . February . March . April . May . June . July
August . September . October . November . December
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JULY BIRTHDAYS

Born ~ July 1st.
1998: Hollie Steel (English singer)
1986: Agnes Monica (Indonesian singer)
1983: Marit Larsen (Norwegian singer-songwriter; M2M)
1983: Leeteuk/Park Jung Su (Korean singer)
1981: Amanda Diva/Amanda Seales (US actress, rapper)
1977: Tom Frager (French-born singer, surfer)
1977: Greg Pattillo (US beatboxing flautist)
1977: Birgit Schuurman (Dutch singer, actress)
1976: Plies/Algernod Lanier Washington (American rapper)
1976: Justin Lo (Hong Kong singer, songwriter)
1975: Sufjan Stevens (US singer, guitarist, multi-musician)
1972: Alex Machacek (Austrian jazz fusion guitarist)
1971: Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (US singer, rapper, songwriter).
1969: Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge/Jacqueline Breyer (US keyboards, singer; PTV3/3Majesty)*09.Oct.2007
1968: Francis "Franny" Griffiths (UK keyboards, piano; Space).
1964: Pol Burton (UK drummer; Transvision Vamp).
1963: Roddy Bottum (US keyboards; Faith No More/Imperial Teen).
1961: Adrian York (piano; Roman Holiday).
1961: Michelle Wright (Canadian country music singer, guitarist)
1960: Evelyn 'Champagne' King (US soul singer)... a few sources have June 29th 1960
1960: Ted Key (bass; Housemartins)?
1959: Edem Ephraim (UK singer; London Boys)*21.Jan.1996.
1956: Phil Solem (singer, songwriter, Great Buildings/ Rembrandts).
1954: Keith Whitley (American country music singer)*09.May.1989.
1952: Dan Aykroyd (US actor, Elwood in the Blues Brothers).
1952: Timothy J. Tobias (US composer, keyboardist, arranger, producer)*23.Dec.2006.
1951: Terrance Mann (US actor, singer, dancer)
1951: Anne Feeney (US protest singer)
1951: Fred Schneider (US vocals, The B-52's).
1949: John Farnham (Australian singer).
1948: John Ford (UK bass, vocals; Strawbs)
1946: June Montiero (singer, Toys).
1945: Debbie Harry (US singer; Blondie/solo).
1943: Jeff Wayne (US pianist, songwriter, music composer for films and TV).
1942: Andrae Crouch (US gospel musician, recording artist, songwriter, arranger, producer).
1939: Delaney Bramlett (US vocals, guitar; Shindogs/Delaney & Bonnie/others)*27.Dec.2008.
1935: James Cotton (US blues harmonica player)
1935: Rashied Ali/Robert Patterson (US jazz drummer; John Coltrane/many others)*12.Aug.2009.
1934: Peter Levinson (US music industry biographer)*21.Oct.2008.
1933: Eddie Bond (singer, guitar, rockabilly music; Rockin' Daddy).
1930: Bobby Day/Robert James Byrd (US singer)*27.July.1990.
1920: Amália da Piedade Rodrigues (Portuguese singer, actress)*06.Oct.1999. Note: Despite official documents giving her date of birth as July 23rd, Amália Rodrigues always said her birthday was July 1st 1920.
1918: Ralph Young (American singer, actor)*22.Aug.2008.
1915: Willie Dixon (blues singer, guitarist, 'the poet laureate of the blues')*29.Jan.1992.
1899: Thomas A. Dorsey (US singer, 'the father of black gospel music')*23.Jan.1993.

July 2nd.
1985: Ashley Tisdale (US actress, singer)
1983: Michelle Branch (US singer, songwriter, guitarist).
1979: Diana Gurtskaya (Georgian singer
1975: Erik Ohlsson (Swedish guitarist; Millencolin)
1974: Rocky Gray (US drummer, guitarist; Evanescence/Living Sacrifice)
1974: Tim Christensen (Danish singer and multi-instrumentalist; Dizzy Mizz Lizzy)
1970: Colin Edwin (Australian bassist; Porcupine Tree)
1970: Monie Love (UK female rapper).
1965: Dave Parsons (UK bass, Transvision Vamp/Bush)?
1964: Roy Boulter (drummer; The Farm).
1957: Mike Anger (UK singer, guitar, Blow Monkeys/Wicked Ways/solo).
1956: Jeffrey Cooper (US guitarist; Midnight Star/No Parking).
1956: Jerry Hall (US model, actress, Mike Jagger of Rolling Stones wife).
1954: Pete Briquette/Patrick Andrew Cusack (Irish bassist, vocals, Boomtown Rats).
1953: Mark Hart (US multi-instrumentalist; Crowded House/Supertramp)
1952: Johnny Colla (US sax, guitar, vocals; Huey Lewis & the News/Van Morrison/solo).
1950: Duncan Mackay (UK keyboardist; Cockney Rebel).
1949: Gregory Dane Brown (American folk singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica)
1949: Roy 'The Professor' Bittan (US piano, organ, accordian, synthesizer; E Street Band).
1948: Gene McFadden (US singer; McFadden & Whitehead)*27.Jan.2006.
1945: Peter Cruickshank (UK bassist; Groundhogs).
1942: Leapy Lee/Graham Pulliblank (UK singer).
1941: Stéphane Venne (French-Canadian songwriter)
1939: Paul Williams (US second tenor/baritone singer; Temptations)*17.Aug.1973.
1936: Allen Shelton (US banjo player; Jim & Jesse and the Virginia Boys)*21.Nov.2009.
1934: Tom Springfield/Dion O'Brien (UK singer, guitarist, songwriter, producer; Springfields).
1932: Waldemar Matuška (Czechoslovakian singer, songwriter, actor)*30.May.2009.
1930: Ahmad Jamal/Frederick Russell Jones (American jazz pianist, composer, educator)
1927: Charlie Kennedy (US alto saxophonist; Gene Krupa's big band/others)*03.April.2009.
1927: Lee Allen (jazz saxophonist)*18.Oct.1994.
1925: Marvin Rainwater/Marvin Karlton Percy (US country singer).
1923: Janette Carter (US singer, autoharpist, folklorist; The Carter Family)*22.Jan.2006.
1917: Murry Wilson (US songwriter, record producer; The Beach Boys)*04.June.1973.
1916: Ken Curtis (US actor, singer)*28.April.1991.
1914: Frederick Fennell (American conductor)*07.Dec.2000.
1819: Charles-Louis Hanon (French composer)*19.March.1900.

July 3rd.
1992: Nathalia Ramos (Spanish actress, singer)
1985: Minami Keisuke (Japanese singer, actor)
1983: Steph Jones (US singer, model)
1980: Melisa Young (US rapper; Kid Sister)
1980: Trae/Frazier Thompson III (US rapper)
1976: Shane Lynch (Irish vocalist; Boyzone).
1975: Javier Weyler aka Capitan Melao (Argentina drummer; Stereophonics/Claroscuro/solo)
1969: Kevin Hearn (rhythm, sometimes lead guitar, Barenaked Ladies).
1968: Martyn Walsh (bassist, Inspiral Carpets).
1961: Tim Smith (UK singer-songwriter, composer; Cardiacs)
1960: Vince Clarke (UK keyboard, songwriter; Depeche Mode/Yazoo/Erasure).
1959: Stephen Pearcy (lead singer; Ratt).
1958: Aaron Tippin (US singer)
1957: Poly Styrene/Marianne Joan Elliott-Said (UK singer-songwriter; X-Ray Spex)*April.25.2011.
1957: Laura Branigan (US singer)*26.Aug.2004.
1955: Neil Clark (guitarist, songwriters; Commotions).
1953: Jackson Kaujeua (Namibian musician, composer, gospel singer)*27.May.2010.
1952: Amit Kumar (Indian singer)
1951: Mike Corby (keyboard, guitar, The Babys).
1949: Johnnie Wilder (US lead singer and co-founder of Heatwave)*13.May.2006.
1948: Józef Skrzek (Polish multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer; Slezanie/Ametysty/Breakout).
1948: Paul Barrere (guitar; Little Feat).
1947: Anthony "Top" Topham (UK blues guitarist)
1947: Grethe Kausland (Norwegian singer and performer)*16.Nov.2007.
1947: Betty Buckley (musical theatre actress, music critic, "Voice of Broadway").
1946: Victor Unitt (UK guitar, harmonica; Pretty Things/Edgar Broughton Band).
1946: John Klemmer (tenor sax, electrified sax, composer).
1946: Johnny Lee (US country-n-western singer)
1944: Michel Polnareff (French singer-songwriter)
1943: Judith Durham (vocals, Seekers).
1942: Eddy Mitchell (French singer, actor)
1941: Donald McPherson (US soul singer; Main Ingredient)*03.July.1971.
1940: Maureen Kennedy (Canadian jazz vocalist)?
1940: Fontella Bass (US female singer, pianist).
1940: Bernadette Greevy (Irish mezzo-soprano)*26.Sept.2008.
1939: Brigitte Fassbaender (German mezzo-soprano)
1936: Frederick Tupper Saussy III (US keyboardist, composer; Neon Philharmonic)*16.March.2007.
1934: Roger Christian (US radio personality, lyricist)*11.July.1991 .. not the radio DJ from Buffalo
1930: Thomas J. Tedesco (American master session guitarist)*10.Nov.1997.
1930: Pete Fountain (US clarinetist)
1930: Carlos Kleiber (Austrian conductor)*13.July.2004.
1929: David Lynch (US tenor vocalist; The Platters)*03.Jan.1981.
1924: Ángel Tavira Maldonado (Mexican composer, musician and violinist)*30.June.2008.
1880: Carl Schuricht (German conductor)*07.Jan.1967.
1878: George M. Cohan (US musician, actor, writer, composer)*05.Nov.1942.
1854: Leoš Janácek (Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist)*12.Aug.1928.

July 4th.
1986: Takahisa Masuda (Japanese singer)
1984: Akanishi Jin (Japanese singer)
1984: Gina Glocksen (US singer; American Idol finalist).
1983: Ben Jorgensen (US singer, guitarist)
1983: Andy Mrotek (US drummer, vocalist, The Academy Is..)
1983: Miguel Ángel Muñoz (Spanish actor, singer)
1978: Stephen McNally (UK electric guitar, vocals; BBMak).
1977: Jonas Kjellgren (Swedish singer, guitar; Scar Symmetry).
1975: Tania Davis (Australian violist)
1972: William Goldsmith (US drummer; Sunny Day Real Estate, Foo Fighters)
1972: Nina Badric (Croatian singer)
1971: Andrew Creeggan (Canadian keyboard, percussion; Barenaked Ladies).
1970: Andy McClure (drums; Sleeper).
1970: Christian Giesler (US bassist; Kreator)
1968: Jack Frost/Jack Dempsey (US guitarist; Seven Withes/Bronx Casket Company).
1965: Jo Whiley (English radio DJ)
1964: Mark Slaughter (American singer)
1963: Matt Malley (US bassist; Counting Crows).
1958: Kirk Pengilly (Australian guitar, vocals; INXS).
1952: John Waite (UK singer, bass, Babys/ Bad English/ solo).
1951: Ralph Johnson (drums, Earth, Wind & Fire).
1950: David 'Kid' Jensen (Canadian born-British radio DJ).
1950: Tonio K/Steven M. Krikorian (US singer, songwriter).
1948: Jeremy Spencer (UK guitar, Fleetwood Mac/Children of God).
1948: Tommy Körberg (Swedish singer, actor)
1945: David McWilliams (Irish singer, songwriter, guitarist)*08.Jan.2002.
1943: Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson (US guitar, harmonica, vocals; Canned Heat)*03.Sept.1970.
1943: Konrad "Conny" Bauer (German free jazz trombonist)
1947: Jacques Morali (French music producer; Village People/others)*15.Nov.1991.
1940: Dave Rowberry (UK keyboards; Animals)*06.June.2003.
1938: Mike Mainieri (US vibraphonist, Xylophone, Marimba; Steps Ahead/Two Kings & a Queen/freelance).
1938: Bill Withers (US singer, songwriter).
1933: Baker Knight (US songwriter, guitarist)*12.Oct.2005.
1932: Cal Smith (US country singer).
1921: Tibor Varga (Hungarian violinist)*04.Sept.2003.
1911: Mitch Miller (US musician, singer, conductor, record producer, A&R man)*31.July.2010.
1910: Champion Jack Dupree (New Orleans blues & boogie pianist)*21.Jan.1992. NOTE: His birth date is disputed, given as July 4, 10, and 23, in the years 1908, 1909, or 1910.
1907: Howard Taubman (US music and theatre critic)*08.Jan.1996.
1903: Flor Peeters (Belgian composer, organist, teacher)*04.July.1986.
1895: Irving Caesar/Isidor Keiser (US lyricist, musical theatre composer)*18.Dec.1996.
1826: Stephen Collins Foster (US songwriter; "father of American music")*13.Jan.1864.

July 5th.
1989: Joseph King (US singer, songwriter, guitarist; Canvas, Deadbeat Darling)
1985: Stephanie McIntosh (Australian pop singer, actress)
1985: Nick O'Malley (UK bassist; Arctic Monkeys)
1984: Yu Yamada (Japanese Ryukyuan model, actress, singer)
1980: Jason Wade (UK lead vocalist, guitarist; Lifehouse).
1979: Shane Filan (Irish vocalist; Westlife).
1977: Royce Da 5'9"/Ryan Montgomery (US rapper).
1976: Mike DeWolf (US guitarist; Taproot).
1976: Bizarre/Rufus Johnson (US rapper; D12).
1975: Gunnar H. Thomsen (Faroese bassist; Týr)
1973: Róisín Murphy (Irish singer-songwriter; Moloko)
1973: Bengt Lagerberg (Swedish drums; The Cardigans)
1973: Charizma/Charles Hicks (US hip-hop MC; duo with Peanut Butter Wolf)*18.Dec.1993.
1972: Joe Lewis Thomas (7 time Grammy Award-nominated American R&B singer, record producer)
1970: Mac Dre/Andre Hicks (American gangsta rap artist)*01.Nov.2004.
1970: Clause Noreen (Danish singer, music producer; Aqua).
1969: Aled Richards (drums; Catatonia)?
1969: RZA/Robert Diggs (US rapper, music producer of Wu-Tang Clan).
1968: Kenji Ito (Japanese composer)
1965: Eyran Katsenelenbogen (Israeli jazz pianist)
1964: Jimmy Demers (US singer, writer)
1963: Russ Lorenson (US singer, actor)
1961: Isabelle Poulenard (French soprano)
1959: Marc Cohn (US singer, songwriter).
1958: Paul Daniel (UK opera and symphony conductor)
1955: Terry Chimes (UK drummer; The Clash/Hanoi Rocks/others)
1954: Jimmy Crespo (US guitarist; Aerosmith)
1951: Keiko Fuji (Japanese enka singer)
1950: Huey Lewis/Hugh Anthony Cregg (US vocals, harmonica; Huey Lewis & the News).
1950: Michael Monarch (US guitarist, songwriter; Steppenwolf).
1946: Andy Ellison (UK lead singer, John's Children/Jet/Radio Stars).
1945: Dick Scoppettone (US vocals, guitar, bass; Harpers Bizarre).
1943: Robbie Robertson (Canadian guitar, vocals; The Band).
1940: Donald Shanks AO OBE (Australian operatic bass-baritone)*08.April.2011.
1938: Ronnie Self (US rock singer, songwriter)*28.Aug.1981.
1930: Mitch Jayne (US vocals, bass, lyricist, radio host; Dillards/Darlin' Family)*02.Aug.2010.
1924: János Starker (Hungarian cello player).
1920: Smiley Lewis (US R&B singer, songwriter)*07.Oct.1966.
1918: George Rochberg (US composer of contemporary classical music)*29.May.2005.
1912: Mack David (US lyricist, songwriter)*30.Dec.1993.
1895: Gordon Jacob (English composer)*08.June.1984.

July 6th.
1990: Ajoo/Noh Ah-joo (South Korean singer).
1987: Kate Nash (UK singer-songwriter)
1984: Lauren Harris (UK rock singer)
1980: Joell Ortiz (US hip hop artist)
1979: Nicholas Cester (Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist; Jet)
1975: 50 Cent/Curtis James Jackson 3rd (US rapper).
1972: Mark Gasser (US pianist)
1972: Isabelle Boulay (French-Canadian singer)
1970: Inspectah Deck/Jason Hunter (US rapper; Wu-Tang Clan).
1969: Michael Grant (UK keyboardist, vocals; Musical Youth).
1967: Heather Nova (Bermudian singer-songwriter)
1965: Eddie Campbell (Scottish keyboardist; Texas)?
1065: Amit Saigal (Indian rock musician, rock promoter, publisher; Rock Street Journal)*05.Jan.2012.
1964: Cristina D'Avena (Italian singer, actress)
1963: Tim Bricheno (UK guitarist; All About Eve/Sisters Of Mercy/Tin Star).
1961: Robert Heaton (UK drummer; New Model Army)*04.Nov.2004.
1960: Rick Price (Australian guitarist, singer, songwriter) ((not the UK bassist))
1959: John Keeble (UK drummer; Spandau Ballet/Tony Hadley Band).
1953: Nanci Griffith (US singer, guitarist, songwriter).
1952: Dave Smith (UK singer; The Real Thing).
1952: Graham Oliver (UK guitarist;Son of a Bitch/Saxon/Tempest/T.Rex-Celebration of Marc/ Mickey).
1950: Tonio K/Steven M. Krikorian (American singer)
1949: Phyllis Hyman (US soul singer, model, actress)*30.June.1995.
1949: Mike Shrieve (US drummer, percussionist, electronic music composer; Santana/freelance).
1945: Rik Elswit (US guitarist; Dr. Hook).
1940: Jeannie Seely (US country music singer).
1939: Jet Harris/Terence Harris (UK bassist guitar, Shadows/Diamonds/guest/solo)*18.March.2011.
1937: Gene Chandler/Eugene Dixon (US soul singer).
1937: Vladimir Ashkenazy (Russian-born pianist, conductor).
1931: Della Reese (US singer, actress)
1930: Balamurali Krishna (Indian Carnatic musician, poet, composer)
1927: Nilo Soruco/Danilo Soruco Arancibia (Bolivian songwriter)*01.April.2004.
1927: Alan "Fluff" Freeman (Australian-born British disc jockey, TV & radio personality)*27.Nov.2006.
1925: Bill Haley (US singer, guitarist, Bill Haley and his Comets)*09.Feb.1981.
1924: Louie Bellson/Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni (US jazz drummer)*14.Feb.2009.
1919: Ernst Haefliger (Swiss singer)*17.March.2007.
1911: LaVerne Sophia Andrews (American contralto singer; The Andrews Sisters)*08.May.1967.
1898: Hanns Eisler (German composer)*06.Sept.1962.
1865: Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (Swiss composer, music educator)*01.July.1950.

July 7th.
1988: Kaci Brown (US singer)
1988: Ilan Rubin (US drummer; Nine Inch Nails)
1984: Marie-Mai/Marie-Mai Bouchard (Canadian singer)
1983: D. Woods/Wanita Woodgett (US singer; Danity Kane)
1983: Ciara Newell (Irish singer; Bellefire)
1982: Cassidy/Barry Adrian Reese (US rapper)
1982: Mike Glita (US bassist; Senses Fail)
1981: Synyster Gates/Brian Elwin Haner Jr (US guitarist; Avenged Sevenfold/Pinkly Smooth).
1980: Kaisa Jouhki (Indonesian singer; Battlelore)
1980: Dan Whitesides (US drummer; The Used)
1969: Nathalie Simard (French Canadian singer)
1967: Dickon Hinchliffe (UK guitarist, violin, vocals, piano, reeds, string; Tindersticks).
1967: Jazzy Jackie/Jacqueline Neal (US singer)*10.March.2005.
1966: Gundula Krause (German folk violinist)
1963: Vonda Shepard (US singer, songwriter).
1962: Mark White (US bassist; Spin Doctors).
1961: The Doctor/Clive Jackson (UK lead vocals, DJ; Doctor And The Medics).
1957: Berry Sakharof (Turkish-born Israeli guitarist; Minimal Compact)
1954: Rami Fortis (Israeli rock singer; Minimal Compact)
1954: Pam Bricker (US jazz singer; Thievery Corporation)*20.Feb.2005.
1951: Michael Henderson (US bass guitar, vocals; Motown/session/Mile Davis/Own).
1948: Larry "Rhino" Rheinhardt (US rock guitarist; Iron Butterfly/Captain Beyond)*02.Jan.2012.
1947: David "Scar" Hodo (US vocals; Village People, the construction worker).
1947: Víctor Manuel (Spanish songwriter, singer)
1947: Rob Townsend (UK drummer; Family/Medicine Head/Manfreds/Paul Jones Blues Band).
1945: Matti Salminen (Finnish opera singer)
1945: Jim Rodford (UK bassist; Argent/Mike Cotton Sound/Kinks/Zombie Reunion Band).
1944: Warren Entner (US vocals, rhythm guitar, organist; Grass Roots).
1943: Toto Cutugno (Italian singer)
1940: Ringo Starr /Richard Starkey (UK drums, vocals, songwriter, Beatles/own band/guest).
1936: Nikos Xilouris (Greek singer, musician, composer)*08.Feb.1980.
1933: J.J. Barrie/Barrie Authors (Canadian country singer)
1932: Josef Zawinul (Austrian jazz keyboardist; Miles Davis Band/Weather Report)*11.Sept.2007.
1930: Hank Mobley (US jazz composer, saxophonist)*30.May.1986.
1929: Reg Lindsay OAM (Australian C&W singer, songwriter and guitarist)*05.Aug.2008.
1927: Doc Severinsen (US composer, jazz trumpeter)
1927: Charlie Louvin (US country singer; Louvin Brothers/solo)*26.Jan.2011.
1924: Mary Ford/Iris Colleen Summers (US singer; wife of Les Paul)*30.Sept.1977.
1916: Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes (American jazz and R&B guitarist)*04.March.1989.
1913: Pinetop Perkins (US blues pianist; The Legendary Blues Band/Muddy Waters)*21.March.2011.
1911: Gian Carlo Menotti (Italian-American composer)*01.Feb.2007.
1911: Charles Redland (US sax,clarinet,trumpet,trombone,vibes,accordion,leader)*18.Aug.1994.
1910: Yvonne "Dixie" Fasnacht (US jazz singer, clarinetist, club owner)*13.Nov.2011.
1906: Anton Karas (Austrian zither player)*10.Jan.1985.
1860: Gustav Mahler (Austrian composer)*18.May.1911.
1851: Charles Tindley (US gospel music composer)*26.July.1933.

July 8th.
2001: Yang Peiyi (Chinese singer)
1992: Sky Ferreira (US singer)
1992: Benjamin Grosvenor (UK pianist)
1985: Jamie Cook (UK guitarist; Arctic Monkeys)
1979: André Hovnanyan (Armenian singer)
1976: David Kennedy (US guitarist; Angels & Airwaves)
1975: Elias Viljanen (Finnish guitarist; Sonata Arctica)
1974: Zhanna Friske (Russian actress, singer)
1971: Neil Mavers (UK drums; The La's)?
1970: Beck/Beck Hansen/Bek David Campbell (US multi-instrumentalist/songwriter).
1969: Sugizo/Yune Sugihara (Japanese guitarist, singer; Luna Sea)
1967: Jean Sagadeev (Russian rock singer, bassist, guitarist; Electro-convulsive therapy)*05.June.2009.
1967: Jordan Chan (Hong Kong actor, singer)
1962: Joan Osborne (US singer, songwriter).
1961: Toby Keith (US country singer).
1961: Andrew Fletcher (UK vocalist, synth, bass player; Depeche Mode)
1961: Graham Jones (UK guitar; Haircut 100).
1957: Carlos Cavazo (Mexican-born American guitarist; Quiet Riot, Ratt)
1956: Russell Christian (UK keyboards, saxophone, vocals; The Christians).
1944: Jai Johanny Johanson (US drummer, percussionist; Allman Brothers).
1935: Steve Lawrence (US singer; duo with his wife Eydie Gormé).
1932: Jerry Vale (US singer)
1924: Johnnie Johnson (US blues pianist)*13.April.2005.
1914: Billy Eckstine (US jazz singer, band leader)*08.March.1993.
1911: Gertrude Niessen (US vocalist, actress)*27.March.1975.
1908: Louis Jordon (US jazz sax player, songwriter; his Tympany Five)*04.Feb.1975.
1882: Percy Grainger (Australian born composer)*20.Feb.1961.

July 9th.
1986: Kiely Alexis Williams (US singer, actress; 3LW/The Cheetah Girls).
1984: Jacob Hoggard (Canadian singer; Hedley)
1983: Lucia Micarelli (US classically trained, rock violinist; Jethro Tull/session/freelance).
1979: Ella Koon (Hong Kong singer and actress).
1978: Mark Medlock (German singer)
1975: Jack White (US guitarist, vocals, The White Stripes).
1975: Isaac Brock (US singer, guitarist, banjoist, songwriter; Modest Mouse/Ugly Casanova)
1974: Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (Japanese actor, singer; SMAP)
1974: Nikola Sarcevic (Swedish bassist, singer; Millencolin).
1971: Kelvin Grant (UK vocals, guitar; Musical Youth).
1969: Mark Lui (Hong Kong composer, producer)
1967: Dickon Hinchliffe (UK guitar, voice, piano, string/brass arrangments; Tindersticks).
1967: Owen Powell (Welsh guitar; Catatonia)?
1965: Frank Bello (US bass guitarist; Anthrax).
1965: Tom Hingley (UK lead vocalist, Inspiral Carpets).
1964: Courtney Love/ Harrison (US guitarist, vocals; Babes In Toyland/Hole/Faith No More).
1959: Jim Kerr (Scottish vocalist; Simple Minds/Breakfast Club).
1957: Marc Almond (UK singer; Soft Cell/solo).
1954: Debbie Sledge (US singer; Sister Sledge).
1953: Kate Garner (UK vocalist; Haysi Fantayzee).
1952: John Tesh (US pianist, new age composer, TV host).
1950: Gwen Guthrie ((some sources July 14th)) (US soul singer)*03.Feb.1999.
1947: Rubén Basoalto (Argentine drummer; Vox Dei/Break/Willy Quiroga Quiroga Trio)*03.Nov.2010.
1947: John "Mitch" Mitchell (UK drummer; Blue Fames/Jimi Hendrix Experience/sessionist)*12.Nov.2008.
1947: Haruomi Hosono (Japanese bassist; Apryl Fool/Yellow Magic Orchestra).
1946: Joe Micelli (US musician; John Fred and His Playboy Band).
1946: Bon Scott (Scottish born Austalian lead singer, drummer; AC/DC- other bands)*19.Feb.1980.
1945: Root Boy Slim/Foster MacKenzie (US singer-songwriter;Sex Change Band)*08.June.1993
1941: Don McPherson (US lead singer; Main Ingredient)*03.July.1971.
1935: Mercedes Sosa (Argentinian folk singer)*04.Oct.2009.
1935: Frank Wright (US free jazz musician, electric bass, saxophone)*17.May.1990.
1930: Buddy Bregman (US producer/director/writer/composer/conductor/arranger/M.D).
1929: Lee Hazlewood (US male country singer, songwriter, record producer)*04.Aug.2007.
1929: Jesse McReynolds (US bluegrass singer, mandolin player; Jim & Jesse/solo).
1927: Ed Ames/Edmund Dantes Urick (US singer with The Ames Brothers).
1925: Alan Dale (US singer, TV & radio personality)*20.April.2002.
1923: Molly O'Day/LaVerne Williamson (US C&W, gospel singer)*05.Dec.1987.
1921: Irv Kluger (US drummer, vibes, sessionist).
1916: Sir Dean Goffin (New Zealand composer)*1984.
1915: David Diamond (American composer)*13.June.2005.
1908: Takashi Asahina (Japanese conductor)*29.Dec.2001.

July 10th.
1983: Kim Heechul (Korean singer)
1982: Alex Arrowsmith (US singer, guitarist, keyboards; The Shaky Hands).
1980: Jessica Simpson (US singer).
1980: Masahiko Shimura (Japanese rock lyricist, vocalist, rhythm guitarist; Fujifabric)*24.Dec.2009.
1980: Alejandro Millán (Mexican singer, songwriter)
1976: Phillips Exeter Blue I/Elijah Blue Allman (US singer, guitarist; Deadsy)
1974: Imelda May/Imelda Mary Higham nee Clabby (Irish singer-songwriter, guitar, bodhrán, tambourine).
1972: Tilo Wolff (German singer; Lacrimosa)
1970: Gary LeVox/Gary Wayne Vernon Jr (US lead vocalist; Rascal Flatts).
1970: Jason Orange (UK vocals, stage actor; Take That).
1967: Rebekah Del Rio (US Latin singer-songwriter)
1965: Doreen Waddell (UK singer; Soul II Soul/The KLF)*01.March.2002.
1965: Peter DiStefano (US guitar; Porno For Pyros).
1965: Ken Mellons (US country music singer, guitarist)
1964: Graham Lambert (lead guitar; Inspiral Carpets).
1961: Jacky Cheung (Hong Kong singer, actor)
1960: Martyn P Casey (Australian bassist, keyboards; The Triffids/Bad Seeds/Grinderman)?
1958: Béla Fleck (US banjo player, singer)
1954: Neil Tennant (vocals; Pet Shop Boys).
1953: Richard Gordon "Rik" Emmett (Canadian vocalist, guitarist, writer; Triumph).
1953: Zoogz Rift (US singer, painter, professional wrestler)*22.March.2011.
1952: Kim Mitchell (Canadian guitarist, singer)
1951: Cheryl Wheeler (American singer, songwriter)
1950: Greg Kihn [US singer).
1949: John Whitehead (US singer; McFadden & Whitehead)*11.May.2004.
1949: Dave Smalley (lead singer; DYS/Dag Nasty/Down By Law/Sharpshooters)?
1947: Arlo Guthrie (US singer, songwriter, son of folksinger Woody Guthrie).
1947: Bruce Lambourne Fowler (US trombone, composer; Frank Zappa/sessions/own band).
1945: Peter Michalica (Slovak violinist)
1944: John 'Beaky' Dymond [guitar, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich).
1943: Jerry Miller (US guitar, Moby Grape).
1942: Ronnie James Dio/Ronald James Padavona (US vocalist;Elf/Rainbow/ Black Sabbath)*16.May.2010.
1941: Ian Whitcomb (UK singer).
1940: Brian Priestley (UK jazz writer, pianist, arranger).
1940: Helen Donath (US soprano)
1938: Lee Morgan (American trumpeter)*19.Feb.1972.
1937: Jumpin' Gene Simmons (US rockabilly singer/songwriter)*29.Aug.2006.
1936: Johnny Griffith (US keyboardist; Motown's Funk Brother house band)*10.Nov.2002.
1933: Jerry Herman (composer, lyricist, Hello Dolly, Mack the Knife..more).
1931: Jerry Herman (US composer, lyricist)
1930: Eneas Perdomo (Venezuelan folk singer)*25.Feb.2011.
1927: Luigi Waites/Lewis Waites (US jazz drummer, vibraphonist; Luigi, Inc/solo)*06.April.2010.
1919: Ian Wallace OBE (British bass-baritone opera / concert singer)*12.Oct.2009.
1911: Cootie Williams/Charles Melvin Williams (US jazz-R'n'B trumpeter)*15.Sept.1985.
1905: Ivie Anderson (US vocalist; Duke Ellington Band)*28.Sept.1949.
1900: Mitchell Parish/Michael Hyman Pashelinsky (Lithuanian born US lyricist)*31.March.1993.
1895: Carl Orff (German composer)*March 29th 1982.
1835: Henryk Wieniawski (Polish violinist and composer)*31.March.1880.

July 11th.
1995: Tyler Medeiros (Canadian singer)
1990: George Craig (UK singer, model; One Night Only)
1989: Liel Kolet (Israeli singer)
1987: Shigeaki Kato (Japanese idol singer; NEWS)
1983: Kelly Poon (Singaporean singer; Project SuperStar winner).
1983: Marie Serneholt (Swedish pop singer; A*Teens).
1983: Peter Cincotti (US jazz pianist).
1982: Lil' Zane/Zane Copeland (US actor and rapper).
1979: Lauris Reiniks (Latvian singer)
1975: Samer el Nahhal (Finnish musician; Lordi)
1975: Lil' Kim/ Kimberly Denise Jones (US rapper, songwriter).
1975: Rick McMurray (Irish drummer; Ash)?
1974: Alanas Chošnau (Lithuanian singer, songwriter)
1973: Andrew Bird (US multi-musician, songwriter; Bowl of Fire/solo)
1973: Scotty Emerick (US country music singer-songwriter).
1972: Jussi 69/Jussi Heikki Tapio Vuori (Finnish drummer; The 69 Eyes)
1971: Leisha Hailey (US actress, singer; The Murmurs/Uh Huh Her)
1969: David Tao (Taiwanese singer-songwriter).
1968: Daniel MacMaster (Canadian rock vocalist; Bonham)*16.March.2008.
1966: Mel Appleby (UK singer; Mel and Kim)*18.Jan.1990.
1965: Scott Shriner (US bassist; Weezer).
1960: David Baerwald (US songwriter/composer)
1959: Richie Sambora (US lead guitarist; Bon Jovi).
1959: Suzanne Nadine Vega (US singer, songwriter).
1958: Kirk Whalum (US saxophonist; freelance/sessionist).
1957: Pete Murphy (UK vocalist; Bauhaus).
1957: Michael Rose (Jamaican vocalist; Black Uhuru).
1954: Benny DeFranco [Member of the Canadian musical DeFranco Family]
1953: Bramwell Tovey (English-born conductor and composer).
1953: Peter Brown (US singer, songwriter, producer)
1950: Bonnie Pointer (US singer; Pointer Sisters).
1949: Liona Boyd (Canadian classical guitarist).
1948: Martin Rushent (English record producer)*04.June.2011.
1946: John Lawton (UK singer; Lucifer's Friend/Uriah Heep/Les Humphries Singers/freelance/solo).
1946: Patrice Caratini (French bassist, composer/bandleader).
1943: Oscar D'León (Venezuelan salsa singer, musician).
1941: Tommy Vance/Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston (UK radio DJ)*06.March.2005.
1939: John Walters (UK radio producer-presenter, trumpeter; Mighty Joe Young Jazz Men)*30.July.2001.
1938: Terri Garthwaite (member of the band Joy of Cooking/solo).
1935: Frederick Hemke (US saxophonist)
1931: Tab Hunter (US singer, actor).
1931: Thurston Harris (US singer; the Lamplighters/the Sharps/others/solo)*19.April.1990.
1932: Roquel Billy Davis (US songwriter/producer/singer)*02.Sept.2004.
1929: Hermann Prey (German lyric baritone)*22.July.1998.
1929: Chuck Rio/Daniel Flores (US singer, saxophonist)*19.Sept.2006.
1925: Nicolai Gedda (Swedish tenor opera singer).
1904: Niño Ricardo/Manuel Serrapi (Spanish flamenco guitarist)*14.April.1972.

July 12th.
1992: Eoghan Quigg (UK singer; X-Factor finalist).
1988: Melissa O'Neil (Canadian singer).
1985: Luiz Ejlli (Albanian singer).
1984: Gareth Gates (UK singer, TV's Pop Idol runner up).
1981: Adrienne Camp (South African singer, songwriter)
1976: Tracie Spencer (US r&b singer, winner of CBS television talent show Star Search).
1975: Cheyenne Jackson (US actor, singer)
1974: Sharon den Adel (Dutch singer: Within Temptation)
1973: Magoo/Melvin Barcliff (American rapper)
1972: Brett A. Reed (US drummer; Rancid).
1970: Juba Kalamka (US hip hop artist)
1969: Jesse Pintado (US guitarist; Napalm Death/Terrorizer/Lock Up)*27.Aug.2006.
1967: John Peter Petrucci (US guitarist, songwriter; Dream Theater/solo/guest).
1966: Taiji Sawada (Japanese bassist, singer-songwriter; Japan X / many others)*17.July.2011.
1964: Tim Gane (UK guitarist, keyboards; Stereolab).
1963: Alan Duval (UK vocalist, musician; UB40).
1962: Dan Murphy (US guitar; Soul Asylum).
1960: Corynne Charby (French model, actress, singer)
1956: Markku Peltola (Finnish actor, singer, bassist; Motelli Skronkle)*31.Dec.2007.
1956: Sandi Patti (US Contemporary Christian music singer).
1953: Billy Alessi (US singer; Alessi Brothers, Musicals).
1953: Bobby Alessi (US singer; Alessi Brothers, Musicals).
1952: Philip Taylor Kramer (US bass player; Iron Butterfly)*12.Feb.1995.
1952: Liz Mitchell (US singer, Boney M).
1951: Sylvia Sass (Hungarian soprano).
1951: Ruddy Thomas (Jamaican singer, songwriter, producer, studio engineer)*10.June.2006
1950: Eric "The Fox" Carr/Paul Charles Caravello (US drummer; Kiss)*24.Nov.1991.
1949: John Wetton (UK bass, vocals, King Crimson/Uriah Heep, Roxy Music/Asia).
1948: Walter Egan (American rock n roll singer).
1947: Wilko Johnson (UK guitarist, singer; Dr Feelgood/solo).
1947: Mari Trini/Maria Trinidad Perez Miravete (Spanish pop singer)*07.April.2009.
1946: Jeff Christie (singer, guitar; Christie).
1946: Valentina Tolkunova (Russian award winning singer)*22.March.2010
1943: Christine McVie/Christine Perfect (UK keyboardist, vocalist, Chicken Shack/ Fleetwood Mac).
1942: Tam White (Scottish singer, guitarist, actor)*21.June.2010.
1939: Kenny Dino/Kenneth J. Diono (US pop singer)*10.Dec.2009.
1937: Michel Louvain/Michel Poulin (French Canadian singer)
1935: Hal Carter (US songwriter, manager, agent, producer)*13.July.2004.
1934: Van Cliburn (US classical pianist; Grammy award winner).
1927: Secondo "Conte" Candoli (US trumpet, Dorsey, Brown, Herman etc)*14.Dec.2001.
1920: Paul Gonsalves (US jazz sax player; Duke Ellington/others)*15.May.1974.
1895: Kirsten Flagstad (Norwegian opera singer of international fame)*07.Dec.1962.
1895: Oscar Hammerstein II (American lyricist)*23.Aug.1960

July 13th.
1989: Sayumi Michishige (Japanese singer; Morning Musume).
1987: Tulisa Contostavlos (UK singer; N-Dubz).
1984: Ida Maria (Norwegian singer).
1982: Joost van den Broek (Dutch keyboard player; After Forever).
1974: Deborah Cox (Canadian R&B singer).
1973: Monoxide Child/Paul Methric (US horrorcore artist; Twiztid).
1969: Mark "Barney" Greenway (UK vocalist; Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror, Benediction).
1967: Benny Benassi (Italian disc jockey)
1966: Gerald LeVert (US R&B soul singer; The LeVerts/LSG/solo)*10.Nov.2006.
1966: Natalia Luis-Bassa (Venezuelan Orchestral Conductor).
1963: Fatboy Slim/Norman Cook/Quentin Leo Cook (UK DJ, turntables, record roducer, pioneer).
1962: Rhonda Vincent (US singer,mandolin, guitar, fiddle; Sally Mountain Show/solo).
1961: Lawrence Donegan (Scottish bass; Commotions).
1954: Louise Mandrell (US country singer & musician).
1954: Sezen Aksu (Turkish singer).
1952: George Lewis (US jazz trombone player and composer).
1942: Stephen Jo Bladd (US drummer; The J. Geils Band).
1942: Jay 'Bird' Uzzell (US lead vocalist; Corsairs).
1942: Roger McGuinn (US guitarist, vocals, songwriter;The Byrds).
1936: Albert Ayler (US jazz saxophonist, singer, composer)*05-25.Nov.1970.
1935: Pete Escovedo (Latin jazz, salsa, rock, Latin percussionist; Santana).
1930: Naomi Shemer (Israeli singer, song-writer)*26.June.2004.
1928: Leroy Vinnegar (US jazz bassist)*03.Aug.1999.
1924: Carlo Bergonzi (Italian singer)
1921: Git Gay/Birgit Carp nee Holmberg (Swedish actress and singer)*02.July.2007.
1921: Ernest Gold/Ernst Sigmund Goldner (Austrian composer)*17.March.1999.
1915: Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams (US R&B saxophone player, vocals, bandleader)*14.Sept.2002.
1913: Gorni Kramer (Italian bandleader, accordian, double bass, songwriter)*26.Oct.1995.
1900: George Lewis (US New Orlean's jazz clarinetist)*31.Dec.1968.

July 14th.
1984: Nansy Stergiopoulou (Greek singer; Hi-5)
1980: Jed Madela (Filipino singer)
1975: Tameka "Tiny" Cottle (US vocalist; Xscape).
1975: Jamey Johnson (US country music singer, guitarist)
1975: Taboo Nawasha/Jaime Luis Gómez (Hip-Hop artist; Black Eyed Peas).
1973: Adam Quinn (US bagpipe player & composer).
1973: Paul Methric (US rapper)
1971: Nick McCabe (UK guitar; Verve).
1971: Marie-Chantal Toupin (Canadian singer)
1967: Madalina Manole (Romanian pop singer, folk singer)*14.July.2010.
1966: Tanya Donelly (guitar, vocals; Belly/The Breeders/solo).
1966: Ellen Reid (vocals, piano, keyboards, accordion, Crash Test Dummies).
1965: Igor Khoroshev (Russian keyboardist; Yes).
1964: John Maurer (US bassist; Social Distortion, Foxy & Fuel, Social Distortion).
1961: Charlies Everett Lilly Jr (US bass guitar player; Billy Walker Band)*21.May.2006.
1962: Jeff Olson (US percussionist; Trouble)
1960: Ray Herndon (US guitarist; J. David Sloan & the Rogues, McBride & the Ride).
1960: Angélique Kidjo (Beninese singer)
1960: KG/Kage/Kyle Richard Gass (US guitarist, singer, actor; Tenacious D/Trainwreck).
1952: Chris Cross/Christopher Allen (UK bassist, synth; Ultravox).
1952: Bob Casale aka Bob 2 (US guitarist; Devo)
1950: Gwen Guthrie ((some sources July 9th)) (US soul singer)*03.Feb.1999.
1949: Tommy Mattola (UK music executive and co-owner of Casablanca Records)?
1945: James "Jim" Gordon (US drummer; Derek & The Dominos/sessionist).
1942: Swamp Dogg/Jerry Williams Jr (US soul music artist).
1939: Karel Gott (Czech Schlager singer)
1938: Bob Scholl (US vocalist; Mellow Kings)*27.Aug.1975.
1932: Del Reeves (US country singer)*01.Jan.2007.
1930: Polly Bergen (US actress, singer, and entrepreneur).
1929: Alan Dawson (US jazz drummer, Dave Brubeck Quartet/session/tutor)*23.Feb.1996.
1926: Lowman Pauling (singer, guitarist,songwriter; Five Royales/solo)?*26.Dec.1973.
1920: Marijohn Wilkin (American country music songwriter)*28.Oct.2006.
1916: Bob Eberly (US big band singer)*17.Nov.1981.
1914: Billy Kyle (US pianist, John Kirby Sextet/Louis Armstrong's All-Stars)*23.Feb.1966.
1912: Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie (US singer, guitarist)*03.Oct.1967.
1901: Gerald Finzi (US composer)*27.Sept.1956.
1859: Willy Hess (German violinist, viola, guadagnini player)*17.Feb.1939.

July 15th.
1992: Koharu Kusumi (Japanese singer; Morning Musume)
1984: Vice Cooler/Christiana Vincent Richards-Touchstone (US singer-songwriter; Hawnay Troof/Xbxrx).
1982: Haley Scarnato (US singer, former American Idol finalist).
1979: Laura Benanti (US musical theatre actress)
1977: Ray Toro (US guitarist; My Chemical Romance)
1977: Faraz Anwar (Pakistani guitar virtuoso; sessionist/solo/Mizraab).
1976: Jim Jones/Joseph Guillermo Jones II (US rapper)
1974: Chot Ulep (Filipino songwriter, vocals, bassist; solo/sessions/Introvoys)
1973: John Dolmayan (Lebanese-born drummer; System of a Down)
1971: Danijela Martinovic (Croatian singer)
1966: Jason Bonham (UK drummer; son of John Bonham/Virginia Wolf)
1959: Shep Pettibone (US record producer, songwriter, club DJ).
1956: Joe Satriani (US rock guitar virtuoso; teacher/session/solo).
1956: Marky Ramone/Marc Steven Bell (US drummer; Ramones/Dust/Richard Hell & The Voidoids, Misfits).
1956: Ian Curtis (UK singer, songwriter; Joy Division)*18.May.1980.
1953: Alicia Bridges (US singer, songwriter)
1952: Johnny Thunders/John Anthony Genzale (US guitar,vocals; New York Dolls)*23.Apr.1991.
1952: Jeff Carlisli (US steel guitarist, dobro, guitar; 38 Special).
1951: Gregory Isaacs (Jamaican reggae singer)*25.Oct.2010.
1950: Enrique de Melchor/Enrique Jiménez Ramírez (Spanish flamenco guitarist)*03.Jan.2012.
1949: Trevor Horn (UK bassist, guitar, percussion, vocals; Buggles/The Art of Noise).
1948: Thomas Delmer 'Artimus' Pyle (US drummer; Lynyrd Skynyrd).
1947: Ian McCreadie (Scottish guitar, flautist; Middle Of The Road/Los Caracas).
1947: Peter Banks/Peter Brockbanks (UK guitarist; Yes).
1946: Linda Ronstadt (US singer, songwriter).
1945: Peter Lewis (US vocalist, guitarist; Moby Grape/The Cornells)?
1944: Millie Jackson (US soul singer).
1941: Geoffrey Burgon (British composer)*21.Sept.2010.
1934: Harrison Birtwistle (UK composer)
1933: Julian Bream (US guitarist, lutenist)
1932: Paulo Moura (Brazilian saxophonist, clarinetist)*12.July.2010.
1929: Charles Anthony (American tenor)
1929: Francis Bebey (Cameroonian-born French artist, composer, musician, writer)*28.May.2001.
1928: Joe Harriott/Joe Arthurlin (Anglo-Jamacian jazz alto saxophonist)*02.Jan.1973.
1923: Joseph Rudolph 'Philly Joe' Jones (US jazz drummer)*30.Aug.1985.
1919: Sadik Hakim/Argonne Thornton (US jazz pianist, composer; sessionist)*20.June.1983.
1913: Cowboy Copas/Lloyd Estel Copas (US country music singer)*05.March.1983.
1913: Dorothy Schwartz (American violinist)*26.Sept.2007.
1905: Dorothy Fields (US librettist, lyricist)*28.March.1974.
1898: Noel Gay/Reginald Moxon Armitage (English composer of popular song)*04.March.1954.
1864: Marie Tempest DBE (English singer, actress)*15.Oct.1942.

July 16th.
1994: Mark Indelicato (US singer, actor)
1990: James Maslow (US singer, actor; Big Time Rush)
1978: TJ /Tito Joe Jackson (US vocals; 3T) ((son of Jackson 5's Tito)).
1975: Jamie Oliver (Welsh keyboardist; Lostprophets)
1974: Jeremy Enigk (US singer-songwriter, guitarist; Sunny Day Real Estate/The Fire Theft)
1971: Ed Kowalczyk (US lead singer; Live/solo).
1964: Polly Hancock (UK guitarist, vocals, Popinjays)
1955: Howlin' Dave/Dante David (Filipino radio disc jockey)*26.May.2008
1955: Zohar Argov (Israeli oriental Mizrahi style singer)*06.Nov.1987.
1952: Stewart Copeland/pseudonym Klark Kent (US drummer, producer; The Police/freelance).
1951: Bobby Previte (US drummer, composer, own band/sessions/guest)
1950: Tom Terrell (US musicologist, deejay)*29.Nov.2007.
1948: Rubén Blades (Panamanian singer, actor)
1948: Pinchas Zukerman (Israeli violinist)
1946: Pasha Hristova (Bulgarian singer)*21.Dec.1971.
1944: Thomas Boggs (US drummer, Box Tops)*05.May.2008.
1941: Desmond Dekker (Jamaican singer; The Aces)*24.May.2006.
1941: Mišo Kovac (Croatian singer)
1938: Tony Jackson (UK bass, vocals; Searchers)*18.Aug.2003.
1936: Buddy Merrill Behunin, Jr. (US guitarist; The Lawrence Welk Show)
1937: Tommy Bruce (British singer)*10.July.2006.
1932: John James Chilton (UK jazz trumpeter, writer;Swinging Blue Jeans/Alex Welsh).
1930: Guy Béart (Egyptian-born French singer, songwriter)
1928: Ticho Parly/Frederick Christiansen (Danish Heldentenor)*21.June.1993.
1925: Cal Tjader (US latin-jazz vibraphonist and percussionist)*05.May.1982.
1925: Nat Pierce (US jazz pianist; Woody Herman/many more)*June.10.1992.
1909: John "Teddy" Buckner (Dixieland trumpet player, bandleader)*22.Sept.1994.
1904: Goffredo Petrassi (Italian composer)*03.March.2003.
1903: Carmen Lombardo (Canadian singer, composer)*17.April.1971.
1898: Rafael Escudero (Jazz bass player; McKinney's Cotton Pickers)*10.April.1970.
1896: Evelyn Preer (Afro-American actress and blues singer)*27.Nov.1932.

July 17th.
1987: Jeremih Felton (US R&B singer)
1985: Tom Fletcher (UK joint lead singer, guitarist; McFly)
1984: Asami Kimura (Japanese singer; Country Musume)
1982: Natasha Hamilton (UK vocals, Atomic Kitten).
1978: Émilie Simon (French singer)
1978: Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear (US singer, keyboardist; Animal Collective)
1976: Luke Bryan (US country music singer, acoustic guitar)
1975: Paul Hinojos (US guitarist; At the Drive-In/The Mars Volta)
1974: Laura Macdonald (Scottish jazz saxophonist, composer, teacher)
1972: Jason Rullo (US drummer; Symphony X, Redemption)
1971: Jarrett Cordes/DJ Minute Mix (DJ with PM Dawn).
1970: Mandy Smith (singer, model, actress, Bill Wyman's Xwife).
1969: F. Gary Gray (US music video director)
1967: Susan Ashton/Susan Rae Hill (US christian singer)
1966: Louis Knox Barlow (multi musician, music pioneer; Dinosaur Jr/solo/freelance).
1966: Keith "Guru" Elam (US rapper, emcee; Gang Starr/solo)*19.April.2010.
1965: Craig Morgan (US singer)
1963: Natasha Pivovarova (Russian singer; Kolibri/solo)*23.Sept.2007.
1963: Regina Belle (US singer).
1960: Dawn Upshaw (US soprano)
1952: Nicolette Larson (US singer songwriter; backing vocals/solo)*16.Dec.1997.
1952: Chet McCracKen (US drummer, The Doobie Brothers).
1950: Phoebe Snow/Phoebe Ann Laub (US singer, songwriter)*26.April.2011.
1950: Damon Harris (vocals; Temptations).
1949: Mick Tucker (UK drummer; Sweet)*14.Feb.2002.
1949: Mike Vale (bass; Shondells)?
1949: Chico Freeman/Earl Lavon (sax, clarinet, flute, bandleader; Brainstorm, Leaders).
1949: Terry "Geezer" Butler (bassist; Black Sabbath).
1948: Ron Asheton (US guitar; Iggy Pop And The Stooges)*early January 2009.
1948: Brian Glascock (US drummer; The Motels/Gods/BeeGees/Sessionist/freelance).
1947: Phil Cordell/Springwater (multi-musician, singer, songwriter)*31.March.2007.
1947: Abraham Laboriel (Mexican session bassist, over 3,000 recordings & soundtracks).
1947: Wolfgang Flur (electronic drums; Kraftwerk).
1945: Eric McCredie (Scottish bass player; Middle Of The Road/Los Caracas)
1942: Gale Garnett (Canadian singer)
1939: Spencer Davis ((some sources 1942)) (UK multi-musician, vocals; Spencer Davis Group/Solo).
1938: Stan Brostein (sax, clarinet, vocals; Elephants Memory)?
1936: Nick Brignola (US sax player; Woody Herman's orchestra/guest/bandleader)*08.Feb.2002.
1935: Diahann Carroll/Carol Diahann Johnson (US singer, actress).
1935: Peter Schickele (US author, composer, radio host)
1933: Ben Riley (jazz drummer; Thelonious Monk's Quartet/many others).
1932: Yuri Kukin (Russian singer-songwriter)*07.July.2011.
1928: Vince Guaraldi (jazz pianist, composer, songwriter, bandleader)*06.Feb.1976.
1928: Joe Morello (US drummer; Marian McPartland trio/Dave Brubeck Quartet)*12.March.2011.
1925: Carla Boni/Carla Gaiano (Italian singer)*17.Oct.2009.
1925: Jimmy Scott (jazz singer, conga player, Lionel Hampton Band/guest/sessions).
1922: Danny Bank (US jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, flautist)*05.June.2010.
1921: George Barnes (US jazz/blues guitarist, Bucky Pizzarelli/solo/sessions)*05.Sept.1977.
1921: Mary Osborne (jazz guitarist, violin, bass, vocals)*04.March.1992.
1918: Red Sovine/Woodrow Wilson Sovine (US country music singer)*04.April.1980.

July 18th.
1993: Lee Taemin (South Korean singer, dancer, actor; SHINee)
1991: Karina Pasian (US singer, pianist)
1982: Ryan Frank Cabrera (Colombian-American musician,TV presenter).
1980: Ryoko Hirosue (Japanese actress, singer)
1979: Jermaine Paul (US R&B/soul singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist)
1978: Annie Mac (British DJ)
1978: Verónica Romeo (Spanish singer)
1978: Tony Fagenson (Welsh drummer; Eve 6).
1975: Daron Malakian (guitar; System of a Down).
1970: Gruff Rhys (Welsh vocalist; Super Furry Animals/solo).
1965: Vesselina Kasarova (Bulgarian opera singer).
1962: Jack Irons (US drummer; Pearl Jam/sessionist/freelance).
1959: HalfBlindLefty/Hans Weenink (Dutch blues guitarist; solo/The Tired Starlings).
1958: Nigel Twist (UK drummer; The Alarm).
1957: Lynn Seaton (US jazz bassist; Steve Schmidt Trio/Count Basie).
1957: Keith Levene (UK guitarist, Public Image Ltd/The Clash).
1955: Terry Chambers (UK drummer; XTC/Dragon).
1954: Ricky Skaggs (US country and bluegrass singer).
1953: Warren Wiebe (US singer, bassist)*25.Oct.1998.
1950: Cornelis 'Cesar' Zuiderwijk (Dutch drummer; Golden Earring/Hu &The Hilltops/Livin' Blues).
1950: Richard Branson (UK founder of Virgin Records and the Virgin Empire).
1950: Glenn Hughes (US singer;the original "Biker" in the Village People)*04.March.2001.
1949: Wally Bryson (US guitarist, singer, songwriter; The Raspberries).
1948: Phil Harris (UK guitarist; Ace). not Wonga Phil Harris
1946: Tim Lynch (US vocals, guitar, harmonica; Flamin Groovies)
1945: Danny McCullock (UK guitar; Animals).
1943: Robin McDonald (UK guitar, Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas).
1942: Bobby Susser (US songwriter, record producer)
1941: Frank Farian/Franz Reuther (German music producer, singer, songwriter).
1941: Martha Reeves (US soul singer; Vandellas).
1941: Lonnie Mack (US guitarist, singer)
1940: Johnny 'Hutch' Hutchinson (UK-Maltese born drummer; The Big Three/
1939: Brian Auger (UK keyboardist, Trinity/Mahavishnu Orchestra/sessions).
1939: Roger Sellers (Aussie drummer; Nucleus).
1939: Dion Dimucci (US singer; Dion & The Belmonts).
1938: Ian Stewart (Scottish pianist, keyboard, road manager, co-founder; Rolling Stones)*Dec.12.1985.
1938: Dudu Pukwana (Sth African sax player, pianist, composer; Blue Notes)*30.June.1990.
1935: Johnny Funches (US lead tenor; Dells)*23.Jan.1998.
1934: Roger Reynolds (US composer, teacher)
1931: Papa Dee Allen/Thomas Sylvester Allen (US percussion, sax; War)*30.Aug.1988.
1929: Screamin' Jay Hawkins/Jalacy Hawkins (US R&B singer, actor)*12.Feb.2000.
1928: Carl Fontana (US trombonist and bandleader)*09.Oct.2003.
1927: Kurt Masur (Silesian-born conductor)
1917: Henri Salvador (French singer)*13.Feb.2008.
1909: Harriet Nelson/Peggy Lou Snyder (US singer and actress)*02.Oct.1994.
1909: Ivory "Deek" Watson (US tenor singer, guitarist, trumpeter; The Ink Spots/others)*04.Nov.1969.

July 19th.
1982: Christopher Bear (US drummer; Grizzly Bear).
1981: Didz Hammond (UK bass guitarist; Dirty Pretty Things/Cooper Temple Clause)
1979: Michelle Heaton (UK singer; Liberty X).
1973: Martin Powell (UK violinist, keyboard; Cradle of Filth)
1972: Naohito Fujiki (Japanese actor, singer)
1971: Russell Allen (US singer; Symphony X)
1971: Urs Buhler (Swiss singer; Il Divo).
1968: Robert "Robb" Flynn/Lawrence Matthew Cardine (US guitarist, vocalist; Machine Head).
1968: Ged Lynch (UK drummer; Black Grape/others).
1967: Stuart Howe (Canadian operatic tenor).
1965: Evelyn Glennie (Scottish percussionist)
1964: Masahiko Kondo (Japanese singer, actor, racing driver)
1960: Kevin Haskins (UK drummer; Love & Rockets/Bauhaus/Tones on Tail/Messy).
1958: David Robertson (US symphony orchestra conductor)
1956: Nikki Sudden/Adrian Godfrey (UK singer, guitarist;Swell Maps/Jacobites)*26.March.2006.
1952: Allen Collins (US guitarist; founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd)*23.Jan.1990.
1950: Freddy Moore (US songwriter)
1948: Keith Godchaux (US keyboardist; Grateful Dead)*23.July.1980.
1947: Brian May (UK lead guitar, singer, songwriter; Queen/Solo/Guest).
1947: Bernie Leadon (US banjo, guitar; founding member of The Eagles/freelance).
1946: Allan Gorrie (bass, vocals; Average White Band).
1945: Wesley Price (UK rhythm guitarist; The Sorrows)
1944: George Frayne/Commander Cody (keyboard, piano, vocals; Lost Planet Airmen).
1941: Phil Upchurch (US jazz and R&B guitarist;The Dells/Spaniels/own band/guest).
1941: Vikki Carr/Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona (US singer)
1937: George Hamilton IV (US country singer).
1934: Bobby Bradford (US jazz trumpeter, cornet, bandleader, composer).
1925: Sue Thompson (US pop and country music singer)
1924: Al Haig (Freelance US jazz pianist)*16.Nov.1982.
1919: Paul Dunlap (American composer)*11.March.2010.
1902: William "Buster" Bailey (US clarinet, saxophone; Fletcher Henderson/sessionist)*12.April.1967
1902: Cliff Jackson (US jazz pianist; Lionel Howard's Musical Aces/freelance)*24.May.1970.
1868 – Florence Foster Jenkins, American opera singer (d. 1945)

July 20th.
1980: Mike Kennerty (US guitarist; The All-American Rejects)
1976: Andrew Stockdale (Australian lead singer, guitarist; Wolfmother)
1974: Phofo (US music producer)
1971: DJ Screw/Robert Earl Davis Jr (US, Houston DJ, rapper; Screwed Up Click)*16.Nov.2000.
1969: Colleen Fitzpatrick/Vitamin C (US singer)... some sources list date of birth 1972
1969: Tobi Vail (US multi-musician; Bikini Kill, The Go Team, The Frumpies).
1968: Steven Ganz (US jazz guitarist and tenor saxophonist).
1968: Kool G Rap/Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (US rapper)
1967: Courtney Taylor-Taylor (US singer, guitarist; The Dandy Warhols)
1966: Stone Gossard (US rhythm guitar, producer, vocals; Mother Love Bone/Pearl Jam).
1966: Andrew Levy (US bass; Brand New Heavies).
1964: Chris Cornell/Chris Boyle (US multi-musician;Temple of the Dog/Soundgarden/Audioslave).
1962: Lee Harris (UK drummer; Talk Talk, .O.rang)
1959: James Irvin (UK vocalist; Furniture).
1958: Dig Wayne/Buzz Wayne/Timothy Wayne Ball (US lead singer; JoBoxers/The Fliers).
1958: Mick McNeil (UK keyboardist; Simple Minds).
1956: Paul Cook (UK drummer; Sex Pistols/Professionals/Cheifs of Releif/Man-Raze).
1956: Michael Gordon (US composer)
1955: Jeremy 'Jem' Finer (UK banjo, mandola, saxophone, hurdy-gurdy; Pogues).
1954: Larry Levan/Lawrence Philpot (American DeeJay)*08.Nov.1992.
1953: Marcia Hines (American-born Australian singer)
1953: Dave Evans (Australian singer; AC/DC)
1952: Jay Jay French/John French Segall (guitar; Twisted Sister).
1948: Adrian Tilbrook (UK drummer; Back Door).
1947: Tony Thorpe (UK vocalist, guitar; Rubettes).
1947: Carlos Santana (latin/rock guitar virtuoso; Santana/guest/solo).
1946: Johnny Almond (UK sax, multi-musician; Alan Price/John Mayall/Mark-Almond/sessionist)*18.Nov.2009.
1945: Kim Carnes (US female singer; New Christy Minstrels/solo).
1945: Johnny Loughrey (Irish singer)*15.April.2005.
1945: John Lodge ((some sources 1943 & 1944)) (UK bassist, vocals; Moody Blues).
1942: T. G. Sheppard (US country music singer)
1941: Charles Tyler (Jazzman, clarinet, saxophone; Albert Ayler/freelance)*27.June.1992.
1943: Wendy Richard/Wendy Emerton (Actress; sung 'Come Outside' with Mike Sarne).
1933: Buddy Knox (US singer, guitarist)*14.Feb.1999.
1930: Sally Ann Howes (English-born singer, actress)
1929: Peter Ind (UK bassist; freelance/solo).
1927: Michael Gielen (Austrian conductor, composer)
1924: Mort Garson (Canadian composer)*04.Jan.2008.
1922: Ernie Wilkins Jr (US bop tenor sax player, alto sax; Count Basie/freelance/own band)*05.June.1999.
1922: Joachim-Ernst Berendt (German journalist, music critic, producer)*04.Feb. 2000.
1922: Karel Krautgartner (Czech saxophonist, clarinetist, composer)*20.Sept.1982.
1920: Vilém Tauský (Czech conductor, composer)*16.March.2004.
1918: Cindy Walker (American singer, songwriter, dancer)*23.March.2006.
1914: Teddy Kleindin (German jazz clarinetist).
1910: Vilém Tauský (Czech conductor, composer)*16.March.2004.
1902: Jimmy Kennedy (Irish composer)*06.April.1984.

July 21st.
1985: Paloma Faith Blomfield (UK singer-songwriter, actress).
1983: Eivør Pálsdóttir (Faroese singer)
1982: Claudette Ortiz (US soul singer).
1982: David Parker (UK jazz bebop musician)?
1981: Blake Lewis (US singer; American Idol finalist).
1978: Damian Marley (Jamaican reggae artist, singer, songwriter).
1976: Andrew Stockdale (Australian guitarist, singer; Wolfmother).
1974: Terry Coldwell (UK vocalist, East 17).
1971: Marcus Eoin (Scottish multi-musician; Boards of Canada)
1971: Charlotte Gainsbourg (French actress, singer)
1969: Emerson Hart (US songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, producer; Tonic).
1961: Amar Singh Chamkila (Punjabi folk singer)
1961: Jim Martin (US guitar, Faith No More).
1960: Amar Singh Chamkila (Punjabi folk singer)*08.March.1988.
1957: George Landress (US songwriter, music producer)
1956: Franklin Kiermyer (Canadian jazz drummer; freelance).
1955: Taco Ockerse (Dutch singer, entertainer)
1955: Henry Christian Priestman (UK vocals, keyboards, The Christians).
1955: Howie Epstein (US rock bassist; Tom Petty / many more)*23.Feb.2003.
1953: Paul Lewis Quarrington (Canadian novelist, playwright, screenwriter, musician)*21.Jan.2010.
1949: Hirini Melbourne (Maori composer, singer, university lecturer, poet, author)*06.Jan.2003.
1948: Teruzane Utada (Japanese music record producer, manager)
1948: Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam/Steven Demetre Georgiou (singer/songwriter).
1946: Barry Whitwam (UK drums, Herman's Hermits).
1945: Mike Wilsh (UK bass, keyboards; Four Pennies).
1939: Kim Fowley (US singer, keyboards, producer; freelance).
1938: Anton Kuerti (Canadian pianist, composer, conductor)
1935: Pierre Cullaz (French guitarist; Sarah Vaughan).
1932: Kaye Stevens (US singer, actress)*28.Dec.2011.
1931: Sonny Clark/Conrad Yeatis (US hard jazz & bop pianist; leader/sideman/guest)*13.Jan.1963.
1931: Plas Johnson (US jazzman, tenor sax; freelance).
1930: Helen Merrill/Jelena Ana Milcetic (US vocalist, jazz, R&B; solo/guest).
1930: Anand Bakshi (Indian lyricist)*30.March.2002.
1922: Kay Starr (American singer)
1920: Isaac Stern (Ukrainian violinist)*22.Sept.2001.
1898: Sara Carter (American Country singer; The Carter Family Show)*08.Jan.1979.

July 22nd.
1983: Arsenie Todiras (Moldovan singer; O-Zone)
1981: Ala Ghawas (Bahraini singer, songwriter)
1980: Kate Ryan (Belgian singer)
1980: Tablo (Korean hip-hop musician; Epik High)
1976: Kokia/Akiko Yoshida (Japanese singer-songwriter)
1973: Rufus Wainwright (Canadian/American, singer-songwriter).
1973: Daniel Jones (English-born Australian one half of the Australian pop duo Savage Garden).
1971: Chris Helme (UK vocals; Seahorses/The Yards/solo).
1969: Jason Becker (US guitarist, composer; Cacophony/David Lee Roth/solo).
1969: Despina Vandi (Greek singer)
1967: Pat Badger (US bassist; Extreme Daemon/In The Pink/Super Trans Atlantic/Tribe Of Judah).
1964: Will Calhoun (American drummer, photographer; Living Colour/sessionist/guest).
1963: Emily Saliers (US vocals, guitar, banjo, piano, mandolin, ukelele; Indigo Girls).
1962: Martine St. Clair (Canadian singer)
1961: Keith Sweat (US R&B, soul singer, record producer; LSG).
1960: Jon Oliva (US vocalist and keyboardist Savatage)
1956: Mick Pointer (UK drummer; Marillion/Arena).
1955: Joshua Breakstone (US jazz guitar; freelance).
1954: Al Di Meola (US guitarist; Return to Forever/freelance).
1953: Jimmy Bruno (US jazz guitarist)
1949: Alan Menken (US composer)
1947: Don Henley (drums, vocals; The Eagles/guest).
1947: Terry Clements (US long time guitarist with Gordon Lightfoot)*20.Feb.2011.
1946: Stephen M. Wolownik (American-Russian musician, arranger)*18.May.2000.
1946: Mireille Mathieu (French singer)
1944: Rick Davies (UK vocals, keyboards; Supertramp).
1943: Bobby Sherman (US singer, actor; television series Shindig!/solo).
1941: Estelle Bennett (US singer, The Ronettes)*11.Feb.2009.
1941: George Clinton (US singer, musician; Parliament, Funkadelic)
1940: Thomas Wayne Perkins (American hillbillie singer)*15.Aug.1971.
1940: George Clinton (US vocals, keyboards, synthesizer; Parliament/ Funkadelic).
1939: Mario Rivera (Dominican Latin jazz saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist)*10.Aug.2007.
1937: Chuck Jackson (US R&B & soul singer; Del Vikings/solo).
1937: Bob Downes (UK vocals, saxophone, flute).
1936: Don Patterson (US jazz organ; Sonny Stitt's Band/freelance)*10.Feb.1988.
1934: Junior Cook/Herman Cook (US tenor saxophonist; Horace Silver Quintet/freelance)*03.Feb.1992.
1928: William "Keter" Betts (US jazz double bassist; Ella Fitzgerald/others)*06.Aug.2005.
1925: Hal Schaefer (US jazz pianist)
1924: Margaret Whiting (American popular singer)*10.Jan.2011.
1924: Bill Perkins (US jazzman, multi-sax player, flute; freelance)*09.Aug.2003.
1924: Al Haig (US jazz pianist; freelance)*16.Nov.1982.
1923: Mukesh Chand Mathur (Indian singer)*27.Aug.1976.
1913: Gorni Kramer/Kramer Gorni (Italian bandleader, multi-musician, songwriter)*26.Oct.1995.

July 23rd.
1989: Katy B/Kathleen Brien (UK singer-songwriter)
1984: Matthew Murphy (UK guitarist, keyboard, singer; The Wombats)
1981: Stevo 32/Steve Jocz (drummer; Sum 41).
1980: Michelle Williams (USvocals; Destiny's Child).
1978: Stefanie Sun (Singaporean singer)
1977: Saeed Modarres (Persian singer)
1976: Jonathan Gallant (Canadian bassist; Billy Talent)
1973: Himesh Reshammiya (Indian Bollywood composer, singer, actor)
1973: Shannon Leigh Brown (US country singer).
1973: Fran Healy (Scottish vocalist, guitar; Travis).
1971: Chris Michalek (US jazz harmonica player)
1971: Dalvin DeGrate (US rap artist, vocals; Jodeci).
1971: Chad Gracey (US drummer; Live).
1971: Alison Krauss (US bluegrass-country singer, fiddle player).
1970: Sam Watters (US songwriter, record producer; Color Me Badd).
1968: Nick Menza (German drums; Megadeth).
1967: Titiyo Yambalu Felicia Jah (Swedish singer)
1965: Rob Dickinson (UK vocalist, guitar; Catherine Wheel).
1965: Slash /Saul Hudson (US lead guitarist; Guns N' Roses/Velvet Revolver).
1964: Tim Kellett (UK keyboards & trumpet; Durutti Column/Simply Red).
1963: Yuval Gabay (Israeli-born drummer, vocalist; Soul Coughing/U.V Ray).
1961: Martin Gore (UK keyboards; Depeche Mode).
1959: Alan Barnes (UK Reeds player; freelance).
1959: Pedro Aznar (Argentine vocalist, percussionist; The Pat Metheny Group).
1958: Loren Schoenberg (US jazz historian, writer of liner notes, tenor saxophonist).
1957: Dennis Greaves (UK guitarist, vocals; Nine Below Zero/The Truth).
1955: Marisa DeFranco (Canadian singer; member of the DeFranco Family).
1952: Janis Siegel (US singer; Manhattan Transfer)?
1950: Blair Thornton (Canadian guitar; Bachman Turner Overdrive).
1948: John Hall (US singer, guitar; John Hall Band/Orleans).
1947: David Essex/David Albert Cook (UK singer, actor).
1947: Lakshminarayana Subramaniam (Indian jazz fusion violinist; freelance).
1946: Andy Mackay (UK sax, multi-musician; Roxy Music/sessionist/guest).
1946: Khan Jamal (US vibraphonist).
1944: Dino Danelli (US drums; Young Rascals/freelance).
1943: Tony Joe White (US singer, songwriter, guitar).
1942: Madeline Bell (US soul singer; Bradford Singers/sessionist/solo).
1935: Cleveland Duncan (US lead vocals; Penguins).
1934: Steve Lacy (US jazzman, sopranino & soprano sax player; Freelance)*04.June.2004.
1930: Richie Kamuca (US jazzman, tenor sax player; Freelance)*22.July.1977.
1929: Danny Barcelona (Hawaiian drummer; Hawaiian Dixieland All-Stars)?
1926: Cedella Malcolm Marley Booker (Jamaican mother of musician Bob Marley)*08.April.2008.
1923: Claude Luter (French clarinet player, soprano saxophone)*06.Oct.2006.
1923: Amalia Mendoza (Mexican singer)*11.June.2001.
1920: Amália da Piedade Rodrigues (Portuguese singer, actress)*06.Oct.1999. Note: Despite official documents giving her date of birth as July 23rd, Amália Rodrigues always said her birthday was July 1st 1920.
1919: Jim Chapin (US jazz drummer, tutor).
1915: Emmett Berry (US jazzman, trumpet player; freelance)*22.June.1993.
1898: Clarence Holiday (US jazz guitarist and father to Billie Holiday)*01.March.1937.

July 24th.
1984: Dhani Lennevald (Swedish singer)
1979: Stat Quo/Stanley Benton (US rapper)
1973: Ladybug Mecca/Mary Ann Vieira (alternative hip hop group Digable Planets).
1971: John Partridge (UK singer)
1970: Elli Kokkinou (Greek singer)
1969: Jennifer Lopez (US singer, actress).
1968: Kristin Chenoweth (US singer, actress)
1961: Paul Geary (US drummer; Extreme).
1958: Mick Karn/Anthony Michaelides (UK-Cypriot bassist, multi-musician; Japan/others)*04.Jan. 2011.
1957: Larry Gott (UK guitarist, keyboard, flute; James).
1957: Pam Tillis (US singer, actress).
1953: Jon Faddis (US jazzman, trumpet player, artistic director; freelance)
1951: Verdine White (US bassist; Earth, Wind & Fire).
1951: Lynval Golding (UK-Jamaican guitarist; Specials).
1949: Yves Duteil (French singer, songwriter)
1947: Albert Bouchard (US drummer, songwriter, vocals; Blue Oyster Cult).
1947: Peter Serkin (American pianist)
1945: Alan Whitehead (UK drummer; Marmalade).
1944: Jim 'Herbie' Armstrong (Irish vocals, rhythm guitar; Them/Van Morrison Band/freelance).
1942: Heinz/Heinz Henry Georg Schwartze (German vocalist, bassist; Tornados/solo)*07.April.2000.
1941: Barbara Love (UK singer; Friends Of Distinction/solo)?
1939: Charles McPherson (Jazzman, alto Sax; bandleader/freelance).
1936: Max Duane Barnes (US singer, songwriter; the Golden Rockets)*11.Jan.2004.
1934: Ahmad Alaadeen (US jazz saxophonist, educator)*15.Aug.2010.
1932: Francisco Mata (Venezuelan folk singer, composer)*24.Jan.2011.
1923: Jack Richardson (Canadian record producer)*13.May.2011.
1921: Billy Taylor (US jazz pianist, composer; Ben Webster's Quartet/own band)*28.Dec.2010.
1921: Giuseppe Di Stefano (Italian operatic tenor)*03.March.2008.
1918: Ruggiero Ricci (US violinist)
1917: Robert Farnon (Canadian-born conductor, composer, arranger, trumpeter)*23.April.2005.
1904: Leo Arnaud (French-American composer)*26.April.1991.
1880: Ernest Bloch (Swiss composer)*15.July.1959.

July 25th.
1992: Alex Bilbo (US vocalist, Girl Authority).
1988: Sarah Geronimo (Filipina actress, singer)
1980: Diam's/Mélanie Georgiades (French rapper)
1979: Amy Adams (US singer)
1973: Dani Filth (UK singer; Cradle of Filth)
1971: Roger Creager (US country music singer-songwriter)
1970: Brian Blade (US drummer; SFJAZZ Collective/Yaya3).
1970: Richard Colburn (Scottish drummer Belle & Sebastian/Reindeer Section/Snow Patrol/sessions).
1966: Maureen Herman (US bassist; Babes in Toyland)
1966: Lynda Lemay (French Canadian singer)
1962: Aki Sirkesalo (Finnish musician, TV personality;Giddyups/Veeti & the Velvets)*26.Dec.2004.
1962: Robert Lucas (US harmonica player, slide guitar).
1958: Thurston Moore (US guitar, vocals; Sonic Youth/Ciccone Youth).
1955: Randall "Randy" Bewley (US guitarist, founder; Pylon)*25.Feb.2009.
1951: Verdine White (US bassist, vocals; Earth, Wind & Fire).
1950: Mark Clarke (UK bass player; Colosseum/Uriah Heep).
1948: Steve Goodman (US folk singer, songwriter)*20.Sept.1984.
1946: Jose 'Chepito' Areas (Nicaraguan percussionist; Santana).
1946: Rita Marley (Jamaican-Cuban singer; I Threes)
1944: Tom Dawes (US vocalist, guitarist; The Cyrkle).
1943: Jim McCarty (UK drummer; The Yardbirds).
1942: Bruce Woodley (Australia vocalist, guitarist; The Seekers/solo).
1941: Manuel "Manny" Charlton (Spanish guitarist, singer, songwriter; Nazareth/solo).
1939: Jan "Tollarparn" Eriksson (Swedish jazz pianist)*06.April.2009.
1934: Don Ellis (US jazz musician, trumpeter, composer)*17.Dec.1978.
1928: Keter Betts (US jazz double bassist)*06.Aug.2005.
1925: William 'Benny' Benjamin/Papa Zita (US drummer; Funk Brothers/Motown/session)*20.April.1969.
1930: Annie Ross (UK jazz singer; Lambert, Hendricks & Ross/solo).
1908: Dr. Srinivasa Iyer (Indian Carnatic vocalist)*31.Oct.2003.
1907: Johnny Hodges (US soprano & alto sax, clarinet; Duke Ellington/Freelance)*11.May.1970.
1895: Yvonne Printemps/Yvonne Willigniolle Dupre (French actress, singer)*19.Jan.1977.
1883: Alfredo Casella (Italian composer)*05.March.1947.

July 26th.
1993: Taylor Momsen (US actress, singer)
1989: Areti Ketime (Greek singer, santouri player)
1980: Dave Baksh (Canadian lead guitar; Sum 41).
1977: Rebecca St. James (Australian-born singer)
1974: Iron & Wine/Samuel Beam (US singer, songwriter, guitarist).
1972: Wayne Wonder/Von Wayne Charles (Jamaican singer)
1970: Joan Wasser (US singer-songwriter, violinist; Dambuilders)
1967: DJ Headliner/Timothy Barnwell (hip-hop artist; Arrested Development).
1963: Andy Timmons (US guitarist; Danger Danger/Pawn Kings/Andy Timmons Band/many others)
1962: Miranda Joyce (UK vocalist, saxophone; 2Tone/Belle Stars)
1962: Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (Irish fiddler, vocalist; Altan)
1961: Andy Connell (UK keyboards, piano, composer, arranger; Swing Out Sister).
1961: Gary Cherone (US vocalist; Extreme/Van Halen/ Tribe of Judah/Hurtsmile).
1958: Angela Hewitt (Canadian classical pianist)
1953: Robert Phillips (US classical guitarist)
1949: Roger Taylor (UK drums, multi-musisian, vocals, songwriter, composer; Queen/guest).
1945: Betty Davis (US funk, rock and soul singer)
1943: Mick Jagger (UK vocalist, songwriter, actor; Rolling Stones).
1941: Neil Landon/Patrick Cahill (UK vocalist; The Ivy League/Flowerpot Men/Fat Mattress).
1941: Brenton Wood (US singer-songwriter)
1940: Dobie Gray/Lawrence Darrow Brown (US singer, songwriter)*06.Dec.2011.
1938: Bobby Hebb (US singer-songwriter, spoons, multi-instruments)*03.Aug.2010.
1938: Darlene Love (US singer; Crystals/solo).
1938: Joanne Brackeen (jazz pianist; Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers/Freelance/guest).
1931: Fred Luther Foster (US songwriter, record producer, founder of Monument Records).
1929: Charlie Persip (US jazz drummer; Dizzy Gillespie's big band/freelance/guest).
1929: Alexis Weissenberg (Bulgarian-born French pianist)*08.Jan.2012.
1927: Danny La Rue OBE/Daniel Carroll (Irish-born British female impersonator and singer)*31.May.2009.
1924: Louie Bellson (US jazz drummer, songwriter; Ellington/Dorsey/freelance/guest).
1923: Oreste Kirkop (Maltese opoeratic tenor, actor)*10.May.1998.
1914: Erskine Hawkins (US jazz trumpet player, big bandleader, composer)*11.Nov.1993.
1874: Sergei Koussevitzky (Russian conductor, composer, double-bassist; Boston S.O.)*04.June.1951.

July 27th.
1990: Cheyenne Kimball (US singer-songwriter and guitarist; Gloriana)
1975: Fred Mascherino (US guitarist; Taking Back Sunday)
1974: Eason Chan (Hong Kong singer)
1974: Pete Yorn (US singer-songwriter, guitarist)
1973: Abe Cunningham (US drummer; Deftones)
1969: Timo Maas (German electronica DJ)
1967: Juliana Hatfield [US singer, guitar, songwriter; Blake Babies).
1965: PJ Court/Paul Jonathan Court (vocals, guitar; The Primatives)?
1964: Rex Brown (US bassist; Pantera).
1963: Karl Mueller (US bass player; Soul Asylum)*17.June.2005.
1963: Karrin Allyson (US jazz vocalist)
1960: Jean Toussaint (US jazz Saxophonist; Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers/own band).
1960: Conway Savage (Australian bassist; Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds).
1956: Deirdre Cartwright (UK guitarist, composer; The Deirdre Cartwright Group).
1953: Suzi Carr (UK singer).
1950: Michael Vaughn (UK guitarist; Paper Lace).
1949: Maureen McGovern (US singer, Broadway actress).
1949: Rory MacDonald [Scottish vocals, bass, songwriter; Runrig]
1947: Andy McMaster (UK bassist, keyboardist, vocalist; Motors).
1944: Bobbie Gentry/Roberta Streeter (US singer, songwriter).
1944: Tony Capstick (UK comedian, actor, singer and broadcaster)*23.Oct.2003.
1944: Barbara Thompson (UK saxophone, clarinet, flute; Apollo Saxophone Quartet/guest).
1943: Al Ramsey (US guitarist; Gary Lewis and the Playboys).
1942: Édith Butler (Canadian singer, songwriter)
1941: Christian Boesch (Austrian baritone)
1938: Isabelle Aubret (French singer)
1937: Charlie Shoemake (US musician, vibes; George Shearing/freelance).
1933: Nick Reynolds (US bongos, founder member; Kingston Trio).
1929: Harvey Fuqua (US singer, songwriter, producer; Moonglows, Motown executive)*06.July.2010.
1923: Charlie Queener (US Dixieland, swing, jazz pianist; Freelance/guest).
1918: Leonard Rose (US cellist)*16.Nov.1984.
1915: Mario del Monaco (Italian tenor)*16.Oct.1982.
1877: Erno Dohnányi (Hungarian pianist, conductor, composer)*09.Feb.1960.

July 28th.
1990: Soulja Boy Tell 'Em/DeAndre Cortez Way (US rapper)
1988: Ayla Brown (US singer)
1982: Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir (Icelandic singer, actress).
1981: Nancy Alexiadi (Greek singer)
1980: Stephen Christian (US singer; Anberlin)
1980: Noel Sullivan (Welsh vocalist; Hear'Say).
1979: Lee Min-Woo (Korean singer; Shinhwa).
1979: Birgitta Haukdal (Icelandic singer)
1978: Hitomi Yaida (Japanese singer-songwriter)
1977: Tiago Andres Vaz (Brazilian composer, singer; Null Pointer Band).
1976: Coby Dick/Jacoby Dakota Shaddix (lead singer; Papa Roach/Fight the Sky).
1975: Leonor Ceballos Watling (Spanish singer, actress).
1973: Marc Dupré (Quebec humorist, singer)
1972: Dan Warton (drums; Neds Atomic Dustbin).
1971: Stephen Lynch (US actor, comic and singer).
1969: Michael Amott (Swedish guitarist; Carcass/Arch Enemy/Spiritual Beggars).
1967: Taka Hirose (Japanese bassist; Feeder).
1966: Shikao Suga (Japanese singer-songwriter)
1965: Priscilla Chan (Hong Kong singer)
1965: Delfeayo Marsalis (jazz trombone, record producer).
1965: Texas Axile/Anthony Doughty (keyboards, drums; Transvision Vamp).
1965: Nick Banks (UK drums; Pulp/Pollinates).
1962: Rachel Sweet (US singer, actress).
1955: Gerald Veasley (American jazz bass guitarist; sessionist/solo/guest).
1955: Gregg Giuffria (US keyboardist; Angel/House of Lords/Giuffria).
1954: Steve Morse (Guitar, Banjo; Deep Purple/guest/session).
1954: Nnenna Freelon (US jazz vocalist).
1949: Steve Took/Stephen Porter (UK drummer, bass, piano, vocals; Tyrranosaurus Rex)*27.Oct.1980.
1949: Simon Kirke (UK drums, Free/Bad Company).
1949: Peter Doyle (Australian singer, New Seekers)*13.Oct.2001.
1948: Gary Garcia (US guitarist, singer, songwriter; Buckner & Garcia)*17.Nov.2011.
1948: Gerald Casale (US vocalist, bassist, director; Devo)
1946: Jonathan Edwards (vocals, harmonica, guitar, folk/bluegrass).
1943: Rick Wright (UK piainist, keyboard; Pink Floyd/solo/guest)*15.Sept.2008.
1943: Mike Bloomfield (US guitarist, composer, Electric Flag/session/guest)*15.Feb.1981.
1941: Riccardo Muti (Italian conductor, MD of La Scala opera house/Philadelphia Orch).
1940: Phillip Proctor (US actor, voice actor; Firesign Theatre/Proctor & Bergman)
1938: George Cummings (steel guitar,songwriter, Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show).
1936: Jim Galloway (Tenor & Soprano Sax, Clarinet; Wee Big Band).
1936: Jim Hughart (US classical and jazz bassist; freelance).
1935: Simon Dee/Cyril Nicholas Henty-Dodd (UK radio disc jockey, TV presenter)*30.Aug.2009.
1930: David "Junior" Kimbrough (US bluesman from Mississippi)*17.Jan.1998.
1926: Charlie Reed Biddle (Canadian jazz bassist, jazz promoter)*04.Feb.2003.
1915: Frankie Yankovic (singer, accordian; The King of Polka)*14.Oct.1998.
1914: Carmen Dragon (US composer)*28.March.1984.
1904: Ikey Robinson (US jazz & blues banjoist, singer)*25.Oct.1990.
1901: Rudy Vallee (US singer, actor, multi-musician, bandleader, entertainer)*03.July.1986.

July 29th.
1977: Darkchild/Rodney Jerkins (US songwriter, record producer)
1974: Afroman/Joseph Foreman (US hip-hop artist, guitarist, singer)
1973: Wanya Morris (US vocals; Boyz II Men).
1972: Simon Jones (UK bassist; Verve).
1971: Lisa Ekdahl (Swedish singer songwriter)
1968: Paavo Lötjönen (Finnish Cellist; Apocalyptica)
1967: Chris Gorman (drummer, Belly/Gorman Brothers).
1966: Miles Hunt (vocals; Wonder Stuff).
1966: Martina McBride/Martina Mariea Schiff (US singer, guitar, cello; solo).
1959: John Sykes (UK guitarist; Thin Lizzy/Whitesnake/Tygers Of Pan Tang, Blue Murder/ solo).
1957: Alessandra Marc (US operatic soprano)
1954: Michel Benita (Algeria-born Jazz bassist; ELB Trio/sessionist/freelance).
1953: Patty Scialfa (US singer; Bruce Springsteen Bands, now Mrs Springsteen).
1953: Geddy Lee (Canadian bassist, vocals; Rush).
1947: Carlo Santanna (Italian guitarist; Paper Lace).
1946: Neal Doughty (US keyboards; REO Speedwagon).
1937: Ellyn Rucker (US jazz vocalist).
1935: Peter Schreier (US German tenor)
1933: Randy Sparks (folk singer/songwriter; New Christy Minstrels).
1927: Peter Howard/Howard Weiss (US musical theatre arranger, conductor, pianist)*18.April.2008.
1925: Mikis Theodorakis (Greek composer)
1919: Vic Lewis (British jazz guitarist, bandleader)*09.Feb.2009.
1916: Charlie Christian (US jazz guitarist, blues singer)*02.March.1942.
1907: Albert Wynn (US jazz trombone, Creole Jazz Band)*1973
1900: Don Redman (US jazz man, vocals, all the reeds, arranger, band leader)*30.Nov.1964.
1887: Sigmund Romberg (Hungarian operetta composer)*09.Nov.1951.

July 30th.
1991: Diana Vickers (UK singer, stage actress)
1990: Coco Sumner/Eliot Sumner (Italy-born UK singer-songwriter, guitarist, daughter of Sting)
1984: Michael Stephen (US drummer; Groove Authority/studio musician).
1979: Show Luo (Taiwanese singer, television host, dancer, actor)
1977: Ian Watkins (Welsh singer; Lostprophets)
1975: Tiffini Talia Hale (US singer, actress; New Mickey Mouse Club/The Party).
1971: Brad Hargraves (US drummer; Third Eye Blind).
1971: Calogero Maurici (French singer, bassist, flute. piano; Les Charts/solo).
1971: Elvis Crespo (Puerto Rican-US Merengue singer)
1968: Sean Moore (Welsh drummer; Manic Street Preachers).
1966: Louise Wener (UK vocals, Sleeper).
1966: Jyoti Mishra (Indian electronic musician; White Town).
1966: Craig Gannon (UK guitarist, rhythm guitar; The Bluebells/Aztec Camera/The Smiths).
1963: Dwayne O'Brien (US country musician, rhythm guitar, vocals; Little Texas).
1959: Vaughan Toulouse/Vaughan Cotillard (UK frontman; Department S)*Aug.1991.
1958: Neal McCoy (US country singer).
1958: Kate Bush (UK singer, songwriter, producer).
1958: Kevin Mahogany (US jazz vocalist, saxophone, clarinet).
1957: Rat Scabies/Christopher Miller (UK drummer; The Damned/freelance).
1956: Phil Fearon (UK vocalist, keyboards, producer; Galaxy/Kandidate).
1953: Hal Smith (US jazz drummer; Frisco Syncopaters/Down Home Jazz Band/others)
1950: Frank Stallone (US singer, guitarist, actor, brother of Sylvester Stallone)
1949: Duck Baker/Richard R. Baker IV (US fingerstyle guitarist)
1949: Joyce Jones (US singer; First Choice).
1949: Hugh Nicholson (Scottish guitarist, vocals; The Poets/Marmalade).
1948: April Lawton (US guitar virtuoso, singer, composer; Ramatam)*23.Nov.2006.
1948: Otis Taylor (US blues guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, vocalist).
1948: Julia Tsenova (Bulgarian composer, pianist)*11.April.2010.
1946: Jeffrey 'Hammond' Hammond (UK bassist; Jethro Tull).
1945: David Sanborn (US saxophonist, flautist; session player).
1941: Paul Anka (Italian/Canadian singer, songwriter; writer of "My Way").
1940: Big Jack Johnson (US blues guitarist, singer, composer; Jelly Roll Kings/solo)*14.March.2011.
1937: James Spaulding (US jazz saxophonist; World Saxophone Quartet).
1936: Buddy Guy (US rock guitarist, blues guitarist, singer, solo/guest/session).
1933: Edd 'Kookie' Byrnes (US actor, singer)
1927: Tony Hiller (British songwriter; many chart hits)
1926: Christine McGuire (US singer; The McGuire Sisters)
1921: Grant Johannesen (US pianist)*27.March.2005.
1912: Benny Featherstone (Tasmanian drummer, trumpet player, bandleader)*06.April.1977.
1903: Hilton Jefferson (US jazz alto saxophonist)*14.Nov.1968.
1899: Gerald Moore CBE (UK pianist)*13.March.1987.

July 31st.
1988: Krystal Meyers (US Christian singer, songwriter).
1981: Ira Losco (Maltese singer)
1981: M. Shadows/Matthew Charles Sanders (US lead singer; Avenged Sevenfold).
1979: Jade Kwan (Hong Kong singer)
1978: Will Champion (UK drummer; Coldplay).
1976: Joshua Cain (US guitarist, record producer; Motion City Soundtrack)
1975: Allan von Schenkel (US double bassist, music promoter, composer)
1973: Jerry Rivera (Puerto Rican salsa singer).
1971: John 5/John Lowery (US guitar; Marilyn Manson/solo/guest/sessionist).
1967: CoLD SToRAGE/Tim Wright (Welsh video game music composer)
1967: Minako Honda (Japanese singer and musical actress)*06.Nov.2005.
1964: Robert "Fuzz" Townsend (UK drummer; Pop Will Eat Itself/Bentley Rhythm Ace).
1964: James Steven Ignatius 'Jim' Corr (Irish guitarist, keyboardist, vocals; The Corrs).
1963: Norman Cook/Fatboy Slim (UK bassist, DJ, producer; Housemartins)
1960: Malcolm Ross (Scottish guitarist; Josef K/Orange Juice/Aztec Camera).
1959: Stanley Jordan (US jazz fusion guitarist).
1958: Bill Berry (US drummer; R.E.M./Hindu Love Gods).
1957: Daniel Ash (UK guitar, sax, singer, songwriter; Bauhaus/Tones on Tail/Love & Rockets).
1955: Jakie Quartz (French singer)
1953: Hugh MacDowell (UK celloist; Electric Light Orchestra).
1951: Howard Levy (US jazzman, harmonica, keyboards; sessionist/guest/freelance/solo).
1951: Carlo Karges (German guitarist, keyboards, songwriter; Novalis/guitarist for Nena)*30.Jan.2002.
1948: Bob Blue (US singer, songwriter; The Nice Jewish Boys)*17.March.2006.
1947: Karl Green (UK bassist, harmonica, Herman Hermits).
1945: Gary Lewis/Gary Lee Levitch (US drummer, vocals; Gary Lewis & the Playboys, son of Jerry Lewis)
1943: Lobo/Roland Kent Lavoie (US singer, songwriter)
1937: Bonnie Jean Brown (US country singer; The Browns)
1931: Kenny Burrell (US jazz guitarist; Dizzy Gillespie/many more).
1931: Ivan Rebroff (German singer, folk to opera)*27.Feb.2008.
1923: Ahmet Ertegün (Turkish-American co-founder of Atlantic Records)*14.Dec.2006.
1918: Henry "Hank" Jones (US jazz pianist, bandleader, composer)*16.May.2010.
1911: George Liberace (US violinist; brother of pianist Liberace)*16.Oct.1983.

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PASSINGS

July ????
1985: Otto Bredl (56) German jazz trombonist; between 1948 and the mid '80s, Otto appeared on at least 100 recordings, including a series of collaborations between European big bands and visiting American jazz stars such as his frequent associate Jiggs Whigham, or the flashy Stan Kenton. From 1949 he was also steadily employed in the well-financed broadcasting studios by radio bandleaders Kurt Edelhagen and Eddie Sauter. By 1961, he had become associated with the Clarke-Boland Big Band, a collaborative effort between French pianist Francy Boland and the American bebop drummer Kenny Clarke (?) b. November 29th 1928.

July 1st.
1784: Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (73) German composer and performer, and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. Wilhelm was appointed in 1733 to the position of organist of the St. Sophia's Church at Dresden. In competing for the post he played a new version of his father’s Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541. The judge described him as clearly superior to the other two candidates. He remained a renowned organist throughout his life. He composed many Sacred Cantatas, Song, Keyboard works, Orchestral Works, Chamber Music, Liturgical Works, Secular Cantata & Opera, but despite his genius as an organist, improviser and composer, his income and employment were unstable and he died in poverty (?) b. November 22nd 1710.
1950: Émile Jaques-Dalcroze (84) Swiss composer, musician and music educator who developed eurhythmics, a method of learning and experiencing music through movement. The influence of eurhythmics can be seen in the Orff Schulwerk pedagogy, common in public school music education throughout the United States. Between 1903 and 1910, he had begun giving public presentations of his method. In 1910, with the help of German industrialist Wolf Dohrn, Emile founded a school at Hellerau, outside of Dresden, dedicated to the teaching of his method. Among his compositions are a Nocturne for violin and orchestra, Violin Concerto No.1 in c and Poème 2nd Concerto for violin and orchestra (?) b. July 6th 1865.
1981: Rushton Moreve/John Russell Morgan (33) American bass guitarist best known for his work with the rock band Steppenwolf from 1967–68 and again in 1978. His early influence was essential in creating the unique musical style for which Steppenwolf became famous. He joined the band in 1967 and performed on their debut album, Steppenwolf, which was composed of covers and songs written by John Kay. Rushton co-wrote one of thier hits "Magic Carpet Ride" with Kay. His influence was heavier on the follow-up, The Second, his final album with Steppenwolf. He split with the band in late 1968 when he refused to fly back to California, fearing it would sink into the Pacific Ocean (tragically killed in a motorcycle accident) b. November 6th 1948.
1987: Snakefinger/Philip Lithman (38) UK singer, songwriter and multi-musician; born in South London, he grew up and worked in and among the British Blues scene, but moved to San Francisco in 1971, where he joined up with the avant-garde group The Residents, who it is said gave him his nickname 'Snakefinger' either because of his proficient guitar work or his shred work on the violin.. or maybe both. He returned to England in 1972 and formed the rock band Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers with Martin Stone, as a duo, they released the album "Kings of Robot Rhythm". In 1974, as a full band they released "Bongos Over Balham". The band broke up in '75 and by 1976 Lithman was back in the United States, this time in Los Angeles, California, but by '78 he was back in San Francisco touring and recording again with The Residents, his is featured on 12 of their albums between 1971 and 1986. In 1978 Phil started to record is own material under the name of Snakefinger, debuting with the single "The Spot", followed in 1979 with the album "Chewing Hides the Sound". Ten albums in all have been released inder his Snakefinger name. Phil suffered a heart attack while touring in Australia, but by 1982 he was on the road again with his nearly formed backing band The Vestal Virgins. Phil performed with The Residents on their 13th Anniversary Tour in 1986 and 1987 saw Snakefinger and his band, The Vestal Virgins, touring Europe, tragically, his final tour. (During a performance at the Posthof Club Lithman, Austria, he suffered a fatal heart attack. On that same day his single, "There's No Justice in Life", was released) b. June 17th 1949.
1985: Dick Vance (70) American trumpeter who grew up in Cleveland in the 1920s and ‘30s, seldom soloed and was not widely known by the general public, but he was a highly respected lead trumpeter and arranger. He played in Cleveland with J. Frank Terry before joining Lil Armstrong's band in 1934-35. He moved to New York City and played with Willie Bryant, Kaiser Marshall, and Fletcher Henderson in 1936-38; in Henderson's band he was lead trumpeter and occasionally sang. In 1939 he joined Chick Webb's orchestra, and remained in the group when Ella Fitzgerald took over leadership. Following this he worked with Charlie Barnet, Don Redman, Eddie Heywood, and Ben Webster. From 1944 to 1947 he studied at Juilliard, and moonlighted as a pit orchestra musician and an arranger. He arranged for Duke Ellington, Harry James, Cab Calloway, and Earl Hines. In 1950 Dick played once more with Fletcher Henderson in a sextet, then joined Duke Ellington's group in 1951-52. He toured with Redman in 1953 and was a regular at the Savoy Ballroom throughout the 1950s. In the 1960s, he toured Europe with Eddie Barefield, released two albums under his own name, and played with the Cab Calloway band. By the 1980s, he stayed close to New York, as one of the honored veterans of the swing era, he took part in a Vintage Jazz Band Bash organized by Oberlin College graduate Dick Sudhalter in New York in June of 1984 (?) b. November 28th 1915.
NOTE from Duke Ellington’s book "Music is My Mistress": President Lyndon Johnson hired the Duke to play at the White House for a party honoring the visiting King of Thailand. Ellington asked Vance to write some arrangements and invited him to attend the party. When The Duke introduced Vance to the king, the king said, "Dick Vance? I know who Dick Vance is. He used to wail with Chick Webb." Ellington thought to himself, "This is a real hip king!"
1995: Wolfman Jack/ Robert Weston Smith (56) US internationally famous gravelly-voiced, howling wolfman disc jockey; influenced by Dr. Jive, Jockey Jack, Professor Bob and Sugar Daddy and Alan Freed, the ultimate deejay of New York radio. He got his big break when he became a "gofer" at Paramount. His first radio job was at WYOU-AM in Newport News, Virginia. he developed his first radio name, Daddy Jules, a tribute to the influence Black DJs had on him in his formative years. His energy and style produced a barrage of listeners. But after opening a dance club, the Ku Klux Klan burn a cross on his lawn, he decided to move to Shreveport, working at Shreveport's KCIJ-AM, before relocating to Mexico. He found national fame at XERF-AM in Mexico. People were wondering who he actually was, and artists such as Leon Russell, Todd Rundgren, Freddie King and the Guess Who produced chart hits about the radio personality "Wolfman Jack". The person behind Wolfman Jack was revealed in George Lucas' 1973 Academy Award-winning film, American Graffiti. Although the mystery was solved, he continued to be a success, hosting NBC-TV's The Midnight Special. He made more than 80 television appearances (heart attack) b. January 21st 1938.
1999: Guy Mitchell/Albert George Cernik (72) Croatian-American pop singer; born in Detroit, Michigan, at the age of eleven, he was signed by Warner Brothers Pictures, to be groomed as a child star, and he also performed on the radio on Station KFWB in LA, California. He went on to successful in the UK and Australia as well as in his homeland. His first hit was 1951's "My Heart Cries for You". As an international recording star of the 1950s he achieved record sales in excess of 44 million and this included six million-selling singles. His songs included "Belle, Belle, My Liberty Belle", "Feet Up (Pat Him On The Po-po)", "Heartaches By The Number", "Knee Deep In The Blues", "Look At That Girl", "My Heart Cries for You", "Ninety Nine Years (Dead or Alive)", "Pretty Little Black Eyed Susie", "Rock-a-Billy", "Same Old Me", "She Wears Red Feathers" and "Singing the Blues". In 1957 he had his own television show. As well as his sing career, in the 1950s and 1960s he acted in films along side of Teresa Brewer, Rosemary Clooney and Pat Crowley (sadly died at Desert Springs Hospital in Las Vegas from complications following cancer surgery) b. February 27th 1927.
1999: Dennis Emmanuel Brown (42) Jamaican reggae singer, was one of the pioneer in the lovers rock style of reggae, and with 78 albums to his name was one of the most prolific names in the business. His first commercially successful song internationally was "Money In My Pocket" on the Joe Gibbs label, and by the late 1970s, Brown had recorded and performed chart-toppers such as "Sitting & Watching", "Wolves and Leopards", "Here I Come" and "Revolution"; many featuring Sly and Robbie as the rhythm section and he frequently recorded with King Jammy and Gussie Clarke. Bob Marley cited him as his favourite singer and dubbed him "The Crown Prince of Reggae" (he was rushed to a Kingston hospital with a collapsed lung. This is not usually a fatal condition, but he was so weakened from cocaine use) b. February 1st 1957
2000: Michael "Cub" Koda (51) American rock singer, guitarist, songwriter, disc jockey, music critic, and record compiler. Koda is perhaps best known for writing the song "Smokin' in the Boys' Room". When performed by Cub's rock band Brownsville Station, the song reached No.3 in the Billboard charts in 1974, and was later covered by Mötley Crüe. He formed Brownsville Station in Ann Arbor in 1969. Brownsville Station's early albums included song covers from bands which had inspired them. In 1970, they released their debut studio album No BS. which included their biggest hit, "Smokin' In the Boys Room", from their 1973 album Yeah!. The track sold over two million copies and was awarded a gold disc status by the RIAA on 15 January 1974. Cub co-wrote and edited the All Music Guide to the Blues and Blues for Dummies and put together the CD of blues classics accompanying the latter title, personally selecting versions of each song that appeared on it. He also contributed liner notes for the Trashmen, Jimmy Reed, J. B. Hutto, The Kingsmen, and the Miller Sisters, among others (failure due to diabetes) b. October 1st 1948.
2002: Raymond Matthews Brown (75) American jazz double bassist, born in Pittsburgh, he had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one. With a vacancy in the school jazz orchestra, he took up the upright bass. After playing in the Jimmy Hinsley Sextet and the Snookum Russell band, at aged 20 he relocated to New York where he was soon hired by Dizzy Gillespie. He played and recorded with many greats before in 1966, he settled in Los Angeles where he was in high demand working for various television show orchestras. He also accompanied some of the leading artists of the day, including Frank Sinatra, Billy Eckstine, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, and Nancy Wilson. He also managed his former musical partners, the Modern Jazz Quartet, as well as a young Quincy Jones, produced some shows for the Hollywood Bowl, wrote jazz bass instruction books, and developed a jazz cello. It was whilst in LA that he composed music for films and television shows. He was awarded his first Grammy for his composition, "Gravy Waltz", a tune which would later be used as the theme song for The Steve Allen Show. He was one of the most in-demand double bass players and continued to play until his death In 2003, Ray was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame (he died in his sleep, after having played golf, before a show in Indianapolis) b. October 13th 1926.
2003: Herbie Mann (73) American jazz flutist, born in Brooklyn, New York; early in his career, he also played saxophones and clarinets, but he was among the first jazz musicians to specialize on the flute and was perhaps jazz music's preeminent flautist during the 1960s. He was an early pioneer in the fusing of jazz and world music.
His most popular single was "Hijack," was a Billboard Number-one dance hits of 1975 in America for 3 weeks and around 25 of his albums made the top 200 pop charts (sadly died from prostate cancer) b. April 16th 1930.
2004: Todor Skalovski (95) Macedonian composer, chorus and orchestra conductor, born in Tetovo, Ottoman Empire. Among his famous works is the Republic of Macedonia's national anthem - "Today Over Macedonia" (died in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia) b. January 21st 1909.
2005: Renaldo "Obie" Benson (69) American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was best known as the bass and lead of Motown group The Four Tops, which he joined in 1953 and continued to perform with for over five decades, until April 8, 2005. He also co-wrote "What's Going On" which became a No. 2 hit for Marvin Gaye in 1971, and which Rolling Stone rated as #4 on their List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time released in 2004. Renaldo was admitted as a member of the Four Tops to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. The group was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1997, followed by the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999 (lung cancer) b. June 14th 1937 .. read more
2005: Luther Vandross (54) American R&B and soul singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times. He won four Grammy Awards in 2004 including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for the track "Dance With My Father Again", co-written with Richard Marx. (died in JFK Medical Centre in New Jersey, two years after suffering a major stroke) b. April 20th 1951 .. read more
2006: Rufus Harley Jr (70) American jazz musician, born near Raleigh, North Carolina, of Cherokee and African ancestry, known primarily as the first jazz musician to adopt the Scottish great Highland bagpipe as his primary instrument. He made his bagpipe performance debut in 1964 and from 1965 to 1970 he released four recordings as leader on the Atlantic label, also recording as a sideman with Herbie Mann, Sonny Stitt, and Sonny Rollins in the 1960s and 1970s. He later recorded with Laurie Anderson, appearing on her 1982 album Big Science and The Roots on their 1995 album Do You Want More?!!!??!. In addition to bagpipes, on these albums he also plays tenor saxophone, flute, or/and electric soprano saxophone (sadly lost to prostate cancer) b. May 20th 1936.
2006: Robbie "Rocket" Watts (47) Australian guitarist for the Cosmic Psychos a punk rock band based in Melbourne and rural Victoria. He joined the band in 1990 replacing guitarist Peter "Dirty" Jones and his first album with the group was "Blokes You Can Trust". Robbie remained the band's sole guitarist until his death (died suddenly just after a show in Bendigo) b. ????
2006: Jaye Michael Davis (62) American veteran radio deejay (died in a motorcycle accident) b.????
2008: Mel Galley (60) UK guitarist with Trapeze, Whitesnake, Finders Keepers and Phenomena. While with Whitesnake, he badly injured his arm at a fairground in Germany and had to leave the band, as he was unable to play guitar because of a nerve damage as result of incompetent surgery. Later he became known for playing with "The Claw", a specially developed spring and wire device fitted to his hand which enabled him to play guitar again (sadly died of cancer) b. March 8th 1948.
2010: Lele/Victor Alexis Rivera Santiago (24) Puerto Rican rapper and reggae artist; he recorded solo or as part of a duo with partner Endo under Lele y Endo. He wrote basically every single song & hit Hector 'El Father' performed in the years he was an active artist, but in 2008, Lele had threatened to sue Hector "El Father" for not receiving royalties for more than 40 songs he had co-written with him (tragically Lele was shot dead while in his car) b. 1986
2011: Charlie Craig (73) American Grammy-nominated songwriter born and raised in Watts Mill, South Carolina. He relocated to Nashville and spent over 40 years in the music industry. Some of his more than 300 recorded credits as a songwriter include "I Think I'm in Love", "I Would Like to See You Again", "She's Single Again", "Wanted", "Miss Mis Behavin'", "The Generation Gap", "Leavin's Been a Long Time Comin'" and "Waking Up With You". They have been recorded by the likes of Conway Twitty, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt, Johnny Cash, Aaron Tippin and George Strait (?) 1938.
2011: Bébé Manga (60) Cameroonian singer, born In Mamfe, considered one of the most popular makossa singers of the 80s and best known for her song is "Ami O". She started her career in 1975, singing in a night club in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire called "Son de Guitare"/Sound of a Guitar. In the late 90's, she recorded another world-class song, "Mota Benamaa", deploring the situation of children suffering around the world. Her talents were celebrated at the Top D'Or 2005 in Abidjan, when she was voted one of the best African artists of all time. Bébé is also featured on Manu Dibango's "Manu Safari" album (sadly died from a cardiac arrest) b. 1951.
2011: Ruth Roberts (84) American songwriter, the songwriter who penned "Meet the Mets", written as an upbeat fight song for the struggling young baseball team. She studied at Northwestern Uni and the Juilliard School of Music in New York. In 1947, Ruth recorded her first song, "The Moon is Always Bigger on a Saturday Night," performed by Orrin Tucker and his orchestra. Over the next two decades her songs were recorded by some of the great stars of that era including Arthur Godfrey, Hugo Winterhalter, the McGuire sisters, plus Buddy Holly and The Beatles, who each did versions of "Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues" (sadly lung cancer) b. 1927

July 2nd.
1971: Bobby Donaldson (48) American jazz drummer, after playing locally in the early 1940s, Donaldson played with Russell Procope while serving in the Army in New York City. In 1946-47 he worked with Cat Anderson, and following this played with Edmond Hall, Andy Kirk, Lucky Millinder, Buck Clayton, Red Norvo, and Sy Oliver/Louis Armstrong. He was a prolific session musician for much of the 1950s and 1960s, playing with Helen Merrill, Ruby Braff, Mel Powell, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Bobby Jaspar, Herbie Mann, André Hodeir, Kenny Burrell, Lonnie Johnson, Frank Wess, Willis Jackson, and Johnny Hodges (?) b. November 29th 1922.
1988: Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (70) American alto saxophonist, jazz and blues shouter; he acquired his nickname after a hair-straightening mishap left him bald. Born in Houston, Texas, he was a member of the horn section in Milton Larkin's orchestra, which he joined in the late 1930.
He then moved to New York and joined the Cootie Williams Orchestra from 1942 to 1945. He formed his own in 1945, signing with Mercury Records, and enjoying a double-sided hit in 1947 with his R&B chart-topper "Old Maid Boogie", and the song that would prove to be his signature number, "Kidney Stew Blues". Eddie's jazz leanings were probably heightened during 1952-1953, when his band included a young John Coltrane. In the early 1960s he moved to LA and began working with the Johnny Otis Revue. A 1970 appearance at the Monterey Jazz Festival with Otis spurred a bit of a comeback for Eddie. Throughout the 70s he worked high-profile blues and jazz sessions for Count Basie, Johnny Otis, Roomful of Blues, Arnett Cobb, and Buddy Tate. He also composed steadily, including "Tune Up" and "Four", both of which have been incorrectly attributed to Miles Davis. Eddie recorded extensively during his fifty plus year career and performed regularly in Europe and the United States (died from a heart attack whilst undergoing chemotherapy) b. December 18th 1917.
1990: Snooky Lanson/Roy Landman (76) American singer and TV personality, born in Memphis, Tennessee; he was a band singer with Francis Craig's dance band before joining the NBC television series Your Hit Parade in 1950 through to 1957, chosen to replace Frank Sinatra. Befroe hand in 1941, he recorded the hit ''By the Light of the Silvery Moon'' with the Ray Noble Band. A later hit, ''The Old Master Painter,'' helped him land the ''Hit Parade'' job. After Hit Parade ended, he performed in nightclubs and on local television shows in Atlanta and Shreveport. He guest-starred in 1958 on The Gisele MacKenzie Show. In 1961, he was one of five rotating hosts on the NBC-TV program Five Star Jubilee. In January 1960, Crossroads TV Productions videotaped a pilot in Springfield, Missouri for a proposed pop music-variety series called Snooky Lanson Time. Guests were Brenda Lee, the Anita Kerr Singers, Betty Ann Grove and Paul Mitchell's instrumental combo. He spent the 1960s to the 1980s as a Chrysler car salesman in Nashville, Tennessee (?) b. March 27th 1914.
1992: Camarón de la Isla/José Monje Cruz (41) Spanish flamenco singer born in Cádiz, Spain; at 16 he won first prize at the Festival del Cante Jondo in Mairena de Alcor. He then went to Madrid with Miguel de los Reyes and in 1968 became a resident artist at the Tablao Torres Bermejas where he remained for twelve years. It was here José met Paco de Lucía, the pair toured extensively over 8 years and recorded nine albums. Many consider José to be the single most popular and influential flamenco "cantador" of the modern period. Although his work was criticized by some traditionalists, he was one of the first to feature an electric bass in his songs. This was a turning point in the history of Flamenco music that helped distinguish Nuevo Flamenco. (He sadly died of lung cancer, it was estimated that more than 100,000 people attended his funeral.) b. December 5th 1950.
2002: Ray Brown (75) American jazz double bassist, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; arriving in New York at the age of twenty, he met up with Hank Jones, with whom he had previously worked, and was introduced to Dizzy Gillespie, who was looking for a bass player. Gillespie hired Brown on the spot and he soon played with such established musicians as Art Tatum and Charlie Parker. From 1946 to 1951 he played in Gillespie's band. He played in many TV show orchestras, and with leading artists, including Frank Sinatra, Billy Eckstine, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, and Nancy Wilson. He lead his own band the Modern Jazz Quartet, managed a young Quincy Jones, also wrote jazz double bass instruction books, and developed a jazz cello (Ray sadly died while taking a nap before a show in Indianapolis) b. October 13th 1926.
2003: Herbie Mann/Herbert Jay Solomon (73) Jewish American jazz flutist born in Brooklyn, New York, he was an important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophones and clarinets but he was among the first jazz musicians to specialize on the flute and was perhaps jazz music's preeminent flutist during the 1960s. His most popular single was "Hijack," which was a Billboard No.1 dance hits of 1975. In 1961 he took a tour of Brazil and returned to the United States to record with Brazilian players including Antonio Carlos Jobim and guitarist Baden Powell. These albums helped popularize the bossa nova. Many of his albums throughout his career returned to Brazilian themes. In the early 1970s he founded his own label, Embryo Records, distributed by Cotillion Records, a division of Atlantic Records. Embroy produced jazz albums, such as Ron Carter's Uptown Conversation-1970 ; Miroslav Vitous' first solo album, Infinite Search-1969; Phil Woods and his European Rhythm Machine at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival-1971; and Dick Morrissey and Jim Mullen's Up-1976, which featured the Average White Band as a rhythm section; and the 730 Series, with a more rock-oriented style, including Zero Time-1971 by TONTO's Expanding Head Band (sadly Herbie died after a long brave battle with prostate cancer) b. April 16th 1930.
2007: Ray Goins (71) American bluegrass banjoist and bluegrass music pioneer born in Bramwell, West Virginia. During his 50 year career, Ray was a member of the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers; Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, before forming the Goins Brothers with his younger brother, Melvin. They were inducted into Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom Hall of Fame in the fall of 2001. Ray also received Morehead State University's Appalachian Treasure Award (?) b. January 3rd 1936.
2007: Git Gay/Birgit Carp nee Holmberg (85) Swedish revue director, actress and singer, her parents wanted her to become a concerto pianist and sent her to the Music Conservatory in Malmö. However, in the end of the 1940s, she was invited to act as a prima donna in a summer revue by director Sigge Holmberg. The following year, she performed at the Gröna Lund in Stockholm in the revue Klart Grönan. In 1949, she was hired by the entertainer Karl Gerhard to participate in the revue Där de stora torskarna går in Gothenburg. In 1960, Git set up the Git Gay Show at Lorensberg Theatre in Gothenburg. The show is sometimes considered the first modern restaurant performance in Sweden (?) b. July 13th 1921.
2007: Beverly Sills (78) American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 50s-70s. In her prime she was the only real rival to Joan Sutherland as the leading bel canto stylist. Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet, Wagner, and Verdi, she was known for her performances in coloratura soprano roles in live opera and recordings. Sills was largely associated with the operas of Donizetti, of which she performed and recorded many roles. Her signature roles include the title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, the title role in Massenet's Manon, Marie in Donizetti's La fille du régiment, the three heroines in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann, Rosina in Rossini's The Barber of Seville, and Violetta in Verdi's La traviata. After retiring from singing in 1980, she became the general manager of the New York City Opera. In 1994, she became the Chairman of Lincoln Center and then, in 2002, of the Metropolitan Opera, stepping down in 2005. Sills lent her celebrity to further her charity work for the prevention and treatment of birth defects. (Beverly sadly died after a brave battle with cancer) b. May 25th 1929
2007: Hy Zaret/Hyman Harry Zaritsky (99) American lyricist and composer best known as the co-author of the 1955 hit "Unchained Melody", one of the most recorded songs of the 20th. Born in New York City, he attended West Virginia University and Brooklyn Law School, where he received an LLB. He scored his first major success in 1935, when he teamed up with Saul Chaplin and Sammy Cahn to co-write the pop standard "Dedicated to You." The early '40s brought some collaborations with Alex C. Kramer and Joan Whitney, including 1941's "It All Comes Back to Me Now" and the socially conscious, WWII-themed "My Sister and I". Hy also wrote lyrics for an English translation of the French Resistance song "The Partisan", which was later covered by Leonard Cohen. In 1944 he and Lou Singer wrote the popular hit novelty song "One Meatball", based on a song popular among Harvard undergraduates (died a few weeks before his 100th birthday) b. August 21st 1907.
2008: Ishmeet Singh Sodhi (19) Indian singer; born in Ludhiana, Punjab, India, he was the winner of Amul STAR Voice of India 2007. Ishmeet had been working with Salim-Suleiman to produce a song called 'Shukriya' and had promoted this single with live performances. He toured Hong Kong and Malaysia and sung in concerts with members of the Voice of India competition. He put time aside to sing kirtan, or hymns, in gurdwaras. His last performance in a gurdwara was alongside the well-known singer amongst the sikhs, Veer Manpreet Singh (died under mysterious circumstances in a swimming pool at the Chaaya Island Dhonveli beach resort in Maldives where he had gone to perform in an event) b. September 2nd 1988.
2008: Natasha Shneider (52) Russian-born keyboardist, bassist and singer born in Moscow, and later relocated to America. She was most notably the keyboardist and vocalist in the musical group Eleven, and was the partner of bandmate Alain Johannes. She also played bass on the group's first three albums. Natasha and Alain contributed to Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf, and joined the band as part of their touring line-up in support of their 2005 album Lullabies to Paralyze. They also wrote, performed and produced with Chris Cornell for his 1999 solo album, Euphoria Morning, and formed part of his band for the subsequent tour. Previous band affiliations include Desert Sessions, Black Russian, and Walk the Moon. She also acted in two feature films, playing the roles of Russian cosmonaut Irina Yakunina in '2010' in 1984, and Polish former exchange student Wanda Yakubovska in the film 'Spiker' in 1986, as well as minor roles in the TV shows Miami Vice and Hill Street Blues (Natasha sadly died following a brave battle with cancer) b. May 22nd 1956.
2010: M. G. Radhakrishnan (70) Indian music director born in Harippad, he had once been an artiste with the All India Radio, and burst on to the Malayalam film industry with his music composition for the film Thambu in 1978. Some of his compositions like Naadha nee varum kaalocha kelkuvan for the movie Chaamaram and Pinakkamano for Ananthabhadram are among all-time favourite Malayalam songs. Other famous movies for which he composed music include Thambu, Thakara, Poochakkoru Mookuthi, Vellanakalude Naadu and Manichithrathazhu. (He had been undergoing treatment for liver malfunction) b. August 8th 1940.

July 3rd.
1969: Brian Jones (27) English lead-rhythm guitarist, multi-musician, vocalist and founder-leader of The Rolling Stones, born in Cheltenham. A highly gifted multi-instrumentalist, he played guitar, slide guitar, piano, tamboura, sitar, organ, dulcimer, mellotron, xylophone, marimba, recorder, clarinet, in total he is known to have played at least 15 instruments with the Stones >>> read more <<< (allegedly drowned while under the influence of drugs & alcohol after taking a midnight swim in his pool. Some suspect Brian was murdered) b. February 28th 1942.
1971: Jim Morrison (27) American singer-songwriter, poet, composer; he was best known as the lead singer and lyricist of The Doors and is widely considered to be one of the most charismatic frontmen in rock music history. He was also the author of several books of poetry and the director of a documentary and short film. Although Jim was known for his baritone vocals, many fans, scholars, and journalists have discussed his theatrical stage persona, his self-destructiveness, and his work as a poet. He was ranked number 47 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". The Doors rock band was formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, hits include hits, including "Light My Fire", "Love Me Two Times", "Love Her Madly" and "Touch Me". According to the RIAA, they have sold over 32.5 million albums in the US alone. The band has sold 80 to 100 million albums worldwide. Jims alcohol and drug abuse and open disdain for authority made him a rock hero; his mysterious death in Paris, France at the age of 27 made him a pop culture icon (found dead in a bathtub, the cause of death was given as a heart attack) b. December 8th 1943.
1971: Don McPherson (29) American R&B singer; born in Indianapolis, he was known for his vocal abilities and received several awards between 1961 and 1963, while he served in the United States Army. Don was the original lead singer of the group The Main Ingredient, formed in Harlem in 1964, members included Donald, Luther Simmons Jr. and Tony Silvester. They first called themselves, 'Trio' and joined the writing team of Leiber & Stoller. They changed their name to 'The Insiders' and then finally to, 'The Main Ingredient'. In 1970 Don and ain Ingredient released their first Top 30 hit, 'You've Been My Inspirartion', and the hits continued with the Top 20 hit, 'I'm So Proud,' and the Top Ten hit, 'Spinning Around (I Must Be Falling In Love)'. This was soon followed by the black power anthem, 'Black Seeds Keep On Growing' before Donald's untimely death just six days before his 30th birthday (sadly Don died fighting leukaemia) b. July 9th 1941.
1972: Fred "Mississippi" McDowell (68) American blues singer, guitarist player in the North Mississippi style. Born in Rossville, Tennessee, he actually may be considered the first of the bluesmen from the 'North Mississippi' region - parallel to, but somewhat east of the Delta region - to achieve widespread recognition for his work. He started playing guitar at the age of 14 and played at dances around Rossville. He moved to Memphis in 1926 where he worked in a number of jobs and played music for tips. He settled in Como in 1940 or 1941, continuing to perform music at dances and picnics. Initially he played slide guitar using a pocket knife and then a slide made from a beef rib bone, later switching to a glass slide for its clearer sound. He played with the slide on his ring finger. The 1950s brought a rising interest in blues music and folk music in the US and Fred was brought to wider public attention, beginning when he was discovered and recorded in 1959 by Alan Lomax and Shirley Collins. His records were popular, and he performed often at festivals and club and he continued to perform blues in the North Mississippi blues style much as he had for decades, but he sometimes performed on electric guitar rather than acoustic guitar. Fred's 1969 album 'I Do Not Play No Rock 'N' Roll' was his first featuring electric guitar. It features parts of an interview in which he discusses the origins of the blues and the nature of love. (sadly Fred died after a fight with cancer) b. January 12th 1904.
1973: Laurens Hammond (78) American engineer and inventor in Evanston, Illinois, his inventions include, most famously, the Hammond organ and the Hammond clock. He studied mechanical engineering at Cornell University and graduated with an honors degree in 1916. At this time most thoughts were concentrated on the ongoing World War I, and Laurens made his contribution to the war effort serving his time with the American Expeditionary Force in France. Following this, he moved to Detroit, where he was fortunate to occupy the post of chief engineer of the Gray Motor Company, a manufacturer of marine engines. In 1919, he invented a silent spring-driven clock. This invention brought him enough money to leave Gray Motor Company and rent his own space in New York. At the time of his retirement in 1960, he held 90 patents, he was granted another 20 before his death (?) January 11th 1895.
1979: Louis Durey (91) French composer born in Paris, as a composer he was primarily self-taught, from the beginning, choral music was of great importance in his productivity. His first work to gain recognition in the music world was for a piano duet titled Carillons. At a 1918 concert this work attracted the interest of Maurice Ravel, who recommended him to his publisher. Sadly though he is probably the least remembered of Les six. After the Les six period, Louis continued with his career. During the years of the Nazi occupation of World War II, he worked with the French Resistance as a prominent member of the Front National des Musiciens and wrote anti-Fascist songs. After the war he embraced hard-line communism, he voiced his growing left-wing ideals that put him in an artistic isolation that lasted for the rest of his life (?) b. May 27th 1888
1986: Rudy Vallee/Hubert Prior Vallée (84) American singer, actor, multi-musician, bandleader, entertainer in Island Pond, Vermont. Having played drums in his high school band, he played clarinet and saxophone in various bands around New England in his youth before joining the US Navy. From 1924 through 1925, he played with the Savoy Havana Band at the Savoy Hotel in London. He returned to the States to obtain a degree in Philosophy from Yale and to form his own band, "Rudy Vallée and the Connecticut Yankees" and given a recording contract and in 1928. It was in 1929 that he did his first film "Vagabond Lover". It was also in 1929 that he was picked up for the Fleishchman’s Radio Music Hour and later the Sealtest Hour. Rudy's last hit song was the 1943 reissue of the melancholy ballad "As Time Goes By", popularized in the feature film Casablanca. In 1941 he enlisted in the Coast Guard to help direct the 11th district band as a Chief Petty Officer. Eventually he was promoted to Lieutenant and lead the 40 piece band to great success. Later he concerntrated more on his acting career, besides his early films, he appeared in "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and "Won Ton Ton, The Dog That Saved Hollywood", "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes", "The Helen Morgan Story", "Why Was I Born?", "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", "Live a Little, Love a Little", "The Night They Raided Minsky's" among others. Also on TV he appeared in Alias Smith and Jones, Ellery Queen, CHiPs, Santa Barbara to mention a few and he played Lord Marmaduke Fogg on the Batman TV series (?) b. July 28th 1901.
1986: Greg Carroll (26) New Zealand Maori crew member with U2. Greg met U2 in Auckland in 1984, during The Unforgettable Fire tour and worked for the promoter of U2's shows in Auckland. He joined the U2 team and was responsible for "ensuring" for Bono. His death was tremendous for U2 and after returning from Gregs funeral Bono wrote a song specially dedicated to him: One Tree Hill, and devoted the U2 album The Joshua Tree to Greg (tragically he died in a motorcycle accident in Dublin when a drunk driver collided into him) b. 1960.
1999: Mark Sandman (46) American multi-instrumentalist and musical instrument inventor; born in Newton, Massachusetts and graduated from the University of Massachusetts. An indie rock icon and longtime fixture on the Boston/Cambridge music scene, he was best known as the lead singer and slide bass player of the band Morphine releasing five albums . He was also known as a prominent member of the Boston blues-rock band Treat Her Right and the founder of Hi-n-Dry, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based recording studio and independent record label. His instruments were extensively altered and sometimes built by hand to create unique sounds. In Morphine, he played primarily a two-string slide bass guitar usually tuned to a fifth, but he also was known to play a unitar, named after the one-stringed instrument in American blues tradition, and three-string slide bass with one bass string and two unison strings tuned an octave higher, usually A (Mark tragically collapsed on stage at the Giardini del Principe in Palestrina, Latium, Ital, near Rome while performing with Morphine, he was pronounced dead of a heart attack) b. September 24th 1952.
2001: Delia Ann Derbyshire (64) English musician and composer of electronic music and musique concrète. Born in Coventry, she is best known for her electronic realisation of Ron Grainer's theme music to the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and for her work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. In 1959 she applied for a position at Decca Records only to be told that the company did not employ women in their recording studios, so instead she took a position at the UN in Geneva for the next year. Besides the Doctor Who theme, Delia also composed and produced scores, incidental pieces and themes for nearly 200 BBC Radio and BBC TV programmes. In 1973, she left the BBC and after a brief stint working at Hodgson's Electrophon studio during which time she contributed to the soundtrack to the film The Legend of Hell House, Delia stopped composing music. She returned to music in the late nineties after having her interest renewed by fellow electronic musician Peter Kember and was working on an album when she died (Delia sadly died of renal failure while recovering from breast cancer) b. May 5th 1937.
2001: Johnny Russell (61) American country singer, songwriter and comedian born in Mississippi, but he moved with his family at age 11 to Fresno, California. Johnny is famed for his song 'Act Naturally', which was made famous by Buck Owens, who recorded it in 1963, and The Beatles in 1965. He is also known for being the first one to record 'He Stopped Loving Her Today', in some surveys named as the greatest country song of all time and the biggest hit for George Jones in 1980. George Strait topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with Johnny's song 'Let's Fall To Pieces Together'. His songs have been recorded by Burl Ives, Jim Reeves, Jerry Garcia, Tamra Rosanes, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt among others (died from diabetes-related complications) b. January 23rd 1940.
2006: Jack "Smilin" Smith (92) American crooner, actor and former host of 'You Asked for It'; He began his musical career at the age of 15, singing with "The Three Ambassadors". He became a solo baritone crooner in 1939. Jack established a radio show in 1945, he went on to host such guests as Dinah Shore, Margaret Whiting, John Serry, Sr. and Ginny Simms. With the television's arrival, radio saw a decline in audiences, but he soon became the host of You Asked For It in 1958, staying with it in various roles until 1991. Following a guest appearance in the musical film Make Believe Ballroom in 1949, Jack was offered the second lead in Warner Bros.' On Moonlight Bay in 1951 opposite Doris Day (leukemia) b. November 16th 1913.
2007: Boots Randolph/Homer Louis Randolph III (80) American saxophonist; he was the first ever sax player to record with Elvis, and the only one to ever play solo with him, and he also recorded on the soundtracks for 8 of his movies. Boots is also the saxophone player responsible for penning and playing the 1961 multi-million seller of "Yakety Sax" which was the closing theme to the Benny Hill TV Specials. Boots can be heard on Roy Orbison's 1964 hit, "Oh, Pretty Woman". "Little Queenie" by REO Speedwagon, "Java" by Al Hirt, "Turn On Your Lovelight" by Jerry Lee Lewis, and "Rockin' 'Round The Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee, others out of dozens include Chet Atkins, Buddy Holly, Floyd Cramer, Alabama, Johnny Cash, Richie Cole, Pete Fountain, Tommy Newsom and Doc Severinsen. For over 40 years Boots Randolph has toured Europe, spent 15 years touring with The Master's Festival of Music, played for eight years on the Hee Haw Show, guested on numerous TV shows, and headlined almost every fair, jazz festival and convention in US (he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on June 25 and fell into a in coma from which he never regained consciousness) b. 03.June.1927.
2008: Colin Cooper (69) English frontman, vocalist, saxophonist and founder member of the Climax Blues Band, formed in Stafford, England, he also played harp, flute and guitars. They released 18 albums, and their hit singles include "Couldn't Get It Right", "I Love You", "Couldn't Get It Right" and "I Love You". They performed at major concerts and festivals around the world, including Glastonbury and a 25-date German tour with the Godfather of British Blues, John Mayall. (Colin sadly lost his battle with cancer) b. October 7th 1939.
2008: Noel Sayre (37) American violinist and co-founder of Pretty Mighty Mighty and the Black Swans (he nearly drowned at a community pool after suffering an apparent heart attack, and had been on life support for several days before he passed away) b.1971
2008: Oliver Schroer (53) Canadian fiddle player; Oliver grew up in Vandeleur, Ontario, a small crossroads near Markdale in rural Grey County. He attended Grey Highlands Secondary School in Flesherton, where he played French horn in the school band and also took private violin lessons. He started as a busker in the Toronto system subway with his guitar. He went on to become a prolific composer, recording ten CDs in 14 years. He performed in Europe and North America in clubs, cathedrals, and New York's Lincoln Centre. Altogether, he produced or performed on over 100 albums of new traditional, acoustic, and popular music, and wrote more than 1,000 pieces of music. (Sadly died from leukemia) b. June 18th 1956.

July 4th.
1931: Buddie Petit/Joseph Crawford (40/41) American jazz cornettist regarded as one of the best in New Orleans, in his early teens. By the early 1910s he was one of the top horn players in the new style of music not yet generally known as "jazz". He took Freddie Keppard's place in the Eagle Band. He was known as a hard-drinking, fun loving man who played cornet with great virtuosity and inventiveness. He was briefly lured to Los Angeles, California by Jelly Roll Morton and Bill Johnson in 1917, but objected to being told to dress and behave differently than he was accustomed to back home, and promptly returned to New Orleans. He spent the rest of his career in the area around greater New Orleans and the towns north of Lake Pontchartrain like Mandeville, Louisiana, not venturing further from home than Baton Rouge and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (?) b. 1895
1984: Jimmie Spheeris (34) American singer-songwriter, guitarist , pianoist, keyboards; born in Phenix City, Alabama, after his father was murdered his mother moved the family to Venice, California. Jimmie again relocated to New York in the late 1960s to pursue his songwriting career. His 1971 debut album, Isle of View, created a following and FM radio airplay, most notably for the song 'I am the Mercury'. His 1973 album, The Original Tap Dancing Kid, was followed by a period of extensive concert touring. He returned to the recording studio in 1975 with The Dragon is Dancing and released Ports of the Heart in 1976. Just hours before his death, Jimmie finished the self-titled album, Spheeris. This final album was not publicly released for 16 years, it was released in 2000 on Rain Records (at 2am, Jimmie died in Santa Monica, California, when his motorcycle collided with a van; the van driver had been drinking) b. November 5th 1949.
1986: Flor Peeters (83) Flemish composer, organist and teacher, born in the village of Tielen; he began his studies at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven, he later collaborate with Jules van Nuffel and the Institute's other professors, to produce the Nova Organi Harmonia. In 1923 he became an organ teacher at the Institute; simultaneously he acquired the position of chief organist at the St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen, which he held for most of the rest of his life. He collaborated with the cantor at the cathedral Jules Van Nuffel. As an organist and pedagogue, Peeters enjoyed great renown, giving concerts and liturgical masterclasses all over the world. He also made recordings of sixteenth-, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century organ music; some of these have been reissued in recent years on compact disc. Most of his own pieces, he wrote well over 100, were for his own instrument, for choir, or for both (?) b. July 4th 1903.
1992: Joe Newman (69) American jazz trumpeter, composer, and educator; born in New Orleans, Louisiana to a musical family, he attended Alabama State College, where he joined the college band, the Bama State Collegians, became its leader, and took it on tour. In 1941 he joined Lionel Hampton for two years, before signing with Count Basie. He was also first with saxophonist Illinois Jacquet and then drummer J. C. Heard, between 1947 and 1952. During his second period with Basie, which lasted for about nine years, he made a number of small-group recordings as leader. He also played on Benny Goodman's 1962 tour of the Soviet Union. In 1961 Joe left the Basie and helped to found Jazz Interactions, of which he became president in 1967. Jazz Interactions was a charitable organisation which provided an information service, took jazz master classes into schools and colleges, and later maintained its own Jazz Interaction Orchestra, for which Joe wrote. In the 1970s and 80s Joe toured internationally, and recorded for various major record labels. He suffered a stroke in 1991, which seriously disabled him (heart problems) b. Sept 7th 1922.
1992: Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (71) Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player born in Mar del Plata. Maybe the single most important figure in the history of tango, his oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music. Also an excellent bandoneonist, he regularly performed his own compositions with different ensembles (In 1990 he suffered thrombosis while in Paris, and died two years later in Buenos Aires.) b. March 11th 1921
2003: André Claveau (91) French singer born in Paris, very popular in France from the 1940s-1960s. He won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958 singing "Dors, mon amour"/ Sleep my love with music composed by Pierre Delanoë and lyrics by Hubert Giraud. He has also appeared in over a dozen films (?) b. December 17th 1915.
2003: Barry White/Barry Eugene Carter (58) American soul singer and record producer, a five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his rich bass voice and romantic image. After leaving gang life and his teens behind he embarked on a musical career, having marginal success at songwriting. His songs were recorded by rock singer Bobby Fuller and TV bubblegum act The Banana Splits. He was also responsible in 1963 for arranging "Harlem Shuffle" for Bob & Earl, which became a hit in the UK in 1969. He had his first solo chart hit with 1973's "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby". Then his orchestra, Love Unlimited Orchestra's recording of White's composition "Love's Theme" reached No.1 in 1974, one of only a handful of instrumental recordings ever to do so. Some regard "Love's Theme" as the first disco hit ever, although Nino Tempo's "Sister James" had already reached the Hot 100 a few months before. Other chart hits by Barry include "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up", "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe", "You're the First, the Last, My Everything", "What Am I Gonna Do with You", "Let the Music Play", "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" and "Your Sweetness is My Weakness". He also had a strong following in the UK where he had five Top 10 hits and one No.1 with "You're The First". Barry had many gold and platinum albums and singles, with combined sales of over 100 million (sadly Barry died from kidney failure) b. September 12th 1944
2005: Al Downing (65) American entertainer, singer, songwriter, and pianist. In 1978, Al's "Mr. Jones" reached the Top 20, followed by "Touch Me (I'll Be Your Fool Once More)" "Midnight Lace," and "I Ain't No Fool,". He received the Billboard's New Artist of the Year and the Single of the Year Award in 1979. In 1980, the "Story Behind The Story" reached the Top 40 and "Bring It On Home" reached the Top Twenty . He was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and was a frequent performer at the Grand Ole Opry. Al was nominated as Best New Artist by the Academy of Country Music and appeared on Hee Haw, Nashville Now, and Dick Clark's American Bandstand television programs. He continued to perform on more than 75 occasions per year in the remaining years of his life, and appeared at Ontario's prestigious Havelock Country Jamboree with Kenny Rogers and Roy Clark. But sadly in 2005, Al had to postpone his plans for a European tour due to his ill health (lymphoblastic leukemia) b. January 9th 1940.
2007: Johnny Frigo (90) American jazz violinist and bassist born in Chicago, Illinois, and studied violin for only three years beginning at age 7. While in high school he started to play double bass in dance orchestras. In 1942 he played with Chico Marx's orchestra after which he toured with Jimmy Dorsey's band from 1945 to 1947, later forming the Soft Winds trio with Dorsey's guitarist Herb Ellis and pianist Lou Carter. During this time he wrote the music and words of the standard "Detour Ahead", which has been recorded by Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Bill Evans, and Carola among others. In 1951 Frigo returned to Chicago, primarily working as a studio bassist and arranger. He also led the band at Mr. Kelly's, a popular Rush Street nightspot. Between 1951 and 1960 he played fiddle hoedowns and novelties with the Sage Riders, the house band for WLS's long-running National Barn Dance. He continued playing with the Sage Riders for another four years after WGN revived the show in 1961. He continued performing at festivals worldwide, including the Umbria Jazz Festival and North Sea Jazz Festival. Frigo also was a published poet and artist. (He had been battling cancer, but sadly died of complications from a fall) b. July 4th 2007.
2007: Bill Pinkney (81) American singer; born in Dalzell, South Carolina, he grew up singing gospel in his church choir. He was also a pitcher for the Negro league baseball's New York Blue Sox team, before serving in the US Army in World War II. He earned a Presidential Citation with four Bronze Stars (for battles including Normandy and Bastogne under General Patton). Returning from the war, Bill began to sing again in various gospel choirs. It was there that he would meet the members of the original Drifters. On their first record in 1953, "Money Honey", Bill actually sang first tenor, changing to bass after Ferbie left. In 1958 the manager fired all of the individual Drifters and hired all new singers, The Crowns (formally known as the Five Crowns), signing them under the Drifters' name. Bill was forced to leave. He quickly created a group called the Original Drifters, made up of key members of the first (1953-58) association. "Pinkney's" Original Drifters was consistently popular throughout the southeastern United States. For decades their music was a staple of the "beach music" scene. Bill has been recognized for his contributions by leaders such as President Bill Clinton and President Nelson Mandela of South Africa. He has recieved many musical awards, including the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award, as well as induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, United Group Harmony Association, and the Beach Music Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame and holds the key to the state of South Carolina (he died the evening of July 4th in Florida from a heart attack, while staying at the Daytona Beach Hilton. He was to perform with The Drifters at the annual Daytona Beach 4th of July celebration, Red, White & Boom) b. August 15th 1925.
2007: Baris Akarsu (28) Turkish rock singer; he started out as an entertainer in beach resorts in Antalya. Later he moved to Karadeniz Eregli, singing in bars, the local television and radio shows before joining the TV show Academy Turkey. Shortly after winning the show, he moved to Istanbul to pursue a career in music. Baris released his first album “Islak Islak” followed by his second “Dusmeden Bulutlarda Kosmam Gerek” released in August 2006. He appeared on music videos for his songs “Islak Islak”, “Kimdir O”, “Mavi” and “Amasra” from his first and “Vurdum En Dibe Kadar” and “Yaz Demedim” from his second album. He composed and wrote the lyrics for “Ben” and “Yeter Be” from his second album. At the time of his death, he was working on his unreleased third album (tragically died due to complications arising from a motor the accident) b. June 29th 1979.
2009: Drake Levin/Drake Maxwell Levinshefski (62) American musician, best known as the guitarist for Paul Revere & the Raiders. He started with Paul Revere & the Raiders in 1963, even while he was in the National Guard he would come to record with them in the studio. They had hits such as "Louie Louie", "Steppin' Out", "Just Like Me", "Kicks" which ranked No. 400 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 1966, "Hungry" "The Great Airplane Strike", "Good Thing" and "Him or Me - What's It Gonna Be?". Drake, Phil Volk and Mike “Smitty” Smith left the Raiders in 1967 to form the trio, The Brotherhood. Over the years Drake has worked with Ananda Shankar, Emitt Rhodesand Lee Michaels among other artists as well as participating in reunions with ex-members of the Raiders (cancer) b. August 17th 1946.
2009: Robert Mitchell (96) American organist and one of the last original silent film accompanists; born in Sierra Madre, California, he started his career at the age of 12 when he worked at The Strand Theatre in Pasadena, CA playing Christmas carols between showings. Once the silent film started, his career as an accompanist began, which he continued until the arrival of talkies which made accompanists irrelevant. In 1932 he won a scholarship to the Eastman School of music where he studied piano. He stayed in New York performing gigs of many genre that varied from church accompaniment to speakeasies to radio. During the 1930s, he organized the Robert Mitchell Boys Choir, who were cast in many films from the 1930s through to the 1960s. From 1962s he played the organ for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 70s and 80s saw him as musical director for several churches: St. Ann, St. Brendan, St. Kevin and St. Peter in Los Angeles, and The Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. From 1992 until his death Robert accompanied several silent films in revival houses particularly in California, performing weekly at both The Orpheum and The Silent Movie Theatre, playing some of the original scores he had from the 1920s. This gallant trooper performed until May 2009, when he suffered from pneumonia and his health began to decline. In his 84 year career Robert received many awards including the Silver Medal awarded at the Royal Palace in Monte Carlo by Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace of Monaco. A Silver Beaver Medal, the highest honor awarded scoutmasters by the Boy Scouts of America. An acclamation as a Knight of Malta with a medal from the American Melkite Archimandrate. An Honorary Plaque in the Amphitheater of Temple Ahavat Shalom, Northridge, California. And the "Pro Papa et Ecclesia" Certificate from Pope John-Paul the Second. (pneumonia) b. October 12th 1912.
2009: Allen Klein (77) American businessman, agent, record label executive, admired and feared for his reputation as a fierce negotiator. Born in New Jersey, he spent much of his childhood in an orphanage and graduated from college with a degree in accounting, after which, while working with friend, Don Kirshner, he soon gained a reputation as an effective sleuth who could root through record companies' books on behalf of artists and find thousands of dollars in unpaid royalties. In 1961 he founded his company Abkco and he quickly worked his magic for Bobby Darin and Sam Cooke as well as becoming Sam's manager. With the "British Invasion" of the US, he was soon representing many UK artists including The Animals, Herman's Hermits and The Rolling Stones. (Later when The Verve's hit "Bittersweet Symphony" sampled an orchestration from The Rolling Stones' "The Last Time," the rights to which are owned by Allen's ABKCO Industries was nominated for a Grammy Award, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones were named as the nominees, rather then The Verve.) In 1969, Allen began to work with the Beatles, and in 1971 he was a producer of the concerts for Bangladesh, with Harrison, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and others. In the 80's he bought the rights to music produced by Phil Spector, such as the Philles Records and Phil Spector International catalogs. His company ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. owns and/or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks, as well as the Cameo Parkway label, which includes recordings by such artists as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, The Orlons, The Dovells, Question Mark & The Mysterians, The Tymes and Dee Dee Sharp. ABKCO also administers Philles Records and its master recordings, including hits by The Righteous Brothers, The Ronettes, The Crystals and others. Allen also worked as a producer on the films The Holy Mountain in 1973 and The Greek Tycoon in 1978, as well as on several Italian spaghetti westerns (Alzheimer's disease) b. December 18th 1931.
2010: Huang You-di (98) Taiwanese musician and composer. He was responsible for around 2000 compositions, his most popular being Azaleas, written during the Second Sino-Japanese War (sadly died of multiple organ failure) b. January 12th 1912.
2011: Jane Scott (92) American rock music critic, in Cleveland, Ohio in 1919, a 1937 graduate of Lakewood High School and a 1941 graduate of the University of Michigan, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in English, Speech and Drama. Jane was influential rock critic for the newspaper The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, during her career she covered every major rock concert in Cleveland and was on a first name basis with many stars. Until her retirement from the paper in April 2002 she was known as "The World’s Oldest Rock Critic." She was also influential in bringing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Cleveland (?) b. May 3rd 1919.
2011: Gerhard Unger (95) German light tenor opera singer born in Bad Salzungen. He had his debut as an opera singer in 1947 in Weimar. From 1949 to 1961 he sang with the Berlin State Opera. After 1951 he sang regularly at the Bayreuth Festival. One of his signature roles was David from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, which is confirmed by the number of times he recorded the role. Equally known was his Pedrillo in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, notably in the legendary 1965 Salzburg Festival production, which was conducted by Zubin Mehta, and was kept in the festival's repertory for 10 years and was also shown at Milan's La Scala. His other Salzburg Festival roles included Monostatos in two different stagings of The Magic Flute. He occasionally played Mime, for example in La Scala's 1975 production (?) b. November 26th 1916.

July 5th.
1884: Victor Massé (62) French composer; he studied at the Paris Conservatoire, winning the Prix de Rome in 1844 for his cantata Le rénégat de Tanger before turning his attention to opera. While at the Conservatoire, Massé studied with Jaques Halévy. He wrote some twenty operas, including La chanteuse voilée-1850, followed by the more ambitious Galathée-1852 and Paul et Virginie. His best-known and most successful work was the opéra comique Les noces de Jeannette in 1853. Victor's last work, Une Nuit de Cléopâtre, was performed posthumously in April 1885 (?) b. March 7th 1822.
1951: Egbert Anson Van Alstyne (73) American songwriter, pianist, and composer of a number of popular and ragtime tunes from the early 20th century. Born in Marengo, Illinois, he moved to New York City after some time touring in Vaudeville. He worked as a Tin Pan Alley song-plugger until he was able to make his living as a songwriter. He teamed with lyricist Harry H. Williams, their first success was "Navajo" which was introduced in the Broadway musical Nancy Brown in 1903 and became one of the first records by Billy Murray early in 1904. Their best remembered song is ''In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree'' from 1905. Other of his hits included "Won't You Come Over to My House?", "I'm Afraid to Come Home in the Dark", and "Memories". He shares credit with Tony Jackson on the hit "Pretty Baby" (?) b. March 4th 1878.
1969: Wilhelm Backhaus (85) German pianist; born in Leipzig, he studied at the conservatoire there with Alois Reckendorf until 1899. He made his first concert tour at the age of sixteen. In 1905 he won the Anton Rubinstein Competition and toured widely throughout his life - in 1921 he gave seventeen concerts in Buenos Aires in less than three weeks. He made his U.S. debut on January 5, 1912, as soloist in Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto with Walter Damrosch and the New York Symphony Orchestra. In 1930 he moved to Lugano and became a citizen of Switzerland. He made his last recital in Ossiach, which was recorded, a few days before his death (Wilhelm died in Villach, Austria where he was due to play in a concert) b. March 26th 1884.
1975: Gilda Dalla Rizza (72) Italian prima donna soprano, born in Verona, she made her operatic debut in Bologna (the Teatro Verdi) in 1912, as Charlotte in Werther. Especially acclaimed in the verismo repertory, she was regarded as being Giacomo Puccini's favorite soprano, creating Magda in his La rondine (1917). She also gave the first European performances of his Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, at Rome in 1919. She also created roles in Pietro Mascagni's Il piccolo Marat and Riccardo Zandonai's Giulietta e Romeo. She was also an important interpreter of that composer's Francesca da Rimini. She also appeared at the Teatro Colón (including Manon Lescaut opposite Aureliano Pertile) and Covent Garden, and was a favorite at Monte Carlo and the Teatro alla Scala. One of Dalla Rizza's unexpected successes at the latter theatre was in La traviata, under the bâton of Arturo Toscanini. Gilda also taught formany years at Venice's Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello (sadly died at Milan's Casa Verdi) b. October 12th 1892.
1982: Abe Tilmon (37) American vocalist with Detroit Emeralds; "The Emeralds" formed as a vocal harmony group in Little Rock, Arkansas, and originally composed of four brothers, Abrim/Abe, Ivory, Cleophus and Raymond Tilmon. After Cleophus and Raymond left, Abe and Ivory joined by childhood friend James Mitchell moved to Detroit, Michigan and expanded their name to the Detroit Emeralds. The trio had their first R&B chart success on Ric-Tic Records, with "Show Time" in 1968. Other hits included "If I Lose Your Love", "Do Me Right", "You Want It, You Got It" and "Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)" and "Feel The Need In Me" (sadly Abe died after suffering a heart attack) b. January 12th 1945.
1983: Harry James (67) American trumpet player and bandleader, born in Albany, Georgia; in February 1939 he debuted his own big band in Philadelphia. His hit "You Made Me Love You" was in the Top 10 during the week of December 7, 1941. He toured with the band into the 1980s. His was the first "name band" to employ vocalist Frank Sinatra, in 1939. He wanted to change Sinatra's name to 'Frankie Satin' but Sinatra refused. His later band included drummer Buddy Rich. He played trumpet in the 1950 film Young Man with a Horn, dubbing Kirk Douglas. Harry's recording of "I'm Beginning to See the Light" appears in the motion picture My Dog Skip-2000. His music is also featured in the Woody Allen film Hannah and Her Sisters and recorded many popular records and appeared in many Hollywood movies. Although diagnosed with lymphatic cancer, but he continued to work, playing his last professional job on June 26, 1983, in Los Angeles just 9 days before he died. (sadly died after his brave battle with cancer) b. March 15th 1916
1993: Maria Teresa de Noronha (74) Portuguese fado singer; her artistic career spanned over 30 years and is considered one of the most unique and beautiful fado voices. Born in Lisbon, and at the age of 20, Maria was invited by the Portuguese broadcasting company to perform at a regular biweekly fado program, which she did uninterruptly until 1961 (died of prolonged disease at her house of São Pedro de Sintra) b. November 7th 1918.
1997: Mrs. Miller/Elva Ruby Connes Miller (89) American singer, born in Joplin, Missouri, she studied music, voice, and composition at Pomona College, and involved herself in church and community projects. She said singing was "a hobby", but produced several records, mainly of classical, gospel, and children's songs. She found fame in the '60s for her out-of-tune versions of songs such as "Moon River", "Monday, Monday", "Downtown", and "A Lover's Concerto". She sang in an untrained, Mermanesque, vibrato-laden voice (?) b. October 5th 1907.
2001: Ernie K Doe Jr (65) American R&B singer and drummer, born in New Orleans; he recorded as a member of the group the Blue Diamonds in 1954 before making his first solo recordings the following year, "Mother-in-Law", which reached No.1 on both the Billboard pop and R&B charts. Other hits include "Te-Ta-Te-Ta-Ta", and "Later For Tomorrow". In the 1980s he did radio shows on New Orleans community stations WWOZ and WTUL. In the 1990s he began billing himself as "The Emperor of the Universe" and wearing a cape and crown he became a famous local eccentric on the New Orleans scene (sadly died of kidney and liver failure) b. February 22nd 1936.
2005: Shirley Goodman (69) American R&B singer, born in New Orleans, known best as one half of Shirley and Lee, a 50s R&B duo with her school friend, Leonard Lee. In 1956 they recorded "Let the Good Times Roll", which became their biggest hit single reaching No.1 on the US R&B chart and No.20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It sold over a million copies, and awarded a gold disc. Later in her career, Shirley had a resurgence with the disco hit, "Shame, Shame, Shame" in the 1970s. Credited to Shirley & Company, the record became an international pop hit, reaching No.12 on the Billboard chart and presaging the disco boom. (?) b. June 19th 1936.
2005: Raymond "Ray" Davis (65) American original bass singer and a founding members of The Parliaments, Parliament, and Funkadelic born in Sumter, South Carolina. Aside from George Clinton, he was the only original member of the Parliaments not to leave the Parliament/Funkadelic conglomerate in 1977. He worked with Roger Troutman and Zapp in the early to mid '80's. His distinctive baritone can be heard on "I Can Make You Dance". He was also briefly in a late-period line-up of the The Temptations, after the death of bass singer Melvin Franklin and appearing on the 1995 album For Lovers Only. Ray left the group when diagnosed with throat cancer. In later years, he performed with former Temptation Glenn Leonard's group, The Temptations Experience and in 1998, with original Parliament-Funkadelic members Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins, Calvin Simon and Grady Thomas, formed the Original P. In 1997 Ray was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic (respiratory problems) b. March 29th 1940.
2006: Don Lusher (82) British jazz trombonist and band leader born in Peterborough, England; when World War II broke out he served as a gunner signaller in the Royal Artillery, after being demobbed he became a professional musician playing with the bands of Joe Daniels, Lou Preager, Maurice Winnick, The Squadronaires, Jack Parnell and lastly Ted Heath. Don spent nine years as lead trombone with the Ted Heath Jazz Band and toured the USA several times, taking over as leader in 1969 after Heath's death. He also led the trombone section on many of Frank Sinatra's European tours. He later formed his own band and also performed with the Manhattan Sound Big Band, with Alexis Korner and various session musicians in the big band-rock fusion group CCS .In 1993 he was awarded the status of Freeman of the City of London, in 2001 Don recorded an album featuring Kenny Ball, Acker Bilk, John Chilton and the Feetwarmers, John Dankworth, Humphrey Lyttelton and George Melly it was entitled British Jazz Legends Together.and in 2002 he received an OBE for services to the music industry (?) b. November 6th 1923.
2006: Joe Weaver (71) American Detroit blues, electric blues and R&B pianist, singer and bandleader. His best known recording was "Baby I Love You So" - 1955, and he was a founding member of both The Blue Note Orchestra and The Motor City Rhythm & Blues Pioneers. Over his lengthy but staggered career, Joe worked with various musicians including The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, John Lee Hooker, Nathaniel Mayer, The Miracles, Martha Reeves, Nolan Strong & The Diablos, Andre Williams, Nancy Wilson, and Stevie Wonder. In addition, he was a session musician in the early days of Motown Records and played in the house band at Fortune Records. He was a key component in the 1950s Detroit R&B scene (sadly died of a stroke) b. August 27th 1934.
2007: Régine Crespin (80) French soprano, later a mezzo-soprano, who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She excelled in both the French and German repertoire. She become a fixture at the Opéra National de Paris in the mid 1950s. Her international career was launched in 1958 with a critically acclaimed performance of Kundry in Richard Wagner's Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival. She soon appeared at most of the major opera houses in the United States and Europe and made a number of appearances in South America as well. She had a long and fruitful association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, making over 125 appearances at that house between 1962 and 1987. Regine retired from the stage in 1989, after which she taught singing for many years at her alma mater, the Conservatoire de Paris (sadly died after a brave fight with liver cancer) b. February 23rd 1927.
2007: George Heywood Melly (80) English jazz and blues singer, writer, music critic; born in Liverpool, educated at Stowe School, where he discovered his interest in art, jazz and blues. He joined the Royal Navy near to the end of the World War 2, where he was almost court-martialled for distributing anarchist literature. After the war while working in an Surrealism art gallery he was offered the job as singer with the Mick Mulligan's Magnolia Jazz Band. The 60s saw George a film critic for The Observer, the writer on the Daily Mail's satirical newspaper strip Flook, illustrated by Trog, and scriptwriter on the 1967 satirical film Smashing Time. The 70's, it's back to jazz with John Chilton's >>> READ MORE <<< (sadly died from lung cancer) b. August 17th 1926.
2010: Cesare Siepi (77) Italian opera singer, generally considered to have been one of the finest basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. On stage, his tall, striking presence and elegance of phrasing made him a natural Don Giovanni, among his many other worldwide roles. He can be seen in that role on video from Salzburg, under the baton of Wilhelm Furtwängler. Cesare's last studio recording was as the old King Archibaldo in RCA's 1976 taping of Italo Montemezzi's L'amore dei tre re, with Anna Moffo and Plácido Domingo in the cast, and his formal farewell to the operatic stage occurred at the Teatro Carani in Sassuolo on 21 April 1989 (Sadly, he died at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta after suffering a stroke more than a week earlier) b. February 10th 1923.
2010: David Fanshawe (68) English composer and ethnomusicologist; educated at St George's School, Windsor Castle and Stowe School he started his career as a musician and producer for documentary films. He studied composition under John Lambert at the Royal College of Music. His work is situated at the crossroads of traditional and modern music. David's best-known composition is the 1972 choral work African Sanctus (sadly died after suffering from a stroke) b. April 19th 1942.
2011: Alphonso 'Fonce' Mizell (68) American record producer, born in Englewood, Bergen County, New Jersey. In 1972 he moved to LA with the Motown company, along with Berry Gordy and Freddie Perren, he was one third of the production house, a member of "The Corporation", responsible for writing and producing The Jackson 5's early hits, including 'I Want You Back', 'ABC' and 'The Love You Save'. Fonce and his brother Larry also started their own company, Sky High Productions. They went on to produce albums for Blue Note Records that set the tone for jazz fusion, including: Donald Byrd's Black Byrd-1972, Street Lady-1973, Bobbi Humphrey's Blacks and Blues-1973, Stepping into Tomorrow-1974, Places and Spaces-1975 and Caricatures-1976, Satin Doll-1974 and Fancy Dancer-1975, Johnny "Hammond" Smith's Gambler's Life-1974, Gears-1975, A Taste Of Honey's platinum selling roller-rink anthem of '78 "Boogie Oogie Oogie", L.T.D.'s "Love Ballad", a number 1 R&B hit in 1976 and Mary Wells' dance funk 12-inch "Gigolo" in 1982. The Mizell Brothers often used the same musicians on their albums, including Harvey Mason on drums, Melvin "Wah Wah Watson" Ragin and David T. Walker on guitar, Chuck Rainey on bass and Jerry Peters on piano. In the 1980s, the Mizell brothers retired from full-time production in the 1980s but made reappearances in the 2000s, notably with 4Hero (?) b. January 15th 1943.

July 6th.
1961: Rocco Scott LaFaro (25) American influential jazz bassist, born in Irvington, New Jersey, and perhaps best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio. He entered college to study music but left during the early weeks of his sophomore year, to joined Buddy Morrow and his big band, before relocating to Los Angeles. He quickly found work and became known as one of the best of the young bassists. In 1959, after many gigs with such greats as Chet Baker, Victor Feldman, Stan Kenton, Cal Tjader, and Benny Goodman, Rocco joined Bill Evans. His tragic death came two days after accompanying Stan Getz at the Newport Jazz Festival and ten days after recording two live albums with the Bill Evans Trio, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby, albums considered among the finest live jazz recordings (died in an automobile accident in Flint, New York on U.S. 20 between Geneva and Canandaigua) b. April 3rd 1936
1971: Satchmo/Louis Armstrong (69) American bandleader, singer and trumpet player, born in New Orleans, LA. He was a very charismatic innovative performer whose musical skills and bright personality transformed jazz from a rough regional dance music into a popular art form. One of the most famous jazz musicians of the 20th century. He worked odd jobs as a boy, including delivering milk and coal and selling newspapers and bananas. He also played the cornet with various bands in the New Orleans area. From 1922-24 Louis played with King Oliver's Original Creole Jazz Band. Next he played trumpet with Fletcher Henderson in New York City, before he played solo trumpet and fronted his own bands until his death, including the Hot Five and the Hot Seven. recording artist beginning in the early 1920s. Appeared in Broadway shows, including "Hot Chocolates" and "Swingin' the Dream". He also appeared in many films, including Pennies from Heaven 1936; Every Day's a Holiday, 1937; Going Places 1938; Dr. Rhythm 1938; Cabin in the Sky 1943; Jam Session 1944; New Orleans 1947; The Strip 1951; Glory Alley 1952; The Glenn Miller Story 1954; High Society 1957; The Five Pennies 1959; A Man Called Adam 1966; and Hello, Dolly 1969. Louis's nickname Satchmo was an abbreviation of "satchelmouth," a joke on the size of his mouth; he was also nicknamed Gatemouth, Dippermouth, Dip, and simply Pops. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "early influence" in 1990 and in 2001 the city of New Orleans renamed its airport as Louis Armstrong International Airport (sadly died of a heart attack) b. August 4th 1901.
1977: Ödön Pártos (70) Hungarian-Israeli violist, composer and recipient of the Israel Prize in 1954. He taught and served as director of the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv and regarded as among the most important Israeli composers. Between the years 1938–1956, Ödön was the principal of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra's viola section, as well as playing numerous solo performances in Israel and abroad. In 1946, together with cellist László Vincze, he founded the Samuel Rubin Israel Academy of Music, now Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv, and in 1959 was instrumental in founding the Thelma Yellin High School of Art in Tel Aviv. In 1951, Partos was appointed director of the Rubin Academy, a position he was to hold until his death, although the state of his health during his last five years of life prevented him from taking an active part in the Academy's administration, a position filled by Prof. Arie Vardi who succeeded him as director there (?) b. October 1st 1907.
1979: Van Allen Clinton McCoy (39) American musician, music producer, arranger, songwriter, and orchestra conductor. Born in Washington, D.C., he learned to play piano at a young age and sang with the Metropolitan Baptist Church choir as a youngster. By age 12, he had begun writing his own songs in addition to performing in local amateur shows alongside his older brother, Norman Jr. The two brothers formed a doo-wop combo named the Starlighters with two friends while in high school. He is best known for his 1975 international hit "The Hustle", which is still played in dance halls and on the radio today. He has approximately 700 song copyrights to his credit and is also noted for producing songs for such recording artists as Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Stylistics, Aretha Franklin, Brenda & The Tabulations, David Ruffin, Peaches & Herb, and Stacy Lattishaw (sadly died of a massive heart attack) b. January 6th 1940.
1998: Roy Rogers/Leonard Slye (86) American actor and country singer; he and his 3rd wife Dale Evans, his "golden palomino" Trigger and German shepherd, Bullet, were featured in over 100 movies and The Roy Rogers Show which ran on radio for nine years before moving to television from 1951 through 1964. After moving to LA in 1929/30 he started out with his cousin singing the LA bars as the Slye Brothers. After four years of little success, in 1934, he formed a Western cowboy music group, Sons of the Pioneers with Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer. The group hit it big with songs like "Cool Water" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds". From his first film appearance in 1935, he worked steadily in western films, including a supporting role as a singing cowboy, still billed as "Leonard Slye" in a Gene Autry movie. In 1938, when Autry temporarily walked out on his movie contract, Leonard was immediately rechristened "Roy Rogers" and assigned the lead in Under Western Stars. Roy became a matinee idol and American legend, also a competitor for Gene Autry as the nation's favorite singing cowboy was born! (congestive heart failure) b. November 5th 1911.
1999: Michael Wallace (43) Jamaican keyboard player and original member of the seminal Jamaican 80s band Chalice with hits such as "I Still Love You" and "Good To Be There". He had also been a member of the band Third World (tragically gunned down while drivng his car in Kingston, Jamaica) b. June 6th 1956.
1999: Joaquin Rodrigo (97) Spanish composer of classical music and virtuoso pianist; despite being nearly blind from an early age, he achieved great success. His music counts among some of the most popular of the 20th century, particularly his Concierto de Aranjuez, considered one of the pinnacles of the Spanish music and guitar concerto repertoire. In 1943 he received Spain's National Prize for Orchestra for Cinco piezas infantiles/Five Children's Pieces, based on his earlier composition of the same piece for two pianos, premiered by Ricardo Viñes. From 1947 Rodrigo was a professor of music history, holding the Manuel de Falla Chair of Music in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, at Complutense University of Madrid. In 1991, he was raised to the nobility by King Juan Carlos; he was given the title Marqués de los Jardines de Aranjuez, in 1996 he received the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award—Spain's highest civilian honor, and he was named Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government in 1998 (?) b. November 22nd 1901.
2000: Wladyslaw Szpilman (88) Polish pianist, Wladyslaw studied piano in Warsaw and Berlin in the early 1930s. After Adolf Hitler seized power in Germany in 1933, he returned to Warsaw, where he quickly became a celebrated pianist and composer of both classical and popular music. He composed many pieces and soundtracks while touring Poland with his violinist, Bronislav Gimpel. His family was deported to Treblinka, an extermination camp in the east, but Wladyslaw managed to flee from the transport loading site with the help of a friend. Tragically none of his family members survived the war apart from himself. From 1945 to 1963 he was director of the Music Department at Polish Radio. Over his career he composed several symphonic works and about 500 songs, still popular in Poland today, as well as music for children, radio plays and films. In 1961 he initiated and organized the Sopot International Song Festival in Poland and founded the Polish Union of Authors of Popular Music. Shortly after the war ended he wrote a memoir about his survival in Warsaw. He published the book, Smierc Miasta (Death of a City), it was soon suppressed by the Stalinist Polish authorities. Following the de-Stalinisation period of the 1950s, the book was published and printed to a greater extent. In 1998, Wladyslaw’s son Andrzej republished his father’s work, first in German as Das wunderbare Überleben (The miraculous survival) and then in English as The Pianist. In 2002, Roman Polanski directed a screen version, also called The Pianist, but sadly Wladyslaw died before the film was completed. The movie won three Academy Awards, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Film Award, and the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. (died in Warsaw) b. December 5th 1911.
2003: Clyde "Skip" Battin (69) American bassist and songwriter born in Gallipolis, Ohio; in 1956 he collaborated with Gary Paxton and formed the Pledges, the two later successfully recorded under the name of Skip & Flip, enjoying hits with "It Was I", and "Cherry Pie". From 1970 to 1973
Skip was bass player and songwriter with the Byrds. From 1974 to 1976 he played with the New Riders of the Purple Sage, with whom he recorded three albums. He continued to play live and recorded collaborations with notable country rock musicians, numerous solo projects and stints with the Flying Burrito Brothers. From 1989 to 1991 he toured occasionally with Michael Clarke's Byrds. (Alzheimer's disease) b. February 18th 1934.
2004: Syreeta Wright (57) US Grammy nominated singer-songwriter, most notably known for her work with Stevie Wonder and Billy Preston. She began recording career with Motown as a backing vocalist during the 60s, releasing her own single "I Can't Give Back the Love I Feel for You" in 1967. Following a suggestion by Stevie Wonder, she became a songwriter. One early success between the two was the song 'It's A Shame' for the, then, Motown Spinners. By 1970, the collaboration with Stevie saw the release of the song 'Signed, Sealed Delivered, I'm Yours', a song she co-wrote with Wonder, Lee Garrett and Lula Hardaway. That same year, she collaborated with Stevie on his album 'Where I'm Coming From', co-writing the songs 'Do Yourself A Favor', 'Something Out Of The Blue', 'If You Really Love Me' (a song on which she sang) and 'Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer'. Stevie and Syreeta married on the 14th September 1970. In 1972, Syreeta released her debut album, simply entitled 'Syreeta' for the MoWest imprint, the first of 10 solo albums. Syreeta wrote, or recorded with Sheree Brown, George Howard, Gary Bartz, Patrice Rushen, Wayne Henderson, Jeffrey Osborne, The Stairsteps, George Duke, Quincy Jones and Donald Byrd, amongst many others, at various times. (sadly died after her long battle with breast cancer) b. August 3rd 1946.
2005: Dennis D'Ell/Denis James Dalziel (61) British singer and harmonica player born in London. He was a founding member and lead singer of the British pop band The Honeycombs formed in 1963. There debut single "Have I the Right?" was released in June 1964 on the Pye record label, by the end of August the record reached No.1 in the UK charts. Outside the UK "Have I the Right?" was a big success too. The song became No.1 in Australia, Canada and Sweden, No.5 in the US and in the Netherlands No.2. The Honeycombs also recorded a German version of the song: "Hab ich das Recht?" and both versions reached No.21 in the German charts. The group toured Europe, The Far East, Japan and Australia. Other hits included "Who Is Sylvia?", "Is It Because", "Eyes", "That's the Way" and others (sadly he lost his battle with cancer) b. October 14th 1943.
2008: Bobby Durham (71) American jazz drummer born in in Philadelphia; he started with The Orioles at age 16, and went on to play with King James, Stan Hunter, Lloyd Price, Wild Bill Davis, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Slide Hampton, Grant Green, Sweets Edison, Tommy Flanagan, Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Jimmy Rowles, Oscar Peterson, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, in which he played for five years, and accompanied Ella Fitzgerald for more than a decade (?) b. Feb 3rd 1937
2009: Jim Reid (75) Scottish folk singer, guitarist and mouth organist; born in Dundee, Jim started out in the with "The Taysiders", after which he became the driving force of the Arbroath band "The Foundry Bar Band". He recorded 3 albums with them, 'The Foundry Bar Band' in 1981, 'On The Road with The Foundry Bar Band' in 1983 and in 1988 'Rolling Home'. Jim has featured on many other artists recordings including the 9th to 12th volumes of the twelve volume series of "The Complete Songs of Robert Burns", John Huband's "Freewheeling Now" and the Hamish Henderson tribute album "A The Bairns O Adam" and "Life In The Kingdom", the latter was with the children of Fife primary schools. In 2005 he won the "Scots Singer of the Year" award and he regularly played at festivals until recently when he was diagnosed with dementia (died after short illness) b.????
2009: Martin Streek (43) Canadian influencial radio DJ known for his work on CFNY-FM (Edge 102) in Toronto, Ontario. Born in the Meadowvale part of Mississauga, he was one of three remaining personalities from the "Spirit of Radio" era of the Edge. He was known for his deep, gravelly voice, his phrase "Come out early and stay late" and weekend late night live-to-air broadcasts from the Toronto clubs, mainly the Phoenix Concert Theatre and the Velvet Underground in Toronto, and The Kingdom in Burlington, Ont. when it was in existence. For a time, Martin also hosted a Friday Night Live show from the Docks. He was also known for his weekly show, the Thursday 30, where he counted down the top 30 songs of the past week, as well as championing five emerging acts in a segment called Groundbreakers. Martin was voted DJ of the year a number of times in Now Magazine's year-end public ballot. Despite his knowledge and his great importance to the music scene over the decades, in late May 2009 sadly he seemed to have been axed by CFNY-FM and from the station's website, along with a few others as part of restructuring at the station. Martin's last status update on Facebook was, "So...I guess that's it...thanks everyone...I'm sorry to those I should be sorry to, I love you to those that I love, and I will see you all again soon (not too soon though)... Let the stories begin." (suspected suicide) b. June 16th 1964.
2010: Abdullah Totong Mahmud (80) Indonesian composer and television host, a composer of around 500 children's songs from Indonesia. Some of his best known works include "Pelangi", "Ambilkan Bulan", "Anak Gembala", "Bintang Kejora", "Mendaki Gunung", "Ade Irma Suryani", and "Amelia". Abdullah was the host of two children song's shows on TVRI, "Lagu Pilihanku"/Songs of My Choice from 1968 to 88, and "Ayo Menyanyi"/Let’s Sing from 1969 to 1988. He was honoured with the 2003 AMI Lifetime Achievement Award. The Indonesian government awarded him the Bintang Budaya Parama Dharma medal in 2003 (pneumonia) b. February 3rd 1930.
2010: Syrinx/Simion Stanciu (60) Romanian pan flautist, born in Bucharest, who later lived and worked in Switzerland. He started studying violin, but from the age of 14, Simion increasingly concentrated on playing the pan pipes. He chose his stage name, which not only signifies the nymph Syrinx in ancient Greek mythology, but also the Pan flute itself. The range of Stanciu's repertoire included Baroque and Classical instrumental concerts - Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart etc. adapted for the Pan flute, collaborations with Rock music artists like The Moody Blues or Yes, as well as recordings in the fields of Jazz and light music. He also performed the soundtrack recording for the film Quest for Fire. Simion founded the Pan flute school Akademie Syrinx (died in Geneva, Switzerland, after a protracted illness) b. December 23rd 1949
2010: Harvey Fuqua (80) American singer, songwriter, producer and record label executive; born in Louisville, Kentucky, where he started a vocal group called the Crazy Sounds. Later, the group with Harvey as lead singer, along with Bobby Lester, Alexander "Pete" Graves, Prentiss Barnes, plus Billy Johnson on guitar moved to Cleveland, where an impressed R & R DJ Alan Freed, invited them on his radio show and concerts, then in 1952, changing their name to The Moonglows Alan signed them to his Champagne Records label. The Moonglows eventually signed to Chess Records releasing >>> READ MORE <<< (heart attack) b. July 27th 1929.
2011: Josef Suk (81) Czech violinist, violist, chamber musician and conductor, the grandson of Josef Suk, and great-grandson of Antonín Dvorák. In his home country he carried the title of National Artist. He became a distinguished violist, having recorded Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra as violist with Iona Brown and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. He had a long and distinguished career in the recording studio, winning the Grand Prix du Disque six times: including in 1960 for recordings of Leoš Janácek and Claude Debussy violin sonatas, and in 1968 for the Alban Berg violin concerto. He also won the Wiener Floetenuhr Prize and the Edison Prize (sadly Josef died fighting prostate cancer) b. August 8th 1929

July 7th.
1949: Bunk Johnson (?) American jazz trumpeter, a prominent early New Orleans jazz trumpet player in the early years of the 20th century who enjoyed a revived career in the 1940s. Bunk gave the year of his birth as 1879, although there is speculation that he may have actually been younger by as much as a decade. He received lessons from Adam Olivier and played in Olivier's orchestra. Bunk began in Papa Jack Laines band, along with Buddy Bolan and played a few adolescent jobs with Buddy Bolden, but was not a regular member of Bolden's Band for any length of time. He was regarded as one of the top trumpeters in New Orleans in the years 1905–1915, in between repeatedly leaving the city to tour with minstrel shows and circus bands. After he failed to appear for a New Orleans Mardi Gras parade job in 1915, he learned the krewe members intended to do him bodily harm, and so he left town, touring with shows and then settling in New Iberia, Louisiana. In 1931 he lost his trumpet and front teeth when a violent fight broke out at a dance in Rayne, Louisiana, putting an end to his playing. Eventually Bunk was fitted with a set of dentures and given a new trumpet, and in 1942 made his first solo recordings with his band. These recordings propelled him into public attention, attracting a cult following. Bunk and his band played in New Orleans, San Francisco, Boston, and New York City and made many more recordings (sadly Bunk died a year after suffering a bad stroke) b. 1879 or 1889.
1950: Theodore "Fats" Navarro (26) American jazz trumpet player, born in Key West, Florida; he was a pioneer of the bebop style of jazz improvisation in the 1940s. He had a strong stylistic influence on many other players, most notably Clifford Brown. He began playing piano at age six, and began playing trumpet at thirteen. After life on the road with many bands he settled in New York City in 1946, where he met and played with Charlie Parker, alsthough never a member of his bands. Fats played in the Andy Kirk, Billy Eckstine, Benny Goodman, and Lionel Hampton big bands, and participated in small group recording sessions with Kenny Clarke, Tadd Dameron, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Coleman Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet, Howard McGhee, and Bud Powell. His last performance was with Charlie Parker on July 1st at Birdland (?) b. September 24th 1923.
1954: Idabelle Smith Firestone (79) American composer and songwriter, born in Jackson, Michigan; she was educated at Alma College, Ontario. She joined the ASCAP in 1948 and her compositions include "If I Could Tell You" used as the theme of "Voice of Firestone" programs, "In My Garden", "You Are the Song in My Heart", "Do You Recall?", "Melody of Love" and "Bluebirds" (?) b. November 10th 1874.
1990: Cazuza/Agenor Miranda Araújo Neto (32) Brazilian composer and singer, born in Rio de Janeiro. He started his career with the rock band Barão Vermelho in 1980, their greatest success was "Bete Balanço". In 1985, Cazuza took part in Rock in Rio with Barão Vermelho, and around this time, Caetano Veloso claimed he was the greatest Brazilian poet of his generation. 1985 also saw him pursue his solo career, Cazuza's music began to diversify, incorporating elements of the blues in songs such as "Blues da Piedade"/Blues of Compassion, "Só as mães são felizes"/Only Mothers Are Happy and "Balada da Esplanada"/Ballad of the Esplanade, which was based on a poem of the same name by Oswald de Andrade; showcasing increasingly intimate lyrics, like those in "Só se for a Dois" /Only If It Will Be as a Couple, as well as opening itself up to influences from Brazilian pop music with interpretations of Cartola's "O Mundo é um Moinho", Raul Seixas's "Cavalos Calados"/Silent Horses and Caetano Veloso's "Esse Cara"/This Guy (sadly died from an AIDS related illness) b. April 4th 1958.
1993: Mia Zapata (27) American singer, lead singer for the Seattle punk rock band The Gits. Highly influential in the Seattle, Washington music scene, she was considered a dynamic live performer and a uniquely gifted lyricist and painter. In 1992, the band released its debut album "Frenching the Bully" (Mia was brutally raped and murdered; A streetwalker found her beaten and mutilated body posed in a Christ-like fashion under a streetlight in a park. Florida fisherman Jesus Mezquia was sentenced to 36 years for the crimes) b. August 25th 1965.
1997: Mrs Miller/Elva Ruby Connes (89) American singer born in Joplin, Missouri; her whistling, which was equally as wobbly as her voice was apparently preceded by Mrs. Miller filling her mouth with ice to better control the pitch, also featured on a number of her records. She gained fame in the 1960s for her out-of-tune versions of songs such as "Moon River", "Monday, Monday", "A Lover's Concerto", and "Downtown". She sang in an untrained, Mermanesque, vibrato-laden voice (?) b. October 5th 1907.
2001: Fred Neil (65) American singer, guitarist, songwriter; one of the most compelling folk-rockers to emerge from Greenwich Village in the mid '60s. Born in Cleveland, and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, Fred was one of the singer-songwriters who worked out of New York City's Brill Building. He is often called a pioneer of the folk rock, his most prominent musical descendants being Tim Buckley, Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Joni Mitchell. Also in the 1960s and early 1970s, he wrote hits such as "Candy Man" and "Everybody's Talkin'" as well as the ballad "A Little Bit Of Rain" and the rock standard "The Other Side of This Life", most famously recorded by Jefferson Airplane. He left the music industry in the 70s. (sadly died of cancer) b. March 16th 1936.
2003: Izhak Graziani (79) Bulgarian-born conductor born in Bulgaria and studied music and conducting. In 1948 he moved to Israel where he became the conductor of the IDF Orchestra. He eventually became conductor of the IBA Radio Orchestra, eventually renamed IBA Radio and TV Orchestra (?) b. August 4th 1924.
2005: Richard Verreau (79) Canadian tenor born in Chateau-Richer, near Québec City, he began singing as a child in church choir. He studied at the Laval University with Émile Larochelle and made his debut at the Opéra de Lyon in 1951, where he sang the lead tenor roles in Lakmé, Manon, Mireille, and Les pêcheurs de perles. In Europe, he performed in Belgium, Italy, Austria, and even Russia. He made his debut at the Royal Opera House in London, as the Duke in Rigoletto, in 1957, other roles there included: Alfredo in La traviata, Rodolfo in La bohème, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. Back in North America, he appeared regularly with the Opera Guild of Montréal and the Théâtre lyrique de Nouvelle-France. He made his debut at the New York City Opera in 1956, as Wilhelm Meister in Mignon, followed by his debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Faust, in 1963. He appeared at the San Francisco Opera, as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette. Richard also performed as soloist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1998, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and in 2000, an Officer of the National Order of Quebec (?) b. January 1st 1926.
2006: Rudi Carrell/Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar (78) Dutch entertainer and singer; he worked as a TV entertainer and hosted his own show. The Rudi Carrell Show ran first in the Netherlands, then in Germany for many years. Rudi acted in several movies and was also a singer with a number of hits, as well as representing the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 singing "Wat een geluk"/What luck (sadly died after battling lung cancer) b. December 19th 1934.
2006: Roger 'Syd' Barrett (60) British psychedelic pioneer, founder member, frontman / lead guitarist of legendary rock band Pink Floyd, the band's creative force and influential songwriter, penning most of their early hits. Born in Cambridge, England, to a well-off middle class family, he acquired the nickname "Syd" at the age of 15, a reference to an old local Cambridge drummer, Sid Barrett >>> READ MORE <<< (sadly Syd died from complications from diabetes) b. January 6th 1946.
2008: Hugh Mendl (88) British record producer; produced Lonnie Donegan's first recordings, which were pivotal in defining the new skiffle sound of the 1950s, acted as executive producer for the Moody Blues' 1967 album Days of Future Passed. Through his efforts, David Bowie, John Mayall, Caravan, Genesis among others signed with Decca; he also produced the original cast recordings of musicals such as Hello Dolly, Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be, and Cinderella.(?) b. August 6th 1919
2010: Robbie Jansen (60) South African jazz multi-musician, born in Cape Town, he began in local bands such as The Rockets, performing music made popular by the Sth African radio, playing the British pop of the late 60s. But after a trip to London, part of a prize in a band competition, he soon discovered Black music from the USA and his love for it. He next played in the brass section of Cape Town's cult jazz/rock group Pacific Express from where he went solo as an alto-sax player and singer. South African duo Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu brought Robbie on board to play flute and saxophone on Juluka's debut album, Universal Men. Robbie then joined the growing band for their next two albums, before resuming his solo career. In 2006 his album, Nomad Jazz was finalist for a SAMA Award, as best Jazz album of the year. He has two other solo albums, Vastrap Island and The Cape Doctor. Sadly he suffered with ill health and respiratory problems in his latter years (sadly died after a long illness) b.1949.
2010: Lelio Luttazzi (87) Italian musician and singer, his many songs include "Senza cerini", "Legata ad uno scoglio", "Timido twist" ,"Chiedimi tutto" etc. He has composed pieces like Una zebra a pois, sung by Mina, Vecchia America for Quartetto Cetra, "Eccezionalmente, Sì" for Jula De Palma "You'll say to-morrow" recorded in Italian language by Sophia Loren, and "Souvenir d'Italie". He appeared on television in the 80s and 90s in shows such as "Cipria" by Enzo Tortora and in 1991 at Telemontecarlo for "Festa di compleanno". On October 8th 2006 he was guest of honor for Fiorello's show "Viva Radio2" which, for the occasion, went on the air at the same time as on the radio as on TV. (peripheral neuropathy) b. April 27th 1923
2010: Ezequiel Neves (74) Brazilian record producer and journalist (died after long illness) b.????
2011: Manuel Galbán (80) Cuban guitarist, a Grammy winner, pianist and arranger, most notable for his work with Los Zafiros, Ry Cooder and the Buena Vista Social Club. He grew up in the fishing town of Gibara, after playing guitar and tres in various local youth groups, he got his first professional gig at the age of 14 playing guitar with the Orchestra Villa Blanca. In 1956 he moved to Havana, where he spent seven years playing in bars and clubs and appearances on radio. In 1963 he joined the legendary vocal group Los Zafiros, after a mutual friend had recommended him to them. His playing proved to be an essential ingredient to the sound of Los Zafiros; he left the group in 1972. After he spent three years with Cuba's national musical ensemble, Dirección Nacional de Música, he worked a further 23 years with the Grupo Batey as a guitarist, vocalist and pianist, touring extensively across four continents. In 1998 he joined the traditional Cuban group Vieja Trova Santiaguera with whom he toured and released two highly acclaimed albums. He also he appeared in the Wim Wenders film Buena Vista Social Club, filmed with Ry Cooder during the sessions for the debut solo album by Ibrahim Ferrer. Later he recorded with Ferrer and Buena Vista Social Club bassist Cachaíto Lopez, leading to his engagement as the featured guitarist with the touring ensemble named after the film. In 2001 he recorded Mambo Sinuendo with Ry Cooder which won the 2003 Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album. (sadly Manuel died of a heart attack at his home in Havana) b. January 14th 1931.
2011: Yuri Kukin (78) Russian singer-songwriter born in the town of Syasstroy; after graduating from the Institute of Physical Training in Leningrad in 1954, he worked as a figure skating coach in sports schools. In 1960, he participated in geological expeditions to Kamchatka and Pamir. Since childhood, he was involved with music, playing in a jazz band as a drummer. In 1948, he started to write songs and perform them. Later, some of these songs became popular among hikers and geologists, and then among the general public. Over time, Kukin won prizes at various festivals. In 1968, he began performing as an artist at Lenconcert. In 1971, he began working at the Leningrad Symphony. In 1979 he worked at Lenconcert, and in 1988, he worked at a theater studio called Benefis (?) b. July 17th 1932.

July 8th.
1905: Walter Kittredge (70) American singer, songwriter, violin, seraphine, melodeon, a famous musician during the American Civil War. Born in Merrimack, New Hampshire, he was a talented self-taught musician and toured solo and also with the Hutchinson Family, a musical troupe. In his career he wrote over 500 songs, many of them dealing with themes of the American Civil War. His most famous song, "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground", was sung by both sides of the war and is known throughout the world. Walter was also a noted supporter of Abolitionism and the Temperance movement (?) b. October 8th 1834.
1971: Charlie James Shavers (50) American swing era jazz trumpet player, born in New York. He originally took up the piano and banjo before switching to trumpet and went on to play with Johnny Dodds, Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams and Billie Holiday. In 1953-54 he worked with Benny Goodman, and toured Europe with Norman Granz's popular Jazz at the Philharmonic series. He formed his own band with Terry Gibbs and Louie Bellson. Charlie was also an arranger and composer, one of his compositions, "Undecided", is a jazz standard (sadly Charlie died after battling throat cancer) b. August 3rd 1920.
2006: Sabine Dünser (29) Liechtensteinerin lead singer and co-founder of the gothic metal band Elis. She released her first album "Twilight" in 2001 when the band was known as Erben der Schöpfung. By the second album, some of the members of Erben der Schöpfung including Sabine, left to form the band Elis. Sabine recorded 3 albums and the EP "Show Me The Way" with Elis before her untimely death (Sadly died from a cerebral hemorrhage) b. June 27th 1977.
2011: Kenny Baker (85) American fiddler, born in Jenkins, Kentucky and he is considered to be one of the most influential fiddlers in bluegrass music; early on, he was influenced by the swing fiddler Marion Sumner, guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli. He served in the United States Navy before pursuing a musical career full-time when he joined Don Gibson's band as a replacement for Marion Sumner. During a package show with Don Gibson, Kenny met Bill Monroe and was offered a job. He cut his first recordings with Monroe's Bluegrass Boys on December 15th 1957. Kenny served more years in Monroe's band than any other musician, 27 years. After leaving the Bluegrass Boys in 1984, he played with a group of friends, Bob Black, Alan Murphy, and Aleta Murphy recording the album , Dry & Dusty in 1973, after which he teamed up with Josh Graves, who had played resonator guitar for Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs as a Foggy Mountain Boy. They played together until Josh's death in 2006. Kenny was named to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1999. His most recent recordings include "Cotton Baggin' 2000" and "Spider Bit the Baby" on OMS Records. (sadly Kenny died of complications from a stroke) June 26th 1926.
2011: George McAnthony/Georg Spitaler (45) Italian country singer, multi-musician and songwriter born in Appiano; since 1988 he toured around Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France. He recorded 14 albums, three of them in Nashville. He performed as a "Country One Man Band", playing seven acoustic instruments at the same time, live, without playback or support from other musicians. He played 12-string guitar, dobro, kazoo, harmonica and mandolin or electric guitar, with his feet he played percussion instruments such as bass drum, snare, tambourine and hi-hat. He performed a duet with John Denver and appeared in radio and TV broadcasting shows. Georg has been awarded the "Best European Country Artist", "Vocalist" and "Country Song of the Year" and was also dedicated to charity projects. His 13th album "Bridge To El Dorado", came 2nd at the European Country Music Awards 2009 in the Category "Best European Album of the Year". Georg recorded his forteenth and final album "Dust Off My Boots" in Nashville, Tennessee, with Brent Mason, Paul Franklin and Bryan Sutton. (sadly Georg died from a heart attack in Terracina, Italy) b. April 6th 1966.

July 9th.
1949: Fritz Hart (75) English-born Australian composer born at Brockley, Greenwich; in his younger years he spent three years as a chorister at Westminster Abbey, under Sir Frederick Bridge, and then went to the Royal College of Music in 1893. He went on to write 23 operas, of which 18 were composed in Melbourne and 4 in Hawaii. Fritz wrote 514 songs, of which about half were composed in Melbourne and a quarter each in England and Hawaii; four large choral works, unaccompanied choruses, and part-songs. He was deeply attached to the poetry of Robert Herrick, and set his words 126 times. His choral works used texts by Shelley and Walt Whitman. He wrote a symphony in 1934, 14 other orchestral works, numerous chamber and solo instrumental works including 2 string quartets and 3 violin sonatas, transcriptions and arrangements (Fritz sadly died while living in Honolulu of cardiac disorder) b. February 11th 1874.
1951: Giannina Arangi-Lombardi (59) Italian spinto soprano, particularly associated with the Italian operatic repertory. She made her debut in Rome in 1920, singing mezzo-soprano roles for the next 3 years. She sang at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan from 1924-30, making her debut as Elena in Boito's Mefistofele, under the baton of Arturo Toscanini. Rapidly invited in all the great opera houses of Europe, although she never appeared in Paris or London, she also sang to great acclaim in South America and was chosen by Nellie Melba to take part in her farewell tour of Australia in 1928. She was renowned in roles such as La Vestale, Lucrezia Borgia, La Gioconda, and Aida. She retired from the stage, in '38 while still in good voice. She then taught at the Music Conservatory in Milan, and later in Ankara, where she had the well-known soprano Leyla Gencer as a pupil She made a number of 78-rpm discs of individual arias and duets, and four complete opera recordings, Aida; Cavalleria rusticana; La Gioconda; and Mefistofele as Helen of Troy to Nazzareno De Angelis's Mephisto (?) b. June 20th 1891.
1972: Robert Weede/Robert Wiedefeld (69) American operatic baritone, born in Baltimore, Maryland, he studied singing at the Eastman School of Music and in Milan. He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1937, as Tonio in Pagliacci. His other roles at the Metropolitan included Baron Scarpia, Rigoletto, Manfredo, Amonasro, and Shaklovity. Singing the role of Rigoletto, he made his debuts in Chicago in 1939, San Francisco in 1940, and at the New York City Opera in 1948. In 1956, he scored a great success on Broadway as Tony Esposito in the original production of Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella, which was recorded complete by Columbia Records. He was also seen on Broadway in Milk and Honey from 1961-63, also recorded and Cry for Us All in 1970. (died in Walnut Creek, California) b. February 22nd 1903.
1980: Vinicius de Moraes (66) Brazilian poet and songwriter; born in Rio de Janeiro, he was a seminal figure in contemporary Brazilian music. As a poet, he wrote lyrics for a great number of songs that became all-time classics, hundreds of international performers have recorded more than 400 of his songs. He was also a composer of Bossa nova, a playwright, a diplomat and, as an interpreter of his own songs, he left several important albums (?) b. October 19th 1913.
1996: Sergey Kuryokhin (42) Russian film actor, film composer, pianist, music director, experimental artist and writer based in St. Petersburg, Russia. Sergey began his acting career as a piano and keyboard player with a school band in Leningrad. After playing with professional jazz-bands as well as popular rock musicians, he went through several stages in his career, and eventually became one of the most recognisable names and faces in Russia during the 1980s and 1990s. At the end of his short life, he emerged as an avant-garde film composer, improvisor, performance artist and film actor. Outside Russia he is primarily known as a jazz and experimental musician, through his works released since 1981 on UK's Leo Records, as well as his concert tours with Ensemble Pop-Mekhanika and his happening show also titled Pop Mekhanika. He also made a significant contribution to several albums of the famous Russian rock band Aquarium (Passed away young, with a rare heart condition, cardiac sarcoma) b. 16 June 1954.
2006: Milan Williams (58) American keyboardist, songwriter and founding member of R&B/funk band the Commodores. Born in Okolona, Mississippi. His first band was called The Jays, after they disbanded he met the other founding members of the Commodores in 1967. In 1969 he traveled with the band to New York, where they recorded a single called "Keep On Dancing" on Atlantic Records. Milan wrote the Commodores first hit record the instrumental track, "Machine Gun". Other Commodores songs penned by him are; "The Bump", "Rapid Fire", "I'm Ready", "Better Never Than Forever", "Mary Mary", "Quick Draw", "Patch It Up", "X-Rated Movie", "Wonderland", "Old-Fashion Love", "Only You", a track he also produced, taken from the Commodores first LP without Lionel Richie, Commodores 13, "You Don't Know That I Know", "Let's Get Started" and "Brick House". He left the Commodores in 1989 (Sadly died after battling cancer) b. March 28th 1948.
2006: John Coletta (74) English with Italian roots, music manager and music producer; he managed Deep Purple and Whitesnake, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. He remained an integral part of the management of the Deep Purple through the years 1968 to 1976, often touring with them. After the group split, he managed David Coverdale’s Whitesnake for many years. Later he lived in Spain, and was involved with concert promotion there until he became ill in 2005. (Died of a heart attack after watching Italy in the World Cup final) b. 1932
2011: Facundo Cabral (74) Argentine singer and songwriter born in La Plata, from the most humble of beginnings, he went on to inspire millions around the world through his songs, poems and 66 books. Maybe best known as the composer of "No soy de aquí ni soy de allá"/"I'm not from here nor there", which he improvised during one of his concerts. His songs have been covered by Spanish language interpreters such as Alberto Cortez, who was also a friend of his, Juan Luis Guerra and Joan Manuel Serrat. Facundo went into exile in Mexico during Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship and he was named a United Nations Messengers of Peace in 1996. His later songs turned more spiritual and he continued to fill concert halls across Latin America until his death (tragically he died of multiple gun shot wounds when he was brutally shot and killed during a tour in Guatemala City while en route to La Aurora International Airport) b. May 22nd 1937.

July 10th.
1908: Phoebe Knapp (68) American composer of music for hymns, born in New York City and a members of the John Street Methodist Episcopal Church in New York City. She wrote over 500 hymn tunes, the most familiar is the tune now called Assurance for Fanny Crosby's lyrics Blessed Assurance. Another hymn by Fanny Crosby for which Phoebe wrote the music is "Nearer the Cross." Other hymn tunes include the tune for "Jesus Christ is Passing By" by J. Denham Smith, which is called "Albertson," and the one for "My Spirit Soul and Body" by Mary D. James, which is called "Consecration." She also wrote sacred choral and solo works, perhaps the best known of which is the Palm Sunday aria "Open the Gates of the Temple." (died in Poland, Maine) b. March 9th 1839.
1941: Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton (50) American virtuoso ragtime, and pioneer jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer born in New Orleans, Louisiana, who some call the first true composer of jazz music. His composition "Jelly Roll Blues" was the first published jazz composition, in 1915. He is also notable for naming and popularizing the "Spanish tinge" of exotic rhythms and penning such standards as "Wolverine Blues," "Black Bottom Stomp," and "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden's Say," the latter a tribute to the pioneering New Orleans trumpeter. His influence continues to this day in the work of Dick Hyman, Reginald Robinson and Mark Birnbaum (evenaully died from the effects of a badly treated knife wound, afflicted 11 days previous to his death) b. October 20th 1890.
1972: Lovie Austin/Cora Calhoun (84) American jazz pianist, Chicago bandleader, session musician, composer, and arranger during the 1920s classic blues era. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, after studying music theory in 1923, she relocated to Chicago where she lived and worked there for the rest of her life. Her early career was in vaudeville where she played piano and performed in variety acts. Accompanying blues singers was Lovie's specialty, and can be heard on recordings by Ma Rainey ("Moonshine Blues), Ida Cox ("Wild Women Don't Have the Blues"), Ethel Waters ("Craving Blues"), and Alberta Hunter ("Sad 'n' Lonely Blues"). She led her own band, the Blues Serenaders, and worked with many top jazz musicians of the '20s, including Louis Armstrong. When the classic blues craze began to wither in the early 1930s, Lovie settled into the position of musical director for the Monogram Theater, in Chicago where all the T.O.B.A. acts played. She worked there for 20 years. After World War II she became a pianist at Jimmy Payne's Dancing School at Penthouse Studios, and performed and recorded occasionally. In 1961 she recorded Alberta Hunter with Lovie Austin's Blues Serenaders, as part of Riverside's Living Legends series. Her songs included "Sweet Georgia Brown," "C-Jam Blues," and "Gallon Stomp". She and Lil Hardin Armstrong are often ranked as two of the best female jazz blues piano players of the period and Mary Lou Williams cited Austin as her greatest influence. (?) b. September 19th 1887.
1979: Arthur Fiedler (85) American conductor in Boston, Massachusetts, who as director of the Boston Pops Orchestra from 1930 to 1979, blended works of classical and popular music in his concerts (He had been in failing health for some time, and had suffered a heart attack after a performance on Saturday evening, May 5th 1979. He was in his 50th year as conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra) b. December 17th 1894.
1983: Werner Egk (82) German composer, born in Auchsesheim, he studied under Carl Orff in Munich. When radio broadcasting became available to the public, Egk immediately realised its importance as a mass medium and developed operas and radio plays. At the beginning of the 1930s, Egk turned his interest towards ballet and opera. In 1935, he premiered his first opera Die Zaubergeige/The magic violin in Frankfurt am Main. In May 1941 he composed the soundtrack for Jungens/Boys, a propaganda film about the Hitler Youth. It included the song Marsch der deutschen Jugend/March of the German Youth for which Hans Fritz Beckmann wrote the lyrics. 1938 saw the première of his opera Peer Gynt based on Henrik Ibsen's play (?) b. May 17th 1901.
1987: John Hammond ll (76) American record producer, musician and music critic from the 1930s to the early 1980s. Born in New York he funded the recording of pianist Garland Wilson in 1931, marking the beginning of a long string of artistic successes as record producer. In his service as a talent scout, he became one of the most influential figures in 20th century popular music. John was instrumental in sparking or furthering numerous musical careers, including those of Benny Goodman, Charlie Christian, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Babatunde Olatunji, Asha Puthli, Pete Seeger, Teddy Wilson, Big Joe Turner, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Bob Dylan, Freddie Green, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Arthur Russell and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He is also largely responsible for the revival of delta blues artist Robert Johnson's music. John received a Grammy Trustees Award for being credited with co-producing a Bessie Smith reissue in 1971, and in 1986 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (sadly died from series of strokes) b. December 15th 1910.
2000: Dick Lory/Richard "Dick" Glasser (66) American singer, songwriter and record producer; born in Canton, Ohios he started recording in the mid 50's as a rockabilly and pop singer while writing songs for other artists. In 1955 one of his first recorded songs, "Angels In The Sky", became a million seller for The Crew Cuts. Later he recorded the song himself on Colombia Records. His many other songs included I Will, a hit on both sides of the Atlantic; Baby Bye Bye; Crazy Little Daisy; Midnight To Daylight; Ballroom Baby; Gone Is My Love; Make Believe Wedding Bells; Crazy Alligator; Wild Blooded Woman to mentiion just a few. Among artists who recorded his songs were Bobby Vee, PJ Proby, Chet Atkins, Walter Brennan, Glen Campbell, Billy Fury, Dean Martin, Buddy Greco, The Kingston Trio and Ruby Winters. Dick worked at Liberty before becoming a general manager of Dolton Records, an A&R director for Warner Bros. Records, and started Richbare Music. He produced artists including Vic Dana, The Everly Brothers, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, and The Ventures, among many many others (lung cancer) b. December 8th 1934.
2006: Tommy Bruce (68) British singer, born in Stepney, London, both his parents died when he was a child and he grew up in an orphanage. He became a friend of his neighbour, songwriter Barry Mason, who suggested he record a version of the song "Ain't Misbehavin'", written by Fats Waller, it reached No. 3 in the UK charts in 1960. From 1963, he became a regular performer on the ITV variety show Stars and Garters, becoming involved in comedy routines as well as singing. Later, he made a living in cabaret, much of it in Spain and Malta, and also made appearances on the 1960s nostalgia circuit (prostate cancer) b. July 16th 1937.
2010: Sugar Minott/Lincoln Barrington Minott (54) Jamaican reggae singer and producer, born in Kingston. He began his musical career as a young teenager in the as a member of the African Brothers reggae trio. It was in the late 1970s when he started his solo carrer, gaining a following in Jamaica's dancehalls with songs like "Vanity", "Hang On Natty", "Mr. DC", and "Jah Jah Children", while recording for the Caribbean island's first black-owned music studio, the famed Studio One. Sugar had his biggest hit with the Jackson Five's "Good Thing Going" in 1981, which reached No.4 in the UK's singles chart in March of that year, leading him to relocate to the UK, where he became a focus for UK reggae. Singles such as "Run Come", "Not for Sale", "African Girl", "Lovers Rock", "In a Dis Ya Time", "Africa" and "Make It with You" (with Carroll Thompson) were hits in the years that followed. He returned to Jamaica in the mid 80s, where Sugar became known for nurturing young talent with his own Black Roots record label and Youthman Promotion company; artists such as Junior Reid and Tenor Saw began their careers under his guidance. His Black Roots label also featured his productions of others such as Barry Brown, Little John, Tony Tuff, Barrington Levy, Horace Andy, and one of his discoveries from England, Trevor Hartley. He also produced early works by Nitty Gritty, Yami Bolo, Colourman, Daddy Freddy and Garnett Silk. Two months ago, Sugar canceled performances in Canada after suffering chest pains (Sadly died at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica) b. May 25th 1956.
2010: Mimis Gioulekas (65) Greek singer (?) b.????
2011: Pierrette Alarie (89) Canadian soprano and wife of tenor Léopold Simoneau; born in Montreal, Quebec, she made her debut in 1938 at Les Variétés lyriques in the operetta The White Horse Inn. On a scholarship she went to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia to complete her studies with Elisabeth Schumann. Pierrette won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air and made her Metropolitan Opera debut on December 8th 1945, as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera under Bruno Walter. She spent three seasons at the Met singing Olympia Les contes d'Hoffmann, Blonchen Die Entführung aus dem Serail, etc. She went on to perform at all the major opera houses and festivals. In 1959 Pierrette received the Calixa-Lavallée Award, in 1967 she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 1995. In 1997, she was made a Knight of the National Order of Québec (?) b. November 9th 1921.

July 11th.
1937: George Gershwin/Jacob Gershowitz (38) American multi-award winning composer and pianist; born in Brooklyn, he quit school and found his first job as a performer as a "song plugger" for Jerome H. Remick and Company, a publishing firm on New York City's Tin Pan Alley, where he earned $15 a week. His first published song was "When You Want 'Em You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em", it was published in 1916 when George was only 17 years old and earned him a sum total of $5. His 1917 novelty rag "Rialto Ripples" was a commercial success, and in 1919 he scored his first big national hit with his song "Swanee". His musicals included George White's Scandals; Lady, Be Good; Primrose; Tip-Toes; Tell Me More!; Oh, Kay!; Rosalie; Strike up the Band; Funny Face; Show Girl; Let 'Em Eat Cake; Pardon My English; Girl Crazy; Of Thee I Sing; and Porgy and Bess. He also wrote musical scores for many films and 7 orchestral compositions including Catfish Row and Rhapsody in Blue. In 1983 the musical 'My One and Only' was an original musical using previously written Gershwin songs (sadly his career was cut short when he died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital following surgery for a brain tumor) b. September 26th 1898.
1949: Danny Polo (48) American clarinetist, very busy world touring sessionist; in the 1920s, he played with Elmer Schoebel-1923, Merritt Brunies, Arnold Johnson, Ben Bernie, Jean Goldkette in 1926, and Paul Ash. In 1927 he went with Dave Tough to Europe, where he played with several Continental bandleaders including Bert Firman, Lud Gluskin, George Carhart, and Arthur Briggs. From 1930-1935 he played with Ambrose, then returned to the U.S. in December of that year. In 1938, Danny returned to Britain to play with Ambrose again, and worked with Ray Ventura in Paris in 1939. Late in 1939 he moved back to the U.S. for good, and spent the early 1940s working with Joe Sullivan, Jack Teagarden , and Claude Thornhill again. In 1942, he appeared in Bing Crosby's film Birth of the Blues. Danny also led his own Midwestern territory band for a time, then returned to play with Thornhill once more in 1947 (While working with Claude Thornhill's Orchestra, he unexpectedly became ill and died suddenly) b. December 22nd 1901.
1985: George Duvivier (84) American double-bass player; born in New York City and took up the cello and also the violin while in high school before settling on the bass. He also learned scoring and composition before going out on the road with Lucky Millinder and then with the Cab Calloway bands of the early 40s after a stint in the army. He was a free lance bassist for most of his life, never belonging to any one particular group for any extended period of time. He was Bud Powell's bassist in the year of 1953, during the monumental sessions for "The Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 2," for which he contributed arrangements. He was a member of the Eddie "LockJaw" Davis quartet with organist Shirley Scott and drummer Arthur Edgehill from 1957-59. In 1956, he played in the orchestra in the movie, The Benny Goodman Story. With the exception of fellow bassists Milt Hinton and probably Ron Carter, allegedly George has played double bass on more recordings than any one else in the history of jazz, recording for almost every major jazz star. One of his last performances was on the David Letterman show in 1983, accompanying singer/songwriter Tom Waits. (sadly George died of cancer in his Manhattan home) b. August 17th 1920.
1991: Roger Christian (57) American radio personality and lyricist who wrote several songs for The Beach Boys, mostly about cars, including "Ballad of Ole' Betsy", "Car Crazy Cutie", "Cherry, Cherry Coupe", "Don’t Worry Baby", "In the Parkin' Lot", "Little Deuce Coupe", "No-Go Showboat", "Shut Down" and "Spirit of America," all with Brian Wilson. He also co-wrote many songs recorded by Jan and Dean, including "Dead Man's Curve", "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena", "Sidewalk Surfin", "Drag City", "Honolulu Lulu", and "You Really Know How to Hurt a Guy". Roger, along with Gary Usher, collaborated on several songs that were either featured in or specifically written for the films Beach Party, Muscle Beach Party, Bikini Beach, Ride the Wild Surf, Beach Blanket Bingo, Ski Party, Beach Ball, and Catalina Caper - including three songs for 'king of the surf guitar,' Dick Dale. He also worked as a radio personality in the 1960s and '70s; he was one of the original "Boss Jocks" when 93KHJ debuted in 1965 in Los Angeles. His radio career started in Buffalo, New York in the mid 1950s He moved to the west coast and worked for other radio stations in Los Angeles, including KFWB (AM), KGBS (AM-FM), KBLA, KBBQ-AM, KRTH-FM, KRLA (AM) and KIQQ-FM (saddly ied from kidney and liver failure) b. July 3th 1934 (a DJ named "Roger Christian" working in Buffalo since the 1970s is apparently unrelated to this Roger Christian).
1999: Helen Forrest/Bonnie Blue/Helen Fogel (82) American singer; one of the most popular female jazz vocalists during America's Big Band era. She first sang with her brother's band at the age of 10, and later began her career singing on CBS radio under the name Bonnie Blue and achieved further fame with the Artie Shaw band in 1938 when she recorded 38 singles with his band, including the hits "They Say" and "All the Things You Are". In the late 40s, she sang on Dick Haymes radio show and went on to record with Lionel Hampton, Nat King Cole, Benny Goodman, Harry James Orchestra, Tommy Dorsey's orchestra, among others as well as pursuing a solo career. Over the course of her career, she recorded more than 500 songs. Helen also acted in several musical films, including Bathing Beauty and Two Girls and a Sailor (congestive heart failure) b. April 12th 1917.
2001: Herman Brood (54) Dutch pianist, keyboards, singer, painter and media personality; he founded beat band The Moans in 1964, which would later become Long Tall Ernie and the Shakers. He was also asked to play with Cuby and the Blizzards, but was removed by management when the record company discovered he used drugs. For a number of years, Herman was in jail for dealing LSD, or abroad, and had a number of short-term engagements with The Studs, the Flash & Dance Band, Vitesse. In 1976, he started his own group, Herman Brood & his Wild Romance, best known for their second album, Shpritsz. His outspoken statements in the press about sex and drug use brought him into the Dutch public arena even more than his music. In the summer of 1979, he tried to enter the American market, where he toured as a support-act for The Kinks, The Cars, and Foreigner. A re-recorded version of Saturday Night peaked at number 35 in the Billboard Hot 100. In 1990, he won the BV Popprijs, one of the highest Dutch awards for popular music, and recorded Freeze with Clarence Clemons of the E Street Band and Tejano accordion player Flaco Jiménez. (Herman found he had only a few months left to live, so took matters into his own hands, also depressed by the failure of his drug rehabilitation programme, he committed suicide by jumping off the Amsterdam Hilton) b. November 5th 1946.
2005: Julia Frances Langford (92) American singer and entertainer who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and also made film appearances over two decades. She attended Lakeland High School, Florida and originally trained as an opera singer. While a young girl she required a tonsillectomy that changed her soprano range to a contralto. As a result, she was forced to change her vocal style to a more contemporary big band, popular music style. At age 17, she was singing for local dances. Cigar manufacturer Eli Witt heard her sing at an American Legion party and hired her to sing on his local radio show. While singing for radio during the early 1930s, she was heard by Rudy Vallee, who invited her to become a regular on his radio show.From 1935 until 1938 she was a regular performer on Dick Powell's radio show. From 1946 to 1951, she performed with Don Ameche on The Bickersons (sadly died from congestive heart failure) b. April 4th 1913.
2006: Bill Miller (91) American pianist, orchestra conductor and musical director with Frank Sinatra for 46 years. Bill was also pianist for Frank Jr for his last 8 years. He performed with Red Norvo, Mildred Bailey and Charlie Barnet in the 1930s, and also performed with Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman. He first met Sinatra in 1941, they didn't work together until November 1951, when Bill was performing in the lounge of the Desert Inn, in Las Vegas. Sinatra was having difficulty holding on to pianists, and it was Jimmy Van Heusen who recommended Bill to Sinatra. In 1998, he performed "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" at Frank's funeral. He retired for three years, and then came out of retirement to work for Sinatra's son, Frank Sinatra, Jr. (He fell broking his hip while performing in Montreal, on July 1. Shortly after the accident, he suffered a heart attack and underwent heart bypass surgery from which he sadly didn't recovered) b. February 3rd 1915.
2010: Walter Hawkins (61) American Grammy and three time Dove award-winning gospel singer, and pastor, ordained a bishop in 1992. Born in Oakland, CA., Walter started his career in one of his brother's chorales, "The Northern California State Youth Choir" of the Church of God in Christ, after which he sang with another of his brothers, Edwin, in The Edwin Hawkins Singers. He next founded The Love Centre Church at Oakland in the early 1970s. He and his Love Center Choir had success with their "Love Alive" series of recordings; "Love Alive IV", released in 1990, reached No.1 on the Billboard Gospel Album charts, where it stayed for 33 weeks. Over his career, Walter worked on 116 hit songs which made the Billboard Gospel Music charts and recorded with the likes of Sylvester, Van Morrison, Diahann Carroll, Jeffrey Osborne, among many others (sadly lost his battle with pancreatic cancer) b. May 18th 1949.
2010: Carmen Dragon (62) American classical harpist, in addition to her career as a concert harpist in the Glendale Symphony Orchestra, recording credits on numerous television shows, creation of four harp CDs with both original compositions and classics, and work as a soloist, conductor, music director, and harp and piano teacher, Carmen spent the last decade of her life living on the island of Kauai, where she earned her bachelor's degree and established the North Shore School of Music (complications from cancer) b. January 17th 1948.
2011: Robert Frank "Rob" Grill (67) American lead singer, songwriter and bass guitarist; born in Los Angeles, he was a very early member of the California rock and roll band, The Grass Roots in 1966. Between 1967-1972, the band set a record for being on the Billboard charts for 307 straight weeks and have sold over 20 million records worldwide. They also hold the all time attendance record for a one act, at the US concert of 600,000 people on July 4th, 1982 in Washington, DC. Their hit singles include: Let's Live For Today, I'd Wait A Million Years, Midnight Confessions, Sooner Or Later, Two Divided By Love >>> READ MORE <<< (Rob sadly died from the effects of two strokes and head injuries. He had been in a coma since sustaining head injuries several weeks earlier when he fell after suffering a stroke) b. November 30th 1943.

July 12th.
1947: Jimmie Lunceford (45) American saxophonist and bandleader born in Fulton, Mississippi, before the family moved to Denver. In 1927, while teaching at Manassas High School in Memphis, Tennessee, he organized a student band, the Chickasaw Syncopators, whose name was changed to the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra when it began touring. He was the first high school band director in Memphis. This band recorded in 1927 and 1930. In 1934 they played at The Cotton Club, his orchestra with their tight musicianship and often outrageous humor in their music and lyrics made an ideal band for the club, and Jimmie's reputation began to steadily grow. The band precision can be heard in such pieces as "Wham (Re-Bop-Boom-Bam)", "Lunceford Special", "For Dancers Only", "Uptown Blues", and "Stratosphere". The noted saxophone section was led by alto sax player Willie Smith. (Tragically Jimmie died while playing in Seaside, Oregon, he collapsed and died from cardiac arrest during an autograph session) b. June 6th 1902.
1962: Roger Wolfe Kahn (54) American jazz and popular musician, composer and bandleader; it is said that he learnt to play 18 musical instruments before starting to lead his own orchestra in 1923, aged only 16. In 1925, Roger appeared in a short film made in Lee De Forest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. He hired famous jazz musicians of the day to play in his band, especially during recording sessions, for example Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, Artie Shaw, Jack Teagarden, Red Nichols, and Gene Krupa. Recordings were made for Victor until 1929, Columbia in 1929 and 1930, and for the Brunswick label in 1932. Roger had fun leading and conducting his orchestra. Reportedly, when the band was playing especially well he used to throw himself onto the floor and wave his legs in the air. However, in the mid-1930s, he lost interest in his orchestra and disbanded it, to go into aviation and eventually, in 1941, became a test pilot for the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, a well-known aircraft manufacturer (heart attack) b. October 19th 1907.
1970: Louis Wolfe Gilbert (84) Russian-born American songwriter; he moved to the United States as a young man and soon established himself as one of the most prolific songwriters of Tin Pan Alley. He began his career touring with John L. Sullivan and singing in a quartet at small Coney Island cafe called "College Inn", where he was discovered by English producer Albert Decourville, who brought him to London as part of The Ragtime Octet. Louis's first songwriting success came in 1912 when F. A. Mills Music Publishers published his song "Waiting For the Robert E. Lee". He relocated to Hollywood in 1915, and began writing for film, television, and radio including the Eddie Cantor show and the theme lyrics for the popular children's TV Western, 'Hopalong Cassidy'. Louis was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 (?) b. August 31st 1886.
1979: Minnie Riperton (31) American R&B singer-songwriter best known for her five-and-a-half octave vocal range and her 1975 single "Lovin' You". As a child she studied music, drama, and dance at Chicago's Lincoln Center. In her teen years, she sang lead vocals for the Chicago-based girl group, The Gems. While with Chess Records Minnie sang backup for various artists including Etta James, Fontella Bass, Ramsey Lewis, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, and Muddy Waters. She also sang lead for the rock/soul group Rotary Connection, from 1967 to 1971. Her 1975 No.1 hit single, "Lovin' You", was the last release from her 1974 gold album "Perfect Angel". In 1976 Minnie was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a modified radical mastectomy. Though she was given just six months to live, she continued recording and touring, and in 1977 she became spokesperson for the American Cancer Society (cancer) b. November 8th 1947.
1983: Chris Wood (39) UK musician and founding member of the UK band Traffic; he primarily played flute and saxophone, occasionally contributing keyboards and vocals. Chris was a co-writer for many of Traffic's songs and he played on 18 of their albums. Though his career, Chris has also played and toured with the likes of Dr John, the Wynder K Frog project playing as "Wooden Frog" and Ginger Baker's Air Force and has recorded and appeared on albums with many great artists and bands including Jimi Hendrix, Small Faces, Free, Fat Mattress, Martha Velez, Chicken Shack, Gordon Jackson, Sky, Locomotive, Shawn Phillips,Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Reebop Kwaku Baah, John Martyn, Hanson, Crawler, Third World and Ginger Baker. Chris died while working on a solo album that was to be titled Vulcan, which was eventually released in 2008 (pneumonia after a lengthy illness and a battle with alcohol and drugs) b. June 24th 1944.
1996: Jonathan Melvoin (34) American keyboard player and drummer; he performed with many punk bands in the '80s such as The Dickies, and also made musical contributions to many of Susannah and Wendy Melvoin projects, as well as Prince and the Revolution's album "Around the World in a Day". At the time of his death he was the touring keyboardist for The Smashing Pumpkins during their worldwide tour for the album "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness". (He died in New York City after overdosing on heroin he had taken with Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin)*December 6th 1961.
1998: Jimmy Driftwood/James Corbitt Morris (91) American folk songwriter and musician most famous for his songs "The Battle of New Orleans" and "Tennessee Stud". He learned to play guitar at a young age on his grandfather's homemade instrument and used this unique guitar throughout his career. He became popular through his appearances on the Grand Ole Opry and programs including Ozark Jubilee and Louisiana Hayride. Jimmy became interested in promoting Arkansas folk music and the local folk performers he knew in the area, so invited members of the Mountain View community to perform at a festival of his own devising. This festival grew exponentially over the years and transformed into the annual Arkansas Folk Festival which would attract over 100,000 people. Jimmy was invited to sing for Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev as an example of traditional American music during the leader's visit to the United States. Over his career he wrote 6,000 plus folksongs, of which over 300 were recorded by various musicians (heart attack) b. June 20th 1907.
1999: Luis "Papo" Deschamps (23) Member of the Dominican rap group Sandy y Papo. The group debuted in 1996 with music that combined merengue rhythms with house and hip-hop (killed in a car accident) b. ????
2003: Benny Carter (95) American jazz alto saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader; a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, recieving many awards, The National Endowment for the Arts honored Benny with its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award for 1986. He was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, winner of the Grammy Award in 1994 for his solo "Prelude to a Kiss", and also the same year, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2000 awarded the National Endowment for the Arts, National Medal of Arts, presented by President Bill Clinton. From 1924 to 1928, Carter gained valuable professional experience as a sideman in some of New York's top bands, playing with such jazz greats as cornetist Rex Stewart, clarinetist-soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet, pianists Earl Hines, Willie "The Lion" Smith, pianist Fats Waller, pianist James P. Johnson, pianist Duke Ellington. He first recorded in 1928 with Charlie Johnson's Orchestra, also arranging the titles recorded, and formed his first big band the following year. He played with Fletcher Henderson in 1930 and 1931. His arrangements were much in demand and were featured on recordings by Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Glenn Miller, Gene Krupa, and Tommy Dorsey. Though he only had one major hit in the big band era with “Cow-Cow Boogie,” sung by Ella Mae Morse, during the 1930s he composed and/or arranged many of the pieces that became swing era classics, such as “When Lights Are Low,” “Blues in My Heart,” and “Lonesome Nights.” Benny moved to Europe in 1935 to play with Willie Lewis's orchestra, and also became staff arranger for the BBC dance orchestra and made several records. Over the next three years, he traveled throughout Europe, playing and recording with the top British, French, and Scandinavian jazzmen, as well as with visiting American stars such as his friend Coleman Hawkins. He relocated to LA in 1943, moving more into studio work. Beginning with "Stormy Weather" in 1943, he arranged for dozens of feature films and television productions. In Hollywood, he wrote arrangements for such artists as Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Billy Eckstine, Pearl Bailey, Ray Charles, Peggy Lee, Lou Rawls, Louis Armstrong, Freddie Slack, Mel Torme and many others. In 1990, he was named "Jazz Artist of the Year" in both the Down Beat and Jazz Times International Critics' polls. He was also a member of the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame and in 1980 received the Golden Score award of the American Society of Music Arrangers. He was also a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1996, and received honorary doctorates from Princeton - 1974, Rutgers 1991, Harvard in 1994 and the New England Conservatory in 1998 (complications of bronchitis) b. August 8th 1907
2004: Ersel Hickey (70) US rockabilly singer best known for his hit song "Bluebirds over the Mountain"; also wrote songs for other artists, including "The Millionaire" for Jackie Wilson and "A Little Bird Told Me So" for LaVern Baker and "Don't Let the Rain Come Down", which was a US top ten hit for the Serendipity Singers. Ersel's contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame (died after surgery to remove his bladder) b. June 27th 1934.
2004: Hal Carter (69) American songwriter, manager, agent, producer (sadly cancer) b. July 13th 1935.
2007: Robert Burås (31)