"Births & Deaths"
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I have been working on them for over 6 years now.
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SADLY DEPARTED
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MARCH BIRTHDAYS
Born
~ March 1st.
1994:
Justin Bieber (Canadian pop/R&B singer).
1989: Sonya Kitchell (US jazz singer-songwriter)
1987: Ke$ha/Kesha Rose Sebert (US singer)
1987: Sammie Lee Bush Jr (US R&B singer, actor)
1983: Elan Sara DeFan (Mexican singer-songwriter)
1973: Carlo Resoort (Dutch DJ, remixer, producer; 4 Strings)
1973: Ryan Peake (Canadian guitarist; Nickelback).
1969: Dafydd Leuan (Welsh drummer; Super Furry Animals).
1965:
Mary Lou Lord (US singer/songwriter)
1964:
Clinton Gregory (US country-bluegrass singer, songwriter, fiddler).
1963: Dan Michaels (US record company owner, saxophonist, lyriconist;
The Choir/Galaxy21 Music)
1963: Christina Bergmark (Swedish keyboardist; Wannadies).
1963: Thomas Anders (German singer; Modern Talking)
1963: Rob Affuso (US drummer; Skid Row].
1962: Peter Stephenson (Scottish keyboardist; Shamen).
1960: William Bennett (UK noise musician, guitarist; Essential
Logic/Whitehouse)
1958: Nik Kershaw (UK singer, producer, guitar).
1958: Chosei Komatsu (Japanese conductor).
1957: Jon Carroll (US organist, pianoist; Starland Vocal Band).
1955: Jimmy Fortune (US tenor vocalist/guitarist; The Statler Brothers/solo).
1948:
Burning Spear/Winston Rodney OD (Jamaican reggae singer)
1947: Alan Thicke/Alan Willis Jeffery (Canadian actor, songwriter,
TV host)
1946:
Gerry Boulet (French-Canadian singer)*18.July.1990.
1946: Tony Ashton (UK vocalist, keyboardist; Ashton, Gardner &
Dyke/others)*28.May.2001.
1944: Roger Daltrey (UK vocalist, actor; The Who/solo)
1944: Mike D'Abo (UK singer, songwriter; Manfred Mann/solo).
1943: Jerry Fisher (vocals; Blood, Sweat & Tears/Jerry Fisher
& the Music Company).
1940: Ralph Towner (US 12-string
& classical guitarist, multi-instrumentalist,
composer, bandleader)
1939: Leo Brouwer (Cuban composer, guitarist)
1934: James Edward Brown (US Country singer].
1932: Oliver Sain (US multi-musician, band leader, studio
owner)*28.Oct.2003.
1930: Benny Powell (US
jazz trombonist;Lionel Hampton/Count Basie/others/ sessionist)*26.June.2010.
1929:
Eddie Jones (US
jazz double bassist)*31.May.1997.
1928: Willie Mitchell [US trumpet player; Al Green/Elvis/freelance].
1927: Harry Belafonte (US singer, actor, humanitarian).
1921: Kenny Baker (UK trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, composer; Ted
Heath/freelance/own)*07.Dec.1999.
1917: Dinah Shore (US singer/actress)*24.Feb.1994.
1914: Barrett Deems (US drummer; Dukes Of Dixieland/freelance]*15.Sep.1998.
1911: Kay Finegan/Vivian
Blessing
(US big band singer;Benny Goodman/Glenn Miller/others)*22.April.2006.
1904: Glenn Miller (American jazz musician; big band leader)*15.Dec.1944
plane went missing.
1896:
Dimitris Mitropoulos (Greek conductor, composer)*02.Nov.1960.
1826:
John Thomas (Welsh harpist, composer; harpist to Queen Victoria)*19.March.1913.
1810: Frederic Francois Chopin [composer, pianist]*17.Oct.1849.
March 2nd.
1990: Lee Hongki (Korean singer; F.T. Island)
1989: Will Makar (US singer; American Idol).
1988:
Keith Jack (British singer, actor)
1987: Sean Hogan (US bassist; Home of The Brave)
1985:
Luke Pritchard (UK singer; The Kooks)
1980: Vincent Walker (US singer, trumpet player; Suburban Legends/Rump
Shaker)
1978: Claudio Sanchez (US singer, guitarist; Coheed and Cambria).
1977: Chris Martin (UK guitar, vocals; Coldplay).
1967: Dennis
Seaton (lead vocals, percussion; Musical
Youth).
1965: Martin Gilks (UK drummer, manager; Wonder Stuff)*03.April.2006.
1962: Jon Bon Jovi/John Bongiovi (US singer, guitar; Bon Jovi).
1962: Scott
La Rock/Scott Sterling (US
rapper,
DJ; Boogie Down Productions)*27.Aug.1987.
1961: Simone Young (Australian conductor)
1956: Mark Evans (Australian bassist; AC-DC/Finch/Contraband/Heaven/freelance).
1956: John Cowsill (US singer, keyboardist, drummer; The Cowsills/The
Beach Boys/solo/others)
1955: Dale Bozzio/Dale Frances Consalvi (US singer; Missing Persons).
1955: Jay Wesley Osmond (US singer; The Osmonds).
1950: Karen Carpenter (US singer, drummer; The Carpenters)*04.Feb.1983
1949: Alain Chamfort (French singer)
1948: Rory Gallagher (Irish guitar,
slide
guitar, vocals, harmonica; Taste/solo)*14.June.1995.
1948: Larry Carlton (US guitarist)
1943: Tony Meehan (UK drummer; Vipers/Drifters/Cliff Richard &
The Shadows/sessionist)*28.Nov.2005.
1942: Lou Reed (US singer, guitarist; The Primitives/Velvet Underground/solo).
1942: Luc Plamondon (French Canadian lyricist)
1940: Tony Croatto/Hermes Davide Fastino Croatto Martinis (Italian
singer, composer)*03.April.2005.
1938: Lawrence Payton (US singer, songwriter; The Four Tops)*20.June.1997.
1934: Dottie Rambo (American singer, songwriter, and musician)*11.May.2008.
1933:
Gil Robbins (US folk
singer; Cumberland Three/Belafonte Singers/Highwaymen)*05.April.2011.
1930: John Cullum (US actor, singer).
1922: Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (US jazz tenor saxophonist)*03.Nov.1986.
1917:
John Gardner (British
classical music composer)*12.Dec.2011.
1917: Desi Arnaz/Ricky Ricardo (Cuban singer/musician/actor)*02.Dec.1986.
1913:
Celedonio Romero (Spanish guitarist, composer, songwriter)*08.May.1996.
1912:
Henry Katzman (US composer, pianist)*11.May.2001.
1897: Minor Hall/Ram Hall (US jazz musician)*16.Oct.1959.
March 3rd.
1986: Stacie Orrico (US Contemporary Christian and R&B singer-songwriter)
1981: Eugene/Kim Yoo-Jin (South Korean singer, actress)
1981:
Sung Yu Ri (South Korean singer, actress; Fin.K.L)
1981: Lil' Flip/Wesley Eric Weston Jr (US rapper)
1978: Seo Moon-tak (Korean singer)
1977: Ronan Keating (Irish singer; Boyzone/solo).
1975: Albert Fields (US singer; New Mickey Mouse Club/The Party/solo).
1973: Matthew Marsden (UK actor, singer)
1972:
Yasmine/Hilde
Rens (Belgian
singer)*25.June.2009.
1969:
John "JB" Bigham (US vocals, guitar, slide guitar, keyboards;
Fishbone).
1968:
Scott Radinsky (US lead singer, major league relief pitcher; Pulley,
Ten Foot Pole)
1966: Timo Tolkki
(Finnish guitarist, songwriter; Stratovarius)
1966: Tone-Loc/Antony Smith (US hip hop artist, actor).
1964: Duncan Phillips (Australian drummer; Newsboys)
1957: Michael "Mike" Smith (US jazz saxophonist).
1955: Chris Hughes (UK drummer, record producer; Adam & the
Ants).
1953: Ricky Helton
Wilson (US original guitarist with the B-52's)*12.Oct.1985.
1953: Robyn Hitchcock (UK vocals, guitar, bass; Soft Boys/solo/freelance).
1951: Lindsay Cooper (UK bassoonist, oboe, composer; Henry Cow,
News from Babel)
1951: Johnny Jackson
(US drummer; The Jackson 5)*01.March.2006.
1950:
Re Styles/Shirley Marie MacLeod (US
vocals, guitar; Tubes)
1948: Snowy White/Terence White (UK guitarist; Thin Lizzy, Pink
Floyd)
1947: Derek "Blue" Weaver (keyboards; Mott the Hoople/Amen
Corner/ Strawbs).
1947: Jennifer Warnes [US singer, keyboards].
1947: David Mount (UK drummer; Mud/Les Gray's Mud)*02.Dec.2006.
1944: Lee Holdridge (Haitian-American composer)
1944: Jance Garfat (US bass, Dr. Hook)*06.Nov.2006.
1943: Chris
Stainton (UK keyboardist, bassist; Johnny Tempest/Joe Cocker/Eric
Clapton/Freelance).
1942: Mike Pender/Michael John Prendergast [vocals, guitar; The Searchers].
1933: Paul Clayton (folk singer, dulcimer; solo/freelance)*30.March.1967.
1933: Marco Antonio Muñiz (Mexican
singer; Los Tres Aces).
1926: Lys Assia/Rosa Mina Schärer (Swiss
singer)
1923: Arthel 'Doc' Watson
(US guitar, singer-songwriter;
bluegrass,folk,country,blues,gospel music).
1922: Kazimierz Serocki (Polish
composer)*09.Jan.1981.
1891: Federico Moreno Torroba
(Spanish composer)*12.Sept.1982.
March 4th.
1984: Phillip Inzerillo (US trombone player;
Suburban Legends)
1981: Donny Tourette (UK punk rock singer; Towers of London)
1981: Laura Michelle Kelly (UK actress, singer)
1981: Carol Banawa (Filipino singer, celebrity)
1979: Jon
Fratelli/John Lawler
(Scottish singer-songwriter,
guitarist; The
Fratellis/Codeine Velvet Club)
1977: Jason Marsalis (US jazz drummer)
1977: Jeremiah Green (US indie rock band drummer; Modest Mouse)
1977: Rockell/Rachel Alexandra Mercaldo (US singer-songwriter)
1977:
Sabrina Sabrok/Lorena Fabiana Colotta (Argentine television host,
singer, producer)
1976: Regi Penxten (Belgian DJ, record producer)
1976: Stza Crack/Scott Sturgeon (US singer; Choking Victim, Leftöver
Crack)
1976: Jasin Thomason (US guitarist; The Ataris)
1976: Hayley Evetts (UK singer, TV presenter, stage actor)
1975: Hawksley Workman/Ryan Corrigan (Canadian rock singer-songwriter)
1975: El-P/El-Producto/Jaime Meline (US hip hop artist, entrepreneur)
1974: Gabriel o Pensador (Brazilian hip hop rapper)
1974: ICS Vortex/Vortex/Simen Hestnæs (Norwegian vocalist; Arcturus)
1972: Buck 65/Richard Terfry (Canadian hip hop artist, MC, turntablist)
1972: Giorgos Mazonakis (Greek pop singer)
1972: Ivy Queen (US composer, singer)
1972: Alison Wheeler (UK singer; The Beautiful South)
1971: Jason Sellers (US country music artist)
1971: Anders Kjølholm (Danish bass player; Volbeat)
1971: Fergal Lawlor (Irish drummer, percussion; The Cranberries).
1969: Stina Nordenstam (Swedish pop singer-songwriter, musician).
1969: Annie Yi (Chinese singer, writer, actress)
1968: Jorge Celedón (Colombian musician and singer
1967: Evan Dando (US guitarist, drums; The Lemonheads).
1966: Grand Puba/Maxwell Dixon (US rapper)
1966: Patrick Hannan (UK drummer; The Sundays).
1965: Richard March (UK bassist; Pop Will Eat Itself)
1965: WestBam/Maximillian Lenz (German rave techno DJ)
1964: Paul Bostaph (US drummer; Testament, Slayer, Exodus, Forbidden)
1964: Karen Knowles (Australian singer, entertainer)
1963: Jason Newsted (US bassist; Metallica/Voivod)
1963: Janey Lee Grace (UK singer, disc jockey)
1962: Jon
Durno (UK bassist; Roman Holliday).
1961: Theodosii Spassov (Bulgarian jazz kaval player).
1960: Mikko Kuustonen (Finnish singer, songwriter)
1960: Thierry Pastor (French singer)
1956: Kermit Driscoll (US jazz bassist)
1955: Boon Gould/Rowland Charles Gould (US guitarist, multi-musician;
Level 42/solo).
1954:
Ricky Ford
(American jazz tenor saxophonist).
1954: St Clair L. Palmer (St. Kitts born singer; Sweet Sensation).
1953: Emilio Estefan (Cuban singer; Miami Sound Machine/solo).
1953: Rose Laurens/Rose Podwojny (French singer-songwriter)
1952: Umberto Tozzi (Italian singer)
1951: Cecilia Todd (Venezuelan singer, performer)
1951: Linda Yamamoto (Japanese singer)
1951: Pete John Haycock [guitar; Climax Chicago Blues Band).
1951: Chris Rea (UK singer, songwriter, guitarist, keyboards).
1950: Billy Gibbons (guitar; ZZ Top).
1949: Carroll Baker (Canadian country singer-songwriter)
1948: Chris Squire (UK bassist; Yes].
1948: Shakin' Stevens/Michael Barrett (Welsh pop singer].
1947: Jan
Garbarek (Norwegian tenor and soprano
jazz saxophonist].
1947: Aura Lewis/Aurelia Msimang (South African jazz-reggae singer)
1947: Bob Lewis (US singer; Devo)
1947: Peteris Plakidis (Latvian composer, pianist)
1947: Jan Garbarek (Norwegian jazz-classical tenor-soprano saxophonist)
1946:
Red Stripe/David Gittins (UK singer; The Flying Pickets/Brian and
Stripe).
1945: Dieter Meier (Swiss singer)
1944: Mick/Michael Wilson (UK drummer; Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick
& Tich).
1944: Bobby Womack (US soul singer, guitar).
1944:
Ulrich Roski (German singer-songwriter)*20.Feb.2003.
1943: Lucio Dalla (Italian singer, songwriter)
1943: Zoltan Jeney (Hungarian composer)
1942: Zorán Sztevanovity (Serbian born Hungarian musician,
singer, composer)
1942: Gloria Gaither (US gospel songwriter)
1942: David Matthews (US keyboardist, pianist, arranger).
1942: Ralph Ellis (UK guitar, keyboard, Swinging Blue Jeans)
1941: Bobby Shew (US jazz trumpet, flugelhorn player)
1938:
Angus MacLise
(US percussionist, composer, occultist; Velvet Underground/solo)*21.June.1979.
1937: Barney Wilen (French jazz saxophonist)*..1996
1936: Aribert Reimann (German composer)
1936: Eric Allandale Dubussion (West Indian trombonist; The Foundations/others/own
band)*23.Aug.2001.
1935: Nancy Whiskey/Anne Alexandra Young Wilson (Scottish folk
singer)*01.Feb.2003.
1934: Mario Davidovsky (Argentinian composer)
1934:
Barbara
McNair (African-American singer and actress)*04.Feb.2007.
1934: John Duffey
(US bluegrass musician)*10.Dec.1996.
1933: Ann Burton/Johanna Rafalowicz (Dutch jazz singer)*29.Nov.1989.
1932: Sigurd Jansen (Norwegian composer,
pianist, conductor)
1932:
Miriam Makeba/Mama Afrika (South African singer, civil rights
activist)*10.Nov.2008.
1929:
Bernard Haitink (Dutch conductor)
1929: Josep Mestres Quadreny (Catalan composer)
1928: Samuel Adler (US composer)
1927:
Cy Touff (US jazz bass trumpeter)*24.Jan.2003.
1926: Don Rendell (UK jazz tenorsaxophone, soprano saxophone, flute,
clarinet, arranger)
1926: Fran Warren/Frances Wolfe (US singer)
1925: Paul Mauriat (French conductor, arranger)*03.Nov.2006.
1923: Willie Johnson (US
pioneering power-blues guitarist)*26.Feb.1995.
1921: Halim El-Dabh (Egyptian-born composer)
1914: Carlos
Surinach (Catalan Spanish-born composer,
conductor)*12.Nov.1997.
1913: Marie-Louise-Taos Amrouche (Algerian
writer, singer)*02.April.1976.
1912: Ferdinand Leitner
(German conductor)*03.June.1996.
1908: Thomas Shaw (US
blues guitarist, singer)*24.Feb.1977.
1904: Joseph Schmidt (Austrian-Hungarian
tenor and actor)*16.Nov.1942.
1878: Egbert Van Alstyne (US songwriter,
pianist)*09.July.1951.
1978: Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (Italian
Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist)*28
July 1741.
March
5th.
1978: Papoose/Shamele Mackie (American rapper)
1972: Luca Turilli (Italian guitarist, composer; Rhapsody of Fire).
1971: Evil Jared Hasselhoff/Jared Victor Hennigan (US bassist,vocals,songwriter;
Bloodhound Gang)
1970: John Frusciante (US guitarist; Red Hot Chili Peppers).
1969: MC Solaar/Claude M'Barali (French rap and hip-hop artist)
1964: Bertrand Cantat (French singer and murderer)
1962:
Craig Reid (Scottish singer songwriter; Proclaimers).
1962: Charlie Reid (Scottish singer songwriter; Proclaimers).
1960: David Tibet/David Michael Bunting (UK singer; Current 93)
1960: Rico McFarland (US blues guitarist; James Cotton/Lucky Peterson/freelance/solo).
1958: Andy Gibb (UK-Australian singer; youngest brother the Bee
Gees)*10.March.1988.
1957: Mark E Smith (UK singer, lyricist; The Fall).
1956: Teena Marie/Mary Christine Brockert (US singer)*26.Dec.2010.
1954:
Steve Prestwich (Australian
drummer; Cold Chisel)*16.Jan.2011.
1952: Alan Clark (UK keyboardist; Dire Straits/freelance).
1951: Elaine Page (UK singer).
1950: Eugene
Fodor Jr (American
violinist)*26.Feb.2011.
1948: Eddy Grant (Guyana-born singer, guitar, synthesizer reggae/r&b/soul
singer; The Equals/solo).
1948: Richard Sidney Hickox CBE (English
conductor; choral, orchestral, operatic)*23.Nov.2008
1947:
Eddie Hodges (US actor, singer)
1947: Clodagh Rodgers (Irish singer)
1946: Murray Head (UK actor, singer)
1946: Lova Moor/Marie-Claude Jourdain (French singer and dancer)
1946: Richard Bell (Canadian keyboardist, pianist; Full Tilt Boogie
Band/The Band/sessionist)*15.June.2007.
1944: Lucio Battisti (Italian singer)*09.Sept.1998.
1939:
Johnny Jenkins (US blues guitarist; the Pinetoppers/solo)*26.June.2006.
1938: Paul Evans
(US singer, songwriter)
1933: Tommy Tucker/Robert Higginbotham (US blues singer,
pianist)*22.Jan.1982.
1931: Barry Tuckwell
(Australian horn player)
1929:
J. B. Lenoir (US
blues guitarist, singer-songwriter)*29.April.1967.
1914: Philip Farkas
(US horn player, teacher)*21.Dec.1992.
1887: Heitor Villa-Lobos
(Brazilian composer)*17.Nov.1959
March
6th.
1992: Momoko Tsugunaga (Japanese singer).
1988: Agnes Carlsson (Swedish singer)
1980: Ross Mawhinney (British born Italian radio DJ).
1977: Bubba Sparxxx/Warren Anderson Mathis (US hip-hop artist, country
rap).
1975: Aracely Arambula Jacques (Mexican
actress and singer)
1974:
Miika Tenkula (Finnish lead guitarist,
vocalist, songwriter; Sentenced)*19.Feb.2009.
1973:
Peter Lindgren (Swedish guitarist; ex-Opeth).
1972: Jaret Reddick (US lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Bowling For Soup)
1970: Chris Broderick (US lead guitarist; Megadeth)
1970: Betty Boo/Alison Moira Clarkson (UK singer, rap artist).
1968: Michael James Romeo (US guitar; Symphony-X)
1964: Madonna
Wayne Gacy/Stephen Gregory Bier Jr (US
keyboardist, Marilyn Manson).
1964: Skip Ewing/Donald Ewing (US country music singer, songwriter)
1947: Kiki Dee (UK singer).
1946: Murray Head (UK singer, guitarist).
1946: David Gilmour CBE (UK guitarist, singer, songwriter; Pink
Floyd].
1945: Hugh Grundy (US drummer; The Zombies/A&R man for Columbia
Records).
1944: Mary Wilson [US singer; The Supremes/solo].
1944: Kiri Te Kanawa [New Zealand singer].
1937:
Bennett
Keith Schaeufele (US steel guitarist,
multi-musician;
Neil Young/sessions/solo)*26.July.2010.
1936: Elmira Zherzdeva (Soviet singer, voice actress)
1936: Sylvia Robinson (US singer, record producer; Mickey &
Sylvia/Sugar Hill Records)*29.Sept.2011.
1930: Lorin Maazel (French-born American conductor)
1927: Norman Treigle/Adanelle Wilfred Treigle (US bass-baritone)*16.Feb.1975
1923:
Wes Montgomery (US jazz guitarist)*15.June.1968.
1914: Kiril Kondrashin (Russian conductor)*07.March.1981.
1905:
Bob Wills (American Western swing musician,
songwriter, bandleader)*13.May.1975.
1893: Walter 'Furry' Lewis [US blues guitarist, first to play with
a bottleneck]*14.Sept.1981.
1871: Ben Harney
(US composer, ragtime pianist)*02.March.1938
1870: Oscar Straus
(Viennese operetta composer)*11.Jan.1954.
March
7th.
1990: Choi Jong Hun (South Korean guitarist; F.T. Island)
1985: Thomas Erak [US guitarist, singer; Mukilteo].
1980: Anthony Ocana [Dominican composer & guitarist].
1979: Amanda Somerville (US singer, vocal coach;
Aina)
1977: Paul Cattermole [UK vocals; S Club 7].
1974:
Larry Bagby 111 (US film, television actor, singer/songwriter)
1974: Krizz Kaliko/Samuel William Christopher Watson (US rapper)
1973: Sébastien Izambard (French operatic pop singer; Il
Divo)
1972: Jang Dong-gun (South Korean actor, musician)
1969:
Shin Ae Ra (Korean actress, radio DJ)
1969: Warrel Dane (US singer; Nevermore)
1967: Ruthie Henshall (UK theatre actress, singer)
1967: Jean-Pierre Barda (Swedish singer; Army of Lovers)
1967: Randy Guss (US drummer; Toad The Wet Sprocket).
1966: Paul Davis (UK keyboards; Happy Mondays].
1963: Denyce Graves (US classical, opera singer].
1962: Taylor Dayne/Leslie
Wunderman (US pop vocalist, song-writer, dance artist)
1958: Donna Murphy (US actress, singer).
1952:
Liz Meyer (US award winning bluegrass singer-songwriter)*26.Aug.2011.
1952: Ernie Isley [US guitarist, drummer, vocals; The Isley Brothers].
1951: Francis Rocco Prestia (US bassist; Tower of Power)
1950: Iris Chacon [Puerto Rican singer, dancer].
1946: Peter Wolf [US vocalist; The J Geils Band/Lights Out/Freeze-Frame]
1946: Matthew Fisher (UK keyboards, piano, organ; Procol Harum).
1945: Arthur Lee (US guitar/vocals; The American Four, Love]*03.Aug.2006.
1944: Townes Van Zandt (US country-folk
music singer-songwriter, performer, poet)*01.Jan.1997.
1943: Chris White [UK bassist, songwriter; The Zombies/Argent].
1942: Hamilton Bohannon (US percussionist, band leader, record
producer; Stevie Wonder/own band).
1937:
Balint Vazsonyi (Hungarian
pianist, global recitalist)*17.Jan.2003.
1934: Giorgos
Katsaros (Greek alto saxophonist, composer)
1931: Christopher
"Stubb" Stubblefield (US music promoter, barbecue restaurateur)*27.May.1995.
1927:
Philippe Clay/Philippe Mathevet (French
mime artist, singer, actor)*13.Dec.2007.
1922:
Paddy Clancy (Irish folk singer; The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem)*11.Nov.1998.
1917: Lee Young (US jazz drummer; Nat King Cole Trio/Lee Young
Band/freelance).
1907:
Mohammed Abdel Wahab (Egyptian
singer, musician and composer)*03.May.1991.
1887: Heino Eller (Estonian composer, composition teacher)*16.June.1970.
1875: Maurice Ravel [French pianist, composer]*28.Dec.1937.
1822:
Victor Massé (French composer)*05.July.1884.
March
8th.
1990:
Kristinia DeBarge (US R&B singer)
1988: Elly Jackson (UK singer; La Roux)
1985:
Ewa Sonnet (Polish model, pop singer)
1984: Dave Moffatt (Canadian keyboardist, singer; The Moffatts).
1981:
Timothy Jordan II (US keyboardist, guitarist, songwriter; All American
Rejects/Jonezetta)*13.Dec.2005
1980: Charli Delaney (Australian singer; Hi-5)
1979:
Andy Ross (US guitarist; OK Go)
1979: Tom Chaplin (UK vocalist, pianist; Keane).
1979:
Jasmine You/Kageyama Yuuichi (Japanese
bassist; Versailles)*09.Aug.2009.
1978: Kameelah 'Meelah' Williams [US singer, hip-hop; 702].
1976: Gareth "Gaz" Coombes [UK vocalist, guitarist; Supergrass].
1975: Peggy Zina (Greek singer)
1973:
Anneke van Giersbergen (Dutch singer; The Gathering)
1972: Angie Hart (Australian pop singer)
1968: Chris Burdett (US drummer; Anastasia Screamed).
1968: Shawn Mullins [UK singer, guitar].
1964: Peter "Pedro" Gill [UK drummer; Frankie Goes To
Hollywood].
1964: Salt/Cheryl James [US singer; Salt-N-Pepa].
1962: Steve Grantley [UK drummer; Stiff Little Fingers/Alarm/the
Big Wheel/Freelance].
1960: Richard Darbyshire [UK singer, songwriter; Living In A Box/solo].
1958: Gary Numan [UK singer, keyboards, synthesizer; Tubeway Army/solo].
1957: Billy Childs (US composer, pianist)
1957: Clive Burr [UK drummer; Iron Maiden].
1954: Cheryl Baker/Rita Crudgington [UK singer, TV presenter; Co-Co/Bucks
Fizz/musicals]
1953:
Bob Brozman (US guitarist, ethnomusicologist).
1949: Antonello Venditti (Italian singer-songwriter)
1949: Dave Lambert [UK guitarist, vocalist; The Strawbs].
1948: Little Peggy March/Margaret Battavio
[US singer].
1948: Mel Galley (UK guitarist; Whitesnake/Trapeze/Finders Keepers/freelance)*01.July.2008.
1947: Michael Allsup [US guitar; Three Dog Knight].
1947: Carole Bayer Sager [US singer, songwriter; solo/musicals/films].
1946: Randy Meisner [US singer, bassist; Poco, Eagles].
1945: Mickey Dolenz [US actor, drums, television & Theatre
director; The Monkees].
1945:
Bruce Broughton (American composer)
1944: Sergey Nikitin (Russian composer)
1944: Palito Ortega (Argentine singer, actor)
1944: Pepe Romero (Spanish guitarist)
1944: Keef Hartley [UK drummer; The Artwoods/John Mayall's Bluesbreakers/Keef
Hartley Band].
1943: Shel Macrae/Andrew Semple [Scottish guitarist, vocals; The
Fortunes]
1942: Ralph Ellis [UK guitarist, banjo; Swinging Blue Jeans].
1939: Robert Tear (Welsh operatic tenor)*29.March.2011.
1937:
Richard
Farina (US
folk singer, author)*30.April.1966.
1937:
Raynoma Liles (co-founder of Motown with husband Berry Gordy).
1935: George Edward Coleman
(US hard bop saxophonist, bandleader, and composer).
1936: Gábor Szabó (Hungarian guitarist)*26.Feb.1982
1933:
Luca Ronconi (Italian theater, opera director)
1931: Lloyd Knibb (Jamaican
drummer; The Skatalites/others)*12
May 2011.
1931: Manohari
Singh (Indian
saxophonist, composer; Bollywood films)*13.July.2010.
1927: Dick Hyman (US pianist, music director for Arthur Godfrey).
1911: Alan Hovhaness (US composer)*21.June.2000
1892: "Mississippi" John Smith Hurt
(US blues singer and guitarist)*02.Nov.1966.(dates
from his gravestone)
March
9th.
1989: Taeyeon/Kim Tae-yeon (Korean singer)
1987: Bow Wow/Shad Gregory Moss (US rap artist).
1983: Maite Perroni Beorlegui (Mexican singer; RBD)
1980: Chingy/Howard Bailey (US rapper).
1974:
Jimmy O/Jean Jimmy Alexandre
(Haitian hip hop artist)*12.Jan.2010.
1971:
C-Murder/Corey Miller (US rapper; TRU/solo)
1971: Diego Torres (Argentine singer,
composer)
1970:
Shannon Leto (US drummer, actor; 30 Seconds to Mars)
1969:
Stefie Shock (Quebec singer and songwriter)
1969: Rob Dukes (US singer, guitarist; Exodus/Dukes)
1968: Johnny Kelly (US drummer; Type O Negative)
1968: Andrew Barker
[UK keyboardist; 808 State].
1968: Robert Sledge [US bassist, upright bass; Ben Folds Five/International
Orange]
1966: Brendan Canty (US drummer; Fugazi)
1958: Martin Fry [UK vocalist; ABC/solo].
1957: Mark Mancina (US composer)
1957: Thomas
Chapin (US composer, saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist)*13.Feb.1998.
1956: Sergei
Larin (Lithuanian
tenor)*13.Jan.2008.
1951: Frank Rodriguez (US organist/keyboard; ? & The Mysterians)
1949: Tapani Kansa (Finnish singer)
1948: Jimmie Fadden (US singer, harmonica, guitar; Nitty Gritty
Dirt Band)
1948: Jeffrey Osborne [US singer; Love Men Ltd/solo].
1946: Jim Cregan [UK guitarist, bassist, Family, Cockney Rebel/Rod
Stewart/freelance]
1945: Robert Newton Calvert [African born-UK singer, poet; Hawkwind]*14.Aug.1988.
1945: Robin Trower [UK lead guitar; Procol Harum, solo].
1944: Trevor Burton/Trevor Ireson [UK bassist; The Move/Journeyman/Dexy's
Midnight Runners/own band].
1942: Mark Linday [US rhythm guitarist; Paul Revere & Raiders].
1940: John Cale (Welsh multi-musician; Theatre of Eternal Music/Velvet
Underground).
1938: Lill-Babs/Barbro Margareta Svensson (Swedish singer).
1936: Mickey Gilley (US pianist, country singer].
1933:
W. Francis McBeth (US composer
)*06.Jan.2012.
1933: Lloyd Price [US singer/songwriter].
1932: Keely Smith [US Jazz singer].
1930: Ornette Coleman (US saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, composer).
1910: Samuel Barber (US composer)*23.Jan.1981
1856: Eddie Foy Sr/Edwin Fitzgerald (US
vaudevillian,
actor, comedian, dancer)*16.Feb.1928.
1839: Phoebe Knapp (US hymn writer)*10.July.1908.
March
10th.
1992: Emily Osment (US actress, singer)
1985: Casey Dienel (US singer-songwriter)
1983: Carrie Underwood (US country singer)
1983: Che'Nelle/Cheryline Lim (Malaysian Australian singer)
1978: Ben Burnley (US lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, main-songwriter;
Breaking Benjamin)
1977:
Robin Thicke (US singer)
1977: Colin Murray (British radio DJ, presenter; BBC radio and Channel
Five TV)
1976:
Kisaki (Japanese bassist, composer, producer)
1976: Haifa Wehbe (Lebanese actress, model, singer)
1975:
Jerry Horton (US guitarist; Papa Roach)
1973: Dan Swanö (Swedish guitarist, vocals, multi-musician; Edge
of Sanity/Nightingale/others)
1973: John LeCompt (US guitarist; Evanescence/We Are the Fallen/Machina).
1971: Timbaland/Timothy Z. Mosley (US rap artist).
1970: Matt Barlow (US singer; Iced Earth)
1970: Michel van der Aa (Dutch composer)
1967: Susie Q/Susan Banfield [UK rap artist; Cookie Crew].
1966: Gráinne Mulvey (Irish composer)
1966: Edie Brickell [US singer].
1964: Neneh Cherry [Swedish singer].
1964: Patrick "Pat" Kane [Scottish singer, arts journalist;Hue
& Cry].
1963: Jeff Ament [US bassist, Pearl Jam/Mother Love Bone].
1963: Rick Rubin (US record producer)
1962: Gary Clark [Scottish guitarist, vocals, songwriter].
1962:
Seiko Matsuda (Japanese pop singer)
1960: Gail
Greenwood (US guitarist, hornist, bassist; Belly/L7/Boneyard)
1960: Uwe/Uwe
Fahrenkrog-Petersen (German keyboardist,
songwriter; Nena)
1959: Roger Bennett (US
gospel pianist, singer, songwriter; Legacy Five/The
Cathedrals)*17.March.2007.
1957: Jim White (US folk singer-songwriter)
1955: Youssra/Civene Nassim (Egyptian actress, singer)
1954: Tina Charles/Tina
Hoskins [UK singer].
1953:
Ronnie Earl/Ronald Horvath (American
blues guitarist).
1952: Mike O'Donnell (US composer)
1950: Ted McKenna (Scottish drummer, percussion; Sensational Alex
Harvey Band].
1947: Tom Scholz [US guitar, keyboards; Boston]
1945: Pete Nelson/Peter Lipscomb [vocals; The Flowerpot Men/White
Plains].
1940: Dean Torrence [US singer; Jan & Dean].
1938: Norman Blake [mandolin, 6-string banjo,
fiddle, banjo; folk & bluegrass groups].
1938: Dave Alexander/Omar Sharriff/Omar Hakim
Khayam (US blues singer, pianist)*08.Jan.2012.
1935: José Antonio Labordeta (Spanish singer-songwriter,
guitarist, poet, presenter)*19.Sept.2010.
1931:
Georges Dor (Québécois author, playwright, singer and
songwriter)*24.July.2001.
1929:
Huey P. Meaux (US
record
producer,
recording studio owner)*23.April.2011.
1928: Sara Montiel (Spanish actress, singer)
1920: Boris Vian (French writer, musician)*23.June.1959
1919: Marion Hutton
(American singer and actress; Glenn Miller)*10.Jan.1987.
1915: Sir Charles Groves (UK conductor)*20.June.1992
1903: Leon 'Bix' Beiderbecke
(US jazz
cornetist and composer)*06.Aug.1931.
1892: Arthur Honegger (French-born
Swiss composer; Les Six)*27.Nov.1955.
March
11th.
1984: Anna Tsuchiya (Japanese model, actress,
singer)
1981: LeToya Luckett [US singer; solo/Destiny's Child].
1981: Paul Wall/Paul Slayton (US rapper)
1981: Russell Lissack (UK guitarist; Bloc Party/Pin Me Down)
1979: Joel Madden/Joel Combs [US lead vocalist; Good Charlotte].
1979: Benji Madden/Benjamin Combs
[US guitarist, backup vocalist; Good Charlotte].
1977: Andre Nickatina (American rapper)
1969: Soraya Raquel
Lamilla Cuevas [Columbian/US singer,songwriter,guitar]*10.May.2006.
1969: Rami Jaffee [US pianist, organist; Wallflowers].
1968: Lisa Loeb [US singer-songwriter].
1964: Vinnie Paul [US drummer; Pantera/Damageplan].
1961: Bruce Watson [Canadian guitarist, Big Country].
1961: Mike Percy [UK bassist; Dead Or Alive].
1957: Cheryl Lynn [US singer].
1955:
Frances Ginsberg (American soprano)*24.Dec.2010.
1955: Nina Hagen [German singer/songwriter].
1955: Flinto Chandia (Zambian
bassist; Jimmy the Hoover)
1953: Chuck Jackson (Canadian singer, harmonica player; Downchild
Blues Band)
1953: Bernie LaBarge (Canadian guitarist, singer, songwriter; freelance/many
bands)
1953: Pim
Koopman (Dutch
progressive rock drummer; Kayak)*23.Nov.2009.
1951: Katie Kissoon [Trinidad-UK singer; Mac & Katie/freelance/sessionist].
1950: Bobby McFerrin [US singer].
1948: George Kooymans [Dutch vocals, guitar; Golden Earring/The
Tornados].
1947: Bill Dickinson [US bassist; LA sessionist].
1947: Mark Stein [US vocalist, keyboardist, composer; Vanilla Fudge].
1947:
Tristan Murail (French composer)
1946: Patty Waters (American jazz singer)
1945: Harvey Mandel
(US blues guitarist; solo/sessionist).
1944: Eric "Ric" Rothwell [UK drummer; Mindbenders].
1940:
Alberto Cortez (Argentinian singer)
1939: Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez (US Tejano music
accordionist; many artists)
1938:
Joseph Brooks
(US screenwriter,
director, producer, songwriter, composer)*22.May.2011.
1932:
René A. Morel (French-born American
violin luthier)*16.Nov.2011.
1932: Leroy Jenkins (US composer, violinist)*24.Feb.2007
1926: Ilhan Mimaroglu (Turkish electronic music composer)
1926:
DeLois
Barrett Campbell (US gospel singer; The Barrett Sisters)*02.Aug.2011.
1921: Ástor Piazzolla (Argentine composer, bandoneón
player)*04.July.1992
1908: Sonny
Boy Williamson II/Aleck
Miller/Aleck Ford
(US harmonica player, singer-songwriter)*25.May.1965
Sonny Boy claimed to have been born on
Dec 5th 1899, but one researcher, David Evans, claims to have found census
record evidence that he was born around 1912. His gravestone has his birthdate
as March 11th 1908.
1903: Lawrence Welk (US
accordionist, bandleader, TV personality)*17.May.1992.
1897: Henry Cowell (US
composer and impresario)*10.Dec.1965.
1876: Carl Ruggles
(US composer)*24.Oct.1971.
March
12th.
1988: La Roux (English singer)
1986: Danny Jones [UK guitarist, vocals, harmonica; McFly].
1984:
Shreya Ghoshal (Indian singer)
1983: Atif Aslam (Pakistani singer)
1979: Pete Doherty [UK lead vocals, guitar; Libertines/Babyshambles].
1978: Claudio Sanchez (US singer, guitarist; Coheed and Cambria)
1975: Herman Li (Cantonese guitarist)
1975: Kelle Bryan [UK singer; Eternal].
1970: Roy Khan (Norwegian singer; Kamelot)
1969: Graham Coxon [UK guitarist; Blur].
1965: Liza Umarova (Chechen singer, actress)
1965: Coleen Nolan (UK singer, TV personality; The Nolan)
1960: Kipp Lennon (US singer)
1960: Minoru Niihara (Japanese singer)
1960: Maki Nomiya (Japanese singer; Pizzicato Five)
1957: Marlon Jackson [US singer, guitarist; Jacksons/Jackson 5/sessionist].
1957: Steve Harris (UK bassist, Iron Maiden).
1956: Guy Speranza (US singer; Riot)*08.Nov.2003.
1952: Naomi Shihab Nye (US poet, songwriter, novelist).
1949: Mike Gibbins (Welsh drummer; The Iveys/Badfinger)*04.Oct.2005.
1949: Bill Payne [piano, keyboards, organ; Little Feat/freelance].
1948: Les Holroyd [bassist; Barclay James Harvest].
1948: James Taylor [US singer/songwriter].
1946: Liza Minnelli [US singer, actress].
1942: Brian O'Hara (UK lead guitarist, vocals; The Fourmost)*27.June.1999.
1940: Al Jarreau (US singer)
1940: M.A. Numminen (Finnish singer, writer).
1938:
Dimitri Terzakis (Greek composer)
1938: Jessy Dixon (US
gospel singer, songwriter, pianist)*26.Sept.2011.
1930: Wardell
Quezergue (US
singer, guitarist, bandleader, music arranger,
producer)*06.Sept.2011.
1928: Philip
Jones (UK trumpeter; Philip Jones Brass
Ensemble/many orchestras)*17.Jan.2000.
1928: Aldemaro Romero
(Venezuelan pianist, composer, orchestral conductor)*15.Sept.2007.
1925: Georges Delerue (French film composer)*20.March.1992.
1923: Norbert Brainin (Austrian violinist)*10.April.2005.
1922: Jack Kerouac (US
novelist, poet; "The Beat Generation"/"Gone
on the Road")*21.Oct.1969.
1921: Gordon MacRae (US singer, actor)*24.Jan.1986.
1918: Jimmy
Widener
(US
rhythm guitarist, banjo player,
vocalist; Hank Snow)*27.Nov.1973.
1917:
Leonard Chess (US company executive, founder of Chess record label)*16.Oct.1969.
1913:
Agathe von Trapp
(Austrian-born American singer; the Trapp Family Singers)*28.Dec.2010.
1912: Jirí Traxler (Czech
Canadian jazz and swing pianist, composer, lyricist, arranger)*07.Aug.2011.
1912: Paul Weston/Paul
Wetstein (US pianist, arranger,
conductor)*20.Sept.1996.
1890: Evert Taube (Swedish author, artist, lute player, composer,
singer)*31.Jan.1976.
1864: Alice Tegnér (Swedish
composer, organist)*26.May.1943.
March
13th.
1981: April Matson (US actress, singer)
1979: Spanky G/Mike Guthier (US drummer; Bloodphart/Bloodhound Gang)
1977: Kay Tse (Hong Kong singer)
1973: Ed Sloan (US singer, guitarist; Crossfade)
1976: James Dewees (US vocals, piano, keyboards, drums; The Get Up
Kids/many bands)
1973:
David Draiman (US singer, songwriter; Disturbed)
1972: Common/Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr (US rapper; Soulquarians/solo)
1964: João Gordo/João Francisco Benedan (Brazilian singer;
Ratos de Porão aka RxDxPx)
1963: Fito Páez (Argentine rock n roll pianist, lyricist, singer,
film director)
1963: Billy Yates (US C&W singer-songwriter)
1960: Adam Charles Clayton [Irish bassist; U2].
1959: Greg Norton [US bassist; Husker Du].
1959: Ronnie Rogers [rhythm guitarist, songwriter; T'Pau].
1953:
Rustee/Rusty Allen (US
bass guitar player; Sly & the Family Stone/others).
1952: Wolfgang Rihm (German composer)
1951: Lester Jerome Williams (US keyboardist, pianist, singer,
composer; Motown/solo/freelance).
1949: Julia Migenes (US soprano)
1947: Dave Kelly (UK
guitarist, vocals; John Dummer Blues/Tramp/Paul Jones Blues/own band).
1947: Dr. Beat Richner (Swiss pediatrician, cellist)
1942: Scatman
John/John Paul Larkin (American
singer)*03.Dec.1999.
1940: Candi Staton/Canzetta Maria Staton (US soul & gospel
singer)
1939: Neil Sedaka [US singer, songwriter, pianist].
1939: Liz Anderson [US C&W singer-songwriter].
1938: Erma
Franklin (US soul, R&B and pop singer, sister to Aretha)*07.Sept.2002.
1933: Mike Stoller [US songwriter, composer; Stoller & Leiber].
1930: Jan Howard (US singer)
1928:
Ronnie Hazlehurst
(UK conductor, theme song composer)*01.Oct.2007.
1925: Roy Haynes (US jazz drummer)
1914: Robert Sherwood Haggart (US bass,composer,arranger; Bob Crosby
Orch)*02.Dec.1998.
1912: Sam 'Lightnin' Hopkins (US legendry blues guitarist)*30.Jan.1982
(1912 as on his statue)
1910:
Sammy Kaye (US multiple reeds
player; big bandleader)*02.June.1987.
1906: Frank Teschemacher (US clarinet, alto sax, violin; Chicago jazz
groups/solo)*01.March.1932.
1892:
Alec Rowley (English
composer, writer on music)*11.Jan.1958.
1890: Fritz Busch (German conductor)*14.Sept.1951
March
14th.
1992: Jasmine Murray (US singer)
1993: Julienne Irwin (US singer)
1989:
Colby O'Donis (US R&B singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer,
actor)
1988: Chris Feener (Canadian guitarist, composer).
1985: Idaira/Idaira Fernandez Rodriguez (Spanish singer)
1983: Jordan Taylor Hanson [US singer, keyboard, bongos, piano; Hanson].
1982: Kate Maberly (UK actor, singer-songwriter)
1981: Mei-Ting Sun (Chinese-born pianist)
1966: Raúl Midón (US singer-songwriter, guitarist)
1964: Dario Bisso (Italian conductor)
1962: Steve Lambert [UK singer; Roman Holliday].
1957: Chris Redburn [UK bassist; Kenny]
1950: Rick Dees/Rigdon Osmond Dees III (US disc jockey)
1949: Peter John 'Ollie' Halsall (UK guitarist virtuoso Patto/The
Boxer/The Rutles/others)*29.May.1992.
1947: Peter Skellern [UK singer, pianist, songwriter].
1947: Jona Lewie [UK vocals, piano, guitar, songwriter;Thunderbolts/sessoinist/solo].
1945: James O'Rourke (US multi instruments, guitar; Playboy Band/freelance)
not Jim
O'Rourke from Chicago
1945: Walter Parazaider [US sax, flute, woodwind insts;founder
member of Chicago]
1945: Herman van Veen (Dutch singer, theatre performer)
1945: Michael Martin Murphey (US country music singer)
1943: Jim Pons [US bass; The Turtles/The Leaves].
1939: Stavros Xarhakos (Greek composer)
1934: Shirley Scott
(US hard bop and soul-jazz organist)*10.March.2002.
1933: Quincy Jones [trumpet player, composer, music producer, business
personality].
1931: Phil Phillips (US singer, songwriter)
1926: Lita Roza (UK singer; first UK female singer to top the UK
Singles Chart)*14.Aug.2008.
1922: Les Baxter [US saxophonist, pianist; own band]*15.Jan.1996.
1915: Alexander Brott/Joël Brod (Canadian
conductor and composer)*01.April.2005
1914: Lee Hays (US folksinger)*26.Aug.1981
1912: Les Brown (US bandleader)*04.Jan.2001
1681:
Georg
Philipp Telemann (German
Baroque composer, multi-instrumentalist)*25.June.1767.
March
15th.
1990: Siobhan Magnus (US singer)
1989:
Emmy/Elsina Hidersha (Albanian singer)*28.Feb.2011.
1988: Chris Lent (US drummer, keyboardist; From First to Last/I Set
My Friends On Fire).
1986: Adrianne Leon (US singer-songwriter, actress)
1982:
Jordan Hastings (Canadian drummer; Alexisonfire)
1981: Veronica Maggio (Swedish singer)
1981: Young Buck/David Darnell Brown (US rapper)
1977: Joe Hahn (Korean-American turntablist, DJ; Linkin Park).
1975: Will.i.am/William Adams Jr [Jamacian rapper, producer; Black
Eyed Peas].
1974: John "Beatz" Holohan (US drummer)*31.Oct.2005.
1973: Boris Ðurdevic (Croatian DJ, electronic musician; Colonia).
1972: Mark Hoppus [US singer, bass guitar; Blink-182].
1969: Timo Kotipelto (Finnish lead singer;
Stratovarius/Kotipelto)
1969: Apostolos "Apollo" Papathanasio (Swedish vocalist).
1968: Kahimi Karie (Japanese singer)
1968: Mark McGrath [US lead singer; Sugar Ray].
1968: Sabrina Salerno (Italian singer)
1968: Jon Schaffer (US guitarist; Iced Earth)
1968: Kahimi Karie (Japanese singer)
1964: Rockwell/Kenneth Gordy [US singer, Berry Gordy's son].
1963: Brett Michaels/Bret Michael Sychak [US lead singer, film
production; Poison].
1962: Steve Coy/Steve McCoy [UK drummer; Dead Or Alive]
1962: Terence Trent D'arby/Sananda Maitreya [US vocals, sax, keyboards,
drums, guitar].
1955: Dee Snider/David Daniel Snider [US lead singer; Twisted Sister].
1955: Etterlene "Bunny" Debarge
[UUS soprano vocalist; Debarge].
1954: Massimo Bubola (Italian singer-songwriter)
1953: Kostas Bigalis (Greek singer, songwriter)
1950:
Jørgen Olsen (Danish singer)
1948:
Stephen 'Grizzly' Nisbett [Nevis born drummer; Steel Pulse/guest].
1947: Jean Carne [US jazz singer, pianist; Motown, solo].
1947: Hernandez Lugo (US bassist; ? & The Mysterians)
1947: Ry Cooder (US slide, guitar, vocals, mandolin; Buena Vista/Rising
Sons/Little Village).
1946: Howard Scott [US guitarist; War]
1944: Ralph MacDonald (Trinbago-American song-writer, record executive,
steelpan virtuoso)*18.Dec.2011.
1944: David Costell [lead guitar; Playboys].
1944: Sly Stone/Sylvester Stewart (US guitar, keyboard; Sly &
The Family Stone).
1942:
Montserrat Figueras
(Spanish soprano;
Hespèrion XX & XXI / solo)*23.Nov.2011.
1941: Hughie Flint [UK drummer, McGuinness Flint/Bluesbreakers].
1941: Mike Love (US singer, sax; The Beach Boys).
1940: Phil Lesh [US bassist; Grateful Dead].
1938: Charles Lloyd (US jazz tenor saxophone, flute, exotic reed
instruments)
1936: Howard Greenfield (US songwriter)*04.March.1986.
1932: Arif Mardin [musical producer/arranger]*26.June.2006.
1931: James Mitchell [saxophone; The Detroit Emeralds/Memphis Horns/session]
1929: Cecil Taylor (US jazz pianist).
1927: Carl Smith (US country music singer, musician)*16.Jan.2010.
1926: Ben Johnston (US composer)
1922: Eddie Calvert [UK trumpet player; Stanley Black Orchestra/solo]*07.Aug.1978.
1916: Harry James
(US trumpeter, bandleader)*05.July.1983.
1912:
Sam "Lightnin" Hopkins (US blues guitarist, singer)*30.Jan.1982.
1907:
Zarah Leander (Swedish actress, singer)*23.June.1981.
1864:
Johan
Halvorsen
(Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist)*04.Dec.1935.
March 16th.
1991: Wolfgang Van Halen (US multi-musician;
son of Eddie Van Halen)
1985: Eddy Lover/Eduardo Mosquera (Panamanian singer)
1979: Leena Peisa (Finnish keyboardist; Lordi).
1973: Brant Bjork (US drummer, producer, guitarist; Kyuss)
1972: Andy Dunlop (Scottish guitarist; Travis).
1970: Joakim Berg (Swedish singer; Kent)
1970: Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson (Icelandic
singer, songwriter, disc jockey)
1966:
H.P. Baxxter/Hans Peter Geerdes (German singer, guitar; Scooter)
1965:
Richard Daniel Roman (UK songwriter, record producer)
1964: Patty Griffin (US singer, songwriter).
1963: Jimmy Degrasso (US drummer; F5/Alice Cooper Band)
1963: Stuart Kerr [Scottish drummer; Texas].
1959: Flavor Flav/William Drayton [US rapper, vocals, producer;
Public Enemy].
1954: Nancy Wilson [US singer, guitarist; Heart].
1954: Jimmy Nail/James Michael
Aloysius Bradford [UK singer, actor].
1949: Elliott Murphy (US singer-songwriter)
1948: Michael Bruce (US guitar, keyboards; Alice Cooper Band).
1948: Richard Desjardins (Canadian singer, songwriter, film director)
1947:
Ramzan Paskayev (Chechen accordionist)
1946: Hubert Soudant (Dutch conductor)
1942: Jerry Jeff Walker/Ronald Clyde Crosby (US country singer/song
writer).
1940: Keith Rowe (UK painter, guitarist; AMM)
1936: Fred Neil (US singer, guitar, songwriter)*07.July.2001.
1935: Teresa Berganza
(Spanish soprano)
1931: Betty Johnson
(US singer)
1931: Shirley
Caddell (US country, rockabilly singer. x-wife of Willie Nelson)*27.Jan.2010.
1930: Tommy Flanagan
(US jazz pianist; Ella Fitzgerald backing
band)*16.Nov.2001.
1930:
Minoru Miki (Japanese composer, artistic
director)*08.Dec.2011.
1928: Christa Ludwig (German
mezzo-soprano)
1926: Jerry Lewis/Joseph Levitch (US actor,
comedian, singer).
1924:
Beryl
Davis
(English big band singer, actress;
The Four Girls(Hollywood)/solo)*28.Oct.2011.
1920: John Addison (British composer)*07.Dec.1998.
1902: Leon Roppolo [US jazz clarinetist]*05.Oct.1943.
1892:
James Caesar
Petrillo (US union leader; founder of
American Federation of Musicians)*23.Oct.1984.
March
17th.
1987: Rob Kardashian (US model, singer, and
television personality)
1986: Miles Kane (UK vocalist, guitarist; The Rascals/Last Shadow
Puppets)
1978:
Bryan Ottoson (German
born lead guitarist; American Head Charge)*19.April.2005.
1976: Stephen Gately Irish singer, actor; Boyzone)*10.Oct.2009.
1975: Justin Hawkins [UK lead singer, song writer; The Darkness].
1975: Mason Jennings (US folksinger)
1975:
Puneet Rajkumar (Indian actor, singer, director)
1974: Oliver Palotai (German keyboard player; Doro)
1973: Rico Blanco (Filipino singer; Rivermaya)
1973: Caroline Corr [Irish drummer; The Corrs].
1972: Melissa Auf der Maur [Canadian bassist, vocals; Hole, Smashing
Pumpkins].
1972: Marc Gunn (US poet, podcaster, musician; Brobdingnagian Bards)
1970: Gene Ween/Aaron Freeman (US singer, guitarist; Ween)
1967: Billy Corgan [US guitarist, singer-songwriter, multi-musician;
Zwan/Smashing Pumpkins].
1963: Nick Peros (Canadian composer)
1962: Clare Grogan [Scottish actress, lead singer; Altered Images].
1961: Alexander Bard (Swedish artist, singer; Army Of Lovers)
1959: Paul Black (US rock singer; L.A. Guns, Black Cherry)
1959: Mike Kindup (UK keyboards, vocals; Level 42).
1953: Wally Stocker (UK guitarist; Babys/Humble Pie/Air
Supply/freelance).
1952: Nikos Xydakis (Greek pianist, singer, composer)
1951: Scott Gorham [US guitarist, mastering, songwriter; Thin Lizzy].
1950: Patrick Adams (US record producer, songwriter)
1950:
Michael
Been (US singer, guitarist, actor; The CAll/others/solo)*19.Aug.2010.
1949: Daniel Lavoie (French Canadian singer-songwriter)
1948: Bobby Whitlock [singer,keyboards,songwriter; Derek-the Dominos/sessions/own
band].
1948: Pat Lloyd [guitar, bassist; Equals].
1947: Yury Chernavsky (Russian-born composer, producer)
1946: Harold Brown (drums, percussion, vocals; War/Night Shift/Lowrider]
1945: Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (Brazilian singer)*19.Jan.1982.
1945: Katri Helena (Finnish singer)
1944: Pat McAuley [Irish keyboardist, drums, Them/The Other Them]
1944: Tony Jackson [Jamaican high tenor singer; session/backgound/Skatalites]
1944: John Sebastian [US vocals, harmonica, guitar; Lovin Spoonful/
Mugwumps]
1942:
Dimitris Poulikakos (Greek
composer, singer, actor)
1941: Paul Kantner [US guitarist; Jefferson
Airplane/Jefferson Starship].
1941: Clarence Collins [US singer; The Chesters/Little Anthony
& the Imperials].
1938: Zola Taylor (US singer; The Platters)*30.April.2007.
1937: Adam Wade (US singer, actor)
1936: Ladislav Kupkovic (Slovakian composer)
1933: Dick Maloney (US
jazz singer, entertainer; radio host)*19.Aug.2010.
1931: Lorraine Ellison (African-American
female soul singer)*31.Jan.1983.
1919: Nat "King" Cole [US singer, piano]*15.Feb.1965.
1916: Ray Ellington/Harry
Pitts Brown
(British singer,
band leader; Goon Show)*28.Feb.1985.
1900:
Alfred
Newman (US film composer)*17.Feb.1970.
1884: Alcide Nunez (US jazz clarinetist)*02.Sept.1934
March 18th.
1986: Lykke Li (Swedish singer)
1985: Marvin Humes (UK singer; JLS; VS)
1984: Vonzell Solomon (US singer)
1981: Jang Nara (Korean singer, actress)
1979: Adam Levine (US lead singer, guitar; Maroon 5).
1979: Shola Ama [UK singer].
1978: Bryan Ottoson (German born guitarist; American Head Charge)*19.April.2005
1977: Devin Lima [US vocalist; LFO].
1975: Sutton Foster (US actress, singer, dancer)
1975: Rodleen Getsic (US singer, activist, actress, film producer,
performance artist).
1974: Alvin Nathaniel Joiner IV/Xzibit
(US rapper, actor, television
host).
1974: Stuart Zender [UK bassist; Jamiroquai].
1970: Queen Latifah/Dana Owens [US rapper].
1970: Dragoljub Milcic (Serbian songwriter)
1969: Andy Cutting (UK folk melodeon player, composer)
1967: Miki Berenyi (UK singer; Lush)
1966: Jerry Cantrell [US guitarist, vocals, producer; Alice In
Chains].
1964: Courtney Pine [UK jazz saxophonist, multi-musician; solo/freelance].
1964: Rozalla Miller (Zambian singer)
1963: Vanessa Williams [African-American singer].
1963: Jeff LeBar [US guitar, vocals; Cinderella].
1962: Irene Cara (US actress, singer)
1962: James McMurtry (US folk singer, songwriter)
1962: Taja Sevelle [US singer, songwritr]
1961: Grant Hart [US drummer, vocals; Husker Du].
1959: Irene Cara [US singer].
1957: György Pazdera (Hungarian bassist; Pokolgép)
1954: Andy Narell (US
multi-musician, steelpan,
composer)
1951:
Bill Frisell (US jazz guitarist, composer)
1950: John Hartman (US drummer; Doobie Brothers)
1950: James Conlon (US conductor; Los Angeles Opera)
1949: Åse Kleveland (Norwegian singer, politician)
1947:
Gaye
Delorme (Canadian songwriter, composer, virtuoso guitar player)*23.June.2011.
1947: Barry "B.J." Wilson [UK drums, percussion; Procol
Harum].
1946: Stu
Parks (UK bassist;
Mickey & the Sapphires/Gary Farr
& the T-Bones, Shelley)
1945: Eric
Woolfson (Scottish
singer, songwriter, lyricist Alan Parsons Project)*02.Dec.2009.
1944:
Bob Johnson (UK guitarist, Steeleye Span)
1943: Dennis
Linde (American songwriter)*22.Dec.2006.
1941: Wilson Pickett (US R&B, soul singer)*19.Jan.2006.
1939: Giannis Markopoulos (Greek composer)
1938: Charley Pride (US country singer, guitarist).
1936: Robert Lee Smith [US singer; Tams].
1930:
Patrick Halcox (UK jazz trumpet player; Chris Barber Band)
1929: John Macurdy (US operatic bass singer)
1927: John Kander (US songwriter)
1911: Smiley Burnette/Lester Alvin Burnett (US singer, songwriter)*16.Feb.1967.
1893: Jean Goldkette (Greek-born jazz musician)*24.March.1962.
1844:
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (Russian
composer; The Great
Five)*21.June.1908.
March
19th.
1983: Ana Rezende (Brazilian film director,
guitarist; CSS)
1980: Mikuni Shimokawa (Japanese singer).
1976: Ben Marlin
(US bassist; brutal death metal band Disgorge)*02.Jan.2008.
1976: Zach Lind (US drummer; Jimmy Eat World)
1975: Brann Dailor (US drummer; Mastodon/Lethargy).
1975: Vivian Hsu (Taiwanese singer, actress, model)
1973: Bun B/Bernard Freeman (US Rapper; UGK).
1971: Jack Bessant (UK bassist; Reef).
1969: Gary Jules (US singer, songwriter)
1969: Tom McRae (UK singer, songwriter)
1967: Katia Tiutiunnik (Australian violist, composer)
1966: James "Big Jim" Wright (US record producer, musician,
singer, songwriter)
1965: Kevin F. Harris (US composer and graphic artist)
1964:
Yoko Kanno (Japanese composer)
1960:
Eliane Elias (Brazilian jazz pianist, arranger, vocalist, songwriter)
1959: Terry Hall (UK singer; Specials/Fun Boy Three/The Colourfield/freelance).
1955: Bruce Willis (US actor, vocals, harmonica).
1953: Ricky Wilson (US guitarist; The B-52's)*12.Oct.1985.
1953: Billy Sheehan (US bassist; Talas/Steve Vai/David Lee Roth/Mr
Big/Niacin/guest).
1952: Wolfgang Ambros (Austrian singer-songwriter)
1951: Derek Longmuir (Scottish bassist; Bay City Rollers).
1949: Valery Leontiev (Russian pop singer).
1946: Paul Atkinson (UK guitarist; The Zombies]*01.April.2004.
1946: Ruth Pointer (US singer; the
eldest of The Pointer Sisters).
1942: Richard Dobson (US singer, songwriter)
1937: Clarence "Frogman" Henry (US rhythm and blues singer).
1936: Birthe Wilke (Danish singer).
1929: Robert Muczynski
(American composer)*25.May.2010.
1922: Brian Rust (British jazz discographer, music journalist)*05.Jan.2011.
1894: Moms Mabley/Loretta Mary Aiken (US comedian, pioneer of "Chitlin'
Circuit" vaudeville)*23.May.1975.
March
20th.
1986: Dean Geyer (Australian
singer, actor)
1984: Winta Efrem Negassi (Norwegian
R&B, soul singer).
1982: Nick Wheeler (US
guitarist; All-American Rejects).
1980: Ock Ju-Hyun (South Korean singer).
1979: Molly Jenson (US singer/songwriter,
acoustic guitarist)
1976: Chester Bennington [US vocalist;
Linkin Park/Snow White Tan].
1972: Alex Kapranos [Greek-UK lead singer, guitariast; Franz Ferdinand].
1972: Shellie Poole [UK singer; Alisha's Attic/Brian Pooles daughter].
1968: Frederick Schönfelt [Swedish bassist; Wannadies]
1967: Shutty/David Shuttleworth [UK drummer; Terrorvision].
1966: Alka Yagnik (Indian singer)
1964: Ock Ju-Hyun (South Korean singer).
1964: Natacha Atlas (Belgian singer)
1961: Slim Jim Phantom/James McDonnell [US drummer; Stray Cats/Headcat].
1959: Richard Drummie [UK singer; Go West].
1959: Owen If/Owen Rossiter [UK drummer, Stereo MC's]
1956: Alphonso Martin [UK vocalist, percussionist; Steel Pulse].
1953: Stray Straton [US vocalist, bassist; sessionist/freelance].
1951: Jimmie Vaughan [US vocalist, guitar; Fabulous Thunderbirds,
SRV's brother].
1950: Carl Palmer [UK drummer; Arthur Brown/Atomic Rooster/Emerson,
Lake & Palmer/Asia].
1949: Marcia Ball (US singer, pianist)
1948:
Nikos
Papazoglou (Greek
singer-songwriter)*17.April.2011.
1948: Marva Wright (US blues singer)*23.March.2010.
1944: Jance
Garfat
(US
bassist; Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show)*06.Nov.2006.
1941: Vito Picone
[lead singer; Elegants]
1937: Jerry Reed/Jerry Reed Hubbard (US country singer, guitarist)*01.Sept.2008.
1936: Lee "Scratch" Perry/Rainford Hugh Perry (Jamaican
Reggae artist)
1927: John Joubert (South African-born UK
composer).
1922: Larry Elgart (US saxophonist, bandleader)
1918: Marian McPartland (UK jazz pianist)
1917: Vera Lynn (US actress, singer)
1915: Sister Rosetta Tharpe (US singer -
the original soul sister)*09.Oct.1973.
1915: Sviatoslav
Richter (Ukrainian pianist)*01.Aug.1997.
1906:
Oswald George "Ozzie" Nelson (US radio/TV
show presenter, entertainer, bandleader)*03.June.1975.
1890: Beniamino
Gigli (Italian
operatic tenor)*30.Nov.1957.
1890: Lauritz Melchior
(Danish tenor)*19.March.1973.
March 21st.
1995:
Daniel "Diggy" Simmons III (US rapper, fashion designer)
1990: Mandy Capristo (German singer; Monrose)
1989: Rochelle Wiseman (UK singer; The Saturdays)
1980:
Bizzy D/Deryck Whibley [Canadian lead singer, mult-musician; Sum 41].
1978: Nick Baines (UK keyboardist; Kaiser Chiefs)
1978: Kevin Federline (US dancer/hip hop artist)
1977: Mark Hamilton [Irish bassist; Ash]
1974: Edsel Dope (US
singer; Dope)
1972: Large Professor/William Paul Mitchell (US hip hop artist)
1968: Shin Seung Hun (South Korean ballad singer)
1968: DJ Premier/Premo/Christopher Edward Martin (US hip hop artist,
producer; Gang Starr)
1968: Andrew Copeland [US singer, acoustic guitar, songwriter;
Sister Hazel]
1967: Maxim Reality/Keith "Keeti" Palmer [British MC;
Prodigy/solo].
1967: Jonas "Joker" Berggren [Swedish songwriter, vocals;
Ace Of Base].
1967: Sean Dickson [Scottish singer, songwriter; Soup Dragons]
1963: Shawn Lane (US guitar virtuoso)*26.Sept.2003
1960: Robert Sweet (US drummer; Stryper/King James/Blissed)
1959: Sarah Jane Morris (English singer; Happy End/solo)
1959: Nobuo Uematsu (Japanese composer)
1957: John Reddington [UK guitarist; King Kurt]
1956: Guy Chadwick (German born-UK guitarist, vocalist, songwriter;
The House of Love/solo)
1953: Robert Johnson [US drummer; KC and the Sunshine Band]
1952: Beppe Crovella (Italian keyboardist,
hammond player, composer, producer;
Arti & Mestieri/others)
1951: Conrad Lozano [US bassist; Los Lobos].
1951: Russell Thompkins Jr [US falsetto vocals; The Stylistics].
1950: Roger Hodgson [UK guitar, vocals; Supertramp].
1949: Eddie Money [US singer, saxophone, keyboards].
1946: Ray Dorset [UK singer, percussion, guitar; Mungo Jerry/Good
Earth/guest].
1945: Rose Stone/Rosemary Stewart [US vocalist, pianist; Sly &
The Family Stone].
1944: Hideki Ishima (Japanese guitarist; Flower Travellin' Band)
1943: Viv Stanshall [UK vocalist, trumpet, percussion; Bonzo Dog
Doo Dah Band]*05.March.1995
1943: Hartmut Haenchen (German conductor)
1940: Solomon Burke (US rhythm & blues singer)*10.Oct.2010.
1937: Eddie Shaw
(African-American, Chicago blues tenor saxophonist).
1936: Betty
Curtis (Italian singer)*15.June.2006.
1936: Mike Westbrook (UK jazz composer, bandleader, pianist)
1932: Joseph Silverstein (US violinist and conductor)
1930: Otis Spann (US blues pianist, singer; own band/many greats)*24.April.1970.
1921: Arthur Grumiaux (Belgian violinist)*16.Oct.1986
1920: Georg Ots (Estonian
opera singer)*05.Sept.1975.
1920: Manolis Chiotis (Greek guitarist, bouzouki, songwriter)*21.March.1970
1914: Paul Tortelier (French cellist)*18.Dec.1990
1904: Nikolaos Skalkottas (Greek composer)*19.Sept.1949
1902: Son House/Eddie James House Jr (US blues singer, guitarist)*19.Oct.1988.
1895: Zlatko Balokovic (Croatian
violinist)*29.March.1955.
1889:
Alexander Vertinsky (Russian poet, singer, composer, cabaret artist,
actor)*21.May.1957.
March
22nd.
1990: Lisa Mitchell (Australian singer/songwriter)
1986: David Choi (Korean-American singer, singwriter, multi-musician)
1986: Amy Studt (UK singer).
1980: Shannon Bex (US singer; Danity Kane)
1979: Aaron North (US guitarist, singer; Jubilee/The Icarus Line/Nine
Inch Nails)
1973: Beverly Knight [UK soul singer].
1970: Andreas Johnson (Swedish singer)
1968:
Euronymous/Øystein Aarseth (Norwegian
guitarist; Mayhem)*10.Aug.1993.
1963: Susanne Sulley [UK singer; Human League]
1959: Avraham Fried/Avraham Friedman (US Orthodox Jewish singer,
musician)
1958: Pete Wylie [UK singer; The Spitfire Boys/The Mystery Girls/many
Wah bands].
1957: Stephanie Mills [US singer, actress, musicals].
1952: Jay Dee Daugherty (American drummer)
1948: Randy Jo Hobbs [US bassist; The McCoys; Edgar & Johnny
Winters]*05.Aug.1993.
1948: Andrew Lloyd Webber [UK songwriter/Orchestration/Executive
Producer].
1947: Patrick Olive [UK percussionist; Hot Chocolate].
1946:
Melvin Sparks (US soul
jazz, hard bop, jazz blues guitarist)*15.March.2011.
1946: Harry Vanda [Dutch guitarist, songwriter,record producer;
Easybeats].
1945: Chuck
Jackson (US
R&B singer; The Independents)
1943: Keith Relf (UK singer; Medicine Head, Armageddon, The Yardbirds)*14.May.1976.
1943: George Benson [US singer, guitarist].
1942: Jorge Ben Jor (Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist)
1941: Jeremy Clyde (UK actor, musician; Chad and Jeremy)
1937: Angelo Badalamenti (American composer)
1936: Roger Whittaker [African-born British pop singer].
1930: Stephen Sondheim (US composer, lyricist)
1929: Fred Anderson (American jazz tenor saxophonist).
1929:
P.Ramlee
(Malaysian actor, singer and songwriter)*29.May.1973.
March
23rd.
1995:
Jan Lisiecki (Canadian
pianist)
1993: Tristan Gage (UK musician????)
1968: Damon Albarn [UK piano, vocals;
Blur/Gorillaz/Good, the Bad and the Queen].
1967: John Strohm [guitarist; Lemonheads].
1965: Marti Pellow [Scottish singer; Wet Wet Wet/solo].
1959: Epic Soundtracks/Kevin Godfrey (UK drummer, pianist; Swell
Maps/These Immortal Souls)*05.Nov.1997
1958: El Duce (US singer, drummer; The Mentors)*19.April.1997.
1953: Chaka Khan [US singer, Rufus/solo].
1952: Dave Bartram [UK vocalist; Showaddywaddy]
1951: Phil Keaggy (US finger style guitarist, vocalist; Phil Keaggy
Band/solo/freelance].
1949:
Ric Ocasek [US vocalist, guitar, keyboards, bass; Cars/ other projects
and bands].
1948:
David Olney (US folk singer-songwriter;
Simpson Band/X-Rays/solo)
1945: Franco Battiato (Italian singer, songwriter, filmmaker)
1945: David Grisman (US mandolinist, banjopianist, multi-musician;
Jerry Garcia/With Old & in the Way/ others).
1944: Tony McPhee [UK
guitarist, vocals; Herbal Mixture/Groundhogs/sessions].
1944: Michael Nyman [UK pianist /composer].
1939:
Boris Tishchenko (Russian
composer)*09.Dec.2010.
1939: Pepe Lienhard (Swiss band leader, composer, entertainer)
1938: Irwin Levine (US songwriter; including "Tie A Yellow
Ribbon round The Old Oak Tree")*21.Jan.1997.
1938: Dave Pike (US jazz vibraphone player;
Herbie Mann/Lionel Hampton/Milt Jackson/others)
1934: Fernand Gignac (Canadian singer, actor)*18.Aug.2006
1916:
Ustad Bismillah Khan (Indian shehnai maestro)*21.Aug.2006.
1914: Margaret Kitchin (Classical pianist,
born in Switzerland, long resident in the UK)*16.June.2008.
1905: Lale Andersen [German singer and cabaretist]*29.Aug.1972
1899: Dora Gerson (German actress, singer)*14.Feb.1943.
1878:
Franz Schreker (Austrian
composer, conductor, teacher)*21.March.1934.
March 24th.
1985: Amanda Lameche (Swedish singer)
1983: Kelvin Kwan (Hong Kong singer)
1982:
Nivea/Nivea B. Hamilton (US singer)
1978: Kaori Mochida (Japanese singer; Every Little Thing)
1977: Corneille/Cornelius Nyungura (Rwandan-Canadian singer)
1975: Krisdayanti/?
(Indonesian singer, actress, diva)
1974: RJ Rosales/Roseo José Rosales (Filipino-born Australian
singer, actor)*04.Dec.2011.
1974: Chad Butler [US drummer; Switchfoot].
1970: Sharon Corr [Irish violinist, vocals; The Corrs].
1970: Mase/Vincent Mason (US rap & hip-hop artist; De La Soul)-{NOT
Mason Derelle Betha}
1965: Patrick Scales (British-German electric bass guitar player;
many bands/projects)
1962: Angèle Dubeau (Canadian classical violinist)
1960: Nena/Gabriele Susanne Kerner [German
singer; Nena].
1951: Dougie Thomson [Scottish bassist; Supertramp].
1949: Nick Lowe (UK singer-songwriter, multi-musician, producer).
1947: Meiko Kaji (Japanese singer, actress)
1946: Klaus Dinger (German
drummer, songwriter; Krautrock/Neu!/Kraftwerk)*20.March.2008.
1946: Lee Oskar [Danish harmonica player;
War/freelance].
1938: Holger Czukay (German bassist, producer, sound engineer;
Can)
1937: Billy Stewart (US singer with scat-singing style; The Rainbows/solo)*17.Jan.1970.
1932:
Václav
Zítek (Czech opera singer)*20.Dec.2011.
1928: Byron Janis [American classical pianist].
1922: King
Pleasure/Clarence Beeks (US jazz
vocalist, vocalese)*21.March.1981.
1906: Klavdiya Shulzhenko (Soviet jazz and classical singer)*17.June.1984.
March
25th.
1987: Jason Castro (US singer)
1985:
Carmen Rasmusen (Canadian-American singer)
1984: Katharine McPhee (US singer, actress)
1976: Gigi Leung (Hong Kong singer, actress)
1976: Baek Ji Young (South Korean singer)
1975: Melanie Blatt [UK singer; All Saints/solo].
1975:
Juvenile/Terius Gray (US rapper; Hot Boys/solo)
1974: Finley Quaye [Scottish reggae singer].
1973: Anders Fridén (Swedish singer; In Flames)
1971: Michael McKeegan [Irish bassist; Therapy?]
1970:
Teri Moïse (US singer)
1969:
Jeffrey Walker (UK bassist, vocals; Carcass/Blackstar/solo)
1969: Cathy Dennis [UK singer, songwriter].
1966: Jeff Healey (Canadian blind jazz and blues-rock guitarist,
vocalist)*02.March.2008.
1960: Steve Norman [UK saxophonist, guitar, percussion; New Romantic/Spandau
Ballet/Cloudfish].
1954: Nathan Watts [US bassist; Motown/Miles Davis/Session/freelance]
1951: Bob Pelander [US keyboardist, vocalist; Michael Stanley Band]
1951: Maisie Williams [Montserratan singer; Boney M].
1950: Chuck Greenberg (US musician; Shadowfax)*04.Sept.1995.
1949: Nick Lowe [UK bassist, vocals; Brinsley Schwarz/Rockpile/solo/guest].
1949: Neil Jones [Welsh guitarist; Amen Corner]
1947: Duncan Browne (UK singer, songwriter)*28.May.1993.
1947: Sir Elton Hercules John/Reginald Kenneth Dwight [UK singer/songwriter/pianist].
1947: Jack Hall (US bassist; Charlie Daniels Band)
1942: Aretha Franklin (US singer, Queen of Soul).
1940: Anita Bryant (US singer, gay rights opponent)
1938: Hoyt Axton [US
singer, songwriter, piano, guitar, actor]*26.Oct.1999.
1934: Johnny Burnette (US singer, songwriter)*14.Aug.1964.
1931: Paul Motian
(US jazz drummer, percussionist, composer; Bill Evans/leader)*22.Nov.2011.
1931: Thomas
Blanchard Wilson Jr (US record producer;
Columbia/verve)*06.Sept.1978.
1923: Bonnie Guitar/Bonnie Buckingham (US
singer)
1919:
Nelly Byl (Belgian songwriter)*30.Nov.2011.
1915: Dorothy Squires/Edna
May Squires (Welsh vocalist; Billy Reid Orchestra/solo)*14.April.1998.
1910: Magda Olivero (Italian soprano)
1911: Harold
Lewis (American flautist, piccolo player; session musician)*05.Jan.2010.
1906: Jean Sablon (French singer)*24.Feb.1994
1903: Frankie Carle (US pianist, bandleader)*07.March.2001
1887: Nicolae
Bretan (Romanian
baritone
opera singer, composer, conductor)*01.Dec.1968.
1867:
Arturo Toscanini
(Italian
celloist, world conductor)*16.Jan.1957.
March
26th.
1990: Yuya Takaki (Japanese
actor, singer)
1989: Josiah Leming (US singer-songwriter)
1987: Yui (Japanese singer-songwriter,
guitarist)
1986: Jonny Craig (Canadian
singer, songwriter)
1984: Stéphanie Lapointe (French-Canadian
singer)
1981: Jay Sean (UK
R&B singer)
1980: Son Ho Young (Korean singer)
1979: Hiromi Uehara (Japanese
jazz pianist)
1971: John Hendy [UK singer; East 17].
1968: James Iha [US guitarist; Smashing Pumpkins].
1968: Kenny Chesney [US country singer/songwriter].
1964: Baz Warne (UK guitarist; The Stranglers)
1963: Roch Voisine (Canadian singer, songwriter)
1957: Paul Morley [UK writer-New Musical Express, co-founder-Art
Of Noise,TV presenter].
1956: Charly McClain (US singer)
1955: Martin Price [US keyboardist, co-founder; 808 State].
1953:
Johnson
(Indian film score composer, music director)*18.Aug.2011.
1953: Billy Lyall [Scottish keyboard, vocals;
Pilot/Bay City Rollers]*01.Dec.1989.
1950: Teddy Pendergrass (US
singer, drums; Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes/solo/freelance)*13.Jan.2010.
1949: Vicki Lawrence (US
actress, singer)
1948: Steven Tyler
[US lead singer, harmonica; Aerosmith].
1948: Richard Tandy [US bassist, keyboards;
ELO].
1949: Fran Sheehan [US bassist, percussion,
backing vocals; Boston].
1944: Diana Ross [US singer; Supreme/solos].
1942: Larry Butler (US
country music producer, musician, songwriter)*20.Jan.2012.
1925:
James Moody (US
jazz saxophonist, flute player)*09.Dec.2010.
1925: Pierre Boulez (French composer, conductor)
1917: Rufus Thomas [US R&B and soul singer]*15.Dec.2001.
1916: Harry Rabinowitz (South African composer,
conductor)
1906: Rafael Mendez
(Mexican trumpetist)*15.Sept.1981
1886: Al Jolson/Asa Yoelson
(US singer, songwriter, blackface minstrel)*23.Oct.1950.
1884:
Wilhelm Backhaus (German pianist)*05.July.1969.
March 27th.
1984:
Laura Critchley (UK singer-song writer).
1981: Lin Jun Jie (Chinese singer)
1980: Cesare Cremonini (Italian singer, songwriter).
1975: Fergie/Stacy Ann Ferguson
(US singer; Wild Orchid/Black Eyed Peas).
1970: Brent Fitz (Canadian drummer; Theory of a Deadman/freelance/sessionist)
1970: Mariah Carey [US pop diva, singer].
1970: Brendan Hill [UK drummer; Blues Traveler].
1965: Johnny April [US bassist; Staind].
1964: Clark Datchler (UK singer,
songwriter, multi-musician, producer;
Johnny Hates Jazz/solo).
1964: Derrick McKenzie (UK drummer; Jamiroquai).
1964:
Glenn Carter (UK actor, singer-songwriter)
1963:
Charly Alberti/Carlos Alberto Ficicchia Gigliotti (Argentinian drummer;
Soda Stereo)
1963: Dave Koz (US smooth jazz saxophonist)
1961: Tak Matsumoto (Japanese guitarist; B'z)
1962: Jann Arden (Canadian singer)
1960:
Renato Russo/Renato
Manfredini Jr
(Brazilian punk bassist, singer-songwriter)*11.Oct.1996.
1959: Andrew Farris (Australian keyboardist, songwriter; INXS]
1957: Billy MacKenzie (Scottish singer; The Associates)*22.Jan.1997.
1952: Richard Séguin (Canadian Quebec singer, songwriter)
1950: Tony Banks [UK piano, keyboards, songwriter; Genesis/solo/guest]
1946: Andrew Brown [UK keyboards; Herd].
1946: Olaf Malolepski (German
singer; Die Flippers)
1940:
Janis Martin (American
rockabilly singer)*03.Sept.2007.
1927: Mstislav Rostropovich (Russian cellist and conductor)*27.April.2007.
1925: Frank
Lewin
(US composer, music theorist)*18.Jan.2008.
1924: Sarah Vaughan
(US jazz
singer)*03.April.1990.
1915: Robert Lockwood Jr (US blues guitarist)*21.Nov.2006.
1914:
Snooky Lanson/Roy Landman (US singer,
TV personality; Your Hit Parade)*02.July.1990.
1908:
Alberto Semprini (English
pianist)*19.Jan.1990.
1909: Ben Webster (US jazz saxophonist)*20.Sept.1973.
1906: Pee Wee Russell/Charles Ellsworth Russell (US jazz clarinetist)*15.Feb.1969.
March
28th.
1986: J-Kwon/Jerrell Jones (US
rapper)
1986: Lady Gaga/Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
(US singer)
1984: Oliver Drake/ (UK guitarist; Evile)
1976: Dave Keuning (US guitarist; The
Killers).
1974:
Scott Mills (UK
radio disc jockey)
1973: Matt Nathanson (US singer-songwriter)
1971: Mr. Cheeks/Andrew Benson/Terrance
Kelly (US
rapper)
1969: Rodney Atkins (US country music
singer-songwriter)
1969: James Atkin (UK vocalist, guitar;
EMF).
1968: Jon Lee (Welsh drummer; Feeder)*07.Jan.2002.
1965: Steve Turner (US guitarist, Mudhoney/ The Fall-Outs)
1963:
Andy Cousin (UK bassist; All About Eve/The Mission/The Lucy Nation)
1962: Ged Grimes (Scottish bassist; Danny Wilson Band).
1958: Edesio Alejandro (Cuban music composer).
1955: Reba McEntire (US singer, actress)
1951: Matti Pellonpää (Finnish actor, singer)*13.July.1995.
1950: Claudio Lolli (Italian singer-songwriter)
1948: Milan Williams (US keyboards, brass, guitar; The Commodores)*09.July.2006.
1948: John Evan/John Spencer Evans, [UK keyboardist; Tallis/Jethro
Tull/John Evan Band].
1947: John Landecker (US disk jockey)
1947: Paul Jackson [US jazz bassist; Headhunters/freelance].
1955: Reba McEntire [US country singer].
1945: Chuck Portz [US bassist; Turtles].
1945: Sally Carr [Scottish singer, percussion; Middle Of The Road].
1942: Samuel Ramey (US opera singer)
1941: Alf Clausen (US orchestra conductor)
1941: Charlie McCoy (US hamonica player, guitarist; Area Code 615).
1933: Tete Montoliu (Catalonian
jazz pianist)*24.Aug.1997.
1930:
Robert Ashley (US composer)
1930: Elizabeth Bainbridge (UK opera singer)
1928: Willie Mitchell (US singer, bandleader, record producer)*05.Jan.2010.
1923:
Ike Isaacs (US jazz
bassist; many greats/sessionist)*27.Feb.1981
1922: Felice Chiusano (Italian singer)*03.Feb.1990.
1915: Jay Livingston (US
composer, singer; songwriting duo with Ray Evans)*17.Oct.2001.
1903: Rudolf Serkin (Austrian pianist)*08.May.1991.
1902:
Jaromír Vejvoda (Czech composer)*13.Nov.1988.
1890: Paul Whiteman (US jazz violinist; own orchestra)*29.Dec.1967.
1871:
Willem Mengelberg (Dutch
conductor)*21.March.1951.
March 29th.
1984:
Mai Satoda (Japanese singer)
1983: Luiza da Silva e Sá (Brazilian guitarist, drummer; Cansei
de Ser Sexy)
1968: Sue Foley (Canadian singer, guitarist)
1968: Lucy Lawless (New Zealand actress, singer)
1967: John Popper [US singer, harmonica; Blues Traveler/Frogwings].
1959: Perry Farrell [US singer; Psi Com/Porno for Pyros/Jane's
Addiction].
1956: Patty Donahue (US lead singer; Waitresses)*09.Dec.1996.
1949: Dave Greenfield [UK keyboards; Stranglers].
1949: Michael Brecker (US
saxophonist; Brecker Brs/sessionist/won 11 Grammys)*13.Jan.2007
1947: Bobby Kimball [lead singer; Toto/Kayak].
1946: Billy Thorpe (Australian lead singer, guitar; Billy Thorpe
& the Aztecs/solo)*28.Feb.2007.
1945: John 'Speedy' Keen (UK vocals,drums,songwriter;Thunderclap
Newman/solo)*21.March.2002.
1944: Terry Jacks (Canadian singer, guitar, record producer; The
Chessmen/solo).
1943: Vangelis/Evangelos Odyssey Papathanassiou (Greek keyboardist,
synth; Jon & Vangelis).
1943: Eric Idle (UK actor, writer, composer)
1943: Chad Allan/Allan Kowbel (Canadian lead vocals, rhythm guitarist;
Expressions, Guess Who)
1941: Eden Kane/Richard Graham Sarstedt (UK pop singer).
1940: Ray Davis (US original bass singer;
The Parliaments/Parliament/Funkadelic/Temptations)*05.July.2005
1940: Astrud Gilberto (Brazilian singer)
1918: Pearl Bailey (US singer, actress)*17.Aug.1990.
1911:
Albert Ferber (Swiss-English
international pianist)*11.Jan.1987.
1907: Abe Lincoln (Jazz trombonist; many bands/session/freelance)*08.June.2000
1907: Braguinha/Carlos Alberto Ferreira Braga
(Brazilian songwriter)*24.Dec.2006.
1906: E. Power Biggs (American concert organist, recording artist)*10.March.1977.
1902: William Walton (English composer)*08.March.1983.
March
30th.
1994: Sarah Solovay (US singer-songwriter)
1990:
AJ/Lee Gi Kwang (Korean singer, dancer; Beast)
1986: Beni Arashiro (Japanese singer)
1984: Anna Nalick (US singer and songwriter)
1983:
Scott Moffatt (Canadian singer and songwriter)
1983: Hebe Tien (Taiwanese singer; S.H.E)
1982: George Jones (UK
guitarist; Man and with The Spectaculars/son of guitarist Micky Jones)
1980: Yalin/Hüseyin Yalin (Turkish singer-songwriter)
1979: Norah Jones [US singer].
1979: Simon Webbe [UK vocalist; Blue].
1976: Mark McClelland
(Northern Irish bassist; Snow Patrol/Little Doses).
1973: DJ
AM/Adam Michael Goldstein (US DJ, club
owner; Crazy Town)*28.Aug.2009.
1968: Celine Dion [Canadian singer].
1967: Ace/Martin Kent [UK guitarist, Skunk Anansie]
1967: Hayashibara Megumi (Japanese voice actress, singer)
1966: Joey Castillo (US drummer; Queens of the Stone Age)
1965: Tim Dorney (UK keyboardist; Republica).
1964: Tracy Chapman (US singer, guitar, songwriter).
1963: Eli-Eri Moura (Brazilian composer, conductor)
1962: M.C. Hammer/Stanley Kirk Burrell (US rap artist).
1959: Sabine Meyer (German clarinetist)
1955: Randy VanWarmer (US singer, songwriter,composer)*12.Jan.2004.
1950: Dave Ball (UK guitarist; Bedlam/Procol Harum/freelance).
1949: Lena Lovich/Lili-Marlene Premilovich (US singer, saxophone).
1948: James "Jim Dandy" Mangrum (US lead vocals; Black
Oak Arkansas).
1945: Johnny Walker/Peter Dingley (UK Radio DJ; Radio Caroline/BBC
Radio).
1945: Eric Clapton (UK singer, guitarist, songwriter).
1943: John "Jay" Traynor (US original singer; Jay and
the Americans).
1943:
Kenny
Forssi (US bassist; Love /studio sessionist)*05.Jan.1998.
1941: Graeme Edge (UK drummer; Moody Blues).
1935: Karl Berger (German musicologist, jazz vibraphone, pianist,
composer)
1930: Rolf Harris (Australian singer, didjeridu player, pianist,
artist).
1926: Werner Torkanowsky (German conductor)*20.Oct.1992.
1917:
Randy
Wood (US
record producer, founder of Dot Records)*09.April.2011.
1914: Sonny Boy Williamson I/John Lee Williamson (US blues harmonica
player & pioneer)*01.Jun.1948.
1913: Frankie Laine/Francesco Paolo LoVecchio (US singer)*06.Feb.2007.
1902: Ted Heath (British band leader, trombonist, composer)*18.Nov.1969.
1750: John Stafford Smith (British composer)*21.Sept.1836.
March 31st..
1987: Georg Listing (German bassist; Tokio
Hotel).
1982: Ryland Blackinton (US guitarist; Cobra Starship)
1982: Lennon Anne Murphy (US rock singer/songwriter)
1981: Ryan Bingham (US singer, songwriter)
1979:
Amey Date (Indian playback singer)
1978: Tony Yayo/Marvin Bernard (US rapper).
1977: Toshiya/? (Japanese bassist; Dir en grey).
1974: Stefan Olsdal [Swedish bassist; Placebo].
1971: Julian Deane [UK guitarist; Toploader].
1969: Jerry Finn (American record producer)*21.Aug.2008.
1965: Piotr Zyzelewicz (Polish drummer; Voo Voo/many others)*13.May.2011.
1964: Paul Wong Koon-Chung (Hong Kong guitarist; Beyond/Hann/solo).
1960: Michelle
Nicastro (US
singer, actress)*06.Nov.2010.
1960: Julian Deane (Brit guitarist; Toploader)
1959: Ali McMordie (Irish bassist; Stiff Little Fingers).
1959: Robert Holmes [US guitarist; 'Til Tuesday].
1958: Pat McGlynn [Scottish rhythm guitarist; Bay City Rollers].
1958: Paul Ferguson (UK drummer; Pink Parts/Killing Joke/Pigface).
1955: Angus Young [Scottish guitar; AC/DC].
1954: Tony Brock [UK drummer; Babys].
1953: Sean Hopper [US keyboard: Huey Lewis & the News].
1951: Frankie Sabath (Puerto Rican performer, singer)
1948: Thijs van Leer (Dutch organist, flute, singer composer; Focus/solo/guest)
1947: Al
Goodman (US baritone
soul
singer;
Moments/Ray,
Goodman & Brown)*26.July.2010.
1947: Kristian Blak (Danish musician, composer and recording executive)
1947: John Poulos [US drummer; The Buckinghams]*26.March.1980.
1946: Al Nichol [US lead guitarist; Turtles].
1944: Pascal Danel (French singer, songwriter).
1944:
Mick Ralphs [UK guitarist; Bad Company].
1944: Malcolm Roberts (UK solo
singer, actor)*07.Feb.2003.
1944: Rod Allen/Rodney Bainbridge (UK lead vocalist, bass player;
The Fortunes)*10.Jan.2008.
1938: Arthur B. Rubinstein (US composer)
1935: Herb Alpert [US trumpet; vocals].
1934: John D. Loudermilk (US singer, songwriter)
1934: Shirley Jones [US acress, Mom on TV's Partridge Family].
1929: Gene
Puerling (American jazz musician, singer,
musical arranger)*25.March.2008.
1928: Lefty Frizzell/William Orville Frizzell (US country singer,
songwriter)*19.July.1975.
1922: Richard Kiley (US actor, singer)*05.March.1999.
1911:
Elisabeth Grümmer (German operatic
soprano)*06.Nov.1986
1908: Red Norvo (US jazz vibraphonist)*06.April.1999.
1893: Clemens Krauss (Austrian conductor)*16.May.1954.
1732: Joseph Haydn [Austrian
composer, keyboards, "Father of the Symphony"]*31.May.1809.
Back to Top
~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
REMEMBER
THIS MONTH
MARCH
????
1942: Leo Adde (37) American
jazz drummer, he
began by playing the cigar box on percussion, as a duo with Raymond Burke
on the streets of New Orleans in the mid-1910s. He joined the Halfway
House Orchestra under Abbie Brunies in the early 1920s, after which he
played in Johnny Millinder's New Orleans Frolickers. Leo also recorded
in the 1920s with Johnny Bayersdorffer and with the New Orleans Rhythm
Kings. In the 1930s he drummed with the Melody Masters, led by Sharkey
Bonano and Louis Prima's brother Leon Prima. He moved with the ensemble
to New York City, where they sometimes performed as the New Orleans Melody
Masters. Later in the decade he recorded with the New Orleans Owls, and
returned to New Orleans at the end of the 1930s (?)
b.
April 21st 1904.
March
1st.
1932:
Frank Teschemacher (25) American
jazz clarinetist and alto-saxophonist, along with Jimmy McPartland, Bud
Freeman and others, he was associated with the "Austin High"
gang. He was mainly self-taught on his instruments and doubled on violin
and banjo early in his career. Strongly influenced by cornetist Bix Beiderbecke,
he started playing the clarinet professionally in 1925. He began recording
under his own name in 1928. His intense solo work laid the groundwork
for a rich sound and creative approach, that is credited with influencing
a young Benny Goodman and a style of which Pee Wee Russell is perhaps
the best-known representative. (killed in
a car accident as a passenger in a car driven by his performing associate
cornetist "Wild" Bill Davison, just days before of what would
have been his 26th birthday) b. March 13th 1906.
1937: Clarence Holiday (38)
American jazz guitarist; he worked locally until he became a member of
the Fletcher "Smack" Henderson Orchestra in 1928 for 5 years,
after which he worked and recorded with Benny Carter in 1934, Bob Howard
and also with Charlie Turner in 1935, then Louis Metcalf from 1935, before
joining the Don Redman Big Band in 1936 till his early death. Clarence
was also the father to the great Billie Holiday
(?) b. July
23rd 1898.
1970: Lucille Hegamin (76)
American singer and a pioneer of African American blues. At the age
of 15 she was touring the US South with Minstrel shows and became a prominent
singer, billed as "The Georgia Peach". Settling in Chicago in
1914 she worked with Tony Jackson and Jelly Roll Morton before marrying
pianist Bill Hegamin. He led Lucille' band the Blue Flame Syncopators,
first in L.A. and then in New York. In November 1920 she became the second
ever African American blues singer to record, after Mamie Smith. In 1926
she performed in Clarence Williams' Review at the Lincoln Theater in New
York, then in various reviews in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey
through to 1934, when she retired from the music business to become a
nurse. In 1961 and 1962 she
came out of retirement to make more records (died
in Harlem Hospital in New York City) b. November
29th 1894.
1974: Robert "Bobby" Timmons (38)
American jazz pianist and composer; born in Philadelphia, and is best
known for his role as sideman in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers from 1958-1961
and the composition of "Moanin'", "Dat Dere", and
"This Here", each of which are typical of his distinctive gospel
soul-jazz style. He also played with Cannonball Adderley, Chet Baker,
Hank Mobley, Lee Morgan, Donald Byrd, Kenny Burrell, Sonny Stitt, Maynard
Ferguson and Kenny Dorham with whom he made his recording debut in a live
set from May 1956 (sadly died from cirrhosis of
the liver) b. December 19th 1935.
1976: Jean Martinon
(66) French conductor and composer born in Lyon, France
where he began his education, at the Conservatoire de Paris. During WW
II, he was taken prisoner in 1940, composing works such as Chant des captifs
while incarcerated. Among his other compositions are four symphonies,
four concertos, additional choral works and chamber music. After the war,
he was appointed conductor of the Orchestre de la Société
des Concerts du Conservatoire of Paris, and, in 1946, of the Bordeaux
Philharmonic Orchestra. Other orchestras with which he was officially
associated include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; the Düsseldorfer
Symphoniker; the French National Orchestra; the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra,
the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra,
the Concerts Lamoureux, and Het Residentie Orkest in The Hague (Jean
sadly died after a brave fight with bone cancer)
b. January 10th 1910.
1991: Frank Esler-Smith (42)
British arranger and keyboard player for the soft-rock band Air Supply
in the 1970s and during their 1980s heyday, with hits such as "Lost
in Love", "All Out of Love", "The One That You Love",
"Every Woman in the World", "Here I Am", "Even
the Nights Are Better", and "Making Love Out of Nothing at All"
among many others. Born in London, but
he attended Melbourne Uni, Australia to study architecture. However, his
early passion had been classical music, and he would later gain extensive
experience as an orchestral conductor in settings as variegated as musical
theatre and rock recordings. He first met principal Air Supply members
Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell while he was working with the orchestra
in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar that included Hitchcock and
Russell as castmembers. He collaborated with many other musicians and
songwriters throughout his career (sadly died from
pneumonia, AIDS related)
b. June 5th 1948.
2002: Doreen Waddell (36)
British singer with the R&B-dance
group Soul II Soul best known for their 1989 UK chart-topper and U.S.
Top 5 hit, "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" and also
as a member of the British acid house group KLF (when
being chased from a store for shoplifting, she ran onto the A27
Worthing, where horricically she was hit by 3 vehicles, dying instantly)
b. July 10th 1965.
2006: Johnny Jackson (54) American
musician; noted for being the drummer for The Jackson 5 from their early
Gary, Indiana days until the end of their famed career at Motown. The
label presented Johnny as the cousin of Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon,
Michael, but Johnny is not directly related to the Jacksons (tragically
stabbed to death by his girlfriend)
b. March 3rd 1951.
2009: Tony Osborne (86) British
musician born in Cambridge, who found success
arranging for some of the biggest stars of the 1950s and ’60s. A
versatile musician, he was a junior accordion champion, could play the
bass, piano and trumpet. After
serving in the RAF during the WWII he sought work as a session musician
in London. He played with top band leaders and also the BBC Orchestra
on scores for their radio comedy shows and progressed to writing arrangements.
He landed work for EMI while his band, the Brass Hats, became the house
band on kids' show Six-Five Special and composed the theme for another,
Juke Box Jury. This led to work with Eartha Kitt and Dorothy Squires and
helped create some of the biggest hits of the era, including Gracie Fields
’ Around The World, Connie Francis’ Mama and the Beverley Sisters’
Sisters. Most notably Shirley Bassey for whom he wrote several songs,
arranged many more and conducted concert performances. I (Who Have Nothing)
was his biggest success with Bassey, No.1 in 1963.
In the late 60s, he started playing on cruise ships,
and settled in Sydney, Australia, where he led a tour with six surviving
members of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He spent the remaining years of
his life listening to music and enjoying a residency as the pianist at
the Sydney Yacht Club (?) b.
June 29th 1922.
March
2nd.
1938:
Benjamin Robertson "Ben"
Harney (65) America
songwriter, entertainer, and pioneer of ragtime music. His father's military
records show Ben was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He toured widely on the
Vaudeville circuits in the USA, as well as tours of theatres in Europe,
Asia, Australasia and the South Pacific. His 1895 composition "You've
Been a Good Old Wagon but You Done Broke Down" is regarded as one
of the first published ragtime songs. Other compositions included "Mister
Johnson, Turn Me Loose", "Cake Walk In The Sky", "There's
A Knocker Layin' Around", "You May Go, but This Will Bring You
Back", "Cannon Ball Catcher", "T.T.T. (Treat, Trade
or Travel)", "I Love My Little Honey", "The Wagon"
and "There's Only One Way to Keep a Gal". In 1924, the New York
Times wrote that Ben "probably did more to popularize ragtime than
any other person". Time Magazine termed him "Ragtime's Father"
in 1938. (Heart attack)
b. March 6th 1872
1942: Charlie Christian (24)
American
jazz guitarist and blues singer; the first important electric guitarist,
he was an important early performer on the electric guitar, and is cited
as a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained national
exposure as a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra from August
1939 to June 1941. His single-string technique combined with amplification
helped bring the guitar out of the rhythm section and into the forefront
as a solo instrument. In
1990 Charlie
was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
(tuberculosis)
b. July 29th 1916.
1972: James "Spanky" DeBrest (34)
American jazz bassist; he
played with Lee Morgan in his early years in Philadelphia. In 1957 he
was a member of Ray Draper's Quintet, with Jackie McLean, pianist Mal
Waldron, and drummer Ben Dixon. He also played with Art Blakey's Jazz
Messengers until 1958, including sessions with Thelonious Monk. Other
credits include work with greats such as John Coltrane, Clifford Jordan,
Ray Draper, Lee Morgan, and J. J. Johnson. His last recordings were made
in 1971 (?)
b. April 24th 1937
1991: Serge Gainsbourg/Lucien Ginsburg (62)
French
legendary singer, pianist, guitarist; born in Paris, France, known as
the saucey old man of popular music and provocateur notorious for his
appetite for alcohol, cigarettes, and women, his scandalous, taboo-shattering
output made him a legend in Europe but only a cult figure in America.
In late-1967, he had a short but ardent love affair with Brigitte Bardot
to whom he dedicated the song and album Initials BB. His early songs influenced
by Boris Vian, were largely in the vein of old-fashioned chanson. However,
Serge began to move beyond this and experiment with a succession of different
musical styles: jazz early on to pop in the 1960s, rock and reggae in
the 1970s, and electronica in the 1980s. His many hits include "Bonnie
and Clyde", "Lemon Incest", "Je t'aime... moi non
plus", "Poupée de cire, poupée de son", "Comment
te dire adieu", "Mon légionnaire", "White and
Black Blues", and "Les Sucettes". During his career, he
wrote the soundtracks for more than 40 films. In 1996, he received a posthumous
César Award for Best Music Written for a Film for Élisa,
along with Zbigniew Preisner and Michel Colombier. (Serge
died of a heart attack, his death
virtually lead to national mourning in France)
b. April 2nd 1928.
1999: David Thomas Ackles (62) American
singer-songwriter of the 1960s and 1970s, born in Rock Island, Illinois.
Although he never gained wide commercial
success, he influenced many other artists. When Elvis Costello was inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, he cited David Ackles in
his speech as one of his major influences. Elton John and Phil Collins,
are self-declared fans of David too. When Phil Collins was on the British
BBC radio show Desert Island Discs, he selected David Ackles' song "Down
River" as one of his eight all-time favorite songs. David had also
been a child actor, appearing in six of the eight films in Columbia Pictures'
Rusty children's film series made 1945-1949. (died
of lung cancer) b.
February 27th 1937
1999: Dusty
Springfield/Mary O'Brien (59)
British husky-voiced soul singer;
UK's greatest pop diva, also the finest white soul singer of her era,
a performer of remarkable emotional resonance whose work spans the decades.
She began her solo career in '63 with the upbeat pop hit, "I Only
Want To Be With You". Other hits included "I Just Don't Know
What to Do with Myself", "Wishin' and Hopin'" and "You
Don't Have to Say You Love Me". Her rendition of "The Look of
Love", was included on the soundtrack of the James Bond movie Casino
Royale and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. Dusty in
Memphis earned her a nomination for the Grammy Award and it received the
Grammy Hall of Fame award. International polls list the album among the
greatest of all time. Its standout track "Son of a Preacher Man"
was an international Top 10 hit in 1969. Because of her enthusiasm for
Motown music, she campaigned to get some little-known American soul music
singers a better audience in the U.K. She devised and hosted The Sound
Of Motown, a special edition of Ready Steady Go! TV programme on 28 April
1965. The show was broadcast by Rediffusion TV from their studios in Kingsway,
London. Dusty opened the two parts of the show, performing "Wishin'
and Hopin'" and "Can't Hear You No More", accompanied by
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Motown's in-house band The Funk Brothers.
Other guests included The Temptations, The Supremes, The Miracles, Stevie
Wonder. In 1987, she sang with the Pet Shop Boys on their single "What
Have I Done to Deserve This?" it reached No.2 on both sides of the
Atlantic. While in Nashville, Dusty fell ill during the recording her
final album A Very Fine Love (breast cancer)
b. April 16th 1939.
2003: Hank Ballard/John Henry Kendricks (75)
American singer and songwriter born in Bessemer,
Alabama, but grew up in Detroit, Michigan with relatives, where he began
singing in church. In 1951, he formed a doo-wop group and was discovered
by the legendary band leader Johnny Otis, and was signed to sing with
a group called The Royals. The group changed its name to The Midnighters
to avoid confusion with The "5" Royales. Their debut single
in 1953 "Get It" was shunned by many radio stations because
it contained sexually oriented lyrics. In 1954, Hank wrote the song "Work
With Me Annie", drawn from "Get It", it became The Midnighters'
first major R&B hit, going to No.1 on the R&B charts. After a
small string of hits, the group dissolved in 1965. Hank tried to launch
a solo career, working with James Brown, but he re-formed The Midnighters,
and The Midnighters Band, they toured from the mid 1980's til 2002. (throat
cancer) b. November 18th 1927.
2003: Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson
AO, CBE (71) Australian composer
born in Sydney; he wrote seven symphonies; four numbered piano concertos
(plus the Concerto for Two Pianos & Strings, the Concerto for Two
Pianos & Wind Quintet, after Rawsthorne, and the Sinfonia Concertante),
a violin concerto, an organ concerto, a harp concerto and a saxophone
concerto; many orchestral works; operas including English eccentrics,
to a libretto by Edith Sitwell; Our Man in Havana, after Graham Greene's
novel; The Violins of Saint Jacques from Patrick Leigh-Fermor's novel,
and which features a volcanic eruption killing all the principal characters
except one; Lucky Peter's Journey and The Growing Castle, both of which
set plays by August Strindberg). He also wrote several ballets including
Sun Into Darkness and The Display, many effective choral works, chamber
music, music for solo piano, music for film and television including "Prologue"
and "Main Title" of Watership Down.
Malcolm also wrote music for children, including the operas The Happy
Prince (based on the story by Oscar Wilde) and Julius Caesar Jones; as
well as cassations, short operas incorporating audience participation.
One of these, The Valley and the Hill, written for the silver jubilee
of Elizabeth II, was performed by 18,000 children. After the death of
Sir Arthur Bliss, Malclom held the title of Master of the Queen's Music
from 1975 to 2003 (He died in hospital in Cambridge
after a series of illnesses)
b. November 21st 1931.
2005: Martin
Denny (93) American pianoist and composer
known as the "father of exotica"; a child
prodigy, at age ten he studied piano under Lester Spitz and Isadore Gorn.
In a long career that saw him performing into his 90s, he toured the world
popularizing his brand of lounge music which included exotic percussion,
imaginative rearrangements of popular songs, and original songs that celebrated
Tiki culture. In 1958, Dick Clark hosted Denny on American Bandstand.
"Quiet Village" reached No.2 on Billboard's charts in 1959 with
the Exotica album" reaching No.1. He rode the charts of Cashbox and
Variety also. Denny had as many as three or four albums on the charts
simultaneously during his career. He also had national hits with "A
Taste of Honey", "The Enchanted Sea", and "Ebb Tide".
(His
last concert was held in Hawaii on February 13th 2005 at a benefit to
aid tsunami victims, just three weeks later he sadly passed away)
b. April 10th 1911.
2008: Jeff Healey (41) Canadian jazz-blues-rock
guitarist and vocalist born in Toronto, Ontario. Jeff lost his sight to
retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eyes. His eyes had to be surgically
removed, and he was given artificial replacements. He began playing guitar
when he was three, developing his unique style of playing the instrument
flat on his lap. At 17, he formed a local band Blue Direction. He was
soon hosting a blues show on radio staion CIUT-FM where he became known
for playing from his massive collection of vintage 78 RPM gramophone records,
after which he formed a trio, "The Jeff Healey Band". In 1988,
the band released the album See the Light, featuring the hit single "Angel
Eyes" and the song "Hideaway", which was nominated for
a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. While recording
See the Light, they were also filming and recording for the soundtrack
of the Patrick Swayze film Road House. Jeff had numerous acting scenes
in the movie with Swayze, as his band was the house cover band for the
bar featured in the movie. In 1990, the band won the Juno Award for Canadian
Entertainer of the Year. The albums ''Hell to Pay'' and ''Feel This''
gave Jeff 10 charting singles in Canada between 1990 and 1994, including
a cover of The Beatles' While My Guitar Gently Weeps which featured George
Harrison and Jeff Lynne on backing vocals and acoustic guitar. Over the
years, he toured and sat-in with many legends, including, Dire Straits,
Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, BB King, ZZ Top, Steve Lukather, Eric Clapton
and many more. In 2006, Jeff appeared on Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan's
CD/DVD ''Gillan's Inn''. He passed away a month before the release of
his album, Mess of Blues, which was his first rock/blues album in eight
years (sadly died after a couple of years of health
problems and a brave battle cancer)
b. March 25th 1966.
2009: Ernie Ashworth (80) American
country singer, songwriter and longtime star of the Grand Ole Opry in
Nashville. He began his career singing on Huntsville radio station WBHP.
In 1949, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he worked for several
radio stations and was signed by Wesley Rose as a songwriter for Acuff-Rose
Music. Among the artists who recorded his songs were Jimmy Dickens, Carl
Smith, Johnny Horton and Paul Anka. As a singer his first single, "Each
Moment (Spent With You)," became a Top 5 Hit, which was followed
by another top 10 hit "You Can’t Pick A Rose In December".
Then
the release that would become his signature song “Talk Back Trembling
Lips” went to No.1 and he was voted "Most Promising Male Artist"
by Cashbox, Billboard and Record World in 1963 and 1964 and he was also
invited to join the cast of the Grand Ole Opry in 1964. In 1989, he purchased
radio station WSLV in Ardmore, Tennessee. In 1992, Ernie was inducted
into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and remained active as a recording
artist until his death (?)
b. December 15th 1928.
2011: Erling Kroner (67)
Danish trombonist and bandleader, born in Copenhagen; during
1969–70 and 1973–74, he attended Berklee College of Music in
Boston, but played professionally beginning as early as 1961, amongst
others in Germany in the Dixieland Stompers and played avant garde music,
amongst others with John Tchicai, and rock in Melvis & His Gentlemen.
In 1967 he formed his own band, which he kept together ever since, and
which primarily was a quintet or tentet. During the 1970s Erling played
in NDR's Big Band in Hamburg. 1973–1986 he also was a member of the
DR Big Band and played in Leif Johanssons orchestra and Lasse Beijboms
band – White Orange. From mid-1990s he was bandleader of a big orchestra
together with Lasse Beijbom – The Beijbom-Kroner Big Band. In 2004
he and the American baritone saxophonist Ed Epstein formed the band Bari-Bone
Connection, who recorded the album Bari My Heart (sadly
died after a fight with cancer) b. April
16th 1943.
March
3rd.
1961: Paul Wittgenstein (73) Austrian-born
concert pianist, who became known for his ability to play with just his
left hand, after he lost his right arm during the First World War. He
devised novel techniques, including pedal and hand-movement combinations,
that allowed him to play chords previously regarded as impossible for
a five-fingered pianist. He commissioned several pieces for the left hand
from prominent composers. Benjamin Britten, Paul Hindemith, Erich Wolfgang
Korngold, Sergei Prokofiev, Franz Schmidt, Sergei Bortkiewicz, and Richard
Strauss all produced pieces for him. Maurice Ravel wrote his Piano Concerto
for the Left Hand, which became more famous than any of the other compositions.
Paul became an American citizen in 1946, where he did a good deal of teaching
as well as playing (?)
b. November 5th 1887.
1987: Danny Kaye/David Daniel Kominski
(74) American
actor, singer, dancer, comedian and was the first ambassador-at-large
of UNICEF.
He became extremely popular in films with his bravura performances of
patter songs and for children's favorites such as The Inch Worm and The
Ugly Duckling. Danny first gained fame on Broadway by upstaging the great
Gertrude Lawrence in Lady in the Dark with an unforgettable rendition
of the "Tchaikovsky," in which he rapidly fired off the names
of 54 Russian composers in 38 seconds! His many films included 'Hans Christian
Andersen', 'White Christmas', 'The Court Jester', Merry Andrew'. He also
portrayed
cornet player and bandleader Red Nichols
in the film 'The Five Pennies'. He appeared on many TV shows as well as
his own show in the 1960s. (sadly died of a heart
attack, following a bout with hepatitis) b.
January 18th 1913.
1993: Carlos Montoya (89)
Spanish flamenco guitarist born in Madrid;
he began studying the guitar with his mother and a neighboring barber,
Pepe el Barbero. By the time he was 14 years old he was accompanying dancers
and singers in the cafes of Madrid, Spain. In
the 1920s and 1930s he performed extensively in Europe, North America,
and Asia with the likes of La Teresina. The outbreak of World War II brought
him to the United States where he began his most successful days as a
musician, and frequently toured with the dancer La Argentina. Settling
in New York City during World War II, he began touring on his own, bringing
his fiery style to concert halls, universities, and orchestras. During
this period he made a few recordings for several major and independent
labels including RCA Victor, Everest and Folkways. Carlos would toured
all year round but always returned to his homeland, Spain for Christmas
with his family (died
in Wainscott, New York)
b. December 13th 1903.
2000: Toni Ortelli
(95) Italian alpinist, conductor and
composer from, born in Schio, the Veneto region of Italy. He
is well known in the southern Alps regions of Italy, Austria and Switzerland
for being the composer of the famous Trentino folk song "La Montanara"/The
Song of the Mountains. He wrote the melody and lyrics in 1927 while being
on an excursion in the mountains. Luigi Pigarelli has added other vocal
parts to harmonize it to a choral piece. It has been translated into 148
languages
(?)
b.
November 25th 1904.
2002: Harlan Perry Howard (74) American
songwriter, principally in country music; born in Detroit, Michigan, but
grew up on a farm in Kentucky and he was 12 years old when he began writing
songs, starting a career which spanned six decades. His songs include
"Pick Me Up on Your Way Down", "Heartaches By The Number",
"Everglades, Busted "I Fall To Pieces", his songs were
so immediately successful that in 1961 alone, he had fifteen of his compositions
on the country music charts, earning himself ten BMI awards. Howard was
inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973 and the Country
Music Hall of Fame in 1997 (?)
b. September 8th 1927.
2003: Goffredo Petrassi (98)
Italian composer of modern classical music, conductor, and teacher, born
in Zagarolo, and is considered one of the most influential Italian composers
of the 20th century. After working in a music shop at 15 to help his family
financially, in 1928, he entered the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome
to study organ and composition. He went on to become musical director
of the opera house La Fenice, and from 1959 taught composition at the
Santa Cecilia Conservatory and at the Salzburg Mozarteum (?)
b. July 16th 1904.
2008: Giuseppe Di Stefano (86)
Italian operatic tenor born in Motta
Sant'Anastasia, a village near Catania, Sicily. He sang professionally
from the late 1940s until the early 1990s. He was known as the "Golden
voice" as the true successor of Beniamino Gigli. He was also known
for his long-term performance and recording association and brief romantic
episode with the soprano Maria Callas. He made his New York debut in 1948
as the Duke of Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto. He went on to perform regularly
in New York for many years. In 1957, he made his British debut at the
Edinburgh Festival as Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore and his Royal Opera
House, Covent Garden, debut in 1961, as Cavaradossi in Tosca. His final
operatic role was as the aged Emperor in Turandot, in July 1992 (In
November 2004 Giuseppe was critically injured in his home in Diani Beach,
Kenya, after a brutal beating by unknown assailants. He was still unconscious
a week after the attack and was fed intravenously, and underwent several
operations. In December 2007, he was flown to the San Raffaele clinic
at Milan, where he slipped into a coma. He he sadly died in his home in
Santa Maria Hoè near Milan 3 months later)
b. July 24th 1921
2008: Norman "Hurricane" Smith (85)
British singer, songwriter, record producer,
also recording engineer with The Beatles, Pink Floyd and many others.
Born in Edmonton,
North London, he served as a RAF glider pilot during World War II. In
1959 after an unsuccessful career as a jazz musician, he joined EMI as
an apprentice sound engineer. He later worked on 180 Beatle tracks, "Rubber
Soul" was the last album he worked on before he got promoted to producer.
Norman wrote many hits, using a pseudonym of "Hurricane
Smith" and he had a UK hit with Don't Let It Die, a song he had written
for John Lennon and .. READ
MORE .. (?) b.
February 22nd 1923.
2010: Michalis Toumbouros (51)
Greek singer-songwriter and physician, he wrote the lyrics and music to
musicals such as "Trojan Women" (Tragically
died in a traffic accident) b. ????
2010: Big Tiny Little/Dudley "Tiny" Little
Jr (79) American pianist, he performed
and recorded professionally for more than 60 years.
Tiny began his career as a musician at an early age touring with his father's
band. Although he remained principally a pianist, he also mastered the
organ, tuba, bass fiddle and vocals.
Tiny was well known for his honky-tonk piano role on the "Lawrence
Welk Show" from 1955 to 1959.
After which he performed on virtually every music and variety show on
the air including the first Mike Douglas Show, Ed Sullivan, Dean Martin
and Dinah Shore. A part of that Dinah Shore Show featured four pianists
at one time playing different interpretations of songs. Peter Nero playing
jazz, Ray Charles playing rhythm and blues, Liberace playing classical
style and Tiny playing Dixieland. Besides recording 35 albums, including
one gold record, he has played in clubs from coast to coast, and performed
on cruises to Australia, Hawaii and South America and he was the first
American performer to appear on Japanese TV and he was also invited to
perform at President Reagan's Inaugural Ball in 1985. He began touring
in 2004 with a Welk alumni in the “Live Lawrence Welk Show”
and in 2008 Big Tiny was named Emperor of the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee
where he had played piano for the last twenty-seven years. (Passed
away in his hometown of Carson City)
b. August 31st 1930.
2011: Aldo Clementi (85) Italian
composer, born in Catania, Italy. He studied the piano, graduating in
1946. His studies in composition began in 1941, after receiving his diploma
in 1954, he attended the Darmstadt summer courses from 1955 to 1962. Important
influences during this period included meeting Bruno Maderna in 1956,
and working at the electronic music studio of the Italian radio broadcaster
RAI in Milan. Poesia
de Rilke-1946 was the first work of his to be performed in Vienna-1947.
Of more significance was the premiere of Cantata-1954, which was broadcast
by North German, Hamburg Radio in 1956. In 1959 he won second prize in
the ISCM competition with Episodi, and in 1963 he took first prize in
the same competition, with Sette scene da "Collage". Aldo also
taught music theory at the University of Bologna from 1971 to 1992
(?) b. May 25th 1925.
March
4th.
1954: Noel Gay/Reginald Moxon Armitage (55)
English
composer, born in Wakefield; his most famous show, Me and My Girl was
originally performed at the Victoria Palace London, in 1937, and ran for
a 1,646 performances. It was revived again in 1952, and 1984, when it
ran for eight years initially at the Haymarket theatre in Leicester and
then at the Adelphi theatre in London, later going on tour throughout
Britain, and transferring to Broadway. The show's "showstopper",
"The Lambeth Walk" has the distinction of being the only popular
song to be the subject of a leader in The Times, in October 1938 it was
reported "While dictators rage and statesmen talk, all Europe dances
— to 'The Lambeth Walk'". He
went on to write songs for revues by The Crazy Gang, and for star artists
like Gracie Fields, Flanagan and Allen and George Formby, penning popular
World War II songs such as "Run Rabbit Run". After the war,
his songwriting diminished, and he concentrated on production (?)
b. July 15th
1898.
1960: Leonard Warren (48)
American
baritone born in New York; made his concert debut at the Metropolitan
Opera in excerpts from La traviata and Pagliacci during a concert in New
York in November 1938. His formal operatic debut took place there in January
1939, when he sang Paolo in Simon Boccanegra. A recording contract with
RCA Victor soon followed. He
went on to sing in San Francisco, Chicago, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires,
he appeared at La Scala in Milan in 1953, and in 1958, he made a highly
successful tour of the Soviet Union, but for most of his career he remained
in New York and sang at the Met (he
sadly died on stage of a massive cerebral hemorrhage in mid performance
of La forza del destino with Renata Tebaldi, at The Met) b.
April 21st 1911.
1978: Joe Marsala () Chicago-based
jazz clarinetist and songwriter ()
b.
1907
1979: Harry Hopkinson () British
yodeler () b. 1902
1979: Mike Patto/Michael
McCarthy (36) English
singer and keyboardist, born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. He first
became vocalist and front man for The Bow Street Runners, who won a prestigious
TV band competition Ready Steady Win during 1964 . He was a member of
Timebox, his own band Patto and Dick and the Firemen. In 1974 he joined
Spooky Tooth as vocalist and 2nd keyboardist, Spooky Tooth was one of
the very few bands to adopt the twin keyboard approach. He is also known
as a founding member
of the rock band Boxer along with
the legendary guitarist Ollie Halsall and global keyboardist Chris Stainton.
They toured both the US and Europe (sadly died after
a brave battle with throat cancer) b.
September 22nd 1942
1981: Yip Harburg () American
lyricist () b.
1896
1986: Howard Greenfield () American
songwriter ()
b. 1936
1986: Richard
Manuel (42) Canadian
singer, piano, keyboards, drums, and lap slide guitarist, born in Stratford,
Ontario. He started out playing in the Rockin' Revols before joining up
with Ronnie Hawkins band The Hawks. John P.
Hammond recommended The Hawks to Bob Dylan, who tapped them to serve as
his backing band while he switched to an electric sound. In 1966, they
toured Europe and the U.S. with Dylan and were known for enduring the
ire of Dylan's folk fans, and were subjected to unpleasant hissing and
booing. They gradually became called The Band. Richard's is the first
voice you hear on The Band's legendary debut album, Music From Big Pink,
a rich baritone so soulful and charged with pathos it's hard to believe
it could come from the frail Canadian. (committed
suicide by hanging when his wife briefly stepped out of their room. A
bottle of Grand Marnier and cocaine were found alongside his body)
b. April 3rd 1943.
1989: Lloyd
"Tiny" Grimes (72)
American
jazz and R&B guitarist; born in Newport News, Virginia he began his
career playing drums and one-fingered piano. In 1938 he took up the electric
4-string tenor guitar. In 1940 he joined the Cats And A Fiddle as guitarist
and singer, then in 1943 he joined the Art Tatum Trio as guitarist making
a number of recordings. He left Art to form his own bands in New York
recording with the likes of Billy Holiday, Charlie Parker,
Coleman Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet, Roy
Eldridge, Pepper
Adams, and other noted players, with
numbers like "I’ll Always Love You", "Red Cross",
"Tiny’s
Tempo",
"Romance Without Finance", and his jazzed up version of "Loch
Lomond". He continued to lead
his own groups into the late '70s. It
has been suggested that the guitar break, based on the Scottish tune "The
Campbells are Coming", on The Crows one hit wonder "Gee"
in 1952 may have been played by Tiny. The song which has been credited
as the first Rock n’ Roll hit by a rock and roll group and it was
the first 1950s doo-wop record to sell over one million records. (?)
b. July 7th 1916.
1986: Howard
Greenfield (49) American lyricist and
songwriter, born in Brooklyn, NY, he worked out of the famous Brill Building
with Neil Sedaka. The duo scored their first major pop hit single with
Connie Francis' "Stupid Cupid". When, Neil signed to RCA Records
as a solo artist, they composed a string of hits including "Oh! Carol",
"Stairway to Heaven", "Calendar Girl", "Little
Devil", "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen", "Next Door
to an Angel" and "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" - which sold
a combined 25 million records.They
wrote hits for other artists, including Patty Drew's, and the The 5th
Dimension's "Workin' on a Groovy Thing" and Tom Jones' "Puppet
Man". Howard also collaborated with Carole King ("Crying in
the Rain"), Helen Miller ("Foolish Little Girl", The Shirelles'
final Top Ten hit), and Jack Keller with "Breakin' in a Brand New
Broken Heart", "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and "My
Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" all hits for Connie Francis and "When
Somebody Loves You". They wrote the theme music for TV programs such
as Bewitched and The Flying Nun. (brain
tumour)
b. March 15th 1936.
1992: Mary Osborne (70)
American jazz guitarist, violin,
bassist and vocalist with many jazz bands touring with Buddy Rogers, Dick
Stabile, Terry Shand, Joe Venuti, and Russ Morgan, and recorded with Mary
Lou Williams, Beryl Booker, Coleman Hawkins, Mercer Ellington, Ethel Waters,
and Wynonie Harris. She also featured on Jack Sterling's daily CBS radio
program from 1952 to 1960. Born in Minot, North Dakota, she learned violin
as a child and could play guitar and bass by the age of 15. She remained
a formidable guitarist late in life; in an appearance with Lionel Hampton
at the 1990 Playboy Jazz Festival, she virtually stole the show (?)
b.
July 17th 1921.
1993: Art Hodes () American
jazz pianist () b.
1904
1993: Tomislav Ivcic () Croatian singer, songwriter and politician
()
b.
1953
1993: Eugene "Gene" Hall (79)
American music educator, saxophonist, and arranger, most known for creating
and presiding over the first academic curriculum leading to a bachelors
degree in jazz, then called "Dance Band" at an institution of
higher learning, being at the University of North Texas College of Music
in 1947. Born in Whitewright, TX, he studied the saxophone and played
in church, later played saxophone local combo called the Joy Makers. He
performed with dance bands in the North Texas area in the 1930s and in
1934 began a two-year European tour as saxophonist with the Clarence Nemir
Orchestra, where he developed his arranging skills. Among his many projects
he also worked with Stan Kenton and his successor, Leon Breeden, at the
Stan Kenton Band Clinics (?) b. June 12th 1913.
1995: Eden Ahbez/George McGrew/George Alexander
Aberle () American
songwriter, singer and poet
from the 1940s-1960s,
born in Brooklyn,
brought up in Kansas and whose lifestyle in California was influential
on the hippie movement.
From at least the 1940s, he traveled in sandals and wore shoulder-length
hair and beard, and white robes. He camped out below the first L in the
Hollywood Sign above LA, studied Oriental mysticism, and claimed to live
on three dollars a week, sleeping outdoors with his family, and eating
vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Eden
composed the song "Nature Boy", which became a No.1 hit for
eight weeks in 1948 for Nat "King" Cole, and has since become
a pop and jazz standard, his other songs include "Land of Love (Come
My Love and Live with Me)" and "Lonely Island". In 1959,
he began recording instrumental music, and in 1960, he recorded his only
solo LP, Eden’s Island, mixing his beatnik poetry with exotica arrangements.(Tragically
he died from injuries sustained in a car accident)
b. April 15th 1908.
1999: Milosz Magin () Polish composer and pianist () b. 1929
1999: Teddy McRae () American jazz tenor saxophonist and arranger
()
b.
1908
2001: Glenn
Hughes (50) American
singer, the original "Biker" character in the disco group Village
People from 1977 to 1996. He attended Manhattan College, where he was
initiated as a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity in 1969.
He responded to an advertisement by composer Jacques Morali seeking "macho"
singers and dancers. Glenn and other members of the band were given a
crash course in the
synchronized dance choreography that later typified the group's live performances.
Glenn's
powerful bass voice played an important part in the background lyrics
of almost all Village People's most known hits. In 1996, he retired from
dancing and launched his own successful New York cabaret act, until lung
cancer was diagnosed. However, he did continued with management of the
band. His iconic handlebar moustache and leather clothing have made Glenn
a gay archetype yet Glenn was heterosexual. During his later years, he
was known for storming the streets of New York with his Custom Harley-Davidson
motorcycle. (Sadly he lost his brave battle with
lung cancer)
b. July 18th 1950.
2002: Eric Flynn
(62) Chinese-born
British actor and singer Born in Hainan, he
appeared as Alan-A-Dale in "A Challenge For Robin Hood" in 1963,
as Leo Ryan in the Doctor Who story The Wheel in Space in 1968, as Ivanhoe
in a 1970 TV mini series and as Major Tom Graham in series five of Freewheelers
in 1971. He was also an established musical theatre actor appearing in
shows such as "Evita", "Annie Get Your Gun", "The
Sound Of Music", "My Fair Lady", "A Little Night Music"
and "Copacabana" starring alongside the likes of Lauren Becall
and Maria Freidman (sadly
lost his fight against cancer)
b. December 13th
1939.
2004:
John McGeoch (48) Legendary
Scottish guitarist born in Greenock, Renfrewshire; he played with a number
of bands of the post-punk era, including Magazine; Visage
and Public Image Ltd; and Siouxsie
and the Banshees,
playing on albums Kaleidoscope in 1980, Juju-1981, and A Kiss in the Dreamhouse-1982.
The Banshees' hit singles of this era featured some of John's greatest
work, particularly 1980's "Happy House", "Christine"
and "Israel". He
was described as "one of the most influential guitarists of his generation"
and he was also considered as "the new wave Jimmy Page". In
1996, he was listed by Mojo in their "100 Greatest Guitarists of
All Time" for his work on the Siouxsie and the Banshees song "Spellbound"
(reportedly he died in his sleep)
b. August 25th
1955.
2004: Claude
Nougaro (74) French
songwriter and singer;
born in Toulouse, he was widely regarded
as the singer who fused the traditions of the French chanson with the
energy and verve of American jazz. Claude never learnt to write music
or play an instrument, in the early days he sent his lyrics to Marguerite
Monnot, Édith Piaf's songwriter, who put them to music. He started
to sing for a livelihood in 1959 in a Parisian cabaret in Montmartre,
the Lapin Agile. As well as collaborating with jazz greats including Sonny
Rollins, Ornette Coleman and Nat Adderley, during the 1960s Claude studied
Brazilian music, working with Baden Powell and Chico Buarque, some of
his noted songs include "Je Suis Sous" ("I Am Drunk"),
"Cécile, Ma Fille" ("Cecile, My Daughter"),
"Jazz and Java," and "Paris Mai". Although Nougaro's
commercial success declined during the 1970s, the 80s saw comeback inspired
by the success of Nougaro, an album cut in New York City. At this time,
he also experimented with African rhythms. In 1988 Victoires de la musique
rewarded him with best album and best artist, and between 1993 and 1997
he released three new albums (cancer)
b. September
9th 1929
2005: Robert Consoli ()
American actor and musician () b.
1964
2005: Una Hale (82) Australian
operatic soprano, born in Adelaide, and relocated to Britain in 1946 to
study at the Royal College of Music. She appeared with the Carl Rosa Opera
Company from 1949 to 1954, playing many leading roles, such as Violetta
in Verdi's La Traviata Micaela Carmen and Marguerite in Gounod's Faust.
In 1954 Una was engaged as a principal soprano at the Royal Opera, Covent
Garden, where she sang most of the major lyric soprano roles. She was
particularly noted for her portrayals of Ellen Orford in Britten's Peter
Grimes, Eva in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, The Marschallin
in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, and Liu in Puccini's Turandot.
In 1956 she portrayed Naomi in the world première of Lennox Berkeley's
opera, Ruth. In 1962, she sang the title role in the Australian première
of Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos. During that same season she also portrayed
Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni and Alice Ford in Verdi's Falstaff.
In 1963-64 she sang Ellen Orford and Tosca with the Sadler's Wells Opera
Company, and Tosca and The Marshallin in Romania with the Romanian National
Opera (?) b.
November 18th 1922.
2007: Natalie Bodanya ()
American soprano () b. 1908
2007: Richard Joseph (53) British
games soundtrack composer; he was noted in game audio for bringing "real"
voice actors into a game for the first time, Mega Lo Mania, the earliest
use of interactive music, Chaos Engine, working with established recording
artists - Betty Boo on Magic Pockets, Captain Sensible on Sensible Soccer,
Brian May on Rise of the Robots and Jon Foxx on Gods and Speedball 2,
and featuring vocals in title tunes, which was revolutionary for the time.
In the late 1980s and early '90s, he produced soundtracks for development
teams Sensible Software and the Bitmap Brothers. He is also credited with
the soundtrack to the C64 version of the hit Defender of the Crown. Prior
to working in games Richard had a fleeting career in the music industry
working with artists such as Trevor Horn and Hugh Padgham. Richard released
one solo single on EMI and was part of the group CMU which released two
albums, Richard was only involved with the second, Space Cabaret, on Transatlantic
before evolving into jazz funk band Shakatak (sadly
lost his battle with lung cancer)
b.
April 23rd 1953.
2008: Leonard Rosenman ()
American film composer ()
b. 1924
2009: John "Bowling
Green" Cephas (78) American
Piedmont blues guitarist, well known as one half of the duo Cephas &
Wiggins. He learned the blues from a guitar-playing aunt while his grandfather
taught him about eastern Virginia folklore and his cousin David Taleofero,
is credited with teaching him the Piedmont blues style of alternating
thumb-and-picking method of guitar. Before
serving in the Army during the Korean War, he
joined the Capitol Harmonizers and toured on the gospel circuit. He met
"Harmonica Phil" Wiggins at a jam session in Washington in 1977,
and both performed as regular members of Wilbert "Big Chief"
Ellis's Barrelhouse Rockers. Wilbert Ellis died later that year, John
and Phil carried on together and since 1978, as the duo Cephas & Wiggins,
they have performed on tours of Europe, Africa, Asia, South and Central
America and the Soviet Union. Their 13 releases from the 1980 include
Dog Days of August, Guitar Man and Flip, Flop and Fly. All are great examples
of state-of-the-art, acoustic Piedmont blues (natural causes) b.
September 4th 1940.
2009: Joseph Bloch () American
concert pianist ()
b. 1917
2010: Fred Wedlock (67)
British folk singer, songwriter, guitarist, he was best known for his
UK hit single, "The Oldest Swinger In Town" and performed at
many venues in Britain and Europe. He taught in the East End of London
during the 1960s and then at South Bristol College, before taking up music
full time in the 1970s. He played the folk circuit for many years, both
prior to, and in the wake of, his single chart success. He also presented
many programmes on West Country TV. In 1997 Fred took a leading role in
Bristol Old Vic's production of Up the Feeder, Down the Mouth, a theatrical
history of Bristol Docks. In 2001 the production was remounted on the
waterfront. He also appeared in several productions for Bristol theatre
company, The Ministry of Entertainment, most recently in December 2009.
Fred was also devoted to charitable causes, he performed on numerous occasions
for the Variety Club, and raised thousands of pounds over the years (Fred
sadly died from a heart attack, after having contracted pneumonia)
b. May 23rd
1942
2010: Johnny Alf (80) Brazilian
singer, pianist and composer born in Rio de Janeiro. He introduced Brazil
to a new way of singing, playing, and composing several years before the
term "bossa nova" was even coined. All
those who came after such as Tom Jobim,
Leny Andrade, Luís Eça, Carlos Lyra, had some Alf influences.
Unfortunately Alf, a musical genius, was highly underestimated, his importance
in Brazilian popular music as a fundamental precursor is still to be properly
regarded, while he has been frequently recorded by international musicians
such as Lalo Schifrin, "Rapaz de Bem". In Brazil, his playing
is registered on 46 albums, singles, compilations, and participations,
but he has recorded only nine solo LPs or CDs in his career (lost
his brave battle with cancer) b. May 19th
1929.
2010: Ron Banks (58) American singer
born in Redford, Michigan, Ron was
a singer with
the soul music vocal group, The Dramatics from the 1960s until his death.
The Dramatics originally known as
the Dynamics, changed their name around 1967, when they had their first
minor hit single, "All Because of You".
They did not break through until their single, "Whatcha See Is Whatcha
Get," broke into the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at
No.9, this was their first million selling disc and was awarded gold disc
status by the R.I.A.A. in December 1971. Through the 1970s, they appeared
on Soul Train and continued to have hits, including the No.1 R&B hit,
"In the Rain", "Toast to the Fool", "Me and Mrs.
Jones", "I'm Going By The Stars In Your Eyes" and "Be
My Girl".
Ron with The Dramatics also were guests on the Snoop Doggy Dogg song,
"Doggy Dogg World". The song appeared on Snoop's 1993 debut
album, Doggystyle. "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" appeared in
the 2005 documentary Sunday Driver, as well as the movies, Wattstax and
Darktown Strutters, and the 2007 Petey Greene biopic, Talk To Me (sadly
died of a heart
attack) b.
May 10th 1951
2010: Lolly Vegas/Lolly Vasquez (70)
American singer and guitarist born in Coalinga, Calif., and grew up in
Fresno. He and his brother Pat, a singer and bassist, were session musicians
who performed together as Pat and Lolly Vegas in the 1960s at Sunset Strip
clubs and on the TV variety show "Shindig!". They formed the
Native American band Redbone in 1969. The band, with members of Latino
and native American origin, released its self-titled debut album the following
year. The band first gained notice with "Maggie" in 1970 and
"The Witch Queen of New Orleans" in 1971. "Come
and Get Your Love" peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles
chart in 1974. In
concert, Redbone often dressed in traditional Native American attire,
and some of the group's songs, including "We Were All Wounded at
Wounded Knee," emphasized the members' Indian background. Lolly and
Pat also were prolific songwriters whose "Niki Hoeky" was covered
by Aretha Franklin, Bobbie Gentry and P.J. Proby. (sadly
died after a brave battle against cancer)
b. October 2nd 1939.
2010: Etta Cameron/Ettamae Louvita Coakley (60)
Danish singer and actor born in Nassau, Bahamas; she went to Denmark from
DDR, she was stranded for five years in East Berlin, after a performance
commitment she had lost her passport. She especially sang jazz and gospel,
and put her marks in the Danish music culture through her entire career
since she arrived to Denmark in the 1970s. She was made a Knight of Dannebrog
in 1997. Etta
is also well-known as one of the judges in the first two seasons of Scenen
er din, the Danish version of the American TV show Star Search (died
after a long illness)
b. November 21st 1939.
2011: Johnny Preston/John
Preston Courville (71) American
pop music singer, who was best known for his international No.1 hit in
1960, "Running Bear". Born
in Port Arthur, Texas, he sang in high school choral contests throughout
the state of Texas and formed a rock and roll band called 'The Shades',
who were seen performing at a local club by J. P. "The Big Bopper"
Richardson. Big Bopper offered him the chance to record a teenage tragedy
song he had written, "Running Bear", which they did in Houston,
Texas in 1958. The "Indian" sounds on the record were performed
by Richardson and George Jones. The record was released after Big Bopper's
death in Buddy Holly-Ritchie Valens plane crash entering the U.S. Hot
100 in October 1959, reaching No.1 in January 1960. It was a transatlantic
chart-topper, reaching No.1 in the UK in March 1960.The sales of the record
exceeded one million copies, earning Johnny his first gold disc. This
was followed up with "Cradle of Love", "Feel So Fine",
and others. His pioneering contribution to the genre was recognized by
the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He also performed at Dick Clark's American
Bandstand Theatre in Branson, Missouri. In 2009, Johnny performed at the
Lamar State College, in his hometown. (Johnny had
coronary artery bypass surgery in 2010, but has sadly died of heart failure
after years of heart related illnesses) b.
August 18th 1939.
March 5th.
1947: Alfredo Casella (63) Italian
composer born in Turin; he had his biggest success with the ballet La
Giara, set to a scenario of Pirandello's; other notable works include
Italia, the Concerto Romano, Partita and Scarlattiana for Piano and Orchestra,
the Violin and Cello Concerti, Paganiniana, and the Concerto for Piano,
Strings, Timpani and Percussion. Amongst his chamber works, both Cello
Sonatas are played with some frequency, as is the very beautiful late
Harp Sonata, and the music for Flute and Piano. He also made live-recording
player piano music rolls for the Aeolian Duo-Art system, all of which
survive today and can be heard. In 1923, together with Gabriele D'Annunzio
and Gian Francesco Malipiero from Venice, he founded an association to
promote the spread of modern Italian music, the "Corporation of the
New Music" (?)
b.
July 25th 1883.
1953: Sergei Prokofiev (61) Russian
composer, born in Sontsovka; at the age of nine he was composing his first
opera, The Giant, as well as an overture and miscellaneous pieces. His
orchestral music alone is played more frequently in the United States
than that of any other composer of the last hundred years, save Richard
Strauss, while his operas, ballets, chamber works, and piano music appear
regularly throughout the major concert halls world-wide. He also composed
music for children, Three Songs for Children and Peter and the Wolf, among
others. as well as the gigantic Cantata for the Twentieth Anniversary
of the October Revolution, which was banned from performance and had to
wait until May 1966 for a partial premiere (?)
b.
April 23th 1891.
1963: Patsy Cline/Virginia Patterson Hensley (30)
American country singer, who helped blaze a trail for female singers to
assert themselves as an integral part of the Nashville-dominated country
music industry. Posthumously, millions of her albums have been sold over
the past 46 years and she has been given numerous awards, which has given
her an iconic status. Only ten years after her death, she became the first
female solo artist inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2002,
she was voted by artists and members of the Country Music industry as
No.1 on CMT's television special of the 40 Greatest Women of Country Music
of all time, and in '99 she was voted No.11 on VH1's special The 100 Greatest
Women in Rock and Roll of all time by members and artists of the rock
industry. According to her 1973 Country Music Hall of Fame plaque, "Her
heritage of timeless recordings is testimony to her artistic capacity."
Among those hits are "Walkin' After Midnight", "I Fall
to Pieces", "She's Got You", "Crazy", and "Sweet
Dreams" (Patsy died in a plane crash with Cowboy
Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins) b.
September 8th 1932.
1963:
Hawkshaw
Hawkins/Harold Franklin Hawkins (41)
American country music singer born in Huntington,
West Virginia. He was popular from the 50s into the early 60s known for
his rich, smooth vocals, music drawn from blues, boogie and honky tonk.
His first two recordings in the late 40s "Pan American" and
"Dog House Boogie", were top ten country hits. He recorded his
biggest hit, "Lonesome 7-7203" in
1962. At 6 ft 5 inches tall, he had
an imposing stage presence, and his tasteful Western suits set him apart
from the rhinestone gaudiness of other male country singers. He was a
member of the Grand Ole Opry and was married to country star Jean Shepard.
(He died in the 1963 plane crash that also killed
country stars Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas) b. December 22nd 1921.
1963: Cowboy Copas/Lloyd Estel Copas (49)
American country music singer
born in Jefferson Township in Adams County, Ohio. He began performing
locally at age 14, and appeared on WLW-AM and WKRC-AM in Cincinnati during
the 1930s. In 1943, he achieved national fame when he became the vocalist
in the Pee Wee King band and began performing on the Grand Ole Opry. His
first solo single, "Filipino Baby," in 1946, hit number four
on the Billboard country chart and sparked the most successful period
of his career. Other hits in the late 40s and 50s included "Tennessee
Waltz," "I'm Waltzing With Tears in My Eyes," "Signed,
Sealed and Delivered," "Tennessee Moon," "Breeze,"
"Hangman's Boogie," "Candy Kisses," "The Strange
Little Girl." and "'Tis Sweet to Be Remembered,"
(died in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country
stars Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins) b. July 15th 1913.
1973: Michael Jeffery (39) British
music business manager of the 1960s who is best known for his management
of British band The Animals and American guitarist-composer Jimi Hendrix,
whom he co-managed for a time with former Animals bassist Chas Chandler.
A former associate of noted British pop impresario Don Arden, he was and
remains a controversial figure... Hendrix died in September 1970. His
body was found in London at the flat of Monika Dannemann, who was Hendrix's
girlfriend at the moment. In May 2009 the UK media reported claims that
Michael Jeffery had murdered Jimi Hendrix. James "Tappy" Wright,
who was a roadie for Hendrix and The Animals in the 1960s, claimed he
met Michael Jeffery in 1971, one year after Hendrix's death, and Jeffery
confessed to having murdered Hendrix by plying him with pills and a bottle
of wine in order to kill him and claim on the guitarist's life insurance.
Jeffrey
is quoted by Wright as telling him: "I was in London the night of
Jimi's death and together with some old friends.. we went 'round to Monika's
hotel room, got a handful of pills and stuffed them into his mouth...then
poured a few bottles of red wine deep into his windpipe." The manager
was allegedly worried that Hendrix was about to sack him. He had reputedly
taken out an insurance policy worth $2 million on Hendrix' life, with
himself as beneficiary. At the time of Hendrix's death, a coroner recorded
an open verdict, stating that the cause was "barbiturate intoxication
and inhalation of vomit". However Dr. John Bannister, the doctor
who attempted to resuscitate Hendrix, later raised the possibility that
Hendrix actually died from forced inhalation of copious amounts of red
wine (Michael
was killed in 1973 in a mid-air collision over Nantes, France, whilst
aboard an Iberia Airlines DC-9)
b. March 1933.
1981: Yip Harburg/Isidore Hochberg (84)
American popular song lyricist, born on the
Lower East Side of New York City. He worked with many well-known composers.
He wrote the lyrics to the standards, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?",
"April in Paris", and "It's Only a Paper Moon", as
well as all of the songs in The Wizard of Oz, including "Over the
Rainbow" for which he won the Academy Award for Best Music, Original
Song. He also recieved Oscars for "Cabin in the Sky", in 1943
and "Can't Help Singing" in 1944. True to his strongly leftist
views, Yip supported the 1948 presidential campaign of Henry Wallace,
and wrote the lyrics of the campaign song "Everyone Likes Wallace,
Friendly Henry Wallace." From about 1951 to 1962, he was a victim
of the Hollywood blacklist when movie studio bosses blacklisted industry
people for suspected involvement or sympathy with the US Communist Party.
No longer able to work in Hollywood, he nevertheless continued to write
musicals for Broadway, among which was Jamaica, which featured Lena Horne.
Yip was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. (he
died in an automobile accident on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood)
b. April 8th 1896.
1982:
John Belushi (33) American
comedian, actor and musician, notable for his work on Saturday Night Live,
National Lampoon's Animal House and The Blues Brothers. The Blues Brothers
were a Grammy Award-nominated American blues and soul revivalist band
founded in 1978 by comedians John and his friend Dan Aykroyd as part of
a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live. John
as lead vocalist "Joliet" Jake Blues
and Dan as harpist/vocalist Elwood Blues, they fronted the band, which
was composed of well-known and respected musicians. The band
made its debut as the musical guest on the April 22, 1978, episode of
Saturday Night Live. The
band then began to take on a life beyond the confines of the television
screen, releasing an album, Briefcase Full of Blues, in 1978, and then
having a Hollywood film, The Blues Brothers, created around its characters
in 1980 (sadly John died of an overdose
of cocaine & heroin)
b. January 24th 1949.
1984: Tito Gobbi (70)
Italian international operatic
baritone born
in Bassano del Grappa and studied law at the University of Padua before
he trained as a singer. In 1942, he debuted at La Scala in Milan, in the
role of Belcore in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore. He also appeared at the
Rome Opera and other significant Italian venues.
Tito's
international career blossomed after the Second World War, beginning with
appearances in 1948 at the San Francisco opera. He performed for the first
time at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1950 and sang with
the Lyric Opera of Chicago from 1954 until 1974. The year 1974 also saw
the last of Tito's numerous appearances at Covent Garden. In retirement,
he turned to writing. His autobiography, Tito Gobbi: My Life, was published
in 1979. The book Tito Gobbi and His World of Italian Opera followed in
1984 (?)
b. October 24th 1913.
1995: Viv Stanshall (51) English
singer-songwriter,
guitarist, trumpeter, percussionist, painter, author, and poet, best known
for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his surreal exploration
of the British upper classes in Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, and for narrating
Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells.
Viv
was the original tenor in the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band,
which combined elements of music hall, trad jazz, psychedelic rock, and
avant-garde art, the Bonzos came to the attention of a broader British
public through a children's television programme, Do Not Adjust Your Set.
Their biggest hit came in 1968 with "I'm the Urban Spaceman"
with reached No.5 in the UK Singles Chart. (Viv
tragically died in a house fire)
b. March 21st
1943.
1996:
Minnie Pearl/Sarah Ophelia Colley (83)
US
comedienne, singer, she was a member of the
Grand Ole Opry cast from 1940 until her death and on the television show
Hee Haw from 1969 to 1991. Born in Centerville, Hickman County, Tennessee,
her first professional theatrical job was with the Wayne P. Sewell Production
Company, a touring theater company based in Atlanta, for which she produced
and directed plays and musicals for local organizations in small towns
throughout the southeastern United States. Minnie was an important influence
on younger female country music singers and rural humorists such as Jerry
Clower, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Carl Hurley, David L Cook, Chonda
Pierce, Ron White and Larry the Cable Guy. In 2002 she was ranked as number
14 on CMT's 40 Greatest Women in Country Music list (complications
due to a stroke) b. October 25th 1912.
1999: Richard Paul Kiley (76) American
stage, television, and film actor born in Chicago. He is best known for
his voice work, as narrator of various documentary series, and for having
played Don Quixote in the original 1965 production of the Broadway musical
Man of La Mancha. Richard was the first to sing and record The Impossible
Dream, the hit song from the show. In the 1953 hit musical Kismet, he
played the Caliph, and introduced the song Stranger in Paradise ()
b. March 31st
1922
2010: Philip Langridge CBE (70) British
tenor born in Hawkhurst, Kent, educated at Maidstone Grammar School and
studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. His repertoire ranged
from the operas of Claudio Monteverdi and Mozart to more modern works
by Ravel, Stravinsky, Janácek and Schoenberg. Late in his life,
he was adding some Wagner roles, including Loge from Das Rheingold. Philip
was also a fine concert singer and regularly performed the sacred music
of Bach and Handel. He won great acclaim for his assumption of the title
role in Elgar's oratorio, The Dream of Gerontius.
Other roles in which he excelled included
Zivny in Osud, Laca in Jenufa and Gregor in The Makropulos Affair (all
by Janacek), Mozart's Tito and Idomeneo, Shuisky in Boris Godunov and
King Alonso in Adès's The Tempest and in 2001 the title role in
Pfitzner's rarely performed opera Palestrina at Covent Garden, winning
plaudits for his capturing of the tortured composer's world-weariness
and nihilistic despair, and his final attainment of quiet rapture. Appointed
CBE in 1994, he received many other awards, including the Olivier award
for Osud, the Singer of the Year award from the Royal Philharmonic Society,
The Worshipful Company of Musicians' Santay award and the NFMS/Charles
Groves prize of 2001 for his "outstanding contribution to British
music". He marked his 70th birthday with a concert at the Wigmore
Hall with Owen Norris and the Doric Quartet
(?)
b. December 16th
1939.
March 6th.
1932: John P. Sousa (77)
American composer and conductor born in Washington, D.C. he was known
particularly for American military and patriotic marches. Because of his
mastery of march composition, he is known as "The March King".
He wrote over 100 marches, including "Stars and Stripes Forever".
John served in the U.S. Marine Corps, first from 1868 to 1875 as an apprentice
musician, and then as the head of the Marine Band from 1880 to 1892; the
year he left the US Marine Band, John
organized his own band. The Sousa Band toured from 1892–1931, performing
at 15,623 concerts. In 1900, his band represented the United States at
the Paris Exposition before touring Europe. In Paris, the Sousa Band marched
through the streets including the Champs-Élysées to the
Arc de Triomphe – one of only eight parades the band marched in over
its forty years. Also the sousaphone was
named after him, it was created in 1898 by C. G. Conn at John's request
for a tuba that could sound upward and over the band whether it was seated
or marching (heart failure) b.
November 6th 1854
1951: Ivor Novello/David Ivor Davies (58)
Welsh composer, singer and actor who
became one of the most popular British entertainers of the early 20th
century. Born in Cardiff, Wales, Ivor first became known as a result of
the song "Keep the Home Fires Burning". His 1917 show, Theodore
& Co was a wartime hit, composed while he was in the Navy. Ivor wrote
his musicals in the style of operetta and was one of the last major composers
in this form. While he generally wrote his own librettos, Christopher
Hassall wrote the lyrics for most of his shows. He also appeared in West
End musicals of his own devising. His musicals in the 1930s were expensive,
spectacular productions, with several scene changes and a large cast including
many extras and dancers. The best known of these were Glamorous Night
in 1935 and The Dancing Years in 1939 . Ivor later went to Hollywood and
appeared in numerous successful films, but the stage always remained his
first love. The Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting are awarded each year
by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) and
in 2005, the Strand Theatre in London, above which Novello lived for many
years, was renamed the Novello Theatre. On 27 June 2009, a statue of Novello
was unveiled outside the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay. (coronary
thrombosis) b. January 15th
1893.
1961: George Formby OBE/George Hoy Booth (57)
English
singer, comedian, ukulele, banjo; a musical comedian among Britain's most
popular stars during the first half of the 20th century, with a legacy
encompassing over 200 records and more than 20 hit films. His best-known
song, "Leaning on a Lamp Post" was written by Noel Gay. He recorded
two more Noel Gay songs "The Left-Hand Side of Egypt" and "Who
Are You A-Shoving Of?". Many of which were recorded, were written
by Fred Cliff and Harry Gifford, either in collaboration or separately,
and Formby was included in the credits of a number of them, including
"When I'm Cleaning Windows". Some of his songs were considered
too rude for broadcasting. His 1937 song, "With my little stick of
Blackpool Rock" was banned by the BBC because of the lyrics. George
appeared in the 1937 Royal Variety Performance, and entertained troops
with Entertainments National Service Association in Europe and North Africa
during World War II. He received an OBE in 1946. His most popular film
is the espionage comedy Let George Do It (heart
attack) b. May
26th 1904.
1967: Nelson Eddy (65) American
singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and
1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television,
and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered
for the eight films in which he costarred with soprano Jeanette MacDonald.
He was one of the first "crossover" stars, a superstar appealing
both to shrieking bobby-soxers as well as opera purists, and in his heyday
was the highest paid singer in the world. During
his 40-year career, he earned 3 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one
each for film, recording, and radio, left his footprints in the wet cement
at Grauman's Chinese Theater, earned three Gold records, and was invited
to sing at the third inauguration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
He also introduced millions of young Americans to classical music and
inspired many of them to pursue a musical career (Eddy
was singing "Dardanella" at the Sans Souci Hotel in Palm Beach,
Florida, when he was stricken on stage with a cerebral hemorrhage, he
died a few hours later)
b. June 29th 1901.
1967: Zoltán Kodály (84) Hungarian
composer, one of the first people to undertake the serious study of folk
tales, he became one of the most significant early figures in the field
of ethnomusicology. In 1905 he visited remote villages to collect songs
recording them on phonograph cylinders. During his early years of study
he had composed throughout this time, producing two String quartets (Op.
2, 1909 and Op. 10, 1917 respectively), Sonata for cello and piano (Op.
4, 1910) and Sonata for cello solo (Op. 8, 1915), and his Duo for violin
and cello (Op. 7, 1914). Dances of Marosszék (1930, in versions
for solo piano and for full orchestra), the Dances of Galanta (1933, for
orchestra), the Peacock Variations (1939, commissioned by the Concertgebouw
Orchestra to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary) and the Missa Brevis
(1944, for soloists, chorus, orchestra and organ) are a few of his better
known works. He also was very interested in the problems of music education,
and he wrote a large amount of material on music education methods as
well as composing a large amount of music for children. Retiring from
teaching in 1942, in 1945 he became the president of the Hungarian Arts
Council, and in 1962 received the Order of the Hungarian People's Republic.
His other posts included a presidency of the International Folk Music
Council, and honorary presidency of the International Society for Music
Education. He died in Budapest in 1967, one of the most respected and
well known figures in the Hungarian arts (?)
b. December 16th 1882.
1971:
Thurston Dart (49) English
harpsichordist, keyboardist, musicologist, conductor and professor;
born in Kingston, he was educated at Hampton Grammar School and was a
chorister at the Chapel Royal in Hampton Court. He studied keyboard instruments
at the Royal College of Music in London from
1938 to 1939. In 1947 he was appointed assistant lecturer in music at
the University of Cambridge, lecturer in 1952, and professor in 1962,
with a reputation as a dynamic teacher and professor. In 1964 he was appointed
King Edward Professor of Music in the University of London. He made numerous
appearances on the harpsichord, and made many harpsichord, clavichord
and organ recordings, especially for the L'Oiseau-Lyre label; he was also
a conductor and he served as editor of the Galpin Society Journal from
1947 to 1954 and was secretary of Musica Britannica from 1950 to 1965.
His book The Interpretation of Music in 1954 was highly influential, aas
were his numerous seminal articles on aspects of musical sources, performance
and interpretation. In the 1950s he participated in annual concerts featuring
four harpsichordists, the three others being George Malcolm, Denis Vaughan
and Eileen Joyce. In 1957 this group also recorded two of Vivaldi's Concertos
for Four Harpsichords, one in a Bach arrangement, with the Pro Arte Orchestra
under Boris Ord. They also recorded Malcolm's Variations on a Theme of
Mozart (?) b September
3rd 1921.
1988: Bob Garber (84)
American pianist
and band leader; very big around Washington
DC, and a regular on the radio, apparently his band didn't use vocalists
(?) b. April 23rd 1903.
2005: Tommy Vance/Richard
Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston (63) British
pop radio deejay and broadcaster, born in Eynsham, Oxfordshire. Along
with Neal Kay he was one of the few broadcasters in the United Kingdom
to champion hard rock and heavy metal in the early 1980s, providing the
only national radio forum for both bands and fans. The Friday Rock Show
that he hosted gave new bands airtime for their music and fans an opportunity
to hear it. His radio show was a factor in the rise of the New Wave of
British Heavy Metal. He used a personal tag-line of TV on the radio (sadly
died of a stroke)
b. July 11th 1941.
2006: Tom Robb (57)
American bassist, born in Passaic NJ, where he endured many
childhood hardships of homelessness, and a long list of foster homes and
children homes. While at High School he was sent to live at Bonnie Brae
Farm for Boys. It was here where he began playing the drums and later
the bass guitar. After leaving the boys home he moved to Greenwich Village,
playing bass with different local bands and doing sessions in the studios
of New York. He wet on to be a highly respected and much sort after session
bassist playing on hundreds of albums with a wide range of artists, including
Alicia Bridges' worldwide hit "I Love The Night Life".
(sadly lost his fight against liver cancer)
b. 1948 ...
read
more
2006: King Floyd (61) American New Orleans
soul singer-songwriter, he started his
singing career at the Sho-Bar on Bourbon
Street. Following a stint in the army, he went to California, where he
joined up with record producer Harold Battiste. His debut album, A Man
In Love, failed to make an impact on the charts. He retuned to New Orleans
in '69, where he recorded "Groove Me" B-side the to his, "What
Our Love Needs." A New Orleans radio DJ's started playing "Groove
Me" and it became a local hit. Atlantic Records picked up national
distribution of "Groove Me," which topped the US R&B chart
and reached No.6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It sold over one million copies,
and received a gold disc awarded by the R.I.A.A.
(complications of a stroke and diabetes) b.
February 13th 1945.
2010: Mark Linkous (47) American singer,
songwriter, guitarist, pianist and multi-musician born in Arlington, Virginia;
he graduated from high school in the early 1980s and moved to New York
City, where he co-founded the band Dancing Hoods. They released a self-titled
EP
in 1984, followed by
their debut album
"12 Jealous Roses" in 1985. In 1988
"Baby's Got Rockets", a single from
their "Hallelujah Anyway" album,
became a college radio hit. Mark
and the band relocated to Los Angeles, but broke up shortly after their
move. He moved back to Virginia, and formed the alternative rock band
Sparklehorse,
releasing their first album,
(Mark
took his own life while in
Knoxville, Tennessee, tragically
he shot himself) b. September 9th 1962.
... read
more
2011: Herman Ernest III
(59) American drummer well
none on the New Orleans R&B and funk scene; he anchored Dr. John's
band for more than two decades and appeared on the singer-pianist's albums
“The City That Care Forgot," “Mercenary," “Duke
Elegant," “Creole Moon," “Anutha Zone" and “N'Awlinz:
Dis, Dat or D'Udda". He
also recorded behind such local notables as Lee Dorsey on the Allen Toussaint
-produced “Night People", the Neville Brothers on their breakthrough
“Fiyo on the Bayou", Irma Thomas , Aaron Neville, Snooks Eaglin
, Johnny Adams , Anders Osborne and Al “Carnival" Johnson. In
2006, Herman sat in with the band Cowboy Mouth on their post-Katrina set
“Voodoo Shoppe". He also backed Solomon Burke during his stay
at New Orleans' Black Top Records and appeared on LaBelle's 1974 album
“Nightbirds," which spawned the Toussaint-produced hit “Lady
Marmalade". Herman
last performed at Tipitina's on Dec. 30th 2010 with Dr. John
(Herman
sadly died after a brave two year fight with cancer)
b.
????.
March 7th.
1974: Alberto Rabagliati (67) Italian
singer and actor born in Milan, in
1927 he moved to Hollywood as the winner of a Rudolph Valentino look-alike
contest. He remained four years in America, where he got the opportunity
to get to know new musical genres such as jazz, swing, scat singing. Back
in Europe he started his singing career, after a brief experience with
Pippo Barzizza's orchestra, he joined the Lecuona Cuban Boys, a Cuban
band. He performed with his face painted black and made a hit with the
song "Maria la O". At this time he met Giovanni D'Anzi who gave
him an audition with Italian state radio station EIAR; he soon became
a radio star, and in 1941 had his own radio show, showing his most famous
songs such as "Ma l'amore no", "Mattinata fiorentina",
"Bambina innamorata", "Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina", "Silenzioso
slow". He was so popular that his name was sung in the lyrics of
La famiglia canterina, Quando canta Rabagliati, Quando la radio. At a
time when anything foreign was banned, he was allowed to maintain his
American-influenced style. His last public appearance was in 1974 as a
guest in the TV show Milleluci hosted by Mina and Raffaella Carrà
(sadly died of cerebral thrombosis)
b. June 26th 1906.
1966: Mike Millward
(23) UK rhythm guitarist, singer;
in the late 50's he
played with Bob Evans and the Five Shillings,
which become "The
Vegas Five", then "The Undertakers", after which he was
an original member the Four Jays in 1961. In the summer of 1963, the group,
now called The Fourmost - signed up with Brian Epstein. This led to their
being auditioned by George Martin and signed to EMI's Parlophone record
label. Their first two singles were written by John Lennon. "Hello
Little Girl", one of the earliest Lennon songs dating from 1957.
Their follow-up single, "I'm in Love" a Lennon/McCartney song,
was released on 15 November 1963. Their biggest hit "A Little Loving",
written by Russ Alquist, reached Number 6 in the UK Singles Chart in mid
1964. The band appeared in the 1965 film, Ferry Cross the Mersey and are
on the soundtrack album of the same name. The group's only album, First
and Fourmost, was released in September 1965 (taken
ill with throat cancer in '64, he recovered from that only to be tragically
struck down by leukaemia) b. May 9th
1942
1981: Kirill Petrovich Kondrashin (67)
Russian conductor, born in Moscow; in the 1st International Tchaikovsky
Competition in 1958, he was the conductor for Van Cliburn, who won the
first prize. After the competition he toured the United States with Cliburn,
being the first Russian conductor to visit America since the Cold War
began. He was also the artistic director of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
from 1960-75. He left the Soviet Union in December 1978 while touring
in the Netherlands and sought political asylum there, whereupon the Soviet
regime immediately banned all his previous recordings. He took the post
of Permanent Guest Conductor of Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra in
1978 and remained in that position until his death. He also established
a brief but fruitful collaboration with the Vienna Philharmonic. (He
sadly died from a heart attack on the day after he conducted Mahler's
First Symphony with the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra)
b. March 6th 1914.
1985: Gordon
Huntley (54) British pioneer pedal
steel guitarist, known as the Father of Britsh Pedal Steel guitaring,
as heard in his wonderful work with the
country rock band Southern Comfort
formed in 1970. The group debuted with Frog City, in 1971, which was followed
up by self-titled release and Stir Don't Shake in 1972. Gordon
played on all Southern Comforts albums and singles. The beautiful velvet
tones of his steel on their No.1 hit
‘Woodstock’ was probabley an introduction and inspiration to
many guitarists and future pedal steel guitarists. He started his long
career out on the road with Felix Mendelssohn & his Hawaiian Serenaders,
and by the late 50's before pedals were standard in the UK, Gordon was
playing a triple-neck Fender non-pedal guitar. In 1963, he joined ‘The
Westernaires’, a band mainly made up of U.S. Servicemen, by this
time he had built himself one pedal onto his steel! Soon after he got
himself his first model, a six pedal. As well as all the bands he has
been a member of he became a much in-demand session player in both the
studio and out on the road, which he prefered, with the likes of The Pretty
Things, Pilot,
Marc Ellington,
Bridget Saint Paul, Cliff Richard,
Elton John, Clodagh Rogers, Rod Stewart, Pete Green, Demis Roussos, John
Renbourn, Al Jones, Fairport Convention and many others, before he was
taken too early from us (cancer)
b.1930
1988: Divine/Harris
Glenn Milstead (42) US
female impersonator,
actor, singer; he featured in many films
including the 1974 movie "Female Trouble", where he played the
dual roles of teenage crime queen Dawn Davenport and Earl Peterson, the
man who gets her pregnant! He
also sang the theme song to "Female Trouble". This
flamboyant and talented actor also had a singing career, which started
in 1979 when Divine as a disco diva released his
first single ‘Born To Be Cheap/The
Name Game’. But his best-known hits came in the early and mid-Eighties,
with high-energy disco tracks like ‘Shoot Your Shot’ in 1983
and ‘Walk Like A Man’ in 1985. But it is the song ‘You
Think You’re A Man’ that was hiss biggest hit, reaching number
16 in the UK charts in 1984. Divine performed this song on well-known
UK music show Top Of The Pops on July 19 1984, resulting in a barrage
of complaints to the BBC. He released eleven international hit dance singles,
and toured the world with his solo cabaret act of disco and outrageous
humor, performing over 900 times in more than 19 countries (The
autopsy found he had died in his sleep of heart failure, or an enlarged
heart brought on by sleep apnea. The night he died, he had leaned over
his hotel balcony and sang "Arrivederci Roma" before retiring
to bed) b. October 19th 1945.
1991: Al Klink (74)
American swing jazz tenor saxophonist; played with Glenn Miller from 1939
to 1942, and is heard trading solos with Tex Beneke on "In the Mood".
He next played with Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, and did work as a
session musician after World War II. From 1952 to 1953 he played with
the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra. In 1955, he recorded his only session as
a bandleader, doing six songs for a Bob Alexander album which won a Grammy
award. After the 50s he disappeared from record until 1974, when he began
playing with the World's Greatest Jazz Band. Later in the 70s he played
with Glenn Zottola and George Masso, and continued playing until the mid-1980s,
when he retired in Florida. He died there in 1991 (?) b.
December 28th 1915.
2001: Frankie Carle (98) American
pianist and bandleader, nicknamed "The Wizard of the Keyboard"
in the 1940s and 1950s. He started out with a number of mainstream dance
bands. He received attention when he joined
Horace Heidt's band, later becoming co-leader of the band.
In 1944 Frankie left Heidt's band to form his own, with his daughter,
Marjorie Hughes, as lead female singer. Carle had several major hits in
the 1940s and early 1950s, including his theme song, "Sunrise Serenade"
but was perhaps best known for the classic "Frankie And Johnnie".
His band disbanded after 1955 and he performed mainly as a soloist thereafter
(natural causes)
b. March 25th 1903
2006:
Ali Ibrahim “Farka” Touré (66)
Malian
singer and guitarist; born in the village of Kanau, on the banks of the
Niger, near Timbuktu, he was one of the African continent’s most
internationally renowned musicians and he was ranked number 76 on Rolling
Stone’s list of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.
His music is regarded as representing a point of intersection of traditional
Malian music and its North American cousin, the blues. He sang in several
African languages, mostly Songhay, Fulfulde, Tamasheq or Bambara as on
his breakthrough 1988 album, Ali Farka Touré, which established
his reputation in the world music community. Ali’s first North American
concert was in Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia and recorded his
1994’s album Talking Timbuktu, a collaboration with Ry Cooder. His
1999 release Niafunké, was a more traditional album focusing on
African rhythms and beats. In 2002 Ali appeared with Black American blues
and reggae performer Corey Harris, on an album called Mississippi to Mali.
He and Harris appeared together in Martin Scorsese's 2003 documentary
film Feel Like Going Home, which traced the roots of blues back to its
genesis in West Africa. The film was narrated by Harris and features Ali’s
performances on guitar and njarka. In 2004 Ali’s became mayor of
Niafunké and spent his own money grading the roads, putting in
sewer canals and fuelling a generator that provided the impoverished town
with electricity. In September 2005, he released the album In the Heart
of the Moon, a collaboration with Toumani Diabaté, for which he
received a second Grammy award (sadly lost his long
battle with bone cancer) b. October 31st
1939.
2007:
Murray Grand (87)
American
songwriter, singer and pianist;
born
in Philadelphia, Murray played piano as a teenager. During WW II, he served
as and infantryman in U.S. Army and played piano accompaniment for USO
Tour stars including Gypsy Rose Lee and Betty Grable. After the war, he
studied piano and composition at the Juilliard School and worked as a
cabaret performer in New York City. In
1952, he wrote “Guess Who I Saw Today” (with lyrics by Elisse
Boyd) for the Broadway musical revue New Faces of 1952. The song has been
recorded by Nancy Wilson, Carmen McRae, and Eydie Gorme among others.
Murray's other songs include “Hurry”, “April in Fairbanks”,
“ Boozers and Losers" written with Cy Coleman, "Thursday's
Child", "Too Old to Die Young", "I Always Say Hello
to a Flower", "Everything You Want", “Come By Sunday”,
"I'd Rather Cha-Cha than Eat", "Comment Allez-Vous"
and “Not a Moment Too Soon”. His songs have been recorded by
Peggy Lee, Eartha Kitt, Paula West, Toni Tennille, Blossom Dearie, Eydie
Gorme, and Michael Feinstein. Grand appeared in two Paul Mazursky films:
The Tempest and Moscow on the Hudson. In his later years Grand lived for
a time in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he ran a pet food business and
continued to perform (He died of emphysema in Santa
Monica)
b. August
27th 1919.
March
8th.
1957: Othmar Schoeck (70)
Swiss composer and conductor
born in Brunnen, he was known mainly for his considerable output of art
songs and song cycles, though he also wrote a number of operas, mostly
notably his one-act Penthesilea, premiered in Dresden, 1927, and revived
at the Lucerne Festival, 1999, and instrumental compositions including
two string quartets and concertos for violin, cello and horn. He
suffered a heart attack in March 1944, but continued to compose
(?)
b. September 1st 1886.
1961: Sir
Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, CH (81)
English
conductor and impresario born in St. Helens, Lancs, in a house adjoining
the Beecham's Pills factory founded by his grandfather. From the early
twentieth century until his death, Sir Thomas was a major influence on
the musical life of Britain and, according to Neville Cardus, was the
first British conductor to have a regular international career. From
a wealthy industrial family, he used the money at his disposal to transform
the operatic scene in England from the 1910s until the start of World
War II, staging seasons at Covent Garden, Drury Lane and His Majesty's
Theatre with international stars, his own hand-picked orchestra and a
wide range of repertoire. In the concert hall, London still has two orchestras
founded by Sir Thomas: the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic.
He also maintained close links with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé
Orchestras in his native county of Lancashire. His repertoire was eclectic,
sometimes favouring lesser-known composers over famous ones. His specialities
included composers whose works were rarely played in Britain before he
became their advocate, such as Frederick Delius and Hector Berlioz. He
toured the major halls in America and Europe over his long career, sixty-six
years after his first visit to America, he made his last, beginning in
late 1959, conducting in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and
Washington. During this tour, he also conducted in Canada. He also was
known for his wit, and many "Beecham stories" are still told
50 plus years after his death (sadly
he died of a coronary thrombosis at his London flat)
b.
April 29th 1879.
1973: Ron
"Pigpen" Mckernan (27)
American multi-musician and founding member The Grateful Dead. His musical
contributions included vocals, Hammond organ, harmonica, percussion, and
occasionally guitar. He began spending time around coffeehouses and music
stores, where he met Jerry Garcia. One night Garcia invited him onstage
to play harmonica and sing the blues. Garcia was impressed and Ron became
the blues singer in local jam sessions.
He
was a participant in the preceeding groups leading to the formation of
the Grateful Dead, beginning with the Zodiacs and Mother McCree's Uptown
Jug Champions, which evolved into The Warlocks. Around 1965 Ron urged
the rest of the Warlocks to switch to electric instruments after which
they became the Grateful Dead. In 1970, Ron began experiencing symptoms
of congenital biliary cirrhosis; these were exacerbated by his alcohol
abuse. He had a short relationship and longer friendship with Janis Joplin
who joined him onstage at the Fillmore West in June 1969 with the Grateful
Dead to sing his signature "Turn On Your Lovelight". The two
repeated this duet July 16, 1970 at the Euphoria Ballroom in San Rafael.
After an August 1971 hospitalization, doctors requested that he stop touring
indefinitely, He carried on performing, but sadly
after their Europe '72 tour, his health had degenerated to the point where
he could no longer continue on the road. His final concert appearance
was June 17th 1972 at the Hollywood Bowl, in Los Angelese (gastrointestinal
hemorrhage) b. September 8th 1945.
1983: Sir William Turner Walton OM (80)
British composer and conductor, his
style was influenced by the works of Stravinsky and Prokofiev as well
as jazz music, and is characterized by rhythmic vitality, bittersweet
harmony, sweeping Romantic melody and brilliant orchestration. His output
includes orchestral and choral works, chamber music and ceremonial music,
as well as notable film scores. His earliest works, especially Edith Sitwell's
Façade brought him notoriety as a modernist, but it was with orchestral
symphonic works and the oratorio Belshazzar's Feast that he gained international
recognition. (?)
b. March
29th 1902
1988:
Henryk Szeryng (69) Polish
violin virtuoso, born in Zelazowa Wola;
he
made his solo debut on in January 1933 playing the Brahms Violin Concerto
with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the Romanian George
Georgescu. From 1933 to 1939 he studied composition in Paris with Nadia
Boulanger, and during World War II he worked as an interpreter for the
Polish government in exile, he was fluent in seven languages, and gave
concerts for Allied troops all over the world. During one of these concerts
in Mexico City he received an offer to take over the string department
of the university there. In
1946, he became a naturalized citizen of Mexico.
Henryk
focused on teaching before resuming his concert career in 1954. His debut
in New York City brought him great acclaim, and he toured widely for the
rest of his life (He died in Kassel) b.
September 22nd 1918.
1988: Amar Singh Chamkila/Dunni
Ram (27) Punjabi folk singer, widely touted as the most
influential Punjabi folk singer of all time. This is an incredible feat
as he sang for less than a decade. He is also regarded as one of the greatest
Punjabi folk live stage performers. In his heyday, he was known to do
three stage performances in a single day. He partnered up with the female
vocalist Surinder Sonia and recorded eight duets. The record was released
in 1979 and was produced by Charanjit Ahuja. The cunningly worded lyrics,
which he had written himself, became hits across Punjab and paved the
way for the unique lyrical mastery his fans would come to expect. In 1980
Amarjot Kaur became his permenant
female singing partner, providing the female vocals for his duets (having
arrived to perform in the famous pind of Mehsampur, Punjab, both Chamkila
and Amarjot, were gunned down by AK47'S along side Gill and other group
members as they exited their vehicle, a gang of terrorists shot several
rounds fatally wounding the couple and other members of the entourage)
b. July 21st 1960.
1993:
Billy Eckstine (79)
US jazz singer and band leader; his smooth
baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s,
first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic
black male in popular music. After working in many bands, he formed his
own big band
in 1944 and made it a fountain head
for young musicians who would reshape jazz by the end of the decade, including
Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Charlie Parker,
and Fats Navarro. The Billy Eckstine Orchestra was the first bop big-band,
and hit the charts often during the mid-'40s, with Top Ten entries including
"A Cottage for Sale" and "Prisoner of Love." On the
group's frequent European and American tours, Eckstine, popularly known
as Mr. B, also played trumpet, valve trombone and guitar. Billy made numerous
appearances on television variety shows, including "The Ed Sullivan
Show," "The Nat King Cole Show", "The Tonight Show"
with Steve Allen, Jack Paar, and Johnny Carson, "The Merv Griffin
Show", "The Art Linkletter Show," "The Joey Bishop
Show," "The Dean Martin Show," "The Flip Wilson Show,"
and "Playboy After Dark." He also performed as an actor in the
TV sitcom "Sanford and Son," and in such films as Skirts Ahoy,
Let's Do It Again, and Jo Jo Dancer. He recorded his final album
in 1984, "I Am A Singer",
featuring beautiful ballads arranged and conducted by Angelo DiPippo (?)
b. July 8th 1914.
1995: Ingo Schwichtenberg (29)
German drummer and
one of the founding members of German power metal band Helloween formed
in 1984 in Hamburg. He was famous
for his high-energy drumming, and between 1985-93 he recorded 6 albums
with Helloween, their self titled debut album in 1985, followed by Walls
of Jericho, Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1, Keeper of the Seven Keys
Part 2, Pink Bubbles Go Ape, and Chameleon .
He
was ejected from the band in 1993 during the tour of the album Chameleon.
The dismissal was reportedly due to his dependence on alcohol and drugs.
Sadly he also suffered from schizophrenia, and his refusal to take his
medication would lead to bizarre episodes such as uncontrollable sobbing,
which made it impossible for him to take the stage. Ingo was somewhat
dissatisfied with the direction of the band as well, and especially did
not care for the song Windmill from the Chameleon album
(After
his ejection from the band, he slid further and further into his schizophrenic
episodes, culminating in his suicide in 1995, tragically by jumping in
front of a subway train)
b. May 18th
1965.
2003: Adam Faith/Terence Nelhams-Wright (62)
English singer, actor in
TV, movies and theatre
and financial journalist. He began his musical career in 1957, while working
as a film cutter in London, singing with and managing a skiffle group,
The Worried Men, and became the resident band at The 2i's Coffee Bar,
where they appeared on the BBC Television live music programme Six-Five
Special, which led to a solo recording contract with HMV under the name
Adam Faith, but his first two singles failed to chart. In March 1959,
John Barry invited him to audition for a BBC TV rock and roll show, Drumbeat,
he was given a contract for three shows, extended to the full 22-week
run. He recorded six-track EP released by the Fontana record label, again
he failed to chart. After
taking drama and elocution lessons,
he got an acting job appearing as a pop singer in the film, Beat Girl.
This led to his third recording contract, with Parlophone. His next record
in 1959, "What Do You Want?", this became his first number one
hit in the UK Singles
Chart. It
was also the first number one hit for Parlophone, and Adam Faith the only
pop act on the label. He went on to record 37 singles, 24 being chart
hits, and nine albums, before going into full time acting. In the 1980s,
he became a financial investments advisor. (heart
attack) b. June 23rd
1940.
2009: Hank Locklin (91) American
country singer, member of Grand Ole Opry. His
hits include "Send Me the Pillow
That You Dream On", "Geisha Girl", and "Please Help
Me I'm Falling", which went to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop
music chart. Billboard Magazine's 100th Anniversary issue also listed
it as the second most successful country single of the Rock and Roll era.
He had/has a strong following
in Europe, and Ireland, so much so in 1963 he recorded an album called
Irish Songs Country Style, which includes the beautiful song Wild Irish
Rose. Also he has a fanclub situated in Langeli, Norway. In
2006, he appeared on the PBS special, Country Pop Legends in which he
performed "Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On", and "Please
Help Me I'm Falling". Until his passing in 2009, he was the oldest
living member of the Grand Ole Opry at the age of 91. He recently released
his 65th album, By the Grace of God, a collection of gospel songs ()
b. February 15th
1918.
2011: Mike Starr (44)
American bassist born in Honolulu, Hawaii
and best known as a founding member and bassist with the alternative rock
band, Alice in Chains, formed in Seattle in 1987. The band was one of
the most successful music acts of the 1990s, selling over 25 million albums
worldwide, and over 12 million in the US alone. The band achieved two
number-one Billboard 200 albums "Jar of Flies" and "Alice
in Chains", 14 top ten songs on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart,
and eight Grammy Award nominations. Mike
is featured on albums We Die Young -1990; Facelift-1990; Sap-1992; Dirt-1992;
Music Bank-1999; Nothing Safe: Best of the Box-1999; Live-2000; Greatest
Hits-2001; and The Essential Alice in Chains released in 2006. Mike left
Alice In Chains in 1993 while it was touring behind the album Dirt. However
in 1992 he had also been a founding
member of the heavy metal supergroup Sun Red Sun along with Ray Gillen
and Bobby Rondinelli, both former members of Black Sabbath. The project
was cut short by Gillen's death ...READ
MORE... (sadly found dead on this
date in a house in Salt Lake City - no details have emerged yet as to
the cause of death) b. April 4th 1966.
2011: Bernard Lee (66) American singer,
also known as St. Clair Lee, he was one of the original members of the
pop and soul
trio formed at Santa Monica, California in 1969, Hues Corporation,
along with Hubert Ann Kelley and Fleming Williams. The
group's name was a pun on the (Howard) Hughes Corporation, with the 'hue'
being the group's African-American heritage.
They started out as an opening act for the likes of Flash Cadillac, Ike
Turner, and Delaney Bramlett. In 1972 they were asked to appear in and
also record three songs for the film 'Blacular' soundtrack; "There
He Is Again", "What The World Knows" and "I'm Gonna
Catch You". Shortly after, RCA signed them, their first single, "Freedom
For The Stallion", from the album of the same name, reached No.63
on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
This
was followed by their
1974
single, "Rock the Boat" which became a No.1 hit on the Billboard
chart and the group's signature song. Other hits included "Rockin'
Soul, "Love Corporation", and "I Caught Your Act"
(details of Bernard's death have not yet been given)
b. April 24th 1944.
March
9th.
1985:
Robert
Alexander "Bumps" Blackwell (62)
American
songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known for his work overseeing
the early hits of Little Richard. He produced and co-wrote hits for Little
Richard including: "Long Tall Sally"; "Good Golly Miss
Molly"; "Ready Teddy"; and "Rip It Up". He also
produced Sam Cooke's hit "You Send Me". Earlier in his career
in the 1940s he led a jazz group that included pianist Ray Charles and
trumpeter Quincy Jones. He moved to Hollywood, California and took a job
at Art Rupe's Specialty Records as an arranger and producer. He worked
with Larry Williams, Lloyd Price and Guitar Slim before "discovering"
Little Richard in 1955. In 1981 he produced some songs for Bob Dylan's
album, Shot of Love, including the title track.
Not
be confused with another songwriter, Otis Blackwell
(pneumonia)
b. May
23rd 1922.
1993: Bob Crosby (79) American
dixieland bandleader and vocalist
with a singing voice
remarkably similar to his brother Bing, but without its range.
He began singing with Anson Weeks in 1931, then Dorsey Brothers in 1934,
before he led his first band in 1935. His most famous band, the Bob-Cats,
was a Dixieland jazz group with members from the Bob Crosby Orchestra.
Both the Bob Crosby Orchestra and the smaller Bob-Cats group specialized
in Dixieland jazz, showcasing the traditional jazz revival of the 1940s.
Over the years members
included Yank Lawson, Billy Butterfield, Muggsy Spanier, Matty Matlock,
Irving Fazola, Ward Silloway, Warren Smith, Eddie Miller, Joe Sullivan,
Bob Zurke, Jess Stacy, Nappy Lamare, Bob Haggart, Walt Yoder, Jack Sperling,
and Ray Bauduc. During World War II, he spent 18 months in the Marines,
touring with bands in the Pacific. His radio variety series, The Bob Crosby
Show, aired on NBC and CBS in different runs between the years 1943 to
1950, followed by Club Fifteen on CBS from 1947 through 1953 and a half-hour
CBS daytime series, The Bob Crosby Show from 1953 to 1957. Also in 1952,
Bob replaced Phil Harris as the bandleader on The Jack Benny Program,
remaining until Benny retired the radio show in 1955 (complications
from cancer)
b. August 23rd 1913.
1994: Maurice
"Moe" Purtill (77) American
drummer who is best known today as Glenn Miller’s featured drummer
from 1937 to 1942. Born
in Huntington, New York, he dropped out of high school and started out
as a freelance drummer in New York Studios. After playing with Red Norvo
his big break came when he played in Glenn Miller's first band in December
1937, but went to play with Tommy Dorsey until 1938, and rejoined Miller
on April 6th 1939 where he remained until September 27th 1942 when Miller
broke up his band to join the Army. Moe appeared on virtually all of Miller’s
hit records and also while with Glen, he appeared in two films, Sun Valley
Serenade-1941, and Orchestra Wives-1942. After the breakup of the band
in 1942, he went on to play with Kay Kyser until 1944, he then joined
the Navy and entered World War II. After his discharge, he played briefly,
in 1946, with the reformed Glenn Miller Orchestra directed by Tex Beneke.
Moe went on to record in the studio on various projects and would sometimes
participate in a few Miller retrospective projects (?)
b. May 4th
1916.
1997: Notorious
BIG/Biggie Smalls/Christopher
Wallace (24)
American gangsta-rapper, a central figure
in the East Coast hip-hop scene and increased New York's visibility at
a time when hip hop was mostly dominated by West Coast artists. He began
rapping when he was a teenager, entertaining people on the streets, as
well as perform with local groups, the Old Gold Brothers and the Techniques.
He had also lived a life of crime since he was 12 selling drugs and guns.
After a prison sentence, Chris made a demo tape under the name Biggie
Smalls which led his signing with Uptown who immediately gave him an appearance
on Heavy D & the Boyz' "A Buncha Niggas". In mid 1992, he
signed to Bad Boy Records. By 1996, he was headlining shows, enjoying
MTV appearances,
No.1 hit singles, and his debut album,
Ready to Die, was selling remarkably well. He focused his energies on
his second album, Life After Death, where, rather than relying on hardcore
narratives and beats, he opted for midtempo and pop grooves, spawning
hit singles such as "Hypnotise" and "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems".
But when his former friend, Tupac Shakur was gunned down in Las Vegas
in September of 1996, and fingers were soon pointing at Chris and his
East Coast associates, especially by the LA Times newspaper, which ran
a campaign accusing the rapper of paying the Crips gang £1m to kill
Shakur. Less than a year later, on a promotional tour in Los Angeles,
Chris was dead, which many believed was in retaliation for Tupac's death.
(After leaving a party in L.A. a black Chevy Impala
pulled up alongside Chris's truck. The driver of the Impala, an African-American
male neatly dressed in a blue suit and bow tie, rolled down his window,
drew a 9 mm blue-steel pistol and fired numerous rounds into the GMC Suburban;
four bullets hit Chris in the chest. He was rushed to Cedars -Sinai Medical
Center by his entourage but was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m.)
b. May 21st 1972.
1999: Mike Anthony (68) American
guitarist with 5th Dimension (heart attack)
b. ????
1999: Harry Stewart Somers CC (73) English-Canadian
composer, born in Toronto. In 1942, he came under the influence of John
Weinzweig set up a program of traditional harmony study for the young
composer as well as introducing him to 12-tone techniques. There followed
a period of study in Paris. It was there that Somers heard and was influenced
by the music of Boulez and Messiaen. Returning home to Toronto in 1950
Somers worked as a music copyist while he honed his compositional talents.
By the 1960s he was able to support his family almost entirely by his
composition. An important work from the 1950s was Five Songs for Dark
Voice. In the 1960s his music include Five Concepts for Orchestra, Twelve
Miniatures, "Picasso Suite", and Five Songs of the Newfoundland
Outports shows him clearly working within the choral mainstream. These
five accessible arrangements of Newfoundland folk songs have become popular
with choirs around the world. Also Louis Riel, an opera written for the
1967 Canadian centennial. He was a founding member of the Canadian League
of Composers, and was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1971
(?) b. September 11th
1925.
2000: Ivo
Robic (77)
Croatian
singer-songwriter; born
in Rijeka, Croatia, he was a pioneer of popular Yugoslav music from the
early 1950s. Following the success of his first international hit, "Morgen"
/ "Tomorrow") in 1959, he was nicknamed "Mister Morgen".
The optimistic song was the first collaboration between Ivo and Bert Kaempfert.
Following its success in Germany, the German-language version became a
No.13 hit on the pop chart in the US, selling over one million copies.
He performed and collaborated with Kaempfert, Freddy Quinn, and Dean Martin.
His version of "Strangers in the Night", which he originally
recorded for the music festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, was later sang
in German, "Fremde in der Nacht", and in Croatian language "Stranci
u Noci". Other international hits include "Muli-Song",
"Mit 17 fängt das Leben erst an", "Ein ganzes Leben
lang", "Rot ist der Wein", and "Ich zeig' dir den
Sonnenschein". During
his career in what was then Socialist Republic of Croatia within Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, he made more than one hundred records,
mostly singles and schlagers.Vracam se Zagrebe tebi/Coming Back to You,
My Zagreb, Ta tvoja ruka mala/That Little Hand of Yours, and Tiho plove
moje cežnje/Silent Sail of My Yearnings (?)
b. January 29th
1923.
2004: Rust Epique/Charles Lopez (36) American
singer and guitarist, born in Stockton but raised in Modesto, Ca. He toured
with many bands, including "Kinesthesia", "Xit", "The
Limit", and "Cliff Morrison", until in 1989, he relocated
to Hollywood. In 1999, he joined
the L.A. rapcore band Crazy Town,
their hit single, Butterfly, topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2001. Despite
his success with Crazy Town, Rust quit the band as a result of various
disagreements with his band mates. He formed the band Rustandthesuperheroes
and
in 2003, V2 Records signed him to work with a band called Pre)Thing. They
released their debut album, 22nd Century Lifestyle, in 2004 to much radio
success (sadly
died of a heart attack)
b. February
29th 1968.
2005: Chris LeDoux (56)
American singer, guitarist
and rodeo performer. As well as being a solo artist he recorded and played
with his pal Garth Brooks. He has recorded thirty-six albums and was awarded
one gold album certification from the RIAA, and was nominated for a Grammy
Award and the Academy of Country Music Music Pioneer Award. When his rodeo
career ended, he continued to write and record his songs, and began playing
concerts, which often featured a mechanical bull. He worked independenly
until 1989, when he shot to national prominence when he was mentioned
in the debut song of future superstar Garth Brooks, the Top-10 country
hit "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)". In
1991 Chris
signed with Capitol Records and released his first national album, Western
Underground, and his follow-up album, Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy,
was certified gold and reached the top ten. The title track, a duet with
Brooks, became LeDoux's first and only Top Ten country single, reaching
#7 in 1992. In 2000, Chris suffered an illness that required a liver transplant.
Garth Brooks volunteered to donate part of his liver, but it was found
to be incompatible. n donor was located, and LeDoux did receive a transplant.
After his recovery he released two additional albums (complications
from ongoing treatment for cancer of the bile duct and liver)
b. October 2nd 1948.
2006: Laura Stoica (38) Romanian singer,
composer and actress; she made her debut in 1990 at the "Mamaia"
festival with Un actor grabit/"An Actor in a hurry", written
by Bogdan Cristinoiu. The following year she was declared the best pop-rock
singer and 'Un actor grabit' became the song of the year. Her debut album,
entitled Focul/The Fire, was released in 1994. Since then, her songs have
been included in many compilations. Her second album, Nici o stea/"Any
Star"), was released in 1997. She
was also an actress, in 2000, she graduated from the Ecological University
of Bucharest with a degree in drama (Laura and her
fiancé tragically lost their lives in a car accident near Urziceni.
She was pregnant at the time)
b. October 10th 1967.
2006: Anna Moffo (73) American soprano
born in Wayne, PA; after graduation, in 1954 she entered and won the Philadelphia
Orchestra Young Artists Auditions. Awarded a Fulbright fellowship, she
went to Rome to study voice, master the Italian language and train for
opera and made her stage opera debut in 1955 as Norina in Donizetti's
"Don Pasquale" in Spoleto. Her big breakthrough came the next
year, when she starred in a television production of Puccini's "Madama
Butterfly". Anna she sang an average of 12 new roles a year for the
first four years of her career, all star parts. Her Met debut in 1959
was as Violetta in "La Traviata" and became a favorite at the
Met, and remained so well into the 1960's. She appeared some 200 times
with the company. Although her career began splendidly, her voice had
declined by her late 30's, but with her radiant appearance, she was drawn
early on into television and film, playing host of her own variety show
on Italian television for many years (Anna sadly
died of a stroke after fighting with complications of breast cancer)
b. June 27th 1932.
2007: Brad Delp (55)
American multi-musician, lead singer, frontman of the rock band
Boston, he is also known for his extremely high range, and often cited
as a key influence in the rock music vocal scene. He began performing
in Tom Scholz' band 'Mother's Milk' in 1969. Eventually they signed with
Epic Records and renamed the band 'Boston'. Their debut album, Boston,
released in August 1976, was an enormous success,
selling over 17 million records and produced future rock standards such
as "More Than a Feeling" and "Peace of Mind", it
ranks as the best-selling debut album in
United States history. Brad performed all lead and backing vocals, including
all 'layered' vocal overdubs
on the album. They went
.. READ
MORE .. (sadly committed suicide)
b. June 12th 1951.
2009: Jimmy
Boyd (70)
US actor, singer
on a small farm in McComb, Miss; at age 4 he started guitar and harmonica
lessons, at 7, he was playing and singing at barn dances. Texas Jim Lewis,
a country-western bandleader, heard Jimmy sing and signed him up for his
Saturday night radio show. That led to a winning performance in a radio
talent show in LA and the contract to sing “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa
Claus“, this led to appearances on television shows hosted by Ed
Sullivan, Perry Como, Doris Day, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, among others.
At 15, he was cast by Universal Pictures as the kid brother in "The
Second Greatest Sex," a musical set in the Old West. In 1957, he
played the title role in The United States Steel Hour's telecast of a
musical version of "Huckleberry Finn." For 25 episodes, from
1958 to 1962, he was in the sitcom "Bachelor Father." Among
his film roles was "Inherit the Wind," the 1960 movie classic.
Jimmy co-starred on Broadway in Neil Simon's play Star Spangled Girl with
George Hamilton and Deana Martin (cancer)
b.
January 9th 1940.
2010: Wilfred "Wilfy" Rebimbus (67)
Indian musician, born in in Mangalore
and became known as Konkan Kogul ("the nightingale of Konkani").
A
highly talented composer and singer, he
starting his career at 15, a career spanning over 50 years. Mog
Tuzo Kitlo Axelom, Maria Tuzo Moga Maka Maria, and Philomena, are just
a few among the 3,000
of songs Wilfy
has written.
He has staged more
than 500 shows, 248 'Wilfy Nights'
and released 40 albums, 6 devotional albums and 1 Instrumental album.
Wilfy had also brought out a book, "Kogul Gaaithaa’’,
comprising 40 volumes in four editions. He has written three Konkani musical
plays, Hazaar Umaalyamche Kazaar, Vechik Pooth and Mother Teresa. His
compositions not only in Konkani, but Tulu too are cherished by millions
worldwide (sadly lost his fight with lung cancer)
b. April 2nd
1942.
March 10th.
1910: Carl Reinecke (85)
German pianist, conductor and composer born in Altona, Hamburg; at 19,
he undertook his first concert tour in 1843, through Denmark and Sweden.
In 1846, Reinecke was appointed Court Pianist for Christian VIII in Copenhagen
and in 1851, Carl became a professor at the Cologne Conservatory. In ensuing
years he was appointed musical director at Barmen, and became the academic,
musical director and conductor of the Singakademie at Breslau. In
1860, he was appointed director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra concerts in
Leipzig, and professor of composition and piano at the Conservatorium.
He led the orchestra for more than three decades, until 1895. He conducted
premieres such as the full seven-movement version of Brahms's German Requiem-1869.
In 1865 the Gewandhaus-Quartett premiered Brahms' piano quintet, and in
1892 his D major string quartet. He is best known for his flute sonata
"Undine", but he is also remembered as one of the most influential
and versatile musicians of his time. At the age of 80, Carl recorded his
playing on piano roll for the Welte-Mignon company, making him the earliest-born
pianist to have his playing preserved in any format. (?)
b. June 23rd
1824.
1977: E. Power Biggs (70) English
concert organist and recording artist, born in Westcliff-on-Sea, but moved
to the Isle of Wight while a baby. After training in London at the Royal
Academy of Music, he emigrated to the United States in 1930. He
did much to bring the classical pipe organ back to prominence, and was
in the forefront of the mid-20th-century resurgence of interest in the
organ music of pre-Romantic composers. On his first concert tour of Europe,
in 1954, He performed and recorded works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Sweelinck,
Dieterich Buxtehude, and Pachelbel on historic organs associated with
those composers. In
addition to concertizing and recording, he taught at the Longy School
of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at various times in his career and
edited a large body of organ music. For
his contribution to the recording industry, Edward has a star on California's
Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6522 Hollywood Blvd (?)
b. March 29th 1906.
1988:
Andy Gibb (30) UK-Australian solo
singer, the youngest of the Gibb brothers but he was not a member of The
Bee Gees. In 1977, he began his career as a solo singer, following his
brothers' disco style. His first 3 singles "I Just Want to Be Your
Everything," "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water," and "Shadow
Dancing" all reached the No.1 spot. Three more consecutive Top Ten
hits followed, cementing his overnight sensation status. Despite the number
four "Desire," Gibb's streak of Top Ten hits began to slip in
1980; the following year he had his last Top 40 hit, "Me (Without
You)." After a stint as the host of Solid Gold, Andy turned to acting,
but he did not replicate the enormous success of his recording career.
Sadly he developed
a massive cocaine addiction, which
helped lead to his death (sadly died from the virus myocarditis, inflammation
of the heart muscle) b. March
5th 1958
1989:
Doc Green Jr (54)
American
bass & baritone singer;
he was a member of The Five Crowns when in 1958 manager George Treadwell,
who owned the rights to the name "Drifters", but had sacked
the whole band, approached Lover Patterson, the manager of The Five Crowns
featuring lead singer Ben E. King, wanting his band to adopt the appellation
of The Drifters. So the new line-up of The Drifters consisted of Doc as
baritone, Ben E King (lead tenor), Charlie Thomas (tenor), and Elsbeary
Hobbs (bass). The group went out on the road to tour for almost a year.
Since this new group had no connection to the prior Drifters, they often
played to hostile audiences. This new Drifter lineup, widely considered
the "true" golden age of the group, released several singles
with King on lead that became chart hits. "There Goes My Baby",
the first commercial rock-and-roll recording to include a string orchestra,
was a Top 10 hit, and number 193 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs
of All Time. "Dance with Me" followed, and then "This Magic
Moment" No.16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. "Save the Last
Dance for Me" reached No.1 on the U.S. pop charts and No.2 in the
UK. This was followed by "I Count The Tears." This version of
The Drifters was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000 as
Ben E. King and the Drifters (sadly died after his
battle with cancer) b. November 8th 1934.
1992: Giorgos Zampetas (67) Greek
music composer,
singer who became one of the greatest bouzouki artists; born in Metaksourgio
of Athens, from
a very young age. He showed a great interest in music, as he was helping
his father in his barber shop, he secretly played his first melodies on
a bouzouki. Anything that was producing sound seemed exciting to him and
helped him in his compositions. In 1932, as a 7 year old first grader,
he won his first prize, playing his first song in a school competition
(?) b. January 25th 1925.
1997: Lavern Baker aka Delores Williams (57)
American rhythm and blues singer;
one of the sexiest divas gracing the mid-'50s rock & roll circuit.
In 1953 she signed for Atlantic Records as a solo artist, her first release
being "Soul on Fire". Her first hit came in early 1955, with
the Latin-tempo "Tweedlee Dee" reaching No.4 on the R&B
chart and No.14 on the national US pop charts. This was followed by a
string of
hits on the R&B charts over the next couple of years with her backing
group The Gliders, including "Bop-Ting-A-Ling", "Play It
Fair", and "Still. At the end of 1956 she had another smash
hit with "Jim Dandy" No.1 R&B and No.17 pop, it sold over
one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Further hits followed
for Atlantic, including the follow-up "Jim Dandy Got Married",
"I Cried a Tear", "I Waited Too Long" written by Neil
Sedaka, "Saved" and "See See Rider". In the late 1960s,
she became seriously ill after a trip to Vietnam to entertain American
soldiers. About that same time, a friend recommended that she stay on
as the entertainment director at a Marine Corps night club at the Subic
Bay Naval Base in the Philippines, and she remained there for 22 years.
Laverne
received the 1990 Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and
in 1991, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her song
"Jim Dandy" was named one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's
500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and was ranked #343 on the Rolling
Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (coronary
complications) b. November 11th 1929.
2001: Massimo Morsello
(42) Italian
far-right political activist and singer-songwriter. He was the main figure
of Italian far-right political music and, with Roberto Fiore, a co-founder
of the Italian nationalist movement Forza Nuova. He
began his career as a musician in the '70s, with his first performance
being at the first Hobbit Camp. During
the so-called "Anni di Piombo" or Lead Years he became involved
in various violent episodes and is thought to have possibly been a member
of the neofascist terrorist organization Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari.
After the Bologna Massacre of August 2, 1980, Massimo, Roberto Fiore,
leader of Terza Posizione and seven other people were accused of subversive
association. They escaped first to Germany, then, after a few months,
to London. Italy called for their extradition but it was refused by England
because the crimes they were accused of were only political (cancer)
b. November
10th 1958.
2002: Shirley
Scott (67) US
hard bop and soul-jazz organist; she played played piano and trumpet before
moving to the Hammond organ, her main instrument, though on occasion she
still played piano. Shirley became known
in the 1950s for her work with saxophone
player Eddie Davis, particularly the song "In the Kitchen" and
went on to play with many greats. Shirley recorde 23 albums as a leader
and six albums with Stanley Turrentine (Shirley
died of heart failure, believed this had been hastened by the diet drug
fen-phen) b. March 14th 1934.
2004:
Dave Blood/David Schulthise (47) American
bass guitarist for the punk band Dead Milkmen who enjoyed international
success on the strength of 1988's "Punk Rock Girl", a single
from their Beelzebubba album. He helped form the band in 1983 along with
fellow pseudonymous musicians Joe Jack Talcum, Dean Clean, and Rodney
Anonymous. Allegedly,
he tuned the strings of his bass guitar, in order from lowest to highest,
D E A D, to match the name of the band. He stopped playing music in 1995
after the band broke up as the result of developing tendinitis in both
hands
(committed suicide by overdosing on pills)
b. September
16th 1956.
2005: Jacqueline "Jazzy Jackie" Neal
(37) American
blues singer, born
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, her father Raful Neal, was also a blues musician,
as were eight of her ten siblings. She was best known for her hit "Right
Thang, Wrong Man". Jackie released 4 albums, ''Blues Won't Let You
Go''; ''Lookin' for a Sweet Thang''; ''Money Can't Buy Me Love''; and
lastly ''Down in Da Club''. (Tragically,
she was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend, James White, in Baton Rouge)
b. July 7th 1967.
2005: Danny Joe Brown (53)
American singer from Jacksonville, Florida; was
a member of the Southern rock group Molly Hatchet, and singer and co-writer
of the band's biggest hits from the late 1970s. He is best known for writing
and singing such hit singles as "Flirtin' with Disaster", and
"Satisfied Man". He left the band in 1980 to form The Danny
Joe Brown Band. He later rejoined Molly Hatchet in 1982, but had to leave
in 1995 after suffering a stroke. (tragically
he died less than an hour after returning to his home from a four week
hospitalization. He had been fighting a long battle with diabetes and
effects of a past stroke) b. August 24th
1951.
2006: Anna Moffo (73) American
soprano born in Wayne, Pennsylvania; she was offered the challenging role
of Cio-Cio-San in an Italian television (RAI) production of Madama Butterfly,
the telecast aired on January 24th 1956, and made her an overnight sensation
throughout Italy. She returned to America for her debut there, as Mimì
in La Bohème next to Jussi Björling's Rodolfo, at the Lyric
Opera of Chicago on October 16, 1957. Her Metropolitan Opera of New York
debut took place on November 14th 1959 as Violetta in La traviata and
performed at The Metropolitan Opera for seventeen seasons in roles such
as Lucia, Gilda, Adina, Mimi, Liù, Nedda, Pamina, Marguerite, Juliette,
Manon, Mélisande, Périchole, the four heroines of Les contes
d'Hoffmann. She
enjoying a successful international career singing at most major opera
houses around the world, Stockholm, Berlin, Monte Carlo, Mexico City,
Buenos Aires, among others. She made her debut at the Royal Opera House
in London, as Gilda, in a Franco Zeffirelli production of Rigoletto, in
1964. Such
a heavy workload however led to physical exhaustion and a serious vocal-breakdown
in 1974, from which she never fully recovered (sadly
died of a stroke following a decade-long battle with breast cancer)
b. June 27th 1932.
2008: Charles "Chuck" Day (65)
American blues guitarist, singer and bassist born in Chicago his musical
talents began to develop at age 3, and at age 15 in 1957,
he recorded the single "Pony Tail Partner" under the name Bing
Day at Federal Records. He recorded several singles over the next ten
years as 'Bing Day' and, also, 'Ford Hopkins', before moving to L.A. in
1965. He worked with the likes of the
Johnny River band on the tracks "Here
We GoGo Again" and "Rivers Rocks the Folk", Chuck
wrote the distinctive riff in "Secret Agent Man".
He next joined the Mamas and Papas as
their bass guitarist and was second guitarist on "Monday, Monday"
and "California Dreamin'" before forming his own band. Chuck
also recorded with The Young Gyants, Shel Silverstein and more recently
in 2006 with
Steve Wolf (died
in Healdsburg District Hospital after a long illness) b.
August 5th 1942
2008: Dennis Irwin (56)
American jazz double bassist, born in Birmingham,
Alabama but grew up in Atlanta and Knoxville. His older brothers were
jazz fans, and with their encouragement Dennis began playing clarinet.
In the mid-1960s the family relocated to Houston, where as a teenager
he played alto sax in a series of local R&B bands and while studying
classical clarinet at University he began playing upright bass in the
school's Two O'Clock Big Band. In 1975, Dennis started working with trumpeter
Ted Carson, emerging as the bassist of choice for vocalists including
Mose Allison, Betty Carter, Annie Ross and Jackie Paris. He made his record
debut the following year, supporting pianist Dom Salvador's album "My
Family". In 1977, he signed on with Blakey's Jazz Messengers and
went on to play with many other greats including
John Scofield, Stan
Getz, Johnny Griffin, Horace Silver, Chet Baker and Mel Lewis (He
sadly died from complications of cancer on the same day as a Jazz at Lincoln
Center benefit concert was held in his honor which featured performances
by Wynton Marsalis, Tony Bennett, Jon Hendricks, Joe Lovano and Joe Scofield)
b. November 18th 1951.
2009: Ralph Mercado (67) American
promoter of Latin American music — Latin Jazz, Latin rock, merengue
and salsa — he established a network of businesses that included
promoting concerts, managing artists, a record label, film company, nightclubs
and restaurants. He out started promoting "waistline parties",
live music events in apartment building basements where women were charged
in proportion to their waist size, with himself measuring at the door.
Soon he was promoting Latin jazz at Manhattan clubs such as The Village
Gate. These expanded into concerts at major venues with stars such as
James Brown, who appeared with Latin acts such as Mongo Santamaría.
He turned to managing performers, founding RMM Management in 1972, where
his clients included Celia Cruz and Tito Puente, achieving acclaim as
the biggest salsa manager in the United States by the 1970s. He developed
new talent, such as La India Marc Anthony, presenting salsa concerts
at major venues across the country, from Madison Square Garden to the
Hollywood Bowl. Ralf
started RMM Records in 1987, which had in excess of 130 artists performing
across the Latin music spectrum, representing merengue, salsa, Latin jazz
and Latin rock. He rode the expanding size and economic power of the nation's
Hispanic population and a general interest in salsa music. Mercado brought
in international groups and influences from Africa, Brazil and even Japan.
He achieved acclaim as the most successful promoter of salsa music, and
in 1991, Billboard magazine described him as "the entrepreneur who
took salsa from New York to the world"
(cancer)
b. September
29th 1941
2010: Evelyn Dall (92) American singer
and actress, born in The Bronx, New York City. In
1935 she was invited to become the female vocalist for Bert Ambrose and
his Orchestra, in the UK, where she remained until 1946. Over
her career she has worked in musical films such as Sing as You Swing,
Kicking the Moon Around, He Found a Star, and King Arthur Was a Gentleman,
and in supporting roles on Broadway and Londons's West End in.. Something
for the Boys, Parade,
Follow the
Girls, and Present Arms. She was
known there as England's "Original Blonde Bombshell" (died
after a long illness) b.
January 8th 1918.
2010: Micky Jones (63) British singer
and guitarist with the legendary Welsh pychedelic, progressive rock, blues
and country-rock band
"Man", formed in 1968 as
a reincarnation of Welsh rock harmony group ‘’The Bystanders’’
from Merthyr Tydfil. Micky has played
in every incarnation of Man until his illness in 2002 and again in 2005.
In 1960, whilst still at school, Micky formed his first band The Rebels,
before he formed his first professional band The Bystanders in 1962. He
adopted the stage name of Mike Martin and later Mike Steel. They released
eight singles, including "98.6" in February '67, which featured
in the '09 film, The Boat That Rocked and ...
READ
MORE ... In
2002 Micky was diagnosed with a brain tumour and had to take time off
for treatment. A trooper till the end in '04 he was back with Man but
tragically the following year his health deteriorated due to the re-occurrence
of his brain tumour and Micky sadly remained in hospital for the next
5 years. (passed away peacefully)
b. June 7th
1946 John
Burtenshaw is currently writing a book about the life of the amazing
but
sadly sometimes over-looked musician
Micky Jones. Any information please email
john.burtenshaw1@ntlworld.com
2011: Mario Clavell (88) Argentine
singer, actor and composer; singing his own songs in his native Argentina,
his career has been a long chain of triumphs. Movies, radio, records and
television opened up new markets and made him internationally known. In
Uruguay and Peru he was voted the Best Showman on Television. He also
performed in Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, México, Puerto
Rico and Spain. In 1969 he was hired in Madrid to broadcast his personal
radio-show for six months, and his big success made him stay in Cadena
Ser for four years, sharing his work with frequent participations in the
best shows in TV and performing in the most important night-clubs of Spain.
He also produced and acted in a very successful "cafe-concert"
show, with his own
music, and also wrote the score and
songs for the musical"El Oso y el Madrileño", with script
by the famous Spanish writer Antonio Mingote.
More
recently, Mario performed for numerous latin-american audiences in Miami,
USA, where his "boleros" have always been very popular through
the recordings of the most important singers and orchestras. In 1995 he
was honoured a significant distinction: Miami´s Dade Major proclaimed
the day July 5 as "El Día de Mario Clavell" - Mario Clavell´s
Day (sadly
died after a long ilness) b.
October 9th 1922
March 11th.
1967: Geraldine Farrar (85) American
soprano opera singer and film actress, born in Melrose, Massachusetts,
she is noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre
of her voice".
At 5 she began studying music in Boston and by 14 was giving recitals.
Later she studied voice with American soprano Emma Thursby in New York,
in Paris, and finally with the Italian baritone Francesco Graziani in
Berlin. After performing at top opera houses around the world, she retired
from opera in 1922 at the age of 40. Her final performance was as Leoncavallo's
Zazà. By this stage, her voice was in premature decline due to
overwork. According to the US music critic Henry Pleasants, she gave between
25 and 35 performances each season at the Met alone, which included 95
appearances as Madama Butterfly and 58 as Carmen in 16 seasons. The title
role in Puccini's Tosca, which she had added to her repertoire in 1909,
was another of her favourite Met parts. Gerry
continued to give recitals until 1931 and was briefly the commentator
for the radio broadcasts from the Met during the 1934-35 season. She also
starred in more than a dozen films from 1915 to 1920, one of her most
notable screen roles was as Joan of Arc in the 1917 film Joan the Woman.
In 1960 she was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in the
music and film categories. (sadly
died of a heart attack) b. February 28th 1882.
1978: Sofia Vembo (67)
Greek
singer, dubbed the "Singstress of Victory"; she began her career
in Thessaloniki in the early 1930s, and in 1933 she was hired by the theatre
operator Fotis Samartzis of the Kentrikon theatre for the revue "Parrot
1933". She then began to record romantic songs for the Columbia company,
achieving fame because of her distinctly sonorous contralto voice. Her
reputation rocketed after the Italian attack on Greece on 28 October 1940,
when her performance of patriotic and satirical songs became a major inspiration
for the fighting soldiers. At the same time, she offered 2,000 gold pounds
from her own fortune to the Hellenic Navy. Following the German invasion
and occupation of the country in April 1941, she was transported to the
Middle East, where she continued to perform for the Greek troops in exile.
After the war, in 1949, she acquired her own theatre, the "Vembo
Theatre", in the Metaxourgeio quarter of Athens. During the 60s,
she began to perform less and less, before finally retiring in the early
70s
(?)
b. 1910
1978: Claude Francois (39) French
pop singer and songwriter, born Ismaïlia, Egypt; he wrote "Comme
d'habitude," the original version of "My Way." A young
François worked as a bank clerk and at night earned extra money
playing drums with an orchestra at the luxury hotels along the French
Riviera. He was offered a chance to sing at a hotel in the fashionable
Mediterranean resort town of Juan-les-Pins. His show was well received
and eventually he began to perform at the glamorous night-clubs along
the Côte d'Azur. After moving to Paris he had a major hit with "Belles
Belles Belles" topping the French charts, selling close to 2 million
copies, making him a star
overnight. He had hit after hit recording
UK and US hits in French. He worked non-stop, touring across Europe, USA,
Africa and Canada. However, his workload caught up with him in 1971 when
he collapsed on stage from exhaustion. After a brief period off, he returned
to the recording studios, releasing several best-selling hits throughout
the early 1970s. (Officially Claude electrocuted
himself adjusting a light bulb while standing in his bathtub, but some
suspect foul play)
b. February 1st 1939.
1986: Sonny Terry/Saunders Terrell (75)
America blues singer,
harmonica born
in Greensboro, GA.
where his father taught him the harmonica at an early age. Sadly by the
time he was 16, Sonny was blind, and he decided
to be a blues singer. He began traveling to nearby Raleigh and Durham,
NC, performing on street corners for tips. In 1934, he befriended the
popular guitarist Blind Boy Fuller, who convinced Sonny to move to Durham,
where the two immediately gained a strong local following. By 1937, they
were offered an opportunity to go to New York and record for the Vocalion
label. It is here where Sonny paired up with guitarist Brownie McGhee,
the duo worked together as Brownie
McGhee and his Jook House Rockers or Sonny Terry and his Buckshot Five
until the mid 70's, playing concerts
and festivals around the world. Sonny also became a much in demand session
player working regularly on the records for the likes of Leadbelly, Woody
Guthrie, and Pete Seeger. In the late 70's and early 80's he was working
with a different generation including Johnny Winters. Sonny was inducted
into the Blues Foundations Hall of Fame in 1986.
(?) b. October 24th 1911.
2010: Paul
Dunlap (90) American
composer
born in Springfield, Ohio; he wrote the scores for more than 200 films
and television programs including The Three Stooges Meet Hercules, The
Three Stooges in Orbit, The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze
and The Outlaws Is Coming. He also scored the last Abbott and Costello
film Dance With Me, Henry (?) b.
July 19th
1919.
2011: Rita Guerrero (47) Mexican actress
and singer born in Guadalajara; while at university she pursued an acting
career, the late 80s finds her in Mexico City and in 1989, along with
bassist Alfonso "Poncho" Figueroa, guitarist Pablo Valero and
keyboardist Jacobo Leiberman (Juan Sebastian Lach was keyboardist for
a while), she formed Mexico's most original and experimental rock band
Santa Sabina, the name of the group honors the memory of Maria Sabina,
the Mazatec shaman who lived in the southern state of Oaxaca. Their albums
include, Santa Sabina -1992, Símbolos -1994, Babel -1996, Mar adentro
en la sangre-2001 and Espiral-2003. In 1997, they also recorded an album
of their "unplugged" performance for MTV Latinoamerica called
Santa Sabina Unplugged. In early 2006, the group released a double live
album "XV Aniversario" which also included a DVD. Rita also
performed as part of Ensamble Galileo, an acoustic chamber group specializing
in Renaissance era music (Rita was diagnosed with
breast cancer in January 2010. She underwent chemotherapy, and tried various
treatments of allopathic medicine, but sadly all were unsuccessful)
b. May 22nd 1964.
2011: Hugh Martin (96) American musical
theatre and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright born
in Birmingham, Alabama. He is maybe best known for his score for the classic
1944 MGM musical 'Meet Me In St. Louis', in which Judy Garland sang three
of his songs, "The Boy Next Door", "The Trolley Song",
and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". The last of these
has become a Christmas season standard. He wrote the music, and in some
cases the lyrics, for 5 Broadway musicals: Best Foot Forward-1941; Look
Ma, I'm Dancin'!-1948; Make a Wish-1951; High Spirits-1964 with Timothy
Gray; and Meet Me In St. Louis-1989. Hugh's first Broadway credit was
as an arranger for the 1937-1938 musical Hooray for What! and was a vocal
or choral arranger for such later Broadway musicals as The Boys From Syracuse
1938–39, Too Many Girls 1939–40, DuBarry Was a Lady 1939–40,
Cabin in the Sky 1940–41, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 1949–51,
Top Banana 1951–52, and Lorelei 1974. He was also one of the vocal
arrangers for Sugar Babies 1979–82. Ralph Blane was Hugh's songwriting
partner for most of his work, and the two recorded an album of their best
songs entitled Martin and Blane Sing Martin and Blane with the Ralph Burns
Orchestra in 1956. Martin and Blane were twice nominated for the Academy
Award for Best Song, for "The Trolley Song" in 1944, and for
"Pass the Peace Pipe" from Good News in 1947. Hugh has also
received four Tony award nominations, three for High Spirits- Best Musical,
Best Book Author of a Musical, Best Composer and Lyricist; and one for
the 1990 Meet Me in St. Louis - Best Original Score. Other film work includes
songs for the films Athena-1954, and The Girl Most Likely-1957 as well
as the film version of his Broadway hit Best Foot Forward which starred
Lucille Ball (Hugh died of natural causes)
b. August 11th 1914.
2011: Jack Hardy (63)
American folk singer and songwriter, he wrote hundreds of songs,
protest songs, political talking songs and romantic ballads; beginning
in the mid-seventies Jack hosted Monday Night Pasta Dinners at his apartment
on Houston Street, to which all songwriters were generously welcome. He
also began a small, informal songwriters' group at The English Pub in
Greenwich Village, which later became a more formal songwriters' night
at the Cornelia Street Cafe in December 1977. This group later evolve
into the Songwriter's Exchange, releasing an album on Stash Records in
1980. Eventually, the group formed a cooperative, led by Jack, and in
'81 took over the booking of the "Speak Easy", which became
a thriving venue for songwriters. He was also the founder and first editor
of Fast Folk Musical Magazine in '82. He also toured frequently on both
sides of the Atlantic solo or with his long-time friend and fellow songwriter
David Massengill as a duo called the Folk Brothers (sadly
Jack died after a battle with lung cancer) b.
November 23rd 1947.
March 12th.
1955: Charlie Parker (34) American
saxophonist; considered one of the greatest and influential jazz musicians,
ranked with such players as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. He began
playing the saxophone at age 11 and at age 14 joined his school's band
using a rented school instrument. He spent
3 to 4 years practicing up to 15 hours a day, playing many tunes in all
12 keys. In
this wood-shedding period, he mastered improvisation and developed some
of the ideas of be-bop. He became
an icon for the hipster subculture and later the Beat generation, personifying
the conception of the jazz musician as an uncompromising artist and intellectual,
rather than just a popular entertainer. His style – from a rhythmic,
harmonic and soloing perspective – influenced countless peers on
every instrument, he changed the sound of jazz music forever. His numerous
awards, inductions and achievements include
four recordings inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame - 1945's "Billie's
Bounce", 1946's "Ornithology", 1953's "Jazz at Massey
Hall" and 1950's "Charlie Parker with Strings", a Grammy
Award for Best Performance By A Soloist in
1974,
a Grammy Lifetime Achievement
Award
in 1984, in 1995
a 32 cents Commemorative stamp was issued in his honor and in 2002, the
Library of Congress honored his recording "Koko" (1945) by adding
it to the National Recording Registry (died in his
friend Nica de Koenigswarter's Stanhope Hotel suite while watching Tommy
Dorsey on TV. The official causes of death were lobar pneumonia and a
bleeding ulcer) b.
August 29th 1920.
1985:
Eugene Ormandy/Jeno Blau (85) Hungarian
conductor and violinist born in Budapest; he gave his first concerts as
a violinist at age seven and moved to America in 1921. He was first engaged
by conductor Erno Rapee, as a violinist in the orchestra of the Capitol
Theatre in New York City, a 77-player ensemble which accompanied silent
movies. He became the concertmaster within five days of joining and soon
became one of the conductors of this group. He also made 16 recordings
as a violinist between 1923 and 1929.
In 1936 he began his 44-year
tenure with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Over his career he gained many
honors, for his vast influence on American music and the Philadelphia
performing arts community, in 1972 he was awarded the prestigious University
of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit; he was presented The Presidential
Medal of Freedom by Richard M. Nixon in 1970; The Ditson Conductor's Award
for championing American music in 1977; appointed by Queen Elizabeth II
an honorary Knight of the British Empire in 1976; awarded the Kennedy
Center Honors in 1982 and was a recipient of Yale University's Sanford
Medal. After his death, his papers including complete arrangements,
and his marked scores
fill 501 boxes in the archives of the University of Pennsylvania Library
(?) b.
November 18th 1899.
1999: Bidu Sayão (96) Brazilian-US
soprano, born in Rio de Janeiro and was a leading artist of the Metropolitan
Opera in New York City from 1937 to 1952. At the age of 18, she made her
major opera debut in Rio and her performance led to an opportunity to
study with Elena Teodorini. She went on to perform in many major opera
houses around the world. After fifteen years with the Metropolitan Opera,
she gave her last performance in 1952, choosing to retire from opera while
still at the top of her form. For the next two years she was a guest performer
throughout the U.S., but in 1957 she decided to retire completely from
public performance; two years after that she made her final recording
as the soprano soloist on Villa-Lobos's world premiere stereo recording
of his cantata Forest of the Amazon with the composer conducting the Symphony
of the Air (?) b.
May 11th 1902.
1999: Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE (82)
American born violinist and conductor
who spent most of his performing career in the UK. He was born in New
York City, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United
Kingdom in 1985. Yehudi
began violin instruction at age four
under violinist Sigmund Anker. He displayed extraordinary talents at an
early age. His first solo violin performance was at the age of seven with
the San Francisco Symphony in 1923. He went on to be considered twentieth
century's greatest violin virtuosi.
He used a number of famous violins including the Giovanni Bussetto 1680,
the Giovanni Grancino 1695, the Guarneri filius Andrea 1703, the Soil
Stradivarius, the Prince Khevenhüller 1733 Stradivari, the Guarneri
del Gesù 1739, and the Lord Wilton 1742 Guarneri del Gesù.
(He
died in Berlin, Germany following a brief illness, from complications
of bronchitis)
b. April 22nd 1916.
2005: Stavros
Kouyioumtzis (72) Greek
composer, one of the most significant Greek music composers of the 20th
century. He worked with some of the most important Greek singers, Eleftheria
Arvanitaki, Anna Vissi, Haris Alexiou,
Yiannis Parios, and Giorgos Kalatzis and also collaborated in many songs
with the poet-lyricist Manos Eleftheriou. His last appearance on television
was in the music show of Spyros Papadopoulos on NET TV. During his last
few years he left Athens and moved back to his birthplace, Thessaloniki,
where he continued working on music and songs (?)
b. 1932
2008: Betty Hutton/Elizabeth June Thornburg (86)
American stage, film, and TV actress, comedienne and singer. She made
19 films from 1942 to 1952 including a hugely popular The Perils of Pauline
in 1947. She was billed over Fred Astaire in the 1950 musical Let's Dance.
Her greatest screen triumph came in Annie Get Your Gun in 1950 for MGM.
In 1944, she signed with Capitol Records, one of the earliest artists
to do so, but became unhappy with its management and later signed with
RCA Victor. Her hits include "The Jitterbug" on the Bluebird
label in 1939, "It
Had To Be You", "His Rocking Horse Ran Away",
"A Bushel and
a Peck" duetting with Perry Como, "Stuff
Like That There", and "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" (died
after a brave battle with colon cancer) b. February
26th 1921.
2009: Kalman Bloch (95) American
clarinetist; he was principal clarinetist of the LA Philharmonic for more
than 40 years. He
studied with Simeon Bellison, a notable clarinetist for the New York Philharmonic.
Kalman left New York for Los Angeles during the Great Depression, and
wrote out over 100 job applications. Otto Klemperer, then music director
of the
Los Angeles
Philharmonic, was the only one to respond. Kalman also performed on several
film soundtracks, including those of Sunset Boulevard and North by Northwest
(?) b. May 30th 1913.
2010: Lesley Duncan (66) British
singer-songwriter born in in Stockton-on-Tees, her songs were often about
life and its problems, "Everything Changes" and "Sing Children
Sing". Elton John duetted with her on his album Tumbleweed Connection,
which was similar to her own version of "Love Song". She appeared
onstage with John in a 1974 concert at the Royal Festival Hall to once
again perform the duet. She sang backing vocals to Pink Floyd's The Dark
Side of the Moon album as well as singing lead on the song "If I
Could Change Your Mind" on the Alan Parsons Project album Eve. As
well as writing and singing her own material, Duncan was a backing vocalist
in the mid to late 1960s and 1970s, most notably for Dusty Springfield
(cerebrovascular disease) b. August 12th
1943.
2011: Adionilla "Nilla" Pizzi (91)
Italian singer born in Sant'Agata
Bolognese, she was particularly famous in Italy during the 1950s and 1960s.
She won the Sanremo festival in 1951, singing "Grazie dei fiori",
and again in 1952, singing "Vola colomba" (?)
b. 16 April 1919
2011: Joe Morello (82)
American drummer born
in Springfield, Massachusetts he is maybe best known for his twelve
and a half-year stint with The Dave Brubeck Quartet. He was frequently
noted for playing in the unusual time signatures in such pieces as "Take
Five" and "Blue Rondo à la Turk". At six years old
he began studying the violin, going on to feature three years later as
soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra playing Mendelssohn's Violin
Concerto, and again three years later. At 15 he switched to drumms and
later moved to New York City, were he worked with numerous notable jazz
musicians including Johnny Smith, Tal Farlow, Stan Kenton, Phil Woods,
Sal Salvador, Marian McPartland, Jay McShann, Art Pepper, Howard McGhee,
and others. After a period playing in McPartland's trio, Joe joined the
Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1955 and contributed to over 60 albums with Brubeck.
He later became an in-demand clinician, teacher and bandleader whose former
students include Danny Gottlieb, Max Weinberg, Gary Feldman, Patrick Wante,
Jerry Granelli, Glenn Johnson and Rich Galichon (?)
b. July 17th 1928.
2011: Italo Pizzolante (82) Venezuelan
poet, composer, musician, professor and engineer of Italian descent. Author
of famous songs like Motivos, Mi Puerto Cabello, among others. The song
Mi
Puerto Cabello is dedicated to his native
town. It was popularized in the 1960s by Felipe Pirela along with the
Billos Caracas Boys. In August, 1998 the song was decreed the Official
City Anthem. He gained recognition by winning the First Venezuelan
Music Contest of the Central University of Venezuela with the song Provincianita.
Italo represented Venezuela in 1992 at the Bolero Festival in Havana,
Cuba, obtaining first prize and in 2001, he received an award at the Teresa
Carreño Cultural Complex, along with other Venezuelan musicians
(?)
b. December 2nd 1928.
March
13th.
1946: Thomas
Frederick Dunhill (69) English
composer and writer on musical subjects,
born in Hampstead, London,
maybe best-known for his song-cycle 'The Wind among the Reeds'. In
1893 Thomas
attended the Royal College of Music, London, and studied pianoforte under
Franklin Taylor and composition under Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. He
won an open scholarship for composition in 1897 and became a music-master
at Eton College for several years, before becoming a professor at the
Royal College of Music in 1905. From 1907 to 1919 he gave concerts of
chamber-music in London, the Thomas Dunhill Concerts, at which important
chamber music by English composers was performed. He himself wrote chamber
music and also songs and song-cycles. His song-cycle The wind among the
reeds, for tenor voice and orchestra, was first performed by Gervase Elwes
with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Queen's Hall in 1912. His setting
of W.B. Yeats's 'The Cloths of Heaven' is deservedly famous. Elwes along
with with Frederick B. Kiddle, recorded his song 'A Sea Dirge', a setting
of Shakespeare's lyric Full fathom five (?)
b.
February 1st 1877.
1987:
Gerald Moore CBE (87)
English pianist
best known for his career as one of the most in-demand accompanists of
his day, accompanying many of the world's most famous musicians. Born
in Watford but received most of his musical education in Toronto, Canada,
to which country his family emigrated when he was a child, and where he
was an organist at St Thomas' Church, Huron Street, in Toronto. He accompanied
notable instrumentalists such as Pablo Casals and the child prodigy Josef
Hassid, but is perhaps best remembered for his work with his notable partnerships
including Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Victoria de
los Ángeles, Elisabeth Schumann, Maggie Teyte and Kathleen Ferrier.
He retired from public performances in 1967, and was appointed a Commander
of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1954 (?)
b. July 30th
1899.
1990: Karl Münchinger (74)
German conductor of European classical music
born
in Stuttgart, Münchinger. He helped
to revive the now-ubiquitous Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel, through recording
it with his Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra in 1960. Karl is also noted for
restoring baroque traditions to the interpretation of Bach's oeuvre, his
greatest musical love: moderate-sized forces, judicious ornamentation,
and rhythmic sprightliness, though not period instruments. In 1977, his
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra became the first German ensemble to visit
the People's Republic of China. Karl retired in 1988
(?) b. May
29th 1915.
1994:
Danny Barker (85) American
jazz banjoist, singer, guitarist, songwriter, ukelele player, author,
and founder of the locally famous Fairview Baptist Church Marching Band
from New Orleans. He was also a rhythm
guitarist for some of the best bands of the day, including Cab Calloway,
Lucky Millinder and Benny Carter throughout the 1930s. In 1945 he recorded
with Ohio's native jazz pianist—Sir Charles Thompson—a date
that included saxophonists Dexter Gordon and Charlie Parker. His work
with the Fairview Baptist Church Brass Band was pivotal in ensuring the
longevity of jazz in New Orleans, producing generations of new talent.
Brothers Wynton Marsalis and Branford Marsalis both played in the band
as youths as well as "The King of Treme" Shannon Powell, Lucien
Barbarin, Dr. Michael White and countless others. One of Danny's earliest
teachers in New Orleans was fellow banjoist Emanuel Sayles, whom he recorded
with. Throughout his career, he played with Jelly Roll Morton, Baby Dodds,
James P. Johnson, Sidney Bechet, Mezz Mezzrow, and Red Allen. He also
toured and recorded with his wife, singer Blue Lu Barker
(sadly lost to cancer) b. January 13th
1909.
1998: Judge
Dread/Alex Hughes
(52) English
reggae and ska artist; the first white recording artist to have a reggae
hit in Jamaica, and has the most banned songs of all time. He worked as
a bouncer, a bodyguard, professional wrestler, debt collector and radio
DJ before he released his first record, "Big Six" which reached
No.11 in the UK Singles Chart and spent six months on the chart, despite
getting no radio airplay due to its lyrics. Further hit singles followed
with "Big Seven" and "Big Eight", both following the
pattern of rude versions of nursery rhymes over a reggae backing, as well
as "Y Viva Suspenders" and "Up With The Cock". He
was the first white recording artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica with
"Big Six", which lead him to travel to Jamaica to perform live,
where many were surprised that he was white. He released 13 albums and
he had 11 UK singles
chart
hits in the 1970s, which was more than any other reggae artist, including
Bob Marley. The Guinness Book of World Records credits Judge Dread for
having the highest number of banned songs of all time, 11! He helped organize
a benefit concert for
the famine in Ethiopia featuring The
Wailers and Desmond Dekker, and released a benefit single "Molly".
Despite this single not featuring Dread's trademark innuendos, it was
still banned from radio airplay. He tried releasing singles under the
pseudonyms JD Alex and Jason Sinclair, but the BBC still banned them
(He was finishing a performance at Penny Theatre in Canterbury, he turned
to the audience and said, "Let's hear it for the band." They
were his final words, as he walked offstage, he suffered a fatal heart
attack) b. May 2nd 1945.
2002: Marc Moreland (44) American
rock guitarist for new wave band Wall of Voodoo, punk band The Skulls,
and rock bands Pretty and Twisted and Department of Crooks. He also released
a solo album under the name Marc Moreland Mess. The Wall of Voodoo sound
was noted for Marc's unique guitar style, a mixture of twangy spaghetti
western-style melodies, angular postpunk riffs and well-placed guitar
feedback. The band had a sizeable hit with the song "Mexican Radio"
in 1982 (sadly died of liver failure)
b. January 8th 1958.
2008: Martin Fierro (66)
American tenor saxophonist also known as "the Meester" to his
many loving fans; he played in the jazz, freeform rock, and avant-garde
traditions and who
played with musicians as diverse as
the Sir Douglas Quintet, Legion of Mary, Jerry Garcia, James Cotton, Quicksilver
Messenger Service, Loudon Wainwright III, Queen Ida, Jazz Is Dead, The
String Cheese Incident, David Grisman, Derek Trucks, Dark Star Orchestra,
the Allman Brothers, Merl Saunders, The Grateful Dead, Zero, Steve Kimock
& Friends, Yonder Mountain String Band and many more (died
after his battle against cancer) b.
January 18th 1942.
2009: Alan W. Livingston (91) American
music executive; he began his career leading his own college orchestra
at the University of Pennsylvania. After the war he obtained his first
position with Capitol Records, as a writer/producer. He wrote and produced
many
children's
series of storytelling record-album
including the debut of Bozo the Clown with the September 1946's "Bozo
at the Circus";
many products for Walt Disney; Walter Lantz's Woody Woodpecker; Hopalong
Cassidy including "Hopalong Cassidy and The Singing Bandit"
in 1950;
Bugs Bunny and all of the Warner Bros characters and he wrote the 1951
pop hit "I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat". Alan moved on to the adult
music and became Vice President. He signed Frank Sinatra, who agreed to
work with Nelson Riddle, with an immediate
impact,
producing the classics "I've Got the World on a String." and
"Young-at-Heart". Alan was also officially credited as the inspiration
for the distinctive Capitol Records Tower, completed in April 1956, noted
for being the first circular office building in the world. In the 60's
he turned Capitol Records into a more rock-oriented company with such
artists as The Beach Boys, Steve Miller, The Band, and others. He signed
The Beatles, agreeing to release 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' in 1963 and
bringing them to the United States in 1964, after rejecting their previous
singles as unsuitable for the U.S. market despite Capitol being owned
by The Beatles' U.K. record company, EMI. Alan
was the creative force responsible for Capitol Records' growth from net
sales of $6 million per year to sales in excess of $100 million per year.
He later sold his stock in Capitol Industries to form his own company,
Mediarts Inc., for the production of motion pictures, records and music
publishing. Aug '76, he joined 20th Century Fox as Senior Vice President
and President, Entertainment Group. He left in 1980 to accept the presidency
of Atalanta Investment Company, but resigned in 1987 to produce a one-hour
film for television and to form Pacific Rim Productions, Inc (?)
b. October
15th 1917.
2010: Jean Ferrat/Jean Tenenbaum (79)
French singer, songwriter and composer born in Vaucresson, Hauts-de-Seine
and studied at the Jules Ferry College. In the early 1950s he started
in Parisian cabaret. In 1956, he set "Les yeux d'Elsa" ("Elsa's
eyes"), a Louis Aragon poem to music. Its rendition by popular artist
André Claveau brought Jean some recognition as a songwriter. He
released his debut album, Deux Enfants du Soleil in 1961, followed by
Nuit et Brouillard
in 1963, and was awarded
the Académie Charles Cros's Grand Prix du Disque.
Jean retired from performing on stage in 1973. In
1990, he received an award from the Société des auteurs,
compositeurs et éditeurs de musique, (SACEM) the French association
of songwriters, composers and music publishers (passed
away after a long illness) b. December 26th
1930.
2011: Ritchie Pickett (56)
New Zealand country singer and songwriter, born in Morrinsville, he began
playing in rock 'n' roll bands such as Graffiti, which toured New Zealand
with singer Tom Sharplin in the mid-1970s, before joining metal/prog rock
band Think, with whom he recorded an album.
Think
relocated to Sydney, Australia, where they broke up and Ritchie formed
his own band Snuff. In the early 1980s back in New Zealand, he formed
country music band Ritchie Pickett & the Inlaws which toured New Zealand
relentlessly and released an acclaimed LP, but disbanded in 1985. He was
also a regular performer on the high-rating primetime television show
That's Country. He fronted several Waikato bands through the late 1980s
and early 1990s, including the Jones Boys, the Fat Band, Stingray Martini's
Excellent Duckbeast and the Disturbance, before working mainly under his
own name, releasing his debut solo album in 1998. In 2004, Ritchie released
a live album featuring his contributions from a New Zealand tour with
fellow New Zealand songwriter Glen Moffatt and Australian roots songwriter
Bill Chamber. Later in 2009 he was part of the band The Rattler, also
featuring former members of Knightshade and the Furys, which released
The Leaving.
(?) b. February 16th
1955.
March 14th.
1972:
Linda Lane/Linda Jones (27)
American
soul singer;
born in Newark, New Jersey; she started singing in her family's gospel
group the Jones Singers at the age of six. Her first recording was "Lonely
Teardrops", in 1963. She signed with Warner Bros in 1967 and released
the biggest of several hits, "Hypnotized" (Soon
after her career took off, she was diagnosed with diabetes, she tragically
died after collapsing between shows at the Apollo Theatre, Harlem)
b. December 14th 1944.
1973: Rafael Godoy (65)
Colombian composer born in Natagaima, Tolima; from
a young age, he was linked to the trade-union movement in Barrancabermeja,
Santander, from where he had to emigrate when his personal security was
threatened. He fled to Venezuela, where he developed his musical career
and composed what are often taken to be his best musical pieces. His most
widely known, and possibly best song, is the bambuco "Soy colombiano"
/ I'm Colombian; he composed many other bambucos and andean music songs,
such as "Arrunchaditos", "Pasito", "Mi cafetal",
"Canto a Colombia", "Tierra caliente". Many versions
of "Soy colombiano" have appeared since it was composed, even
a vallenato version by Lisandro Meza, although the most popular version
is the one from the Tolimense folk music duet Garzón y Collazos
(?) b. 1907
1976: Busby Berkeley/William Berkeley Enos (80)
American
film director, musical choreographer, famous for his elaborate musical
production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. His
quintessential works used legions of showgirls and props as fantastic
elements in kaleidoscopic on-screen performances. Films included A Connecticut
Yankee (Broadway), Whoopee!, 42nd Street, Footlight Parade, Gold Diggers
of 1933, Fashions of 1934, as well as In Caliente, Wonder Bar, Ziegfeld
Girl, Babes on Broadway, Rose Marie and many others
(passed away from natural causes)
b. November 29th 1895.
1991: Howard
Ashman (40) American playwright, director
and lyricist, he first studied at Boston University and Goddard College
and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University
in 1974. He collaborated with Alan Menken on several films, notably animated
features for Disney, Howard writing the lyrics and Menken composing the
music. His best known film works include 'God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater',
'Little
Shop of Horrors'-1982 and
'Smile' as lyricist, librettist and director; Little Shop of Horrors-1986
as lyricist and screenwriter; Oliver & Company, lyricist for "Once
Upon A Time In New York City"; The Little Mermaid as lyricist, co-producer,
writer; Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue lyricist for "Wonderful Way
To Say No"; Beauty and the Beast lyricist, executive producer; and
Aladdin lyricist for "Arabian Nights", "Friend Like Me",
and "Prince Ali". Howard was co-recipient of two Grammy Awards,
two Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards. His second Academy Award
in 1992 was awarded posthumously for Academy Award for Best Original Song
and was accepted by his partner, Bill Lauch. (he
sadly died following complications from AIDS)
b. May 17th 1950.
1991: Doc Pomus/Jerome Solon Felder (66)
American blues singer and songwriter,
found success as one of the finest white blues singers of the 1940s before
becoming one of the greatest songwriters in the history of American popular
music; He is best known as the lyricist of many rock and roll hits, by
1957, he had given up performing in order to devote himself full-time
to songwriting. He collaborated with pianist Mort Shuman, their songwriting
efforts had Doc write the lyrics and Shuman the melody, although quite
often they worked on both. They wrote the hit songs such as: "A Teenager
in Love"; "Save The Last Dance For Me"; "Hushabye";
"This Magic Moment"; "Turn Me Loose"; "Sweets
For My Sweet"; "Go Jimmy Go", "Can't Get Used to Losing
You"; "Little Sister"; "Suspicion"; "Surrender";
"Viva Las Vegas"; "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame".
Also
during the 1950s and early