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: Ahmad Rafiq (Indonesian singer, actor)*19.Jan.2013.
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)
1947 Kevin Patrick Westlake (Irish drummer; Blossom Toes/sessionist/solo)*30.Sept.2004.
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.
1940: Dave Green (UK jazz double bassist; The Zodiacs/Don Rendell).
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).
1947: Malcolm ''Mitch'' Mitchell (UK bassist; The Wild Angles).
1947: Sally Patricia Oldfield (Irish born UK pop & folk singer; Sallyangie/Mike Oldfield).
1947: Don Smith (Austria born UK lead guitarist; Tintern Abbey)
1946: Tommy Cowan (Jamaican producer, singer; The Merricoles/The Jamaicans)
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].
1944: Michael ''Mickey'' Jupp (UK pianist, vocalist; Black Diamonds/Orioles/Mickey Jupp Band/others).
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)
1960: Chris Rodriguez (US Contemporary Christian multi-musician, singer-songwriter).
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: Dave Holdsworth (UK jazz trumpet, trombonist, tuba, composer, arranger; many bands).
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/others]*12.March.2013.
1954: Bob Brozman (US guitarist, ethnomusicologist)*24.April.2013.
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].
1947: Philip ''Phil'' Sawyer (UK guitarist, vocalist; Cheynes/Shotgun Express/Spencer Davis Group).
1946: Randy Meisner [US singer, bassist; Poco, Eagles].
1946: Steve Rye (UK harmonica-player; The Groundhogs/others)*19.July.1992.*some sources 14.July.1992*
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].
1940: Neil Foster (UK tenor saxophonist; John Day+Delacadoes/John Day+Nighthawks).
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].
1947: Chris Thompson (UK singer, guitarist; Manfred Mann's Earth Band/solo/many sessions)
1946: Jim Cregan [UK guitarist, bassist, Family, Cockney Rebel/Rod Stewart/freelance]
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).
1928: Franz Crass (German bass singer)*23.June.2012.
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)
1987: Sita Chan (Hong Kong pop singer)*17.April.2013.
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].
1943: Leslie 'Les' Mighall (UK drummer; Davie Jones+Lower Third/others)*11.March.2008.
1941: Karl Terry/Terence Connor (UK lead vocalist; Karl Terry and the Cruisers/others).
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)*08.April.2013.
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].
1929: Ubaldo de Lío (Argentine tango guitarist; Quinteto Real)*24.April.2012.
1948: George Kooymans [Dutch vocals, guitar; Golden Earring/The Tornados].
1947: Blue Weaver/Derek John Weaver (UK keyboardist, songwriter; top sessionist/Amen Corner)
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].
1944: Geoff Turton (UK lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist; The Swingin' Chimes/The Rockin Berries).
1943: Walter Johnstone (UK drummer; The VIPs/The Teenages/The Ramrods).
1940: Bobby Graham/Robert Francis Neate (UK session drummer, composer, producer)*14.Sept.2009.
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)*17.July.2012.
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, 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.
1898: Miff Mole/Irving Milfred Mole (US jazz trombonist, band leader)*29.April.1961.
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].
1971: Cynthia Dall/Cynthia Ann Loya (US singer, guitarist, photographer)*05.April.2012.
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].
1945: George Jackson (US r&b-soul singer, songwriter)*14.April.2013.
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.
1888: Hall Johnson (US composers, arrangers)*30.April.1970.
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].
1957: David Peaston (US R&B and gospel singer)*01.Feb.2012.
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)
1946: Ken Pustelnik (Scottish drummer; The Groundhogs/The Deep)
1946: Alan Laud (UK rhythm guitar; Hedgehoppers Anonymous)
1945: Tom Chapin (Grammy Award-winning US singer-songwriter, entertainer, storyteller).
1942: Meic Stevens/Louis Michael James (Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist; Bara Menyn/solo).
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].
1936: Alfred Edward ''Russ'' Sainty (UK vocalist; Buddy Munroe 5/Russ Sainty & the Nu-Notes/others).
1939: Liz Anderson [US C&W singer-songwriter].
1938: Erma Franklin (US soul, R&B and pop singer, sister to Aretha)*07.Sept.2002.
1936: Alfred ''Russ'' Sainty (UK lead vocalist; Russ Sainty & the Nu-Notes/others)
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].
1943: Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner (US singer, guitarist; The Ohio Players)*27.Jan.2013.
1941: Ishbel MacAskill née MacIver (Scottish Gaelic singer, guitarist, teacher)*31.March.2011.
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
1914: Sári Barabás (Hungarian-born German opera singer)*16.April.2012.
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].
1959: Eivind Rølles (Norwegian guitarist; Broadway News/The Monroes)*18.March.2013.
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)
1952: Howard Devoto/Howard Trafford (UK rock singer-songwriter; Buzzcocks/Magazine/Luxuria)
1950: Jørgen Olsen (Danish singer)
1948: Stephen 'Grizzly' Nisbett [Nevis born drummer; Steel Pulse/guest].
1947: Jean Carne/Sarah Jean Perkins [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)
1981: Danny Brown/Daniel Sewell (US rapper, hip-hop artist).
1979: Leena Peisa (Finnish keyboardist; Lordi).
1976: Blu Cantrell/Tiffany Cobb (US R&B singer-songwriter)
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)
1967: John Darnielle (US singer-songwriter, guitarist; Mountain Goats/many others).
1967: Tracy Bonham (US rock singer, violinist, pianist)
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].
1961: Michiru Oshima (Japanese composer).
1959: Sebastian Currier (US composer)
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].
1951: Ray Benson (US singer; Asleep at the Wheel)
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: Stuart MacKay (UK bassist; Tintern Abbey)
1946: Hubert Soudant (Dutch conductor)
1943: Joseph 'Joe' Baldi (Italian born Scottish guitarist; Hamilton King's Blues Messengers/Them).
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)
1934: Ray Walker (US bass singer; The Jordanaires).
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)
1927: Reuben "Ruby" Braff (US jazz trumpeter, cornetist)*09.Feb.2003.
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..
1994: Amber Holcomb (American singer)
1992: Eliza Bennett (UK actress, singer)
1989: Mason Musso (US singer-songwriter, guitarist; Metro Station)
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.
1977: Tamar Braxton-Herbert (US singer-songwriter, actress, dancer, reality TV personality)
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)
1974: Swifty McVay/Ondre Moore (US rapper; D12)
1973: Rico Blanco (Filipino singer; Rivermaya)
1973: Caroline Corr [Irish drummer; The Corrs].
1972: Torquil Campbell (Canadian singer, songwriter; Stars)
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).
1955: Paul Overstreet (US singer, songwriter)
1953: Wally Stocker (UK guitarist; Babys/Humble Pie/Air Supply/freelance).
1952: Nikos Xydakis (Greek pianist, singer, composer)
1952: Susie Allanson (US singer, actress)
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: Patrick ''Pat'' Lloyd [UK 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: Patrick John 'Pat' McAuley [Irish keyboardist, drums, Them/The Other Them]*11.Aug.1984.
1944: Tony Jackson [Jamaican high tenor singer; session/backgound/Skatalites]
1944: John Sebastian [US vocals, harmonica, guitar; Lovin Spoonful/ Mugwumps]
1943: John Brierley (UK bassist, pianist; The Thunderbeats, David John and the Mood)
1943: Jim Weatherly (US singer-songwriter)
1943: Tony Newman (UK drummer; Sounds Inc./Jeff Beck Group/May Blitz/T-Rex/Boxer/others).
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.
1930: Paul Horn (US jazz flutist)
1919: Nat "King" Cole [US singer, piano]*15.Feb.1965.
1915: Ray Ellington/Harry Pitts Brown (British singer, band leader; Goon Show)*27.Feb.1985.
1901: Alfred Newman (US film composer)*17.Feb.1970.
1884: Alcide Nunez (US jazz clarinetist)*02.Sept.1934

March 18th..
1991: Dylan Mattingly (US singer-songwriter, multi-musician).
1989: Kana Nishino (Japanese singer).
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].
1974: Evan Lowenstein (US singer; Evan and Jaron)
1974: Jaron Lowenstein (US singer; Evan and Jaron)
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.
1941: John Stewart (Scottish lead guitar; Trendsetters/Hedgehoppers Anonymous).
1939: Giannis Markopoulos (Greek composer)
1938: Kenny Lynch OBE (UK singer, songwriter, entertainer, actor)
1938: Charley Pride (US country singer, guitarist).
1936: Robert Lee Smith [US singer; Tams].
1930: Patrick Halcox (UK jazz trumpet player; Chris Barber Band/own Allstars)*04.Feb.2013.
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)
1968: César "Vampiro" López (Mexican rock guitarist; Jaguares/Maná/Azul Violeta)
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: Keith Ian Ellis (UK Bassist; The Koobas/Van der Graaf Generator/Juicy Lucy)*12.Dec.1978.
1946: Paul Atkinson (UK guitarist; The Zombies]*01.April.2004.
1946: Ruth Pointer (US singer; the eldest of The Pointer Sisters).
1943: Michael Maurice 'Mike' Cole (UK double bassist; Mungo Jerry/Valentine).
1942: Richard Dobson (US singer, songwriter)
1940: Michael James Cox (UK pop singer, actor).
1940: Steve Laine (UK lead vocalist; The Steve Laine Combo/Liverpool 5).
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.
1917: Dillon "Curley" Russell (American jazz double-bassist)*03.July.1986.
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.
1947: John Blunt (UK drummer; The Trees/later member of The Searchers).
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)
1929: Santo J. "Sonny" Russo (US jazz trombonist, multi-musician; many greats)*23.Feb.2013.
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: Johnny Yoshinaga (Japanese drummer; Johnny, Louis & Char/Pink Cloud/others)*04.June.2012.
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: John ''Wilky'' Wilkinson (UK drummer; The Teenbeats).
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, sax, tumba, pianist)
1936: Brian Casser/Casey Jones/Duncan Jones (UK vocalist,rhythm guitar; Casanovas/Governors/others).
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.
1839: Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (Russian composer; "The Five")*28.March.1881.
1685: Johann Sebastian Bach (German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, violinist)*28.July.1750.

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: Ken Boothe OD (Jamaican singer)
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: Terry Bond (UK drummer; Rocking Berries)
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)
1937: Carmel Kaine (Australian violinist)*22.April.2012.
1936: Roger Whittaker [African-born British pop singer].
1931: William Alan Shatner (Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, author, film director).
1930: Stephen Sondheim (US composer, lyricist)
1929: Fred Anderson (American jazz tenor saxophonist).
1929: P.Ramlee (Malaysian actor, singer and songwriter)*29.May.1973.
1929: Malcolm Vaughan/Malcolm James Thomas (Welsh singer)*09.Feb.2010.

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: Michael ''Mike'' Hart (Scottish jazz banjo, guitar, drummer; Climax Jazz Band/Blue Blowers/freelance).
1934: Fernand Gignac (Canadian singer, actor)*18.Aug.2006
1932: Louisiana Red/Iverson Minter (US blues guitarist, harmonica player)*25.Feb.2012.
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; Brinsley Schwarz/Rockpile/solo).
1947: Mike Kellie (UK drummer; Spooky Tooth/The Only Ones/top sessionist).
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: 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)
1946: Peter John Daltry (UK vocalist, lyricist; Kaleidoscope/Fairfield Palour/solo).
1942: Aretha Franklin (US singer, Queen of Soul).
1940: Anita Bryant (US singer, gay rights opponent)
1939: Peter John Tomkins (UK pianist; The Artwood Combo).
1938: Hoyt Axton [US singer, songwriter, piano, guitar, actor]*26.Oct.1999.
1934: Johnny Burnette (US singer, songwriter)*14.Aug.1964.
1933: Wee Willie Harris/Charles William Harris (UK singer).
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.
1881: Béla Viktor János Bartók (Hungarian composer and pianist)*26.Sept.1945.
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)
1975: Hakin Abdulsamad (US singer; The Boys)
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)
1949: Fran Sheehan [US bassist, percussion, backing vocals; Boston].
1948: Steven Tyler [US lead singer, harmonica; Aerosmith].
1948: Richard Tandy [US bassist, keyboards; ELO].
1947: Keith Grant/Arthur Keith Evans (UK bassist, vocalist; Vigilanties/Downliners Sect/others).
1944: Diana Ross [US singer; Supreme/solos].
1942: Alan "Al" Read (UK vocalist; East Of Eden)
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)
1918: Andy Hamilton MBE (Jamaican-British jazz saxophonist; leader/sessions)*03.June.2012.
1917: Rufus Thomas [US R&B and soul singer]*15.Dec.2001.
1916: Harry Rabinowitz (South African composer, conductor)
1915: Flip Phillips/Joseph Edward Filipelli (US jazz tenor saxophonist/clarinetist)*17.Aug.2001.
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.
1990: Kimbra Lee Johnson (New Zealand singer-songwriter/guitarist).first female artist born in the '90s to top the Hot 100
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]
1947: John Mayhew (UK drummer, vocalist; Genesis)*26.March.2009.
1946: Andrew Brown [UK keyboards; Herd].
1946: Olaf Malolepski (German singer; Die Flippers)
1944: Rodney 'Humble' Garwood (UK bass guitarist; Unit 4+2).
1940: Janis Martin (American rockabilly singer)*03.Sept.2007
1940: Derrick Morgan (Jamaican reggae artist; Desmond Dekker/Bob Marley/Jimmy Cliff)
1937: Alan Hawkshaw (UK composer, performer, particularly of themes for movies and TV).
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.
1916: Al Frisch/Albert T. Frisch (US song-writer, sax player, pianist)*11.April.1976.
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)
1943: Sir Richard Stilgoe aka Tony Snow (UK singer-songwriter, lyricist; Tony Sno& the Blizzards)
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.
1919: Jacob Avshalomov (Chinese-born American conductor, composer)*25.April.2013.
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].
1947: Sally Graham (UK lead vocalist; The New Seekers/Milkwood).
1946: Billy Thorpe (Australian lead singer, guitar; Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs/solo)*28.Feb.2007.
1945: Don Craine/Michael John O'Donell (UK vocalist,multi-musician; The Downliners Sect/others).
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)
1943: Michael "Mike" Shepstone (UK drummer; Shel Carson Combo/Colin Hicks+Cabin Boys/others).
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)
1936: Richard Rodney Bennett CBE (UK composer, musician)*24.Dec.1936.
1926: Frank Pooler (US choirmaster, composer)*19.Jan.2013.
1923: Remo Paul Palmieri (US jazz guitarist; many bands/top sessionist)*02.Feb.2002.
1918: Pearl Bailey (US singer, actress)*17.Aug.1990.
1915: George Chisholm OBE (Scottish jazz trombonist; Gentlemen of Jazz/session musician)*06.Dec.1997.
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: Justin Cole Moore (American country music 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.
1953: Phil Bates (UK guitarist, songwriter, vocals; Trickster, Quill, ELO Part II)
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..
1994: Thomas Batuello (US actor, musician; The Naked Brothers Band)
1987: Georg Listing (German bassist; Tokio Hotel).
1984: Jack Antonoff (US singer-songwriter, guitarist; Steel Train/Fun)
1982: Ryland Blackinton (US guitarist; Cobra Starship)
1982: Lennon Anne Murphy (US rock singer/songwriter)
1981: Ryan Bingham (US singer, songwriter)
1980: Maaya Sakamoto (Japanese voice actress/singer)
1980: Trenyce/Lashundra Trenyce Cobbins (US singer: American Idol)
1980: Kate Micucci (US actress, comedian, singer-songwriter; Garfunkel and Oates)
1979: Amey Date (Indian playback singer)
1978: Tony Yayo/Marvin Bernard (US rapper; G-Unit).
1977: Toshiya/? (Japanese bassist; Dir en grey).
1974: Stefan Olsdal [Swedish bassist; Placebo].
1971: Julian Deane [UK guitarist; Toploader].
1970: Patrick Lachman (US singer and guitarist (Damageplan/Mercy Clinic/Halford).
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].
1954: Laima Vaikule (Latvian actress, singer, director, choreographer)
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].
1945: Heather Wood/Arielle Heather Wood (UK singer; The Young Tradition/solo).
1944: Pascal Danel (French singer, songwriter).
1944: Mick Ralphs [UK guitarist; Bad Company/Mott the Hoople/others].
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.
1942: Hugh McCracken aka Mack Pierce (US guitarist, harmonica player; top sessionist)*28.March.2013.
1938: Arthur B. Rubinstein (US composer)
1937: Willem Duyn (Dutch musician; Mouth & MacNeal/Speedway/solo)*04.Dec.2004.
1935: Herb Alpert [US trumpet; vocals].
1934: John D. Loudermilk (US singer, songwriter)
1934: Shirley Jones [US acress, Mom on TV's Partridge Family].
1933: Anita Carter (US singer, upright bass; The Carter Sisters/solo)*29.July.1999.
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.
1913: Etta Baker (US guitarist, singer)*23.Sept.2006.
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, "Fther of the Symphony"]*31.May.1809.

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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.
2012: Lucio Dalla (68) Italian singer-songwriter clarinetist and keyboard player, born in Bologna, Italy. He began to play the clarinet at an early age, in a jazz band in Bologna, and became member of a local jazz band called Rheno Dixieland Band, together with the future film director Pupi Avati. He went on to have a solo career releasing his debut album, "1999", in 1966 followed by 39 albums over his long career, his last "Angoli nel cielo" released in 2010. Lucio was the composer of Caruso in 1986, a dedication to the great Enrico Caruso, which has been covered by numerous international artists. A version of Caruso sung by Luciano Pavarotti sold over 9 million copies, and another version was a track on Andrea Bocelli's first international album Romanza, which later sold over 20 million copies worldwide. This piece is also on Josh Groban's album "Closer", which sold over 5 million copies in the United States alone. (sadly Lucio died from a heart attack) b. March 4th 1943 .
2013: Jewel Akens (79) American R&B singer born in Houston, Texas; he recorded with The Medallions, The Four Dots and then with singer Eddie Daniels as "Jewel and Eddie" in 1960. A number of his recordings featured Eddie Cochran on guitar. He later went solo and recorded "The Birds And The Bees" in 1965,which went to No.3 in the Billboard Hot 100r, and reached No.29 in the UK Singles Chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Other noted recordings include "Georgie Porgie", "Little Bitty Pretty One" and "You Better Move On" . Jewel toured regularly since 1965 till shortly before his death and he included a tribute to his mentor, Sam Cooke, in most of his shows. Between 1989 and 1991, he also recorded three singles with a group called The Feathers. (sadly died of complications from back surgery) b. September 12th 1933.
2013: Magic/Awood Johnson (37) American rap vocalist, he grew up in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans and first made his name in New Orleans' underground circuit, before signing with Master P's No Limit. Magic first made his appearance on C-Murder's song "Picture Me" on his 1998 album Life or Death. Magic's 1998 debut, Sky's the Limit, reached No.15 on the Billboard 200. Magic later joined fellow New Orleans native Choppa and former boxer Roy Jones Jr. to form the group Body Head Bangerz, who released their only album in 2004, Body Head Bangerz: Volume One, and had a hit with "I Smoke, I Drank". He formed his own label, Banx Entertainment, in 2011 (he and his wife Chastity were tragically involved in a fatal car accident in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Their twelve-year-old daughter, Twila, was the lone survivor) b. August 16th 1975
2013: John "Kellogs" Kalinowski (66) British rock-and-roll manager, stage manager and promoter born in Rochford, Essex, and grew up in Southend-on-Sea. He joined the Paramounts on the road in 1963 and was a loyal and dedicated stage man. He came out with Procol Harum when they first toured the USA and made many friends, expanding his gifts to work with Joe Cocker & Leon Russell, and a host of others including Madness, Nick Lowe, Van Morrison, and The Kinks (?) b. May 2nd 1946
2013: Rafael Puyana (81) Colombian harpsichordist, born Rafael Puyana Michelsen in Bogotá and began piano lessons at the age of 6 and at aged 13 he made his debut at the Teatro Colón in Bogotá. When he was 16, he went to Boston to study piano at the New England Conservatory. He subsequently studied harpsichord and musical composition in Paris. Rafael made his harpsichord début in New York in 1957, in 1961, he débuted in Boston in the Peabody Mason Concert series and made his London debut in 1966. (sadly died in Paris) b. October 14th 1931.

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.
2012: Ronnie Montrose (64) American fiery rock guitarist and pioneer; born in Denver, Colorado, and grew up in San Francisco, California. After learning his trade with teenage bands, he started out in a band called Sawbuck with Bill Church, before auditioning for Van Morrison, which led to him playing on Morrison's 1971 album Tupelo Honey. He also played on the song "Listen to the Lion", which was released on Morrison's next album, Saint Dominic's Preview in 1972. That same year he played briefly with Boz Scaggs, then joined the Edgar Winter Group, where he played on They Only Come Out at Night album, which included the hit singles "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride". He then >>> READ MORE <<< (sadly Ronnie while fighting prostate cancer) b. November 29th 1947.
2013: Müslüm Gürses/Müslüm Akbas (59) Turkish singer and actor also known as Müslüm Baba born in Fistiközü, Halfeti, Sanliurfa. He began singing at the age of 13, in the tea-garden where he worked. In 1967, he entered in a song contest and won the title. He then began to perform at Radio Çukurova. During this time, he adopted the surname Gürses, which means literally "stentorian voice". His debut record single "Emmioglu/Ovada Tasa Basma" was released in 1968. The next year in 1969, he already landed a hit record titled "Sevda Yüklü Kervanlar/Vurma Güzel Vurma" released by Palandöken Records in Istanbul, which sold 300,000 copies. Although he was mainly an arabesk singer, later his interest shifted to other musical genres. He included pop and rock music to his repertory, singing such titles as "Olmadi Yar" of Nilüfer, "Paramparça" of Teoman and "Ikimizin Yerine" of Tarkan (sadly Müslüm died of complications from heart surgery) b. May 7th 1953
2013: Bobby Rogers (73) American soul singer, songwriter, co-founder and member of Motown Records' first signed group The Miracles from 1956 until 2011. Originally called the Five Chimes, then The Matadors, and renamed The Miracles when Bobby’s cousin Claudette joined the line-up in 1957. Over his 56 years with the Miracles, Bobby has been on all their hit singles including their 1960 single "Shop Around" which was Motown's first number one hit on the R&B singles chart, and was also Motown's first million selling hit single.. Other hit singles include "You've Really Got a Hold on Me", "My Girl Has Gone", "I Second That Emotion", "Mickey's Monkey", "Going to a Go-Go", "Ooo Baby Baby", "Tracks of My Tears", "Baby Baby Don't Cry", and "Tears of a Clown". Referred to as Motown's "soul supergroup", the Miracles recorded 26 Top 40 hits, 6 top 20 singles... >>> READ MORE <<< (sadly Bobby died with complications from diabetes) b. February 19th 1940.

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 (71) American jazz clarinetist and songwriter born in Chicago, where he freelanced starting in the late '20s before moving to New York City where he found his greatest success as the leader of the 1936 band in the Hickory House on 52nd Street. Over the next ten years Joe featured such side players as Adele Girard, Buddy Rich, Red Allen, Eddie Condon, Joe Bushkin, Dave Tough, Shelly Manne, Max Kaminsky, and his brother, Marty, among others. He also recorded with Wingy Manone in the mid-'30s. Joe retired from full-time playing in 1948, working instead in music publishing (sadly died fighting cancer) b. January 4th 1907
1979: Harry Hopkinson aka Harry Torrani(76) British yodeler billed as the "Yodeling Cowboy from Chesterfield" who was credited as one of the world's greatest yodelers. He started singing in the North Wingfield Church choir, and after a spell working in the local colliery, entered show business in a troupe of traveling entertainers. The yodeling part of his act was expanded, and he adopted the more commercial and continental sounding name of Harry Torrani. He recorded his first yodelling song on 27 August 1931 "Honeymoon Yodel" / "Happy and Free". His recording career continued until 1942, and he recorded 25 records. Some of his songs were "Yodel All Day", "Yodelers Dream Girl", "Honeymoon Yodel", "The Australian Yodel", "The Highland Yodel", "Mammy’s Yodel!" and "Mississippi Yodel!". After his his retirement in the late 40s, he worked as a watch repairer (?) 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
1986: Howard Greenfield (49) American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous Brill Building. He is best known for his series of successful songwriting collaborations, including one with Neil Sedaka from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, and a near-simultaneous and equally successful songwriting partnership with Jack Keller throughout most of the 1960s. He co-wrote four songs that reached No.1 on the US Billboard charts: "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", as recorded by Neil Sedaka; "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and "Breakin' in a Brand New Broken Heart", both as recorded by Connie Francis, and "Love Will Keep Us Together", as recorded by The Captain & Tennille. He also co-wrote numerous other top 10 hits for Neil Sedaka, including "Oh! Carol", "Stairway to Heaven", "Calendar Girl", "Little Devil", "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen", and "Next Door to an Angel"; Connie Francis including the "Theme to Where The Boys Are" and "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own"; The Everly Brothers-"Crying In The Rain"; Jimmy Clanton-"Venus In Blue Jeans" and The Shirelles-"Foolish Little Girl". As well, co-writing the theme songs to numerous 1960s TV series, including Bewitched, The Flying Nun and Hazel. In 2005, "Is This The Way To Amarillo", a song Greenfield had written with Sedaka in the early 1970s, reached No.1 on the UK charts sung by Tony Christie when the song was re-released on 14 March 2005 to raise money for the Comic Relief charity, with an accompanying video by comedian Peter Kay. In 1991, Howard Greenfield was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (sadly died from complications due to AIDS) b. March 15th 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.
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 (88) American jazz pianist born in Ukraine and his family settled in Chicago, Illinois when he was a few months old. His career began in Chicago clubs, but he did not gain wider attention until moving to New York City in 1938. In that city he played with Sidney Bechet, Joe Marsala, and Mezz Mezzrow. Later he founded his own band in the 1940s and it would be associated with his home town of Chicago for the next forty years. Art also played and recorded with musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Wingy Manone, Gene Krupa, Muggsy Spanier, Joe Marsala, Mezz Mezzrow, Sidney Bechet, Albert Nicholas, Wild Bill Davison, and Vic Dickenson. In the late 1960s Art starred in a series of TV shows on Chicago style jazz called "Jazz Alley" and in 1998, he was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame (?) b. November 14th 1904.
1993: Tomislav Ivcic (40) Croatian singer, songwriter, guitarist and politician; one of the most popular Croatian singers and songwriters in 1970s appearing at many pop music festivals. During the war in Croatia, he wrote the song "Stop the War in Croatia" which became a hit as well as charting in the Top 10 in Australia in 1991. In 1990, he also became a member of Croatian Democratic Union. He expressed his patriotism through the song "Bože cuvaj Hrvatsku", that would become semi-official anthem of his party. In February 1993 he ran as his party's candidate for House of Chambers of Croatian Parliament, and won a seat. (A few weeks before he was supposed to take office and shortly after a Globus interview in which he was described as "first Croatian senator", he tragically died in a accident) b. January 6th 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 (69) Polish composer and pianist, born in Lodz; he won prizes in several international competitions: the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris and the Vianna da Motta Competition in Lisbon. He left his native country together with his wife Idalia Magin and stayed in Portugal, Germany, and England until finally settling in Paris in 1960. Parallel to his career as a pianist and composer, Milosz Magin became a very popular teacher with students who came to him from all over the world, including such famous performers as Jean-Marc Luisada. (sadly Milosz died of a heart attack, during a tour of concerts in Tahiti) b. July 6th 1929.
1999: Teddy McRae (91) American jazz tenor saxophonist and arranger born in Philadelphia; he played with June Clark in 1926 before moving to New York City to found his own band. Following this he played and/or recorded with Charlie Johnson, Elmer Snowden, Stuff Smith, Lil Armstrong, Benny Morton, Teddy Wilson, Red Allen and Chick Webb. After Webb's death he was musical director for the orchestra during its tenure under the leadership of Ella Fitzgerald-1939-41. In the 40s he worked in the orchestras of Cab Calloway, Jimmie Lunceford, Lionel Hampton and Louis Armstrong; he also served as Armstrong's musical director during his period with that band. He wrote tunes for Artie Shaw including "Back Bay Shuffle" and formed his own band in 1945. He and Eddie Wilcox formed their own R&B label, Raecox, in the 1950s. He also recorded with Champion Jack Dupree in 1955-56, and recorded a few sides for Groove Records in 1955 and Moonshine Records in 1958 (?) b. January 22nd 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: 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 (98) American operatic soprano, born in Manhatten, who had an active international career from the late 1920s through the 1940s. She notably sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1937 through 1942 and was a performer with the New York City Opera during the company's 1943-1944 inaugural season. In addition to her appearances in the United States, Bodanya was also active as a guest artist in operas and concerts in Europe. She notably canceled her contracts with the Vienna State Opera and La Scala in 1938 to protest the anti-Semitic measures being taken by the governments of Italy and Austria. She also appeared in nightclubs, performed on the radio, and recorded a few songs with Mario Lanza. In the 1950s Natalie embarked on a second career as a singing teacher in California (?) b. August 23rd 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 (83) American academy award winning film composer born in Brooklyn, NYC. After service in the Pacific in the Army Air Forces in WW II, he earned a bachelor's degree in music from the University of California, Berkeley. He also studied composition with Arnold Schoenberg, Roger Sessions and Luigi Dallapiccola. He went on to compose the scores for dozens of films such as East of Eden-1955, Rebel Without a Cause-1955, Fantastic Voyage-1966, The Lord of the Rings-1978), Cross Creek-1983 and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home-1986 and incidental music for television series as such The Defenders, The Twilight Zone, Gibbsville and Marcus Welby, M.D. He also wrote the theme and almost all of the incidental music used for the entire run of the 1960s World War II television series Combat!. In the 1970s he composed Bass Concerto Chamber Music 4 for bassist Buell Neidlinger and four string quartets with a second bass (sadly he died of a heart attack) b. September 7th 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 (91) American concert pianist and professor of piano literature at the Juilliard School in New York City. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, he attended Chicago Musical College, where he was awarded a bachelor's degree and later attended Harvard University, where he earned a master's degree in musicology. His education was interrupted by his service in the US Army Air Force during World War II, where he was stationed in Guam. During his career at Juilliard that spanned 5 decades, his students included Emanuel Ax, Jeffrey Siegel Van Cliburn, Misha Dichter, Garrick Ohlsson, and Jeffrey Swann. During his time at the school, with the exception of an attempted retirement in the 1980s, he taught every piano student at Juilliard. While other Juilliard piano instructors taught prowess at the keyboard, Joseph focused on what The New York Times described as "the who, the why and the what-if" of the piano, not "the how-to" (Sadly Joseph died of a heart attack) b. November 6th 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: Theodore Dudley "Red" Saunders (69) American jazz drummer and bandleader, he also played vibraphone and timpani. Early in his career, he played with Stomp King in Milwaukee and Chicago, and worked with Tiny Parham at the Savoy Ballroom in Chicago. In 1937, the Club DeLisa gave Saunders control of the house band, where he remained until the club closed in 1958. Among his sidemen were Leon Washington, Porter Kilbert, Earl Washington, Sonny Cohn, Ike Perkins, Riley Hampton, and Mac Easton. Among the arrangers he employed were Johnny Pate and Sun Ra. He also played with Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Woody Herman, and recorded with Big Joe Turner. He continued to lead a band at the Regal Theater in Chicago into the 1960s, and played with Little Brother Montgomery and Art Hodes at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in the 1970s (?) b. March 2nd 1912.
1981: Yip Harburg/Isidore Hochberg (84) American popular song lyricist, born on the Lower East Side of New York City. He who worked with many well-known composers and worked on 11 fims, 8 Broadway musicals, and 17 Broadway revues. He wrote the lyrics to the standards, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", which swept the nation, becoming an anthem of the Great Depression, "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. (tragically he died in a car 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
2005: Robert Consoli (40)American actor and guitarist born in Bradford, Massachusetts; after graduating from Haverhill High School, he moved to California in the late-80’s to pursue live stage acting. His acting ability and charisma earned him roles in several plays. Rob studied with Estelle Harman and Ari Barak and has appeared in movies such as God's Army-2000, Girl Crazy-1997, and Falling Words-1997. He has also performed with Canadian singer Norman Iceberg both as an actor and musician (sadly died of leukemia)b. August 21st 1964.
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.
2012: Robert Bernard Sherman (86) American songwriter who specialized in musical films with his brother Richard Morton Sherman. Some of the Sherman Brothers' best known songs were incorporated into movies and animations like Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Slipper and the Rose, Snoopy Come Home, The Aristocats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Magic of Lassie, The Sword in the Stone, and the theme park song of "It's a Small World (After All)". Robert and his brother Richard began writing songs together on a challenge from their father, Al Sherman, a successful popular songwriter in the "Tin Pan Alley" days. They began by writing rock’n’roll, country and hillbilly songs in the 1950s. In 1958, Robert founded the music publishing company, Music World Corporation, which later worked with Disney's BMI publishing arm, Wonderland Music >>> READ MORE <<< (died peacefully in London, UK) b. December 19th 1925.
2013: John LaChapelle (91) American jazz guitarist, and teacher; he was known to many people in the Tri-Cities and beyond as the godfather of jazz guitar (sadly died of heart failure) b. 1921.
2013: Melvin Rhyne (76) American jazz organistborn in Indianapolis and took up playing the piano at a very young age. At 19 years old, he started performing on piano with the then unknown tenor saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk but he soon switched over to the Hammond B3 organ, and before long he was backing famous blues players like B.B. King and T-Bone Walker. In 1959 he joined Wes Montgomery's newly formed trio; Melvin played with Montgomery for the next five years and cut four records with The Wes Montgomery Trio: A Dynamic New Sound, Guitar on the Go, Boss Guitar, and Portrait of Wes. Melvin then moved to Wisconsin and kept to himself for two decades. Melvin returned to the jazz scene in full force in 1991, playing on Herb Ellis' album Roll Call, Brian Lynch's At the Main Event, and his own comeback album, The Legend. He continued to be prolific in the years to come, releasing eight more solo albums with his trio (?)b. October 12th 1936.

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, Sonata for cello and piano and Sonata for cello solo and his Duo for violin and cello. Dances of Marosszék, the Dances of Galanta, the Peacock Variations and the Missa Brevis 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. 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.
2009: David Williams (58) American guitarist born in Newport News, Virginia; he started his professional career with the Dells at age 18. After he finished his time in the Army he hooked up with the Temptations for live gigs and eventually settled in Los Angeles where became one of the most in-demand session guitarists recording with Michael Jackson, The Jacksons, The Pointer Sisters, Peter Allen, Aretha Franklin, The Four Tops, Madonna, Julio Iglesias, George Benson, The Manhattan Transfer, Michael McDonald, Melissa Manchester, The Temptations, Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart, Dionne Warwick, Shalamar, Go West, Genesis, Boz Scaggs, Karen Carpenter, Mariah Carey, Julian Lennon, Bryan Ferry, Paul McCartney, Johnny Mathis, Del Shannon, Chaka Khan, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Lionel Richie, Jessica Simpson, Diana Ross, The Crusaders, Andraé Crouch, Eddie Murphy, Herbie Hancock, Peter Cetera, Whitney Houston, Monkey Business and more. Also in 1978 along with James Jamerson Jr. the son of the legendary bassist, James Jamerson, he co-formed the disco group Chanson. They were a one-hit wonder, reaching No.21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No.33 in the UK Singles Chart in 1979 with "Don't Hold Back". ( sadly David died of cardiac arrest at his home in Hampton, Virginia) b. November 21st 1950
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. ????.
2013: Chorão/Alexandre Magno Abrão (42) Brazilian lead singer and co-founder of the band Charlie Brown Jr. Their biggest influences were The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Suicidal Tendencies and Rage Against the Machine. Between 1997 and 2012 they released 9 studio albums, 3 live albums and 5 DVD albums. In 2007, Chorão ventured into cinema with the film "O Magnata", he was writer and screenwriter and he also acts in the movie, and Charlie Brown Jr. songs are featured in the soundtrack (cause of death is still unknown) b. April 9th 1970.
2013: Alvin Lee/Graham Alvin Barnes (68) English rock guitarist and singer, born in Nottingham and attended the Margaret Glen-Bott School in Wollaton. He began to play professionally in 1962, in a band named the Jaybirds, they began that year to perform in the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany. After a couple of name changes by 1966 they had finally decided on the name Ten Years After. The band secured a residency at the Marquee Club, and an invitation to the Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival in 1967 led to their first recording contract. The self-titled début album received airplay on San Francisco's underground music radio >>> READ MORE <<< (He died unexpectedly following complications during routine surgery) b. December 19th 1944.
2013: Stompin' Tom Connors (77) Canadian country folk singer-songwriter and guitarist born in Saint John, New Brunswick. He focused his career exclusively on his native Canada, and is credited with writing more than 300 songs and has released four dozen albums, with total sales of nearly 4 million copies. Three of his best-known songs — "Sudbury Saturday Night", "Bud the Spud" and "The Hockey Song" — play at every home game of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team, also The Hockey Song is played at games throughout the National Hockey League. During the mid 70s, he wrote and recorded "The Consumer", an ode to bill-paying that became the theme song for the popular Canadian Broadcasting Corporation consumer affairs program, Marketplace. Other better-known songs include "Big Joe Mufferaw", "The Black Donnellys", "The Martin Hartwell Story", and "Reesor Crossing Tragedy" (died of natural causes at his home in Ballinafad, Ontario) b. February 9th 1936.

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.
2012: Lucia Mannucci (91) Italian singer, born at Bologna and relocated to Milan at a young age. She attend the Art of Movement school directed by Carla Strauss. She successfully auditioned for EIAR, the Italian national radio broadcasting company, and worked as a singer for the various radio orchestras. In 1947 Lucia joined the Italian vocal jazz quartet, Quartetto Cetra. In 1948 Quartetto Cetra did the dubbing of the choruses for the Italian release of Disney's movie Dumbo. For their excellent job they received a congratulation note signed by Walt Disney himself. Afterwards they did the dubbing for other movies such as Make My Music, Melody Time and The Wizard of Oz. They had appeared on British TV in 1948 in Café Continental, and later went on to do a great number of other TV programs, such as their parodies of literature classics such as The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo were a huge success. Lucia also had a successful solo career, besides working with Quartetto Cetra, Lucia pursued a solo career as singer, musical actress, and TV show hostess. She and her husband, who was also a member of Quartetto Cetra, did research on folk music (?) b. May 18th 1920.
2013: Claude King (90) American country music singer and songwriter born in Keithville, Louisiana. He taught himself to play guitar at 12 and later he was offered a baseball scholarship to the University of Idaho at Moscow. On his return his returned he joined Louisiana Hayride, a TV and radio show produced in Shreveport and broadcast in the U.S. and the UK. He was frequently on the same shows with Elvis Presley, Tex Ritter, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Webb Pierce, Kitty Wells, Jimmie Davis, Slim Whitman, Faron Young, Johnny Horton, Jim Reeves, George Jones and Lefty Frizzell. He switched to Columbia records in 1961 and the same year had the top 10 country hits "Big River, Big Man" and "The Comancheros", followed in 1962 with his No.1 hit "Wolverton Mountain". Other of his many hits include "Sheepskin Valley," "Building a Bridge" "Hey Lucille!", "Sam Hill", "Tiger Woman", "Catch a Little Raindrop", "Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)", and "All for the Love of a Girl". As well as a career recording and touring, he also performed as an actor in several movies and appeared in the 1982 television miniseries The Blue and the Gray. In 1981, Arkansas governor Frank D. White paid tribute to Claude and his big 1962 hit by declaring August 7th "Wolverton Mountain Day" (?) b. February 5th 1923.
2013: Kenny Ball (82) English jazz trumpeter, vocalist a nd bandleader, Kenny Ball was born in Ilford, Essex; he was a member of the local sea cadets, where he became a bugler which led to his love of the trumpet, and inspired by Harry James, he started to play jazz with friends. Kenny left school at 14 to begin work as a semi-pro musician whilst also working as a salesman and for an advertising agency. He turned full time professional in 1953 playing trumpet in bands led by Sid Phillips, Charlie Galbraith, Terry Lightfoot and Eric Delaney, before forming his own trad jazz band, Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen, in '58. He secured his band a regular spot on the BBC radio programme Easy Beat and became involved with television shows such as New Faces and Top of the Pops. His dixieland band was at the forefront UK's jazz revival, and from the late 50's through the >>> READ MORE <<< (sadly Kenny died of pneumonia) b. May 22nd 1930.

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.
1965: Tadley Ewing "Tadd" Dameron (48) American jazz composer, arranger and pianist, born in Cleveland. He was the most influential arranger of the bebop era, but also wrote for swing and hard bop players. The bands he arranged for included those of Artie Shaw, Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan and Jimmie Lunceford. He and lyricist Carl Sigman wrote "If You Could See Me Now" for Sarah Vaughan and it became one of her first signature songs. In the late 1940s, he wrote arrangements for the big band of Dizzy Gillespie, who gave the première of his large-scale orchestral piece Soulphony at Carnegie Hall in 1948. Also in 1948, he led his own group in New York, which included Fats Navarro; the following year he was at the Paris Jazz Fair with Miles Davis. From 1961 he scored for recordings by Milt Jackson, Sonny Stitt, and Blue Mitchell. He also arranged and played for rhythm and blues musician Bull Moose Jackson. Tadd composed several bop standards, including "Hot House", "Our Delight", "Good Bait" and "Lady Bird". His bands featured leading players such as Fats Navarro, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, and Wardell Gray (sadly died fighting cancer) b. February 21st 1917.
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.
1988: Kenneth Colyer (59) English jazz trumpeter and cornetist, born in Great Yarmouth, but grew up in Soho, London, he was devoted totally to New Orleans jazz. His band was also known for skiffle interludes. After a stint in the Merchant Navy he played with various bands and in 1949 joined the Crane River Jazz Band, the band played at the Royal Festival Hall on 14 July 1951 in the presence of HRH Princess Elizabeth. He rejoined the Merchant Navy and in New Orleans played with his idols in the George Lewis Band. He was offered the job of lead trumpeter on a tour, but was then put in prison and deported. He was invited to take the trumpet lead for the Chris Barber Band and so formed the first Ken Colyer's Jazzmen: Chris Barber, Monty Sunshine, Ron Bowden, Lonnie Donegan and Jim Bray. They made their first recordings on Storyville in 1953. The next, brief, band in the mid 1950s featured Acker Bilk on clarinet. Ken and his Jazzmen band made an appearance in Joe Meek's 1963 film "Live It Up". In 1971, after a bout with stomach cancer, he took his doctors' advice to stop leading a band, but continued with a solo career into the 1980s. He moved to the south of France in his last years (?) b. April 18th 1928.
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.
2012: Jimmy Ellis (74) American lead singer with the Philadelphia disco band, The Trammps. The band's first major success was with their 1972 cover version of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart". The first disco track they released was "Love Epidemic" in 1973. They are best known for their Grammy winning song, "Disco Inferno", immortalized in the film Saturday Night Fever, released in 1976 becoming a UK pop hit and US R&B hit, then re-released in 1978 becoming a US pop hit. Other major hits included "Hold Back the Night"-75 and "That's Where the Happy People Go"-76. In late 1977, they released "The Night the Lights Went Out" to commemorate the electrical blackout in New York on July 13th 1977 (sadly died from Alzheimer complications) b. November 15th 1937.
2012: Buddy "Bugs" Henderson (68) American blues guitarist; born in Palm Springs, Calif., but he grew up in Tyler, Texas. As a teenager he played guitar for the Tyler-based band Mouse and the Traps, before one-hit pop wonder Bruce Channel recruited him into a band. He established is own band the Shuffle Kings, and spent his entire working life as musician performing in Fort worth clubs and all over the world, forging and establishing a large cult following. He released around 18 albums and his guitar style impressed musicians such as Eric Clapton, Freddie King, Johnny Winter, and Ted Nugent (sadly died while fighting cancer) b. October 20th 1943.

March 9th.
1966: Henry Stuckley (68) American blues guitarist and accidental founder of the Bentonia tradition of country blues. Born in 1897 in Bentonia, MS; he learned an open E minor guitar tuning from black Bahamian soldiers while serving in France during World War I, and upon returning home in 1919, incorporated the tuning into his playing, eventually, around 1924 he taught it to a young Skip James. Skip featured the tuning on several of the 18 sides he recorded for Paramount in 1931, recordings that became treasured by blues scholars, historians, and collectors for their distinctive plaintive and eerie sound (sadly died of cancer) b. April 11th 1897.
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: Tony Lee (69) English jazz pianist born in Whitechapel, London, who played with the likes of Tommy Whittle, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield, Barney Kessel, Sonny Stitt, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Terry Smith, Tubby Hayes, Dick Morrissey and legendary UK drummer Phil Seamen. He had a long-lasting association of some 40 years with bassist Tony Archer in the Tony Lee Trio. Lee and Archer also played together in the sextet The Best of British Jazz formed in the early 1970s (?) b. July 23rd 1934
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.
2012: Terry Teene/Terence Blaine Knutson (70) American musician, vocalist, songwriter and entertainer, most commonly known for the early 1960s novelty hit "Curse of the Hearse". According to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, he has recorded over 300 distinct songs, "Curse of the Hearse" is perhaps his most famous, and played over 100 or more released recordings, performing as a "major artist" on 25 of them; he recorded under 70 names and appeared in over 500 nightclubs. Other songs include "Happiness Is Coming", as Blaine Bel Aire, "We're Going to Put Iowa on the Map", "Fun to Be With", "Pussy Galore", and "Perfect 36". As Terry Teene, he appeared in concert with Alice Cooper, Nazareth, Flo and Eddie, The Kinks, Sha Na Na, The Knack, Cheap Trick, and Bobby Vee. He also had a 2nd parallel career as a clown, under the names of "ToBo the Clown" and "Clownzo"; and he was the creator and originator, along with George Voorhees, of the costume, likeness, name and character of the famous clown Ronald McDonald. As an actor Terry appeared in films including Raging Bull; Die Laughing; Dempsey; On The Other Side of The Moon; The Trip; Psych-Out; In Living Color; 4th Network; Little Nicky; and I Love Basketball (tragically he died from injuries when a bicycle he was riding was struck by a tow truck in Tyler, Texas) b. February 6th 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
2012: Domna Samiou (83) Greek singer and traditional music researcher born in Athens. During her childhood she lived the harsh life of a refugee, but was also surrounded with the humane solidarity of the refugee communities. It was there she acquired her deep connection with popular culture and her love for folk music. Her first professional collaboration was with the National Radio Foundation, the state-run national radio station of Greece at the time, when she was a member of the Simon Karas choir, before her solo career. For over fifty years, Domna performed all over the world, in places as distant as Australia and South America, appealing not only to the Greek diaspora, but also introducing non-Greek audiences to “Greek music with no Bouzouki”. In 1981, the Domna Samiou Greek Folk Music Association was founded to preserve and promote Greek traditional music and in 2005, the President of Greece, K. Stefanopoulos, awarded her a medal of honour (?) b. October 12th 1928.

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.
2008: Leslie 'Les' Mighall (65) English drummer famed for being one of David Bowie's drummers in the 60s and the original drummer with Bowie's The Lower Third band (died of natural causes) b. March 10th 1943.
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.
2013: László Bódi (47) Hungarian rock singer-songwriter born in Uzhgorod and later moved to Budapest, where he and fellow musician Lászlo Attila Nagy played in the band Cipofuzo. In 1989, the two formed the rock band Republic and released their first album 'Indul a mandula!!!' in 1990. This was followed by 28 albums, the last being 'Bólints Tibi!' released in 2012 (sadly László died of heart failure) b. May 3rd 1965
2013: Sripada Pinakapani (99) Indian classical singer, born in Srikakulam; he held the position of Professor of Medicine and later transferred to Kurnool Medical College. He had a successful career performing at major festivals and concerts. His disciples include carnatic vocalists, Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana Malladi Suri Babu, Malladi Brothers and many others (?) b. August 3rd 1913.

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.
2012: Bodjie Dasig/Darius Delphin Dasig (48) Filipino singer-songwriter, who came into prominence for writing the song "Ale (nasa langit na ba ako?"/''Miss (am I in heaven?)'' and "Maaalala Mo Pa Rin"/''You will still remember for singer Richard Reynoso'', and "Ayoko na Sana"/''I wouldn't have wanted'' for Ariel Rivera. He also wrote and sang the hit song "Sana Dalawa ang Puso Ko"/"I wish I had two hearts" for his band Bodjie's Law of Gravity, which became the theme song of a movie with the same name (sadly Darius died Monday at 10:48 pm (PST) fighting cancer in a i Southern Californian hospital) b. June 10th 1963
2012: Michael Hossack (65) American drummer, born in Paterson, New Jersey; he started playing drums in the Little Falls Cadets, a Boy Scout drum and bugle corps, Our Lady of Lourdes Cadets and Fair Lawn Cadets. He always credits these experiences taught and prepared him for playing in a two-drummer group such as the Doobie Brothers. After graduating high school, he served for four years in the US Navy during the Vietnam War. Following his honorable discharge in 1969 he returned to New Jersey, where a close friend talked him into auditioning for a California-based band called Mourning Reign. They played heavily in upstate New York, before relocating to the San Francisco bay area and signing with a production company that had also signed the newly formed rock band, the Doobie Brothers >>> READ MORE <<< (sadly Mike died while battling cancer) b. October 17th 1946.
2013: Clive Burr (56) British drummer born in East Ham, London; previously a member of Samson, he joined Iron Maiden in 1979. An acquaintance of then-Iron Maiden guitarist Dennis Stratton, Clive played on their first three records: Iron Maiden, Killers and their breakthrough release The Number of the Beast, but left the band in 1982 due to Iron Maiden's tour schedule and personal problems. He was replaced by the band's current drummer, Nicko McBrain. Clive co-wrote one song on The Number of the Beast, "Gangland", and another song, "Total Eclipse", that was cut from the album and showed up as the b-side of the "Run to the Hills" single, and later on the Number Of The Beast remastered CD re-release. He also appeared on "The Number of the Beast" and "Run To The Hills" videos. After leaving Iron Maiden, he briefly played in the French group Trust, thus switching places with McBrain, and briefly with the American band Alcatrazz. He was featured in the short-lived NWOBHM supergroup Gogmagog which also included ex-Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di'Anno and future Maiden guitarist Janick Gers. He also had a band known as Clive Burr's Escape. He then joined Dee Snider in his post-Twisted Sister outfit Desperado, and performed with British bands Elixir and Praying Mantis in the 1990s, but did not become a member of either (died in his sleep, sadly with complications from multiple sclerosis) b. March 8th 1957.

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.
2003: Ian "Sammy" Samwell/Ian Ralph Samwell (66) English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known as the writer of Cliff Richard's debut hit "Move It" written when he was a member Harry Webb's group soon to become Cliff Richard and the Drifters, as a guitarist, and his association with the rock band America with whom he had his biggest commercial success with their hit single "A Horse With No Name". He also worked with bands such as Small Faces, The Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, John Mayall and Hummingbird. He wrote for many other UK artists, including Joe Brown, Elkie Brooks, Kenny Lynch, and Dusty Springfield. Several of his songs were recorded in Spanish for Mexican group, Los Teen Tops and were released in Latin America and the Spanish speaking territories of the world. He also worked as a record producer with Sounds Incorporated, Georgie Fame, John Mayall and the mod band The Small Faces, co-writing their 1965 hit single "Whatcha Gonna Do About It". Also back in the 60s, Sammy worked as a Disc Jockey at The Orchid Ballroom Purley (?) b. January 19th 1937.
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.
2012: Karl Roy (43) Filipino rock singer noted for his song "Yugyugan Na"/"Time to shake". He gained prominence in the '80s as frontman for Advent Call. However mainstream success came when he formed the funk rock band, POT, having had a major hit with a cover of the Advisors’ “Yugyugan Na”. He continued making music with super band, Kapatid, which also included Nathan Azarcon and Ira Cruz of Hijo. Kapatid released two albums, the self-titled debut in 2003 and “Luha” in 2006. In 2007, Roy suffered a stroke that left half his body paralyzed for months which he used songwriting while recovering. Roy and the rest of POT reformed in October of 2011. (sadly died of a cardiac arrest, but he had also been diagnosed with Pulmonary Edema) b. May 25th 1968.

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 1960s, Doc wrote several songs with Phil Spector: "Young Boy Blues"; "Ecstasy"; "Here Comes The Night"; "What Am I To Do?"; with Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber: "Young Blood" and "She's Not You", and other Brill Building-era writers. He also wrote "Lonely Avenue", which became a 1956 hit for Ray Charles. Doc was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the category of non-performer in 1992. He was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Blues Hall of Fame (sadly died after battling cancer) b. June 27th 1925.
2009: Alain Bashung (61) French singer, songwriter, comedian and actor, a multi-platinum artist, he received three awards during the ceremony at the Paris Zenith, including best male artist, best album for "Bleu Pétrole" and best live show. He spent his career singing a pop-chanson repertoire. With 11 trophies won since 1993, he was the most awarded artist in the history of the Victoires de la Musique. On 1 January 2009, Alain was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur. On 28 February 2009, he received three prestigious Victoires de la Musique awards for his final album Bleu pétrole. The 2009 award ceremony was his last public appearance. He appeared frail, but still performed "Résidents de la République" (sadly died after battling lung cancer) b. December 1st 1947.
2011: Todd Cerney (57) American songwriter of rock, country, and blues music, born in Detroit, he played guitar, mandolin, harmonica, keyboards and sang lead and backing vocals with various artist. He began his song-writing career after moving to Nashville, Tennessee. Some of the earliest artists to record his songs include Brush Arbor- "Don't Play That Song Again", Steve Carlisle -"I'll Fall in Love Again", and Levon Helm - "Blue House of Broken Hearts". During his career he composed such top-selling hits as "Good Morning Beautiful", a 2002 five-week country No.1 hit for Steve Holy co-written with Zack Lyle; "I'll Still Be Loving You", a 1987 country No.1 hit for Restless Heart co-written with Pam Rose, Mary Ann Kennedy, and Pat Bunch; and "The Blues Is My Business" co-written with Kevin Bowe, part of Etta James' 2003 Grammy Award winning album "Let's Roll". . He and his co-writers were nominated for a Grammy Award for "I'll Still Be Loving You". (sadly died of cancer) b. August 8th 1953.
2011: Big Jack Johnson (70) American guitarist and blues singer born in Lambert, Mississippi; at the age of 13, he was playing guitar with his father's band. By 18, he followed B.B. King's electrified lead. His break came when he sat in with Frank Frost and Sam Carr at the Savoy Theatre in Clarksdale, Mississippi and they played together for the next 15 years, recording for Phillips International and Jewel Records with Frank as the bandleader. In 1979, as the Jelly Roll Kings, he released Rockin' the Juke Joint Down, marking Big Jack's first recordings as a singer. His '87 album The Oil Man, included his recording of "Catfish Blues". He performed and wrote "Jack's Blues" and performed "Catfish Medley" with Samuel L. Jackson on the Black Snake Moan, film soundtrack (?) b. July 30th 1940.
2011: Ronnie Hammond (60) American singer and multi-musician; he became lead singer for the southern rock band Atlanta Rhythm Section, in 1972. They had hits during the 1970s, including “Doraville,” “Jukin,” “Champagne Jam,” “Imaginary Lover,” “So Into You,” “I’m Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight,” and a remake of the Classics IV hit “Spooky”. Ronnie left the band in the early '80s, but returned in 1987, and 1989 ARS released thier first album in 8 years 'Truth in a Structured Form'. He continued to record and tour wit the band until 2001 when Ronnie decided to leave ARS and join the band Voices of Classic Rock, but left the touring business altogether soon afterward to focus on family and songwriting (sadly Ronnie died due to a heart attack) b. November 10th 1950.
2012: Eddie King/Edward Lewis Davis Milton (73) American Chicago blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, born in Talladega, Alabama and learned basic guitar riffs from watching from outside the window of local blues clubs. He grew up playing alongside Luther Allison, Magic Sam, Junior Wells, Eddie C. Campbell, and Freddie King, before relocating to Chicago in 1954. He first recorded under the guidance of Willie Dixon and, in 1960, played on several tracks recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson II.Also in 1960, he had a single released "Shakin' Inside" / "Love You Baby" as well as recording with Detroit Junior. For the next twenty years he was the guitarist backing Koko Taylor as well as forming his own band, Eddie King & the Kingsmen. Since the early 1990s, his backing ensemble were known as the Swamp Bees, and his output has incorporated Chicago blues, country blues, blues shouter, and soul. In 1997, Eddie recorded ''Another Cow's Dead'', for which he was honored with a Blues Music Award for 'Best Comeback Blues Album (?) b. April 21st 1938.
2013: Jack Greene aka Jolly Green Giant (83) American country singer and multi musician born o in Maryville, Tenn. In the early 50s, he moved to Atlanta, where he formed his own band, The Peach Tree Boys as a lead vocalist, drummer, and guitarist. In 1961 he started a stint in Ernest Tubb's band, The Texas Troubadors as a drummer, guitarist, vocalist and MC. He was soon opening shows for Ernest playing guitar and singing and in 1964, Jack released his first solo record with "The Last Letter". His first Top 40 hit came in early 1966 with "Ever Since My Baby Went Away", followed by his first No.1 hit "There Goes My Everything". In 1967 he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry and in 1969, he had two No.1 hits with "Until My Dreams Come True" and "Statue of a Fool". In 1970, Jack gained a duet and a touring partner in Jeannie Seely, and together they had a number 2 hit with the song "Wish I Didn't Have To Miss You". Jack continued to record and tour with Jeannie and as a solo artist. having several more hits in the 70's and 80s. He retired in 2011 and lived his final days with his dedicated manager serving as his caretaker. (sadly died of complications from Alzheimer's disease) b. January 7th 1930

March 15th.
1959: Lester Young (49) American saxophone, clarinet, he was also known to play the trumpet, violin, and drums; Billie Holiday gave him his nickname “Prez”, short for president, he was one of the three most important tenor saxophonists of all time. Born in Woodville, Mississippi, he came to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra which he joined in 1936 and was hailed as a new stylist on the instrument. His small-group recordings from the late 1930s with Basie and vocalist Billie Holiday are classics. Lester formed his own band in 1941, playing at the club Kelly's Stable in New York. He then co-led a band in California and New York with his brother Lee. He rejoined Basie in 1943 and was featured in an art film called Jammin' the Blues, which portrays him as a bohemian of the jazz age. In September 1944, while playing with drummer Jo Jones in a California club, he was served his army call up papers, where he spent a traumatic 15 months. His experiences with racism in the military were horrifying, he spent a year confined at Fort Leavenworth, Texas, where the only relief he had came from Gil Evans (who later joined Miles Davis), who was stationed there and did what he could to help him. His army experience had a devastating effect on his mental state of mind, the brutal humiliation, remained with him for the rest of his life. In 1946, Lester joined Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic (JATP) troupe, touring regularly with them over the next 12 years and he made many studio recordings under Granz's supervision for his Verve Records label, including more trio recordings with Nat King Cole. He also recorded extensively in the late 1940s for Aladdin Records in 1946-7, and for Savoy in 1944, '49 and '50, some sessions included Basie on piano. He gave some brilliant performances during the second half of the 40's and early 50s, particularly with JATP in 1946, 1949, and 1950 and his solo on "Lester Leaps In" at the 1949 JATP concert at Carnegie Hall is perhaps one of the greatest solos by any jazz musician ever. One of Lester's personal favorite pieces, was DB Blues, (Detention Barracks Blues), released 1946. Throughout the 40s and 50s Lester had sat in on many Count Basie Orchestra gigs, the best-known of these is their July 1957 appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival. By the end of the 50' he was eating less, drinking heavily, and suffering from liver disease and malnutrition. He made his final studio recordings and live performances in Paris in March 1959 with drummer Kenny Clarke at the end of a European tour during which he virtually drank himself to death. Lester is remembered as one of the finest, most influential players on his instrument, playing with a cool tone and sophisticated harmonies. He also became a jazz legend, inventing or popularizing much of the hipster ethos which came to be associated with the music (After becoming ill in Paris in March 1959 suffering with internal bleeding, he was flown back to New York and died in his hotel bedroom shortly after his return) b. August 27th 1909.
1988: Dannie Richmond (52) American saxophonist and drummer; he started playing tenor saxophone at the age of thirteen and he went on to play R&B with the Paul Williams band in 1955. His career took off when he took up the drums, through the formation of what was to be a twenty-two year association with Charles Mingus recording on 24 of Mingus's albums between 1957-1979. After Mingus' death in 1979, Dannie became the first musical director of the group Mingus Dynasty in 1980. Dannie also worked with Joe Cocker, Chet Atkins, Elton John and Mark-Almond among others.(?) b. December 15th 1935.
1991: Lawrence "Bud" Freeman (84) American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, he is known mainly for playing the tenor saxophone, but also able at the clarinet. He was one of the most influential and important jazz tenor saxophonists of the Big Band era. His major recordings were "Tillie's Downtown Now", "The Eel", "Crazeology", "The Buzzard", and "After Awhile", composed with Benny Goodman. Bud was one of the original members of the Austin High School Gang which began in 1922, they began to formulate their own style, becoming part of the emerging Chicago Style of jazz.In 1927, he moved to New York, where he worked as a session musician and band member with Red Nichols, Roger Wolfe Kahn, Ben Pollack, Joe Venuti, among others. After WW2, he worked with groups such as Buck Clayton, Ruby Braff, Vic Dickenson and Jo Jones, and was a member of the World's Greatest Jazz Band between 1969 and 1970. In 1974, he moved to England for 6 years where he made numerous recordings and performances there and in Europe. Bud was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1992 (?) b. April 13th 1906.
1993: Gene Leis (73) American jazz guitarist, teacher, bandleader, composer, and entrepreneur, born into a musical family in Sedgwick, Kansas. Known primarily for his influential publications and recorded guitar courses in the 1960s, including The Complete Nexus Method Course, which included 10 records, a 132-page instruction book, a 36-page chord book and three Chord Maps. Gene was also a popular performer and a mentor to a large number of musicians through his teaching studios in Manhattan Beach, California (?) b. April 19th 1920
1998: Tim Maia/Sebastião Rodrigues Maia (55) Brazilian singer, born in Rio de Janeiro, known for his ironic, iconoclastic, outspoken, but always humorous musical style. He was also known for his habit of lightheartedly missing appointments and even important gigs. He performed in a variety of musical genres, ranging from happy and energetic dance music to sentimental songs such as his hit "Me Dê Motivo". He performed soul music, funk, bossa nova in the 1990s, romantic songs, American pop, samba, baião, and Música Popular Brasileira. His many songs included "Meu País", "Sentimento", "These Are the Songs", "Azul da Cor do Mar", "Coroné Antônio Bento", "Réu Confesso", "Gostava Tanto de Você", "O Descobridor dos Sete Mares" and "Me Dê Motivo" (he became ill while performing at the Municipal Theater of Niterói, hospitalized, he died few days later) b. September 28th 1942.
1999: Nigel Stranger (56) English tenor & soprano saxophonist, pianist and architect, born in Newcastle. He played with a host of name blues bands including John Mayall, Alexis Korner, Georgie Fame, The Animals. In later years, he backed the likes of The East Side Torpedoes, Jimmy Witherspoon and The Crosbys, as well as playing with his own different line-up bands. In the 1990s, Nigel and his friend, music manager, producer, ex-Animal bassist Chas Chandler, set up in business and together they established Park Arena Ltd, and they developed the 11,000- seater Newcastle Arena, the largest sports and entertainment venue in the north-east, which opened on Saturday November 18th 1995. It has since been renamed the Metro Radio Arena(sadly Nigel died while bavely battling cancer) b. January 16th 1943.
2004: Rust Epique/Charles Lopez (35) American guitarist and painter, who gained fame while performing with the alternative rock bands Crazy Town and pre)Thing. He was born in Stockton, C.A, but raised in Modesto, California. In his earlier days he toured with many bands, including "Kinesthesia", "Xit", "The Limit", and "Cliff Morrison". In 1999, he joined Crazy Town, a rapcore band from Los Angeles. The band earned significant recognition with their hit single, Butterfly, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2001. Despite his success with Crazy Town, he quit the band as a result of various disagreements with his band mates. He formed the band Rustandthesuperheroes and began working on a four track demo CD to shop to the record labels. In 2003, V2 Records signed Rust to work with a band called Pre)Thing. They released their debut album, 22nd Century Lifestyle, in 2004 to much radio success (died of a heart attack) b. February 29th 1968.
2008: Mikey Dread/Michael Campbell (54) Jamaican singer, producer, and broadcaster, his music attracted the attention of British punk rockers The Clash, who invited him over to England to produce some of their music. During the early 1980s he provided vocals with the reggae collective Singers And Players on Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound record label and produced ten dub tracks for UB40 and toured Europe and Scandinavia as their support artist. In 1991, Mikey recorded Profile and African Anthem Revisited. He also toured in Europe and the USA with Freddie McGregor, Lloyd Parks, We The People Band, and the Roots Radics Band. In 1992, he collaborated with former Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin on a duet entitled "Can't Hear 'Em". He was nominated for a NAIRD award, for his work on his 1990 compilation album Mikey Dread's Best Sellers. In 1993, he was involved in several projects, including his tour supporting the album Obsession and working in TV with the Caribbean Satellite Network (CSN) where he was Program Director and On Air personality as well as Producer of various shows. In 1994 he presented The Culture Award of Honor in the Martin’s International Reggae Music Awards in Chicago. In 1995, he worked as a Radio DJ for WAVS 1170 AM and WAXY-AM 790 in Miami, Florida. In 1996 he participated in the Essential Music Festival as a performer in Brighton, UK. He did live appearances with The Clash, UB40, Bob Dylan, Carlos Santana, Macka B, Channel One, and many other bands and artists. He also produced artists such as Sugar Minott, Junior Murvin, Earl Sixteen, Wally Bucker, Sunshine, Jah Grundy and Rod Taylor. He also worked closely with producer Trevor Elliot to launch musical career of singer Edi Fitzroy. Mikey Dread was the featured artist on "Lips Like Sugar" with Seal for the soundtrack of the 2004 film, 50 First Dates (brain tumor) b. June 4th 1954.
2008: Vytautas Kernagis (56) Lithuanian singer-songwriter, bard, actor, director, TV announcer and a pioneer of Lithuanian sung poetry. In 1973, he graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music & Theatre. He was a member of the pioneering Lithuanian big beat bands Aisciai from 1966-1968 and Rupus miltai from 1969-1972. He recorded his first album of sung poetry in 1978; took part in the first Lithuanian rock opera Velnio nuotaka; first Lithuanian musical Ugnies medžiokle su varovais in 1976, and first Lithuanian musical for a puppet theatre Šokantis ir dainuojantis mergaites vieverselis (sadly died after suffering from gastric cancer) b. May 19th 1951
2009: Edmund "Ted" Hockridge (89) Canadian singer and actor; he first visited the UK in 1941 with the Royal Canadian Air Force and helped set up the Allied Expeditionary Forces Network, which supplied entertainment and news for troops in Europe. He was loaned to the BBC, often working with the Glen Miller Band and the Canadian band of the Allied Expeditionary Forces led by Robert Farnon. He sang and produced more than 400 shows with the BBC Forces Network and as the war ended he sang with big bands such as Geraldo’s. After the war and back in Canada he played leading roles in operas such as Don Giovanni, La bohème, Peter Grimes and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, as well as having his own radio show in Toronto. In 1951 he returned to Britain to take the part of Billy Bigelow in Carousel at the Theatre Royal, London. He went on to play leading roles in a string of popular musicals including Guys and Dolls, Can Can and The Pajama Game and had recording hits with songs such as ''Young and Foolish'', ''No Other Love'', ''The Fountains of Rome'' and ''More than Ever''. A song from The Pajama Game, ''Hey There'', gave him his biggest hit and became his signature tune. He appeared in early editions of The Benny Hill Show, Sunday Night at the London Palladium and he starred in a 6 month, sell-out variety season at the Palladium. In 1953 he was in the Royal Variety Show and the same year he was Canada’s representative in the Westminster Abbey choir at the Coronation. Edmond headlined in cabaret on the QE2’s maiden voyage and he toured Europe in revivals of musicals. He also turned to British summer seasons and Sunday concerts, becoming one of Blackpool’s most popular stars. He topped the bill on Blackpool’s North Pier for seven years and appeared in several of Harold Fielding’s Opera House concerts in the 1960s. In the early 1980s he appeared in revivals of The Sound of Music and South Pacific but he made a spectacular comeback in 1986 when he played the part of the elderly Buffalo Bill in the big revival of Annie Get Your Gun. In the 90s he was back on the road with his show, The Edmund Hockridge Family, joined on stage by Jackie and their two sons, Murray and Stephen. He never really retired and even in his eighties he was still making public appearances and giving talks about his long career (?) b. August 9th 1919.
2009: Jack Lawrence (96) American Academy Award-nominated songwriter; one of his first major songs after leaving the service was "Yes, My Darling Daughter", introduced by Dinah Shore on Eddie Cantor's radio program. His song, "If I Didn't Care", introduced the world to The Ink Spots. And, although Frank Sinatra was already a well-known big band singer, Jack's "All or Nothing at All" was Sinatra's first solo hit. also wrote the lyrics for "Tenderly", Rosemary Clooney's trademark song (in collaboration with composer Walter Gross, as well as the English language lyric to "Beyond the Sea" (based on Charles Trenet's French language song "La mer"), the trademark song for Bobby Darin. Another French song for which Lawrence wrote an English lyric was "La Goualante de Pauvre Jean", becoming "The Poor People of Paris". Together with Richard Myers he wrote "Hold My Hand", which was nominated for the 1954 Academy Award for Best Song. It was featured in the film Susan Slept Here. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. (died of complications from a fall) b. April 7th 1912
2010: Sam Mtukudzi (21) Zimbabwean acoustic guitarist, saxophone player, singer, multi-musician and also the son of legendary Zimbabwean singer, Oliver Mtukudzi. Born into a musical family in Kwekwe, Sam started playing with one of his Fathers guitars at four years, he gradually taught himself to play the guitarist. At aged 10 after seeing his son perform at an annual school concert for the first time, Sam's father was so impressed he bought Sam his first guitar. Sam entered Prince Edward High school at the age of 13 where he widened his musical interests and learnt to play alto saxophone, marimba, bass guitar, electric guitar, percussion including congas, hosho and drums, nyunga nyunga mbira, all of which he would soon play professionally, but the acoustic guitar always remained his first instrument. Sam has quoted as well as his family, Youssou N'Dour as one of his big musical influences. After finishing High School, Sam has joined his father on several foreign tours playing the saxophone with along with the Black Spirits. He has perfomed in Zambia, Malawi, the UK, the USA, Mozambique, Kenya, Canada, Lesotho, Swaziland, Nigeria, and Ireland and played many of the major festivals in Africa including South Africa’s Cape town International jazz festival, Victoria Falls International jazz festival,Zimbabwe’s Harare International Festival of the Arts, Winter jazz festival, and Jo’burg International jazz festival. Sam also formed his own band called Ay Band Sam with whom he recorded his debut album, Rume Rimwe in 2008. The week before his sudden tragic death he had returned from South Africa where he was overseeing the mixing of his second album. His last show was at the Sports Diner, Saturday night, March 13th 2010 (Sam was travelling as passenger with his sound engineer, Owen Chimhare, driving from Harare to Norton, when at 1.20am they were involved in a car accident, tragically both were killed instantly) b. April 1st 1988.
2010: Dan Achen (51) Canadian guitarist and founder member of the alternative rock band Junkhouse. He formed the band in 1989 in Hamilton, Ontario, with himself on guitar, vocalist and guitarist Tom Wilson, bassist Russ Wilson and drummer Ray Farrugia. In September 1993 they released their official debut, Strays, and promoted the album by touring as an opening act for The Waltons and Soul Asylum. The album produced radio hits for the band with "Out of My Head", "Prayin' for the Rain" and "Big Brown Turtle". The band was also featured on the soundtrack to the television show Due South. Their cover of the song "Oh, What a Feeling" is on the first soundtrack from the Paul Haggis show. (tragically died of a heart attack while playing hockey) b. 1959
2011: Smiley Culture/David Victor Emmanuel (48) British reggae singer and DJ, born in South London, he helped popularized the 'fast chat' style of deejaying that had originated with Jamaican deejays such as Ranking Joe. His first single 1984's "Cockney Translation" was a Jamaican's guide to the East End dialect "Cockneys have names like Terry, Arfur and Del Boy/We have names like Winston, Lloyd and Leroy". This was followed by "Police Officer", in late 1984. This was supposedly an autobiographical tale of how Smiley was arrested for the possession of cannabis, but then let off when the police officer recognised him as a famous reggae artist. In 1986, Emmanuel enjoyed a brief flirtation with the cinema when he made a cameo appearance in the film, Absolute Beginners. After which he began investing in diamond mining, and by 2010 had gold and diamond mine concessions in several countries including Ghana, Uganda, Liberia, and Kenya. (Smiley apparently died from self-inflicted stab wounds at his home in Warlingham, Surrey, during a police drugs raid) b. February 10th 1963.
2011: Nate Dogg/Nathaniel Dwayne Hale (41) American hip hop and R&B artist, born in Long Beach, California; he began singing as a child in the New Hope Baptist Church in Long Beach, and at Life Line Baptist Church in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where his father was a pastor. At the age of 16 he dropped out of high school in Long Beach, California and left home to join the United States Marine Corps, serving for three years. He was the friend and partner in the rap game with Snoop Dogg, Warren G, RBX, Daz Dillinger and he was the cousin of Butch Cassidy and Lil' ½ Dead. Nate, Snoop Dogg and Warren G, all belonged to the Rollin 20 Crips gang and formed a rap trio called 213, recording there first demo in the back of the famed V.I.P record store in Long Beach. Nate made his debut on hip hop artist Dr. Dre's The Chronic album ...READ MORE... (Nate died of congestive heart failure, along with complications related to his previous strokes) b. August 19th 1969.
2011: Yakov Kreizberg (51) Russian-born Austrian-American conductor; he was widely sought-after by the world's leading orchestras, and held posts with the Theatre Krefeld Mönchengladbach, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Komische Oper in Berlin and the Wiener Symphoniker. Yakov was appointed Artistic Director of L'Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo in January 2008, and subsequently Artistic Director and Music Director in September 2009. At the time of his death he was the Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Netherlands Philharmonic and Netherlands Chamber Orchestras. He led them on many highly successful tours and leaves behind a number of great recordings.His final concert took place on February 14th 2011, conducting the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The programme consisted of Glinka’s Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla, Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No.2 with soloist Alexander Sitkovetsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade (sadly died after bravely fighting a long illness) b. October 24th 1959.
2011: Melvin Sparks (64) American soul jazz, hard bop and jazz blues guitarist. He released a number of albums for the influential Prestige Records, including Sparks-1970, Akilah!-1971 and Sparkplug-1971, later recording for Savant Records such as, It is what it is-2004, This is it!-2005 and Groove on up-2005. He appeared on several recordings with musicians including Lou Donaldson, Charles Earland, Sonny Stitt, Leon Spencer and Johnny Hammond Smith. He was seen on Northeastern television commercials as the voice of Price Chopper's "House of BBQ" advertising campaign (sadly died of complications from diabetes) b. March 22nd 1946.
2011: Musa Juma (35) Kenyan singer, rumba and Benga musician and led the Orchestra Limpopo International, born in Usonga, Siaya District.Some of his most popular songs were "Hera Mudho", "Ufisadi", "Mercelina", and "Freddy". He released eight albums, the last of them being titled Lake Victoria. During his career he toured in various countries. Only weeks before his death, he and his band had a tour in the United States (died sadly from pneumonia) b. December 6th 1975.
2013: Terry Lightfoot (77) British jazz clarinetist born in Potters Bar, he started his musical career as a vocalist during school-life, singing popular songs with a small amateur variety group. In 1949, he came to jazz while at Enfield Grammar School in Enfield, London and he changed from playing the trumpet to clarinet to meet the needs of the traditional Dixieland jazz band of his friends. After leaving school, he formed his first jazz band, the 'Wood Green Stompers', when he was 17. Following national service in the RAF, he formed his ensemble, the 'Terry Lightfoot's New Orleans Jazzmen' in 1955, his drummer, Ginger Baker >>> Read More <<< (sadly died while fighting prostate cancer) b. 21 May 21st 1935

March 16th..
1968: Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (72) Jewish-Italian composer, born in Florence; he was known as one of the foremost g uitar composers in the twentieth century with almost one hundred compositions for that instrument. In 1939 he migrated to the United States and became a film composer for some 200 Hollywood movies for the next fifteen years. In 1926, Castelnuovo-Tedesco premiered his opera, La Mandragora, based on a play by Niccolò Machiavelli. It was the first of his many works inspired by great literature, which included interpretations of works by Aeschylus, Virgil, John Keats, William Wordsworth, Walt Whitman, Federico García Lorca, and especially William Shakespeare. Another major source of inspiration for him was his Jewish heritage, most notably the Bible and Jewish liturgy. His Violin Concerto No. 2 , written at the request of Jascha Heifetz, was also an expression of his pride in his Jewish origins, or as he described it, the "splendor of past days," in the face of rising anti-Semitism that was sweeping across much of Europe. In 1939, Toscanini sponsored Mario as an immigrant in the United States. He landed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, in Hollywood as a film composer. Over the next fifteen years, he worked on scores for some 200 films there and at the other major film studios (?) b. April 3rd 1895.
1970: Tammi Terrell/Thomasina Montgomery (24) American singer, a member of The Sherrys, and Motown singer, born in Philadelphia, she entered the music business at the age of 13, regularly performing live. Tammi was a Grammy Award-nominated American soul singer, most notable for her association with Motown and her duets with Marvin Gaye. As a teenager she recorded for the Scepter/Wand, Try Me and Checker record labels. She signed with Motown in 1965 and enjoyed success as a solo singer. Once she was paired with Gaye in 1967, her stardom grew, but later that year she collapsed on stage into Marvin Gaye's arms during their duet of 'That's All You Need To Get By'. (Tammi was diagnosed with a brain tumor, from which sadly she died) b. April 29th 1945.
1975: T- Bone Walker/Aaron Thibeaux Walker (64) American blues guitarist, pianist and singer songwriter born in Linden, Texas; In the early 1920s, as a teenager learned his craft amongst the street-strolling stringbands of Dallas. His songs included "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)", "T-Bone Shuffle" and "Let Your Hair Down, Baby, Let's Have a Natural Ball". He was the idiom's first true lead guitarist, and undeniably one of its very best. Modern electric blues guitar can be traced directly back to this pioneer, who began amplifying his sumptuous lead lines for public consumption circa 1940 and thus initiated a revolution so total that its tremors are still being felt today. He was the childhood hero of Jimi Hendrix, and Hendrix imitated some of Walker's ways throughout his life including T-Bone's flamboyant playing style with the guitar behind his back and legs and with his teeth on stage. He won a Grammy Award in 1971 for "Good Feelin'" and was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. (He died of bronchial pneumonia following a second stroke) b. May 28th 1910.
1991: Reba Mcentire's BAND... All seven members of country star Reba Mcentire's band and her road manager were tragically killed in a plane crash after a show in San Diego.
1993: Johnny Cymbal/John Hendry Blair (48) Scottish born American songwriter, singer, and record producer; from aged 15 until his death, Johnny made a meaningful impact on popular music worldwide as a singer-songwriter, performer and record producer. During those years, in addition to his rock and roll anthem, "Mr. Bass Man", he was responsible for hits including: "Teenage Heaven", "Cinnamon", "Mary In The Morning", "I'm Drinking Canada Dry" and "Rock Me Baby". In 1963, with his hit "Mr. Bass Man" all over the top of the charts from the US to Asia, he was recognized as a teen star. While continuing to record, he toured the U.S., Europe and Japan performing as both a solo headlining act and in rock and roll package shows. Later, as a songwriter and record producer, he found success in New York, L.A., and Nashville (he died in his sleep of a heart attack) b. February 3rd 1945.
1996: Joseph Pope (62) American singer and the founder of The Tams which he formed in 1960, he took their long lasting name from the Tam o'shanter style of hat that the group choose to wear on stage. By 1962, they had a hit single "Untie Me", a Joe South composition, became a Top 20 US R&B success. In 1964, their single "What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am)", reached the Top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song spent three weeks at number one on the Cash Box R&B chart. "Hey Girl Don't Bother Me" was also a hit the same year and rocketed to No.1 in the UK charts. The Tams next major US hit was in 1968 "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy", which also made the UK Top 40 in 1970 (?) b. November 5th 1933.
2004: Vilém Tauský (93) Czech conductor and composer, at age 19, he conducted Giacomo Puccini's Turandot in Brno on short notice in place of Chalabala, who had become ill. During WWII being of Jewish decent he moved to France and he volunteered for service with the Free Czech Army, where he was appointed the bandmaster of a military orchestra consisting of instruments obtained from the Paris Police. He eventually went Britain to escape the Nazi regeme. From 1945 to '49, he was musical director of the Carl Rosa Opera Company and music director of Welsh National Opera from 1951 to '56. He was principal conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra from 1956 to '66 where he held various BBC appointments, in Belfast, Glasgow and Manchester, where he worked with Benny Hill, Frankie Howerd, Elsie and Doris Waters, Morecambe and Wise, Tessie O’Shea, Jimmy Edwards and Gracie Fields. In addition, he conducted new British music. Between 1966 and '92, he was the director of opera and head of the conducting course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His compositions include a Ballade for cello and piano, a Symfonietta for orchestra, the Fantasia da Burlesca for violin and orchestra, an oboe concerto, written for Evelyn Rothwell, a harmonia concerto written for Tommy Reilly, Coventry: A Meditation for Strings, and a Serenade for Strings. In 1979 he was honoured as a Freeman of the City of London and in 1981, appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire-CBE (?) b. July 20th 1910.
2005: Justin Hinds (62) Jamaican ska vocalist, with his backing singers the Dominoes, born in Steertown, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. He is best known for his work with Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Records, where his most notable song, "Carry Go Bring Come" recorded in late 1963, went to number one in Jamaica. He recorded seventy singles between 1964 and 1966, and was the most popular artist on the record label. His final studio album Know Jah Better was released in 1992, but he worked on Wingless Angels with other Jamaican musicians, which was produced by Keith Richards in the early 1990s. In 1997, he toured the US for the first time and he would release a couple of live albums in the early 2000s, including one recorded at the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance in Trumansburg, New York (sadly died fighting lung cancer) b. May 7th 1942
2007: Frederick Tupper Saussy III (70) American keyboardist, composer and artist, born in Statesboro, grew up in Tampa, Florida and graduated from the University of the South at Sewanee, in 1958. While at Uni, he formed a jazz combo recording the album, Jazz at Sewanee, Tuppy co-founded an advertising agency, McDonald and Saussy, and kept his musical career alive with recording dates and club sessions. In 1965, he composed 'The Beast with Five Heads' for the Nashville Symphony,. For its 1968/69 season, they commissioned him to write a piano concerto for Bill Pursell. Tupper was perhaps best known as the songwriter and keyboardist for the psychedelic pop band The Neon Philharmonic, whose vocalist was Don Gant. The Neon Philharmonic's single "Morning Girl" rose to Top 20 status and was nominated for two Grammy awards in 1969. Their two albums, The Moth Confesses and The Neon Philharmonic were released in 1969, but the group disbanded in 1972. He has released several albums of his jazz compositions: "Discover Tupper Saussy," "Said I to Shostakovitch," and The Swingers' Guide to Mary Poppins. In the 70s, he continued to composed works for the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and the Chattanooga Symphony. He also composed two pop songs for The Wayward Bus, "The Prophet: Predictions by David Hoy" and "Love Hum". He has also worked with Chet Atkins and Ray Stevens, and he wrote arrangements for Mickey Newbury's Harlequin Melodies, Boudleaux Bryant, Bobby Bare, and Roy Orbison. In April 2006, Tupper resumed his musical persona with the Nashville and started work on a new album "The Chocolate Orchid Piano Bar," which includes new and vintage songs, his first new musical release in 37 years, but sadly he died two days before it's release. (heart attack) b. July 3rd 1936
2008: Ola Brunkert (61) Swedish session drummer; born in Örebro, Örebro län, Sweden; he began his musical career as a jazz drummer. His first professional job was with the Slim's Blues Gang, before joining the pop group Science Poption in the mid '60s. He then joined the jazz-pop group Opus III with his friend, guitarist Janne Schaffer. By the 70s Ola had become one of the most sort after session musicians in Sweden. His first session with Abba was on their first single, "People Need Love," in 1972. Over the next 10 years Ola recorded 62 singles and all 8 studio albums with Abba and accompanied them on all their tours (bled to death in a tragic accident at his home in Mallorca, when he fell into a glass door, cutting his throat) b. September 15th 1946..read more
2008: Daniel MacMaster (39) Canadianrock vocalist for Canadian/British hard rock band Bonham releasing two albums with them The Disregard of Timekeeping and Mad Hatter. In 2005, Daniel released a solo album entitled Rock Bonham...And The Long Road Back which was re-issued by Suncity Records in 2006. In recent years, MacMaster started a new project with Connecticut-based singer/songwriter Jimmy D of the band Emerald Monkey, dubbed Monkey-MacMaster (sadly died from a staph infection) b. July 11th 1968.
2010: Herb Cohen (77) American record company executive, manager, and music publisher born in New York; he artists, including Screamin' Jay Hawkins, George Duke, Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, Tim Buckley, Lenny Bruce, and Linda Ronstadt. He was best known as the manager of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention from 1965, arranging their first club dates and, after encouraging record producer Tom Wilson to see them perform, securing their first record deal. He and Zappa went on to set up and jointly own the Straight, Bizarre, and DiscReet Records labels. Herb also handled Montreux Jazz Festival tours of Japan and the US, and produced the US portion of the Nelson Mandela concert in Wembley Stadium upon Mandela's release (?) b. December 30th 1932
2010: Ksenija Pajcin (32) Serbian singer and dancer, sometimes referred to as Xenia, Ksenija was known for her sometimes sexually appealing image on stage. She started her career as a go-go dancer and was offered the opportunity to join a pop group, The Duck. As a dancer, she was famous in Greece, where she performed in numerous night clubs. Ksenija later went on to have a solo music career, and while her vocals were not too impressive, she garnered attention for her dancing and outfits. She released four albums, Too Hot to Handle in 1997, Extreme in 2001, Magije in 2004 and a Best Of... in 2006. Ksenija also owned a dance studio in Belgrade and worked as a model. She frequently appeared in tabloids and was known for her outrageous statements. (She was found dead along with her boyfriend Filip Kapisoda, a 22-year old model, in her apartment in Belgrade, both had gunshot wounds to the head. Police suspect a murder-suicide, with Filip Kapisoda as the shooter. Police were called to the house several nights earlier as the couple were reported by neighbors because Filip had broken into Ksenija's apartment, by knocking down the door) b. December 3rd 1977
2012: Dieter Zechlin (85) German pianist born in Goslar; he was one of East Germany's most prominent pianists in 1950-60s. In 1959 he received the Art Prize of the GDR and in 1961 the National Prize of the GDR. He was married to composer Ruth Zechlin, and later married pianist, Susanne Grützmann (?) b. March 16th 2012.
2013: Bobby Smith (76) American soul singer born in Detroit, Michigan; he had been the principal lead singer of the classic Motown group, The Spinners since its inception. The group, first called The Domingoes, was formed in 1954 at Ferndale High School, Bobby took over from James Edwards who lasted only 2 weeks. The Spinners also known as the Detroit Spinners or the Motown Spinners, had thier first hit, with Bobby singing lead, "That's What Girls Are Made For" in 1961. The group earned half a dozen Grammy award nominations and around a dozen gold records including "Truly Yours", "I'll Always Love You", "I'll Be Around", "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love", "They Just Can't Stop It the (Games People Play)". In 1974 they scored their only No.1 hit with "Then Came You" (sadly died complications of influenza and pneumonia) b. April 10th 1936.
2013: Jason Molina (39) American singer-songwriter, originally from Lorain, Ohio. After performing in various local metal bands, he came to prominence in the mid 90s performing and recording as Songs: Ohia, both in solo projects and with a rotating cast of musicians, recording 10 albums under that name. Since 2003, he had recorded 3 albums under his own name and 5 albums with a stable line-up of band members as the Magnolia Electric Co. (sadly Jason died from multiple organ failure after a long battle with alcoholism) b. December 16th 1973.

March 17th..
1958: Carl Perkins (27) American jazz pianist, born in Indianapolis but worked mainly in Los Angeles. He is best known for his recordings and performances with the Curtis Counce Group, which also featured Harold Land, Jack Sheldon and drummer Frank Butler. He performed and recorded with the Clifford Brown-Max Roach group in 1954. His playing was influenced by his polio-affected left arm, which he held sideways over the keyboard. He composed the jazz standard "Grooveyard", which he recorded with Counce, Chet Baker, Jim Hall, Art Pepper. As a leader Carl's recordings included Savoy in '49, Dootone in '56 and Pacific Jazz in '57 (drug related)b. August 16th 1928.
1978: Malvina Reynolds (77) American folk-blues singer songwriter and political activist, born in San Francisco is maybe best known for her song writing, particularly the song, "Little Boxes". She had earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English from the University of California, Berkeley. She played violin in a dance band in her twenties, then she began her songwriting career in her late 40s when she met Earl Robinson, Pete Seeger, and other folk singers and songwriters. She returned to school at UC Berkeley, where she studied music theory. She went on to write several popular songs, including "Little Boxes," "What Have They Done to the Rain," recorded by The Searchers and Joan Baez about nuclear fallout, the civil rights anthem "It Isn't Nice", "Turn Around", and "There's a Bottom Below". Malvina was also a noted composer of children's songs, including "Morningtown Ride" and "Magic Penny". In her later years, Malvina contributed songs and material to PBS's Sesame Street, on which she made occasional appearances as a character called "Kate" (?) b. August 23rd 1900.
1979: Zenon de Fleur Heirowski (28) British guitarist with the rock and rhythm & blues band Count Bishops (tragically died of a heart attack following a traffic accident in London) b. ????
1982: Samuel George (39) American singer, musician and founder member the R&B group formed in 1962 as "The Caps," later renamed The Capitals, with Sam as the lead vocalist and drummer. They were discovered by former Ann Arbor radio DJ, Ollie McLaughlin, after performing at a local dance. The group went on to release their first single in 1963, "Dog and Cat/The Kick". They recorded "Cool Jerk" in Detroit on March 14, 1966 with the legendary Motown house band The Funk Brothers, it reached No.7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No.2 on the Billboard R&B charts. The Capitols released 2 albums in 1966 "Dance the Cool Jerk" and "We Got a Thing" both featuring mostly covers of popular Motown and soul songs (stabbed to death during a family argument) b. ????
1983: Gigi Gryce/Basheer Qusim/George General Grice Jr (58) American saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger and band bandleader born in Pensacola, Florida. Although primarily a jazz musician, Gigi studied classical composition with Alan Hovhaness and Daniel Pinkham at the Boston Conservatory following World War II and obtained a Bachelor of Music degree. Among the musicians with whom he performed were Thelonious Monk, Tadd Dameron, Lionel Hampton, Donald Byrd, Clifford Brown, Art Farmer, Howard McGhee, Lee Morgan, Max Roach, Oscar Pettiford, Teddy Charles, and Benny Golson. In 1955, Gigi formed the Jazz Lab Quintet, which included trumpeter Donald Byrd. In the mid-1950s he converted to Islam and adopted the name Basheer Qusim. By the early 1960s he stopped using the name Gigi Gryce (sadly died of an epileptic seizure) b. November 28th 1925.
1988: Nikolas Asimos (38) Greek composer and singer, he was a very special case of a counter-culture artist, mostly because of his choice of lifestyle. In 1967 he enrolled in the Philosophical School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He was often involved with theater during his college years, while he was writing songs and he was singing in various boîtes of Thessaloniki. In 1973 he moves to Athens from Thessaloniki; he continued to be involved in theatre, write songs and he graduated from a private theatre school. (?) b. August 20th 1949.
1990: Ric Grech/Richard Roman Grechko (43) British bass player, born in Bordeaux, France. He originally gained notice in the UK as the bass guitar player for the progressive rock group Family. He joined the band when it was a largely blues-based live act in Leicester known as the Farinas; he became their bassist in 1965, replacing Tim Kirchin. Family released their first single, "Scene Through The Eye of a Lens," in September 1967. In 1969 he joined up with Eric Clapton toform the super group Blind Faith and recorded their only album with them. He went on to become a very successful session musician playing with the likes of Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane, Muddy Waters, Rosetta Hightower, the Crickets and Gram Parsons. In January 1973, he performed in Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert, and he reunited with Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney when the duo recorded an album in 1974 after Family's breakup. In 1974 he joined KGB, along with Michael Bloomfield, Carmine Appice, Barry Goldberg, and Ray Kennedy, the group released its homonymous debut that year. Rick retired from music in 1977 and moved back to Leicester. (brain haemorrhage) b. November 1st 1946.
1996: Terry LaVerne Stafford (54) American singer and songwriter, born in Hollis, Oklahoma; grew up in Amarillo, Texas; graduated from Palo Duro High School, Amarillo in 1960, then moved to LA to pursue a career in music. In 1964 he released "Suspicion", which made No.3 in the US and reached and No. 31 in the UK Singles Chart. He followed this with "I’ll Touch a Star" made No.25. It was 1973 when he next charted with "Amarillo by Morning" (died in Amarillo of liver failure) b. November 22nd 1941.
1997: Jermaine Stewart (39) American singer; born in Columbus, Ohio, and moved to Chicago with his parents. He started out as a backup singer and dancer for several artists and groups such as Howard Gallant The Chi-Lites, The Staple Singers and Shalamar and recording backup vocals for such artists as Culture Club, before launching his solo career. He had a string of hits including "The Word Is Out", "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off", "Frantic Romantic", and "Versatile". Also his singles "Get Lucky", "Don't Talk Dirty to Me" and "Is It Really Love" found European success, especially in Germany (liver cancer attributed to AIDS) b. September 7th 1957.
1998: Bernarr Rainbow (83) English historian of music education, organist, and choir master born in Battersea, London, while still at school, he was appointed the organist and choirmaster at St James's, Merton, later holding similar posts at St. Mary's, East Molesey and St. Andrew's, Wimbledon. He went on to conducted the High Wycombe String Orchestra and was the soloist in his own Piano Concerto. In 1951 the High Wycombe Parish Church Choir was chosen to sing Evensong in the Festival Church on the new South Bank site. He turned the Royal Grammar School at High Wycombe into a singing school. Bemarr realised that the quality of music teaching in schools was paramount. His distinguished record was acknowledged when he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1994 and an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College in the following year. He was President of the Campaign for the Defence of the Traditional Cathedral Choir and in 1996 he established the Bernarr Rainbow Award for School Music Teachers (?) b. October 2nd 1914.
1999: Ernest Gold/Ernst Sigmund Goldner (77) American composer. Born in Vienna, Austria; he wrote around 100 film and television scores between 1945 and 1992. Among his credits are Too Much, Too Soon, Exodus, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, On the Beach, A Child is Waiting, Fun with Dick and Jane, and Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff. His contributions were honored with four Academy Award nominations and three Golden Globe nominations. He won a Golden Globe in 1960 for Best Motion Picture Score for 1959's On the Beach, and won an Academy Award a year later for Best Music: Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, for Exodus. His work on On the Beach also won Gold a Grammy Award. The Hollywood Walk of Fame has also recognized Ernst with a star on famed Hollywood Boulevard. (died from complications from a stroke) b. July 13th 1921.
2004: Ernst Haefliger (84) Swiss tenor, born in Davos; he studied at the Zürich Conservatory and studied with Fernando Capri in Geneva and Julius Patzak in Vienna. He had a lengthy and extensive international career and recorded many oratorios and operas. Starting in 1971, he taught at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Munich, Germany. Ernst made his Boston debut in 1965 for the Peabody Mason Concert series (sadly died from acute heart failure) b. July 6th 1919.
2006: Bob Blue (57) American singer and songwriter born in Huntington, NY and a resident of Massachusetts; his most well-known song, The Ballad of Erica Levine was occasionally performed by Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary. Bob was a member of the band "The Nice Jewish Boys" and one of the founders of the Children's Music Network (sadly died of multiple sclerosis) b. July 31st 1948
2006: Professor X/Lumumba Robert Carson (49) American rapper and was a founding member of the Hip hop group X-Clan featuring in nearly all songs on the albums To the East, Blackwards in 1990 and Xodus in 1992 prior to a temporary break-up of the group. The group were well known for their Afrocentrism and militant activism. Later he continued his activism with a series of solo projects (sadly died of spinal meningitis)b. August 4th 1956.
2007: Roger Bennett (48) American Southern gospel pianist, singer, songwriter, and co-founder of the award winning Gospel Quartet Legacy Five. He grew up in Strawberry, Arkansas and in November of 1979 he was invited to join the legendary Cathedral Quartet; he served 20 years with them as pianist until the groups retirement in 1999. After which Roger and fellow Cathedral's member Scott Fowler launched Legacy Five. In 2000, the group recorded their debute project “Strong in the Strength” which garnered a Favorite Album of the Year nomination. The group’s first single release from that album titled “I Stand Redeemed” was also nominated for Song of the Year and reached number two on the radio charts. In 2004, the readers of Singing News voted Legacy Five as their Favorite Traditional Male Quartet. Although an excellent singer, Roger is best remembered as pianist, and often a comedian, for both the Cathedrals and Legacy Five and he was honored with the Singing News Fan Award for Favorite Southern Gospel Pianist 14 years in row from 1993-2006. He was also voted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2007 (sadly died after a courageous 12 year struggle with cancer and leukemia) b. March 10th 1959.
2010: Alex Chilton (59) American singer, songwriter and guitarist, born in Memphis, Tennessee, best known for his work with the pop-music bands the Box Tops and Big Star. In 1966, while at Memphis' Central High School, Alex was invited to join a local band The Devilles as their lead singer, after learning of the popularity of his vocal performance at a talent show; this band was later renamed Box Tops. He was 16 years old when he and the Boxtops had their No.1 international hit "The Letter". In 1971 Alex along with Chris Bell, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel formed the rock band Big Star. They released two albums "No.1 Record" and "Radio City" before breaking up in 1974. He continued as a solo artist and in 1979 he co-founded, played guitar with, and produced some albums for Tav Falco's Panther Burns, which began as an offbeat rock-and-roll group deconstructing blues, country, and rockabilly music. From the late-1980s through the 1990s with bassist Ron Easley and eventually drummer Richard Dworkin, gaining a reputation for his eclectic taste in cover versions, guitar work, and laconic stage presence. After which he performed live yearly, with sporadic solo, Box Tops and Big Star shows in theatres and at festivals around the world (died sadly of a suspected heart attack) b. December 28th 1950.
2010: Charlie Gillett (68) British radio presenter, musicologist and writer, mainly on rock and roll and other forms of popular music. Born in Morecambe, Lancashire, England, and was brought up in Stockton-on-Tees where he attended Grangefield Grammar School. He was particularly noted for his influential book 'The Sound of the City', for his promotion of many forms of "world music", and for discovering and promoting such acts as Dire Straits and Ian Dury. He began in journalism in 1968 with a weekly column in the Record Mirror and wrote for a variety of music magazines including Rolling Stone and New Musical Express and contributed to The Observer. He began a weekly radio programme, Honky Tonk, on Radio London in 1972, he brought Ian Dury to public attention, and was the first DJ to play demos by Graham Parker, Elvis Costello and Dire Straits ("Sultans of Swing"). In the latter case, significant numbers of London's A&R men had contacted Charlie's studio by the time he had finished playing the song - sending Dire Straits on their journey to global stardom. Over his long career, he worked also on Capital Radio, and many BBC stations. In 2006, Charlie was awarded The John Peel Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music Radio by the Radio Academy. In July 2006, after eleven years of broadcasting his regular Saturday Night show of world music, Gillett had to end his weekend slot due to ill health, but until his death, he continued to present his half hour show, Charlie Gillet's World of Music. Every year from 2000 to 2008, he compiled a world music double album, World 2000, World 2001, World 2003 etc, (sadly died of series of health problems, including being diagnosed with Churg-Strauss syndrome in 2006) b. February 20th 1942.
2010: Johnnie High (80) American country music impresario, singer, musician; In 1974 converted an old movie theatre in Grapevine, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, into the Grapevine Opry and created The Johnnie High's Country Music Revue, a weekly country music variety show. The revue has been a tremendous success for 34 years and introduces at least 20 or 25 new performers each month. Over the years, Johnnie High's Country Music Revue has opened the door for many successful singers including LeAnn Rimes, Steve Holy, Lee Ann Womack, Gary Morris, Linda Davis, Box Car Willie, John Anderson, Shoji Tabuchi and many others. Since 1995, Johnnie's revue has been held at a former Arlington movie theatre (passed away after bravely battling heart disease) b. ????
2011: Ferlin Husky aka Terry Preston/Simon Crum (85) American country music singer, born in Flat River, Missouri. In 1955, he had a hit with "I Feel Better All Over (More Than Anywheres Else)"/"Little Tom", and also developed "Simon Crum" as a comic alter ego. As Crum, he signed a separate contract with Capitol Records and began releasing records, the biggest of which was 1959's "Country Music Is Here To Stay". In the late 1950s, Ferlin had a string of hits, including the No.1 "Gone". It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. He then began an acting career, appearing on the Kraft Television Theatre program, and in the film Mr. Rock & Roll. "Wings of a Dove" became his biggest hit in 1960, topping the country charts for 10 weeks. He had more than two dozen hits between 1961 and 1972, and remained a popular concert draw, performing at the Grand Ole Opry and elsewhere (sadly died from heart failure) b. December 3rd 1925.
2013: Jantje Koopmans/Johannes Petrus van Eersel (89) Dutch singer, noted for his 1984 hit Red Roses. His hits include De eerste kus/The First Kiss, Die mooie ogen/Those Beautiful Eyes, Die oude melodietjes /Those Old Melodies, Het dorpscafeetje /The Village Pub, Ik wil een baan /I Want a Job, Liefde/Love, and Rode rozen, witte seringen / Red roses, white lilacs (?) b. February 21st 1924.
2013: Michael Rhodes (89) American baritone opera singer and highly sought-after vocal coach who trained stars including German tenor Jonas Kaufmann. He began his professional singing career in 1947 at New York City Opera playing Jochanaan in Salome. In 1951 Michael moved to Europe and took guest roles at the Opera National in Paris and Milan's La Scala. In the same year he became the first American after World War II to sing at Berlin's Deutsche Oper (?) b. 1924

March 18th..
1976: Luther "Snake Boy" Johnson/Lucius Johnson (41) American blues guitarist born in Davisboro, GA; he also worked and recorded under the names Georgia Boy, Little Luther and Luther King. Upon his military discharge, he picked guitar as a member of the Milwaukee Supreme Angels gospel group, working the local church circuit. But the blues bug hit and he soon had his own blues trio together, eventually settling in Chicago by the early '60s. He played for a while with Elmore James and was a regular fixture in the Muddy Waters band by the mid-'60s. He recorded as Little Luther for Chess in the mid-'60s including "The Twirl" and by 1970 was relocated to Boston, MA, working as a solo artist. The next five years found him working steadily on the college and blues festival circuit (sadly died of cancer) b. August 30th 1934
1984: Paul Francis Webster (76) American Academy Award-winning lyricist; before going freelance, Twentieth Century Fox signed him to a contract to write lyrics for Shirley Temple's films in in 1935. His first hit was a collaboration in 1941 with Duke Ellington on the song "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)". After 1950, he worked mostly for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He won two Academy Awards in collaboration with Sammy Fain, "Secret Love" in 1953 and "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing" in 1955, and with Johnny Mandel "The Shadow of Your Smile" in 1965. Altogether, sixteen of his songs received Academy Award nominations including "Remember Me to Carolina" (1944), "Friendly Persuasion (Thee I Love)"-1956, "A Certain Smile"-1958, "A Very Precious Love"-1958, "The Green Leaves of Summer"-1960, "Love Theme From El Cid (The Falcon and the Dove)"-1961, "Tender Is the Night"-1962, "Love Song From Mutiny on the Bounty (Follow Me)"-1962, "So Little Time"-1963, "A Time for Love"-1966, "Strange Are The Ways of Love"-1972, "A World that Never Was"-1976. Among lyricists, he is second only to Johnny Mercer, who was nominated eighteen times, in number of nominations. In addition, a large number of his songs became major hits on the popular music charts and is the most successful songwriter of the 1950s on the U.K. charts. In 1967 he was asked to write the famed lyrics for the Spider-Man theme song of the television cartoon and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972 (?) b. December 20th 1907.
1984: Joseph Spence (73) Bahamian fisherman-turned-guitarist, singer born in Andros; several modern folk, blues and jazz musicians, including Taj Mahal, Ry Cooder, Woody Mann and John Renbourn were influenced by and have recorded variations of his arrangements of gospel and Bahamian pop tunes. The earliest recordings of Joseph were made on his porch by folk musicologist Samuel Charters (?) b. August 12th 1910.
1988: Billy Butterfield (71) American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and cornetist; Early in his career he played in the band of Austin Wylie. He gained attention working with Bob Crosby from 1937-1940, and he later worked with Artie Shaw, Les Brown, and Benny Goodman. During his stay with Artie Shaw's orchestra, he performed what has been described as a "legendary trumpet solo" on the hit song "Stardust" and he recorded the jazz standard "Moonlight In Vermont", which featured a vocal by Margaret Whiting and a trumpet solo by Billy. He recorded two albums with Ray Conniff in the 1950s, "Conniff meets Butterfield" and "Just Kiddin' Around". Later in the 1960s he recorded two albums with his own orchestra for Columbia Records. Billy was a member of the World's Greatest Jazz Band led by Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart from the late 1960's until his death. Billy also freelanced as a guest star with many bands all over the world, and performed at many Jazz festivals, including the Manassas Jazz Festival and Dick Gibson's Bash in Colorado (?) b. January 14th 1917.
2001: John Phillips (65) American singer, guitarist, songwriter and promoter of The Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Born in Parris Island, South Carolina, he was known as Papa John, and was a founder member of the Journeymen and The Mamas and The Papas they had several Billboard Top Ten hits during the group's short lifetime, including "California Dreamin'", "Monday, Monday", "I Saw Her Again", "Creeque Alley", and "12:30 (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)". John Phillips also wrote "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)", the 1967 Scott McKenzie hit that was to become the Summer of Love anthem. Phillips also wrote the oft-covered "Me and My Uncle", which was the song performed more times than any other over 30 years of Grateful Dead concerts. He released his first solo album 'John, the Wolf King of L.A' in 1970, which included the minor hit "Mississippi". He died just days after completing sessions for a new album "Phillips 66" was released posthumously in August 2001 (sadly died of a heart failure) b. August 30th 1935.
2002: Gösta Winbergh (58) Swedish tenor born in Stockholm; he is often mentioned as among Sweden's and, indeed, the world's finest tenors, included with Jussi Björling and Nicolai Gedda. For the first two-thirds of his 30-year career, Gosta Winbergh was greatly admired as a singer of Mozart's operas. His Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni was applauded at the Metropolitan, New York, at the Salzburg Festival, in Houston and Chicago, Berlin and Barcelona. He sang Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte at the Drottninghom Court Theatre and Tamino in The Magic Flute for his debut at La Scala, Milan. Other Mozart roles in his repertory were Idomeneo, Mitridate and Titus. He also sang lyric roles such as Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, the Duke in Rigoletto, Alfredo in La traviata, Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore and Lenski in Eugene Onegin. Then in 1991 at Zurich Gosta sang his first Lohengrin, and a whole new career opened out before him, with further exploration of Wagner, the Emperor in Die Frau ohne Schatten, Don Jose in Carmen and Florestan in Fidelio. His last new role was Florestan in Fidelio, which he sang at the Vienna State Opera the night before he died. Winbergh was also nominated for several US Grammy awards during his career (sadly died after suffering a heart attack) b. December 30th 1943
2009: Eddie Bo/Edwin Joseph Bocage (79) American singer and one of the last New Orleans junker-style pianists. He was known for his wild R&B, soul and funk recordings, compositions, productions and arrangements. After leaving school and a stint in the army he studied piano, music theory, sight reading and music arrangement at the Grundwald School of Music inNew Orleans. He was influenced by Russian classical pianist Horowitz and bebop pianists Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson. Eddie began playing in the New Orleans jazz scene and went under the name of Spider Bocage, later forming the Spider Bocage Orchestra. In the '50s he and a group of New Orleans musicians toured the country supporting singers Big Joe Turner, Earl King, Guitar Slim, Johnny Adams, Lloyd Price, Ruth Brown, Smiley Lewis, and The Platters. He debuted on Ace Records in 1955 and released more single records than anyone else in New Orleans other than Fats Domino. His song "Hook & Sling" was featured on the breakbeat compilation "Ultimate Breaks and Beats". In the 70's he can be heard with the likes of Curly Moore & The Kool Ones and Roy Ward. Through the 1980s and 1990s he recorded with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, he played, toured and recorded with Willy DeVille, Victory Mixture and Big Easy Fantasy. He later joined up with Raful Neal and Rockin’ Tabby Thomas playing and recording under the names The Louisiana Legends, The District Court and The Hoodoo Kings. As well as his busy career as a recording and performing musician, he also produced and arranged records by such artists as Art Neville, Chris Kenner, Chuck Carbo, Irma Thomas, Al “Carnival Time” Johnson, Johnny Adams, Mary Jane Hooper, Robert Parker, The Vibrettes, and The Explosions. He was honoured on May 22, 1997 when it was declared "Eddie Bo Day" in New Orleans by mayor Marc Morial while Bo was playing in Karachi, Pakistan. He won many music awards including two Lifetime Achievement awards from the South Louisiana Music Association and Music / Offbeat Best of the Beat and was named New Orleans' music ambassador to Pakistan (Eddie sadly died of a heart attack) b. September 20th 1930.
2011: Jet Harris/Terence Harris (71) British bass guitarist, born in Honeypot Lane, North London, he started off playing clarenet a young teenager before making his own double bass and forming a school band with friends Peter Newman, John Welsh, and Ray Edmunds. He played in several bands including The Vipers Skiffle Group and The Most Brothers and a stint with Wee Willee Harris & Tony Crombie's Rockets before in 1959 he joined Cliff Richard's backing group The Drifters, who later changed their name to The Shadows. In 1959, after the neck of his Framus bass was damaged, he was presented by the importers a Fender Precision Bass,with one of the first to come to Britain from the United States. Jet also contributed vocally, adding backup harmonies and had a trademark scream used in >>> READ MORE <<< (sadly Jet died after a brave battle with throat cancer) b. July 6th 1939.
2012: Warren Luening (70) American musiicain, a top sort after studio trumpeter and flugelhorn player, born in New Orleans. He played in a youth band, together with Roy Wiegand, Charlie May, and a rhythm section working 6 nights a week and performed in 'The Colgate Comedy Hour' on C.B.S.. He played trumpet with the Lawrence Welk Orchestra from 1958-60 during the Silver Champagne Era. In the late 1960s he performed with the Ronnie Dupont Quartet. He became a first call soloist in the Hollywood studios, recording on soundtracks for “ King Kong: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack"-2005, "Return to Me", “The Rat Pack", “The Rainmaker", “That Thing You Do!", “The Glass Shield", “Bopha!" and “The River". Some noted solos include “Georgia" on Bergeron's CD, and “Double Barrel Blues" from the Magic Time LP from Bob Florence where he duets with himself, Rosemary Clooney's, “Dedicated To Nelson", and “A Foggy Day". He also played with the orchestra on the TV series “Dancing with the Stars", the EMMY and the Oscars Awards (sadly Warren died from complications of cancer) b. October 9th 1941.
2013: Sean Hannan (45) American rock musician and songwriter (sadly died of cancer) b. 1968.
2013: Eivind Rølles (54) Norwegian guitarist; after performing in the pop act "Broadway News", during the late 1970s, he and Lage Fosheim formed The Monroes in 1982. They released their debut album in 1983, selling 130,000 copies, followed by, Face Another Day, in 1985, which sold over 250,000 copies, making them one of the best selling artists in Norwegian music history, and one of the few to have a Top 10 song in the USA. Following two more studio albums and a compilation, the duo disbanded in 1993, but they continued, sporadically, to work together with several one-off reunions (sadly died fighting cancer) b. March 15th 1959

March 19th..
1900: Charles-Louis Hanon (80) French piano pedagogue and composer born in Renescure. He is best known for his work The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises, which has become the most widely used set of exercises in modern piano teaching. Piano students all over the world know of Hanon’s famous training exercises for pianists. Both Sergei Rachmaninoff and Josef Lhévinne claimed him to be the secret of why the Russian piano school delivered an explosion of virtuosi in their time, for the Charles' exercises have been obligatory for a long time throughout Russian conservatories; there were special examinations at which one had to know all the exercises by heart, to be played in all tonalities at highly advanced speed (?) b. July 2nd 1819.
1913: John Thomas (87) Welsh harpist and composer, highly honored throughout Europe with memberships in the Societa di S. Cecilia in Rome, Societa Filharmonica of Florence,the Philharmonic Society of London and he was appointed harpist to Queen Victoria 1872. He taught at the Royal College of Music, where he eventually became professor, and at the Guildhall School of Music. He wrote many pieces for the harp that are very popular today and are used in the exam syllabus. He also wrote an opera, a symphony, two harp concertos, overtures, chamber music, and two cantatas, Llewellyn and The Bride of Neath Valley. He played one of his own harp concertos at a Philharmonic concert in 1852 (?) b. March 1st 1826.
1973: Lauritz Melchior (82) Danish and later American opera singer born in Copenhagen, Denmark; he was the pre-eminent Wagnerian tenor of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. He made his debut in 1913, as the baritone role of Silvio in Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci at the Royal Theatre/Det Kongelige Teater in Copenhagen. In 1920, he visited England to sing in an experimental radio broadcast to the Scandinavian capital cities from the Marconi station in Chelmsford and became a frequent performer in London, appearing at Sir Henry Joseph Wood's Promenade Concerts in Queens Hall. Over his career he sang in many opera houses around the world and between '44-'53, he performed in 5 Hollywood musical films for MGM and Paramount Pictures, Thrill of a Romance-1945, Two Sisters from Boston-1946, This Time for Keeps-1947, Luxury Liner-1948, The Stars Are Singing-1953 and made numerous US television appearances. In 1947, he put his hand and footprints in cement in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. In the summer of 1972, Melchior conducted the San Francisco Opera Orchestra at Sigmund Stern Grove in the Radetzky March by Johann Strauss I as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the company; this was one of his last public appearances (?) b. March 20th 1890.
1976: Paul Kossoff (25) UK rock guitarist; born in Hamstead, London, he started playing in the mid 1960s, his first professional band was Black Cat Bones with drummer Simon Kirke. The band did many supporting shows for Fleetwood Mac. Paul spent hours jamming with Peter Green and discussing blues music. Black Cat Bones also played with touring blues piano player Champion Jack Dupree. Both Paul and Simon played on Dupree's album When You Feel the Feeling. Paul and Simon next teamed up with Paul Rodgers and Andy Fraser to form Free in 1968 with a debut album Tons Of Sobs, followed by their self-titled album in 1969. Their third album, Fire and Water in 1970, produced the massive hit "All Right Now", with a tour of UK, Europe and Japan. The band split later that year after a 4th album. Paul and Simon then teamed up with Texan keyboard player John "Rabbit" Bundrick and Japanese bass player Tetsu Yamauchi to release the 1971 album Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit. Free reformed and released the album Free At Last in 1972. Fraser decided to quit, so Tetsu and Rabbit were drafted in for Free's 1973 album Heartbreaker after which the group disbanded. Paul then accompanied John Martyn on a 1975 tour before assembling a group called Back Street Crawler releasing two albums: The Band Plays On in 1975 and Second Street in 1976. Paul's guitar playing was also much in demand for session work and he contributed solos on several albums including: Jim Capaldi's Oh How We Danced (1972), Martha Veléz's Fiends and Angels (1969); Blondel's Mulgrave Street (1974); Uncle Dog's Old Hat (1972), Michael Gately's Gately's Cafe (1971) and Mike Vernon's 1971 album Bring It Back Home. He also played on four demos by Ken Hensley, which were eventually released on the 1994 album entitled From Time To Time and three tracks which appear on the CD-only issue of John Martyn's Live At Leeds album from 1975. An unreleased guitar solo also surfaced in 2006 on the title track to the album All One by David Elliot who recorded with Paul in the 70s. Paul was ranked 51st in Rolling Stone magazine list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" (died from a drug-related heart attack while on a plane flight from Los Angeles to New York) b. September 14th 1950.
1982: Randall "Randy" Rhoads (25) American rock guitarist; born in Santa Monica, California, he started playing guitar at age six on his grandfather's old Gibson "Army-Navy" classical acoustic guitar. At the age of 14, he and his older brother Kelle formed a cover band called Violet Fox, after which he taught his best friend Kelly Garni to play bass, and together they formed a band called The Whore. Together the pair went on to form Quiet Riot when Randy was 16. In 1979, Ozzy Osbourne was forming his new band, the Blizzard of Ozz, and invited him to play lead guitar. Randy enjoyed the freedom he was allowed which bought his guitar playing to a different level. Their self titled debut album was an instant hit. Randy is cited as an influence by many contemporary heavy metal guitarists. A devoted student of classical guitar, Randy often combined his classical music influences with his own heavy metal style. (killed in a freak airplane accident, whilst buzzing the bands tour bus from a light aircraft, the plane's wing clipped the bus and crashed) b. December 6th 1956.
1989: Alan Civil (59) English French horn player; he was engaged by Thomas Beecham to play second horn to Dennis Brain in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, when Brain left for the Philharmonia, Alan took over leadership of the section. In 1955, he joined the Philharmonia himself, becoming principal horn player when Brain died in a car crash in 1957. In the 1960s, Alan became the first non-German to be approached by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra to become a member, but he stayed with the Philharmonia, who were reshaping themselves into the New Philharmonia. In 1966 he became principal hornist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, remaining there until his retirement in 1988. As a soloist, Civil recorded the horn concertos of Mozart, and his recording of Benjamin Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with Robert Tear is also quite well known. He also played chamber music in the Alan Civil Horn Trio. Alan He was awarded an OBE in 1985 (?) b.
1990: Andrew Wood (24) American singer born in Columbus, Mississippi, as a teenager he and his brother Kevin Wood formed the band Malfunkshun, their only released material during's the bands existence was on the compilation, Deep Six. After moving to Seattle, Washington, Andrew along with Jeff Ament, Bruce Fairweather, Stone Gossard and Greg Gilmore formed the band Mother Love Bone. As frontman Andrew's personality and compositions helped to catapult the group to the top of the Seattle music scene. Sadly he died just before the release of Mother Love Bone's debut album "Apple". Fellow band members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament formed a side project band Temple of the Dog, in remembrance of Andrew, dedicating their self titled album to him, they went on to form Pearl Jam. Also The Alice in Chains dedicated their song "Would? "to Andrew (tragically died of a heroin overdose coupled with a cerebral hemorrhage) b. January 8th 1966
2001: Elena Del Rubio/Elena Rolfe Boyd (79) American singer-guitarist; middle triplet she and her sisters Edith, and Milly were born in the Panama Canal Zone. The girls grew up in Ancón and Washington D.C. and went on to become The Del Rubio triplets. Their stage name comes from the colour they dyed their hair; the word "rubio" means "blonde" in Spanish. Grammy winner Allee Willis is credited with discovering the Del Rubio Triplets in 1985 after which they made various television appearances such as Married.. with Children, Full House, The Golden Girls, Night Court and Pee-wee's Playhouse wearing bouffant hair-dos and gaudy blue eyeshadow. They often appeared scantily clad, usually showing off their legs, despite the fact that they were in their sixties at the time. They are often remembered for their contribution of "Winter Wonderland" to the Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special that originally aired in 1988. They also briefly appeared in the motion picture Americathon, playing "America the Beautiful" behind several posing bodybuilders. They also appeared in Sliders, season 1 episode 9, "The King Is Back" as themselves, performing "Whip It". In the late 1980s they were featured in a McDonald's fast food advertisement. The three performed until Eadie was diagnosed with cancer in 1996; after her death, Elena and Milly never again performed but lived together for 5 years till Elena's death (sadly Elena died fighting cancer) b. August 23rd 1921.
2007: Luther Ingram (69) American R&B, soul singer, songwriter; best known for his hit, "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right", which was placed number one on Billboard magazine's R&B chart, and peaked at No.3 on the Hot 100 chart in 1972. Other popular tracks include "Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One)" and "I'll Be Your Shelter". He was also responsible for the classic 1966 Northern Soul stormer "If It's All The Same To You" and it's instrumental "Exus Trek". He also co-authored the Staples Singers hit, "Respect Yourself". (heart failure) b. March 19th 2007.
2008: Mia Permanto (19) Finnish singer, radio host and was placed sixth in the Idols finals of 2007. She can be heard on the single "Rising Sun" released by Heikki Liimatainen in October 2007. She can also be heard on The Prophecy album by Cristal Snow. She had started to record an album with Helsinki Music Works just before her death (cause of death not released) b. April 21st 1988.
2009: Ion Dolanescu (65) Romanian singer and politician; popular East European traditional folk music singer having recorded 9 hit singles, the last 3 of which feature Maria Ciobanu. Since 2000 he has also been a member of parliment as deputy of the Committee for Culture, Arts, and Mass Media (heart attack) b. January 25th 1944.
2011: Hugh Reskymer "Kym" Bonython (90) Australian radio broadcaster, jazz musician, speedway rider and driver, music promoter born in Adelaide. At the age of 17, in 1937, he entered the media with an ABC radio jazz show.The show continued for 38 years, finishing in 1975. His involvement in the jazz scene also extended to making and selling music; in 1952 he became a member of a jazz band as drummer and he opened his first record store in 1954. His passion for music also led him to create his own concert promotion company, Aztec Services, in the 1950s, and as a promoter he brought to Adelaide some of the greats of jazz, including Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Later, at the urging of his children, he expanded his range to rock n roll, bringing the likes of Chuck Berry to Adelaide, and he was one of the key people negotiating the addition of Adelaide to The Beatles Australian tour 1964. Kym gained a reputation as a daredevil partially through another of his interests: motor racing. He raced Speedcars at the Rowley Park Speedway at Bowden, which he also managed from 1954 to 1973 (?) b. September 15th 1920.
2013: Floyd "Buddy" McRae (85) American tenor singer and the surviving member the 1950s doo wop group, The Chords. He formed his first group, the Keynotes, when he was a student at P.S. 99. After which he, along with Carl and Claude Feaster, Jimmy Keyes and William "Ricky" Edwards formed The Chords '51, but they were not discovered until three years later, when they were spotted singing in a subway station and landed them a recording contract with Atlantic Records' Cat Records label. Their only hit was "Sh-Boom" a song which they penned themselves. By the end of June 1954, "Sh-Boom" had climbed up the charts nationwide, charting on both the R&B at No.3 and pop chart at No.9. As well as being sound of the summer of 1954, "Sh-Boom" was used as a campaign song by NYC Mayor Robert Wagner. They later changed their name to the Chordcats. They regrouped several times over they years after splitting in 1959 but sadly despite all their efforts, remained archetypal one-hit wonder. He went on to operate a bar-club in NYC, as well as a martial arts studio (?) b. October 1st 1927.
2013: David Parland aka Blackmoon (42) Swedish metal guitarist; he was a founding member of death metal band Necrophobic in 1989, releasing thier first album The Nocturnal Silence in 1993. He quit the band in 1995 to concentrate on Dark Funeral, which he was one of the main founding members of in 1993. Before he left he had written most of the material for their next album Darkside it was released by Necrophobic in 1997, although David himself did not participate as a musician on the album. He left Dark Funeral in 1996, after recording an EP and the album The Secrets of the Black Arts. He next founded two more bands, War and black metal band Infernal. David also ran the small underground cult record label Hellspawn Records from 1994 to 2002, releasing albums from bands such as Abruptum and his own Dark Funeral (the cause of death is not as yet known, but it has been suggested that it was suicide) b. September 26th 1970.

March 20th.
1963: Jimmy Donley (33) American singer-songwriter a native of Gulfport, Mississippi, he began his musical career playing in local bars. He served briefly in the Army before being discharged on psychological grounds, then revived his musical career. He wrote many songs, such as "Born To Be A Loser", that went on to be hits by other artists, including Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis. Some of his songs were credited to Rev. J. Charles Jessup, a preacher to whom Jimmy sold the rights to. (Jimmy was prone to heavy drinking bouts and depression, tragically he committed suicide, by asphyxiating himself with his car's exhaust fumes) b. August 17th 1929.
1978: Robert Gilbert/Robert David Winterfeld (78) German composer of light music, a lyricist, singer, and actor born in Berlin (?) b. September 29th 1899
1970: Manolis Chiotis (50) Greek singer, Rebetiko composer and a virtuoso on the guitarist and bouzouki. He first started playing on the violin, eventually moved on to the guitar and the bouzouki. Manolis began his stage and recording career in 1937, at age of 16, playing with Bayanderas. A year later, in 1938, he recorded his first song "De les to nai kai 'sy". As a result of the shut down of the record companies in Greece, because of the German Occupation, he was already one of the major musicians and played Bouzouki and Guitar in many recordings, besides his own. His career took-off after the German Occupation. He has composed many great songs that became timeless hits, including "O Pasatémpos" , "Apópse Fíla me", "Miázis san Thálassa", "Vouno me vouno" to mention a few. He also started to play and popularized the four-course bouzouki (type of bouzouki with 8 metal strings which are arranged in 4 pairs) after 1959. His second Mary Linda also sang many of his hits. Manolis is known as an incredible virtuoso on both the bouzouki and the guitar. (?) b. March 21st 1920.
1981: Sonny Red Kyner (48) American alto saxophonist born in Detroit City; he was associated with the hard bop idiom having success in the 1960s as a leader recording albums 'Out of the Blue'-1957, 'The Mode'-1960 and 'Sonny Red'-1970. He recorded four albums with Donald Byrd: 'The Creeper','Mustang!', 'Blackjack', and 'Slow Drag', as well as recording albums with the likes of Curtis Fuller, Mosaic, Bill Hardman, Yusef Lateef, Paul Quinichette, Bobby Timmons and Frank Wess but sadly Sonny fell into obscurity by the late 70s (?) b. December 17th 1932.
1987: Norman Harris (39) an American guitarist, producer, arranger, songwriter, and orchestra conductor associated with Philly soul; born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania he was a founding member of MFSB releasing thier debut album MFSB in 1973. He was also one-third of the production trio of Baker-Harris-Young. While at Philadelphia Soul, Norman produced the likes of First Choice, Loleatta Holloway, Eddie Holman, the Salsoul Orchestra, and Love Committee for Salsoul Records, as well as Carl Bean, The Trammps, Blue Magic, 21st Creation (died of cardiovascular disease) b. October 14th 1947.
1988: Gil Evans/Ian Ernest Gilmore Green (75) Canadian jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, in Toronto, active in the United States. He played an important role in the development of cool jazz, modal jazz, free jazz and jazz fusion, and collaborated extensively with Miles Davis. From 1957 onwards Gil recorded over 2 dozen albums under his own name, debuting with the album Big Stuff aka Gil Evans & Ten in 1957. His 1986 album, Bud and Bird, won the Grammy award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band in 1989. In the 1970s, he worked in the free jazz and jazz-rock idioms, he had a particular interest in the work of rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix. and in 1974, he released an album of his arrangements of music by Hendrix. In 1986, he produced and arranged the soundtrack to the film Absolute Beginners, thereby working with such contemporary artists as Sade Adu, Patsy Kensit's Eight Wonder, The Style Council, Jerry Dammers, Smiley Culture, Edward Tudor-Pole, and, notably, David Bowie. In 1986, he was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame and in 1987, Gil recorded a live CD with Sting, featuring big band arrangements of songs by and with The Police (he sadly died in the Mexican city, Cuernavaca) b. May 13th 1912.
1991: Billy Butler (65) American soul-jazz-blues guitarist born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; he played with The Harlemaires, Tommy Flanagan, tenor saxophonist Floyd "Candy" Johnson, Jimmy Smith, Houston Person, organist Harry "Doc" Bagby, Benny Goodman, David "Fathead" Newman, Bill Doggett, King Curtis and others. He also co-wrote, the 1956 R&B hit "Honky Tonk" with Bill Doggett. Billy was with the Doggett band from 1954 to 1964 and they recorded many albums together (?) b. December 15th 1925.
1992: Georges Delerue (67) French film composer born in Roubaix. He composed over 350 scores for cinema and TV winning many important awards including Rome Prize in 1949, Emmy Award in 1968 - Our World, Genie Award in 1986 - Sword Of Gideon, ACE Award in 1991 - The Josephine Baker Story and an Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1979 for A Little Romance and 4 other Academy Nominations for Anne of the Thousand Days, The Day of the Dolphin, Julia and Agnes of God. Georges was the first and perhaps the only composer to win 3 consecutive Cesar Awards together and an Academy in the same year in 1979 with Get Out Your Handkerchiefs and A Little Romance; 1980-Love on the Run; and 1981-The Last Metro plus 5 other Cesar Nominations (died of a heart attack) b. March 12th 1925.
1998: George Howard (41) American jazz soprano saxophonist born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; George originally trained on clarinet and bassoon before deciding on the soprano sax. He had been inspired by the likes of John Coltrane, Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Eddie Harris, Grover Washinton Jr and Wayne Shorter and worked as session player for Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Leon Huff, Dexter Wansel, First Choice and Blue Magic, before 1979 when the great Grover Washinton Jr invited him on a tour, a tour which helped establish his name. George concentrated on the soulful side of jazz, and released his first solo studio album, Asphalt Gardens in 1982, followed by Steppin' Out in 1984, both albums charted on the Billboard jazz album charts at No. 25 and No. 9. But his third album, Dancing in the Sun, had scaled the Billboard Jazz Album chart to No.1. by 1985. This fine acheivement was repeated by his next three albums, Love Will Follow-1986; A Nice Place to Be-1986; and Reflections-1988. George recorded seven more studio albums before "There's a Riot Goin' On", his final album, was released by Blue Note Records on April 21st 1998, one month after his death. This tribute to Sly Stone was well ahead of it's time in the smooth jazz genre. (George sadly died of lymphoma) b. September 15th 1956.
2000: Gene "Eugene" Andrusco (38) Canadian born actor, record producer, composer, singer and guitarist, he was maybe best known as the leader of the funky christian rock band Adam Again; he was also a member of The Swirling Eddies credited as Prickly Disco and the following year, Gene, along with Derri Daugherty, Terry Scott Taylor, and Michael Roe, formed the alt-country supergroup, the Lost Dogs. He produced for soul/R&B pioneer Jon Gibson on the album Love Education''. Gene had also been a child actor appearing in such programs as Bewitched, The Screaming Woman-TV Movie, Gidget Gets Married-TV Movie, Jake and the Fatman, The Bold Ones and Cannon. he was also a voice actor, lending his voice to several animated series, including Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, The Barkleys and The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (Gene tragically passed away in his sleep after suffering headaches the day before) b. April 6th 1961.
2009: Mel Brown (69) American blues guitarist; he started guitar in his early teens while battling meningitis, studying the music of idols like B. B. King and T-Bone Walker. In 1960, he toured with The Olympics, followed by a two years with Etta James. By 1963 he had become a wanted session musician playing/ recording for artists from Bobby Darin to T-Bone Walker. In '71 he paired up with fellow guitarist Herb Ellis recording a series of LPs including ''Big Foot Country Gal'', ''The Wizard'', and ''I'd Rather Suck My Thumb'', they worked on various projects over 12 years. In the years to follow, he backed artists from Buddy Guy to Stevie Ray Vaughan to Clifton Chenier. In 1986, Brown accepted Albert Collins' offer to join his band the Icebreakers, recording Cold Snap before returning to Antone's. In 1989, he resumed his solo career with "If It's All Night, It's All Right". Then in early 1990, Mel relocated to Canada, where he formed a new band, the Homewreckers. He was nominated for a Juno Award in both 2001 and 2002 and on April 3 2008 Mel performed on stage with Buddy Guy in Kitchener Ontario mesmerizing the crowd. Buddy Guy left the stage for Mel to finish the show to a Standing Ovation (emphysema) b. October 7th 1939.
2011: Ralph Mooney (82) American steel guitarist, one of the architects of the 'Bakersfield sound' of country music, a louder, more rhythmically propulsive version of the music coming out of Nashville in the '50s. His steel guitar work can be heard on dozens of country music hits by artists including Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Wynn Stewart and Wanda Jackson before he joined Waylon Jennings' band for a 20-year stint. As a songwriter, Mooney co-wrote the country classic "Crazy Arms," which became a No. 1 hit for Ray Price in 1956, and has been recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis, Willie Nelson and numerous others (sadly died of cancer) b. September 16th 1928.
2011: Johnny Pearson (85) British composer, orchestra leader and pianist born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. He led the Top of the Pops orchestra for sixteen years, wrote a catalogue of library music, and had many of his pieces used as the theme music to television series. In 1964 Johnny as pianist along with John Schroeder assembled Sounds Orchestral, a British studio-based easy listening group. The following year they had a No.5 hit with "Cast Your Fate to the Wind". Then in 1966 he took charge of the Top Of The Pops Orchestra. This would be a position he would fill for the next fifteen years, finally leaving the series in late 1981. As leader of the Johnny Pearson Orchestra, he reached No.8 in the UK chart in early 1972 with "Sleepy Shores", the theme from the television series Owen, M.D.1971-73. The Johnny Pearson Orchestra, which as a musical project was begun in 1972, ran side by side with his other projects. At the time, these projects included working on albums with John Schroeder for Sounds Orchestral and also providing library music to Britain's KPM Records. He was a successful composer of theme music for television series, including 3-2-1, All Creatures Great and Small, Captain Pugwash, Monday Night Football, Mary Mungo & Midge and ITN's News at Ten/"The Awakening". In 1984, he assembled another orchestra, the Johnny Pearson Studio Orchestra, and contributed to John Paul Jones' motion picture soundtrack, Scream For Help. Following this, during 1985, he worked on producing music for the BBC TV production drama Maelstrom. In 1996, he recorded a CD of library music, for the radio and tv industry, titled Simply Piano. This was followed in 2005 by another CD titled Simply Piano 2. (?) b. June 18th 1925.
2013: Liu Qiu Yi (55) Malaysian singer, born in Kluang, Johor, Qiu Yi entered the music industry after winning a singing competition. She released her debut album in 1979 and eventually became one of the top Chinese singers in Malaysia and Singapore. She was one of the first Malaysians to enter the music scene in China, selling a remarkable two millions albums. She recorded more than 40 albums in her career, and her Mandarin version of Ave Maria is still a favourite at Chinese wedding banquets (Liu Qiu was diagnosed with third-stage cancer in April last year. She underwent surgery in May and started receiving chemotherapy treatment, but in January she slipped into a coma, and so sadly never woke up) b. 1958.
2013: Risë Stevens/Risë Steenberg (99) American operatic mezzo-soprano, born in New York City; she was engaged as a member of the Vienna State Opera ensemble at the Teatro Colón in 1938 as Octavian and in 1938 made her début with the Metropolitan Opera in Philadelphia as Mignon. Three days later at the MET in NY City, she sang Octavian opposite Lotte Lehmann. The Hollywood film industry produced a few films for her, including The Chocolate Soldier in 41, and Going My Way in 44 with Bing Crosby. For over two decades, until 1961, Risë was the Met's leading mezzo-soprano and the only mezzo to get top billing and commensurate fees normally awarded only to star sopranos and tenors. On October 22nd 1977, she was awarded the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit and was made a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1990 (-) b. June 11th 1913.
2013: Emílio Santiago (66) Brazilian singer he released the first single in 1973 with songs "Transa de amor" and "Saravá Nega", which caused major interests in radio and TV programs. In 1975 he began to record forgotten songs of enshrined composers as Ivan Lins, João Donato, Jorge Benjor, Nelson Cavaquinho, Guilherme de Brito, Marcos Valle and Paulo Sergio, among others. In 1985, he was chosen as the best performer in the "Festival of Festivals", TV Globo with the song "Elis, Elis". His biggest success came in 1988, when he released the LP Brazilian "Aquarela Brasileira" (Brazilian Watercolor) by Som Livre, a special project of seven volumes devoted exclusively to the repertoire of Brazilian music, the project sold over four million copies (Emílio suffered a stroke on March 7th 2013, at first he seemed to be responding to treatment, but his health worsened and sadly he died in Samaritan Hospital, Rio de Janeiro) b. December 6th 1946
2013: Eddie Bond (79) American rockabilly singer born in Memphis, TN; in the mid 1950s, he recorded for Mercury Records and toured with Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Warren Smith and others. He is infamous for having rejected the then 18-year-old Elvis Presley, who was auditioning for Eddie's band. His contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Eddie was also a successful radio deejay and radio station owner (sadly he died of Alzheimer's disease) b. July 1st 1933.

March 21st.
1934: Franz Schreker (55) Austrian composer, conductor, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, his style is characterized by aesthetic plurality- a mixture of romanticism, naturalism, symbolism, impressionism, expressionism and neue sachlichkeit; timbral experimentation, strategies of extended tonality and conception of total music theatre into the narrative of 20th-century music. His fame and influence were at their peak during the early years of the Weimar Republic when he was the most performed living opera composer after Richard Strauss. The decline of his artistic fortunes began with the mixed reception given to Irrelohe under Otto Klemperer in 1924 and the failure of Der singende Teufel in Berlin, 1928 under Erich Kleiber. After decades in obscurity, he has begun to enjoy a considerable revival in reputation in the German-speaking world and in the United States. (died after suffering from a stroke) b. March 23rd 1878.
1936: Alexander Glazunov (70) Russian composer of the late Russian Romantic period, music teacher and conductor. He served as director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 and 1928 and was also instrumental in the reorganization of the institute into the Petrograd Conservatory, then the Leningrad Conservatory, following the Bolshevik Revolution. He continued heading the Conservatory until 1930, though he had left the Soviet Union in 1928 and did not return. The best known student under his tenure during the early Soviet years was Dmitri Shostakovich (?) b. August 10th 1865.
1951: Willem Mengelberg (79) Dutch conductor, in addition to his acclaimed recordings of Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben, Mengelberg left valuable discs of symphonies by Beethoven and Brahms, not to mention a wildly controversial but gripping reading of Bach's St Matthew Passion. His most characteristic performances are marked by a tremendous expressiveness and freedom of tempo, perhaps most remarkable in his recording of Mahler's Fourth Symphony but certainly present in the aforementioned St Matthew Passion and other performances as well. These qualities, shared (perhaps to a lesser extent) by only a handful of other conductors of the era of sound recording, such as Wilhelm Furtwängler and Leonard Bernstein, make much of his work unusually controversial among classical music listeners; recordings that more mainstream listeners consider unlistenable will be hailed by others as among the greatest recordings ever made (?) b. March 28th 1871
1981: King Pleasure/Clarence Beeks (58) American jazz vocalist and an early master of vocalese, where a singer sings words to a famous instrumental solo. Born as in Oakdale, Tennessee, he moved to New York City in the mid-1940s where he first achieved popularity by singing the Eddie Jefferson vocalese classic "Moody's Mood for Love," based on a James Moody saxophone solo to "I'm in the Mood for Love". His recording in 1952 is considered a jazz classic. He cites Jefferson as an influence and predecessor. He and Betty Carter also recorded a famous vocalese version of "Red Top," a jazz classic penned by Kansas Citian Ben Kynard and recorded by Gene Ammons and others. He recorded King Pleasure 'Sings/Annie Ross Sings', 'Moody's Mood for Love' and 'Golden Days' King was cited as a significant influence by Van Morrison, especially on his album Astral Weeks(?) b. March 24th 1922
1987: Dean Paul Martin Jr (35) American singer, tennis player, actor, a military pilot, and son of the legendary Dean Martin; born in Santa Monica; at the age of thirteen he joined Desi Arnaz Jr. and Billy Hinsche in the pop group Dino, Desi, & Billy, which had a few minor nationwide hits between 1965 and 1968, landing in the Top 30 twice. After which in his late teens he began to go by his given name of Dean Paul instead of the nickname "Dino". He became a successful tennis player, competing in a junior competition at Wimbledon; and an actor. He co-starred with Ali MacGraw in the 1979 film Players, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best New Star of the Year-Male and later starred in the TV series Misfits of Science (He had obtained his pilot's license at age 16 and became an officer in the California Air National Guard in 1981. He died when his National Guard F-4 Phantom fighter jet crashed in California's San Bernardino Mountains during a snowstorm, killing him and his Weapons Systems Officer, Ramon Ortiz.) b. November 17th 1951.
1991: Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender (81) Greek-American inventor who founded Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, now known as Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, and later founded MusicMan and G&L Musical Products (G&L Guitars). His guitar, bass, and amplifier designs from the 1950s continue to dominate popular music more than half a century later. "The Strat" he asked his customers what new features they would want on the Telecaster. The large number of replies, along with the continued popularity of the Telecaster, caused him to leave the Telecaster as it was and to design a new, upscale solid body guitar to be sold alongside the basic Telecaster instead. Western swing guitarist Bill Carson was one of the chief critics of the Telecaster, stating that the new design should have individually adjustable bridge saddles, four or five pickups, a vibrato unit that could be used in either direction and return to proper tuning, and a contoured body for enhanced comfort over the slab-body Telecaster's harsh edges. Leo and draughtsman Freddie Tavares began designing the new guitar in late 1953, which would address most of Carson's ideas and would also include a rounder, less "club-like" neck and a double cutaway for easier reach to the upper registers. Released in 1954, the Stratocaster has been in continuous production ever since. The Electric Bass: Leo also conceived an instrument that would prove to be essential to the evolution of popular music with the Precision Bass (or "P-Bass"), released in 1951. Up until this time, bassists had been left to playing acoustically resonating double basses/upright basses. Unlike double basses, the Telecaster-based Precision Bass was small and portable, and its solid body construction and four magnet, single coil electronic pickup allowed it to be amplified at higher volumes without the feedback issues normally associated with acoustic instruments. Along with the Precision Bass, so named because its fretted neck allowed bassists to play with 'precision'. The P-Bass and its accompanying amplifier were the first widely-produced of their kind, and it was the first bass to be fretted like a guitar; arguably, it remains one of the most popular basses in music today. 1960 saw the release of the Jazz Bass, a sleeker, updated bass with a slimmer neck, and offset waist body and two single coil pickups, as opposed to the Precision Bass and its split-humbucking pickup that had been introduced in 1957. Like its predecessor, the Jazz Bass/"J-Bass" was an instant hit and has remained popular to this day, and early models are highly sought after by collectors (complications of Parkinson's disease) b. August 10th 1909.
1992: Natalie Allyn Sleeth (61) American composer, born in Evanston, Illinois. She began to study the piano at the early age of four. Later in her life, she received an Academic major in music and a BA in music theory at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. One of her best-known anthems for choir is entitled "Joy in the Morning" and was written for the West Virginia Wesleyan College concert chorale on the occasion of her husband's inauguration as the president of West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1977. Another favorite, sung widely in the United Church of Canada is "In the Bulb There is a Flower" (?) b. October 29th 1930
2002: John "Speedy" Keen (57) UK vocalist, songwriter, drummer for Thunderclap Newman, a band The Who's guitarist Pete Townshend created in 1969, to play and record songs written by 'Speedy' who had been The Who's roadie and chauffeur for Peter. Originally Peter Townsend played bass for the band under the pseudonym Bijou Drains. Speedy wrote The Who's "Armenia City in the Sky", the only song The Who ever performed that was specifically written for the group by a non-member. Speedy's mega hit song "Something In The Air" appeared on the soundtracks of the films The Magic Christian (1969),The Strawberry Statement (1970) Kingpin (1996), Almost Famous (2000), The Dish (2000) and The Girl Next Door (2004). Speedy went on to be record producer for The Heartbreakers and Motörhead.(died suddenly of heart failure) b. March 29th 1945.
2004: Johnny Bristol (65) US singer, songwriter and record producer for the Motown label, later signing with MGM. He started out recording locally, with the Detroit label Anna in 1959, owned by Gwen Gordy and Billy Davis and also for Gwen Gordy and Harvey Fuqua's Tri-Phi label. The 2 labels were absorbed by Berry Gordy's Motow, here Johnny had many hits both as a producer and songwriter including Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Your Precious Love", Edwin Starr's "Twenty-Five Miles", Gladys Knight & the Pips' "I Don't Want To Do Wrong" and David Ruffin's "My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)". After leaving Motown in 1973 he joined CBS as a producer, before signing a recording contract with MGM. Later he had much success in Europe especially with the release of "Man Up in the Sky", and a cover of the his penned "What Does it Take to Win Your Love", originally a hit for Jr. Walker & the All Stars. Johnny 's last releases were a 12" single in 1991 for Whichway Records, "Come to Me", and an album Life & Love released for the Japanese market in 1993 (he died of natural causes) b. February 3rd 1939.
2005: Robert Waltrip "Bobby" Short (80) American cabaret singer and pianist known for his interpretation of songs by 20th century composers such as Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke and George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin. He also championed African-American composers of the same period such as Eubie Blake, James P. Johnson, Andy Razaf, Fats Waller and Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. In 1972 he sung the theme song in James Ivory's film "Savages" and in 1986 he appeared in the Woody Allen film Hannah and Her Sisters", then Woody Allen used his recording "I Happen To Like New York" for opening title of '''Manhattan Murder Mystery'' in 1993. (sadly died of leukemia) b. September 15th 1924
2008: Shusha 'Shamsi' Guppy (72) Persian writer, editor and a singer of Persian and Western folk-songs. At the age of 17 she studied Oriental languages and philosophy in Paris and also trained as an opera singer. In Paris she encountered artists, writers and poets such as Louis Aragon, Jose Bergamin, Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus and encouraged by Jacques Prévert to record albums of Persian folk songs, and subsequently chansons and old French songs. Her first British release, in 1971, was an album of traditional Persian music, previously released in France. In 1976 Shamsi relocated to London, and was very influenced by the Folk Revival, she wrote and sung some of her own songs, as well as covering the works of many contemporary singer/song-writers. She recorded 9 albums and gave successful concerts in Britain, America and Europe (?) b. December 24th 1935.
2008: John Fowler (42) American drummer; he was a member of the band Rage of Angels, before becoming a founding member of Steelheart playing on the bands first two albums ''Steelheart'' & ''Tangled In Reins''. He left the band to play with ''Voodoo Jets'' and ''Smoke and Hipnotic'' with whom he was playing with when sadly, he fell into a fatel coma (brain aneurysm) b. 1965
2008: Klaus Dinger (61) German drummer, multi-musician and songwriter born in Scherfede, brought up in Düsseldorf. Influenced by UK rock acts such as The Kinks and The Rolling Stones, in 1966 he formed a band The No, with friends Norbert Körfer, Lutz Bellman and Jo Maassen. In 1969 The No split up and he joined cover band The Smash and began touring southern Germany. In 1970 he joined Kraftwerk as their drummer. After which he began the recording sessions with the band which would become Neu!. He made 3 albums with Neu!. Klaus's most famous, successful, and acclaimed post-Neu! act would be La Düsseldorf. They released a string of successful albums, with sales totaling over a million, in the late 70's and early 80's: La Düsseldorf, Viva, and Individuellos. Klaus then released two solo albums "Neondian" and "Blue". In the 90s he launched the band La! Neu?, releasing 7 albums on Captain Trip Records (Sadly he died from heart failure 3 days before his birthday) b. March 24th 1946.
2010: Wolfgang Wagner (90) German opera director, best known as the Festspielleiter/director of the Bayreuth Festival, a position he initially assumed alongside his brother Wieland in '51 until the latter's death in '66. From then on, he assumed total control until he retired in 2008, although many of the productions which he commissioned were severely criticized in their day. He helped make the Bayreuth one of the most popular destinations in the world of opera. There was a ten-year waiting list for tickets. He had been plagued by family conflicts and criticism for many years. He was the son of Siegfried Wagner, the grandson of Richard Wagner, and the great-grandson of Franz Liszt (?) b. August 30th 1919.
2011: Pinetop Perkins/Joseph William Perkins (97) American blues musician born in Belzoni, Mississippi, he began his career as a guitarist, but then injured the tendons in his left arm and switched to the piano, and also switched from Robert Nighthawk's KFFA radio program to Sonny Boy Williamson's King Biscuit Time. In the 1950s, he joined Earl Hooker and began touring, before relocating to Illinois and left music until Hooker convinced him to record again in 1968. In 1969 he joined the Muddy Waters band for 10 years, leaving to form The Legendary Blues Band with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, recording through the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. Pinetop played a brief musical cameo on the street outside Aretha's Soul Food Cafe in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers, having an argument with John Lee Hooker over who wrote "Boom Boom". He also appeared in the 1987 movie Angel Heart as a member of guitarist Toots Sweet's band. In 2008, he received a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album for Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live In Dallas together with David Honeyboy Edwards, Henry James Townsend, and Robert Lockwood, Jr. He was also nominated in the same category for his solo album, Pinetop Perkins on the 88's: Live in Chicago. Then at aged 97, he won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album for Joined at the Hip, an album he recorded with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. At the time of his death, Pinetop had more than 20 performances booked for 2011. (?) b. July 7th 1913.
2011: Loleatta Holloway (64) American soul and disco singer, mainly known for disco songs such as "Hit and Run" and "Love Sensation", both of which have been sampled extensively. In the 1974 her first single from the second album, the ballad "Cry to Me" rose to No.10 Billboard R&B and No.68 on the Hot 100, and "Only You" reached No.11 in 1978. She continued to enjoy success in the 1980s, with "Love Sensation" No.1 US Dance, and No.5 on the UK charts in 1980. Her vocals were used on "Ride on Time" by Black Box, No.1 on the UK charts and Britain's best selling single of 1989, but her contribution went uncredited and she later successfully sued the band. Another number one single came when Mark Wahlberg's group, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, featured her voice on 1991's "Good Vibrations" (sadly lost to heart failure, after a brief illness) b. November 5th 1946.
2011: Kjeld Tolstrup (45) Danish radio disc jockey; he became one of the biggest names in Danish DJ circle in the 1980s performing at Ministry of Sound in London, Sensation event in Copenhagen, and a big number of clubs. He also remixed for many artists including C.V. Jørgensen, Love Shop, Cut 'N' Move and Infernal (sadly died after a long illness and suffering a congenital heart defect) b. June 25th 1965.

March 22nd.
1952: Uncle Dave Macon (81) American banjo player, singer, songwriter, and comedian. Known for his plug hat, gold teeth, chin whiskers, and gates-ajar collar, he gained regional fame as a vaudeville performer in the early 1920s before going on to become the first star of the Grand Ole Opry in the latter half of the decade. Born in Smartt Station, Tennessee and sometimes known as The Dixie Dewdrop, his big break came in 1923, during a performance for the shriners in Nashville, he was spotted by Marcus Loew of Loews Theatres who offered him fifteen dollars if he was to perform at a theatre in Alabama. This led to many offers from other theatres in the Loew's Vaudeville circuit. In 1923 he began a tour in the south-eastern States together with fiddler Sid Harkreader and five other acts and recorded 18 tracks with Sid, before joining up with guitarist Sam McGee who was to become Macon's regular recording and performance partner, and between 1924 and 1938 he recorded over 170 songs. On November 6th 1925, they performed at the Ryman Auditorium, the future home of the Grand Ole Opry, for the benefit of the Nashville police force. The successful show took place only three weeks before WSM Grand Ole Opry was founded. Between 1930 and 1952, he was often accompanied by his son Dorris who played the guitar. In 1940 Dave, together with Opry founder George D. Hay, rising Opry star Roy Acuff, and Dorris Macon, received an invitation from Hollywood to take part in the Republic Pictures movie Grand Ole Opry. He continued to perform until March 1st 1952, 3 weeks before his death and he was inducted posthumously into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966 (Dave sadly died at Rutherford County Hospital, his funeral was attended by more than 5000 people and his pallbearers were George D. Hay, Kirk McGee, Roy Acuff, and Bill Monroe) b. October 7th 1870.
1986: Mark Dinning (52) American teen idol, and pop music singer born in Grant, Oklahoma, but grew up on a farm outside of Nashville, Tennessee. In 1960, he recorded "Teen Angel" that was written by his sister Jean and her husband Red Surrey. The lyrics told of the death of a teenage love that radio stations in the United Kingdom deemed too morbid to be aired, but it went to No.1 on the Billboard Charts in the U.S. Despite lack of airplay in the UK, the song reached No.37 on the UK Singles Chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc (sadly died of a heart attack) b. August 17th 1933.
1991: Dave Guard (56) American folk singer, songwriter, arranger and recording artist. Along with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, he was one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio. While an undergraduate at Stanford, Dave started a pickup group with Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane. He called his group Dave Guard and the Calypsonians. He kept the group together after Reynolds and Shane left, changing the name to The Kingston Quartet. Then in 1957, when Reynolds and Shane agreed to team up with him again, the group changed its name to The Kingston Trio. Under contract with Capitol Records, the Trio became a huge commercial and influential success with hits such as songs include "Tom Dooley," "A Worried Man," "Hard Travelin'," "Tijuana Jail," "Greenback Dollar," "Reverend Mr. Black," "Sloop John B.," "Scotch And Soda," "Merry Minuet," "M.T.A.", "Zombie Jamboree", "Hard, Ain't It Hard," "Three Jolly Coachmen," and "Raspberries, Strawberries". In 1961, shortly after leaving the Trio, Dave formed a new group, The Whiskeyhill Singers, They toured and released an album and were asked to perform several folk songs on the Academy Award winning soundtrack of How the West Was Won. Their voices can be heard on "The Erie Canal", "900 miles", "The Ox Driver", "Raise A Ruckus Tonight". Dave performed solo on the tracks "Wanderin'" and "Poor Wayfarin' Stranger". In late 1962 he moved to Sydney, Australia. There he hosted a national TV variety show called Dave's Place. Until his return to the United States in 1968. Through the '80's he continued to make solo performances, along with several "reunions" of the old Kingston Trio. In 2000 The Kingston Trio was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame (lymphatic cancer) b. October 19th 1934.
1994: Dan Hartman (43) American singer, songwriter and record producer; he joined his first band, The Legends, at the age of 13, as keyboardist and wrote much of the band's music, releasing several records. He next joined the Edgar Winter Group and played guitar on three of their albums; he wrote the band's second biggest pop hit "Free Ride" in 1972. A re-recorded version of "Free Ride" was used in the movie, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, in 1995 and Charizard the Dragon in 1998. He launched his solo career in 1976 and in 1978 he reached No.1 on the Dance Charts with the single, "Instant Replay". This was followed by his second chart topper, "Relight My Fire", which later became the theme for the NBC talk show Tomorrow. In 1984, Dave also performed "Heart of the Beat" under the band name 3V with Charlie Midnight for the soundtrack of Breakin' directed by Joel Silberg. In 1985, he scored a third No.1 single on the Dance Music charts, with "We Are The Young." (sadly died of a brain tumor caused by AIDS) b. December 8th 1950.
1996: Don Murray (50) American drummer, best known for his work with The Turtles. He grew up in Inglewood, CA and started playing drums at the age of 15 and became popular playing high school dances with the band The Crossfires. A year later the Crossfires became the Turtles, but the band had troubles playing at most Southern California venues like the Whiskey A Go Go, Troubadores, etc., because all members of the band were under 21. The band opened for larger "British Invasion" bands at first, like Herman's Hermits, Peter & Gordon, etc., before finally getting into "around the country" touring that summer. While in New York City, the band starred at the Phone Booth and met Bob Dylan, whose song "It Ain't Me, Babe" was their first big hit. The group scored its biggest and best-known hit in 1967 with the song "Happy Together" (Don was admitted to a hospital in January 1996 for ulcer surgery, and died two months later from post-operative complications) b. November 8th 1945.
1996: Billy Williamson (71) American steel guitar player for Bill Haley and His Saddlemen and its successor group Bill Haley & His Comets from 1949 to 1963. A founding member of both he often acted as the band's emcee and comic relief during live concerts; he also played lead guitar on occasion. Billy had the distinction of being the only Comet allowed to record lead vocal tracks during Haley's tenure at Decca Records, such as the song "Hide and Seek" on their 1956 album. In 1958, he co-wrote the hit "Week End" with Franny Beecher and Rudy Pompilli, which reached No.35 on the Billboard pop chart when released as a single on East West Records by The Kingsmen, a group made up of The Comets. He co-wrote the follow up single as well, "The Catwalk", with Franny Beecher. His other compositions included "Shaky", "Two Shadows", "Birth of the Boogie", "Pat-a-Cake", "A Rockin' Little Tune", "The Beak Speaks", "Whistlin' and Walkin' Twist", "Hot to Trot", and "Caroline's Pony". He appeared in the movies Rock Around the Clock and Don't Knock the Rock in 1956, "Hier bin ich - hier bleib' ich" (Here I Am, Here I Stay) in 1959, and Jóvenes y rebeldes and Besito a Papa in 1961 (?) b. February 9th 1925.
2005: Rod Price (58) British guitarist; at 21, he joined the British blues band Black Cat Bones, replacing Paul Kossoff, recording one album, 'Barbed Wire Sandwich'. Rod is best known for his years with the band Foghat, he joined Foghat when the group was first formed in London in 1971. He played on the band's first ten albums, released from 1972 through to 1980. Rod began a solo career at the beginning of the 21st century, and returned to his blues roots. He released two CD's, Open in 2002 and West Four in 2003. He toured and performed in blues clubs across the United States, and was featured at guitar seminars and workshops as well during this period. Known as the "Magician of slide" he worked with many other musicians over his career, such as Champion Jack Dupree, John Lee Hooker, Duster Bennett, Eddie Kirkland, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Honey Boy Edwards (died after falling down a flight of stairs and suffering a massive coronary) b. November 22nd 1947.
2006: Pío Leyva/Wilfredo Pascual (88) Cuban singer; he is the author of the well-known guaracha El Mentiroso ("The Liar") and composed some of Cuba’s best known standards. At the age of six he won a bongo contest and made his singing debut in 1932. He recorded over 25 albums since he signed his first contract with RCA Victor in 1950. He also sang with other Cuban artists such as Benny Moré, Bebo Valdés and Noro Morales and was a member of Estrellas de Areito and "Compay Segundo y Sus Muchachos". Pío was part of the Buena Vista Social Club, and took part in the 2004 film Música Cubana, which was marketed as a sequel to Buena Vista Social Club(sadly died of a heart attack) b. May 5th 1917
2008: Israel "Cachao" López (89) Cuban mambo musician, bassist and composer, who has helped bring mambo music to popularity in the United States of America in the early 1950s. From an eight year old bongo player to one of the 2 most sort after bass player in New York, Cachao has played with artists such as Celia Cruz, Bebo Valdes, Tito Puente, Willy Chirino, Paquito D'Rivera, Willie Colon, and his music has been featured on movies such as The Birdcage, and on the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack. Andy García produced two documentaries about this music, Cachao ... Como Su Ritmo No Hay Dos ("With A Rhythm Like No Other") in 1993 and Cachao: Uno Más, which premiered in April 2008 at the San Francisco International Film Festival. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and has been described as "the inventor of the mambo" winning several Grammy Awards for both his own work and his contributions on albums by Latin music stars, including Gloria Estefan. In 1994 he won a Grammy for Master Sessions Volume 1. In 2003 he won a Latin Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album together with Bebo and Patato Valdés for El Arte Del Sabor and he won a further Grammy in 2005, again for his own work (sadly died from renal failure) b. September 14th 1918.
2008: Jason Rae (31) Scottish saxophonist, who played with his band Haggis Horns for the late 8 years of his life. The group have played backing band and toured with the likes of Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Mark Ronson, Nightmares On Wax and Corinne Bailey Rae, who was also Jason's wife. His band had recently released a debut album, "Hot Damn!", at the time of his death. (found dead in his flat in Leeds, UK; a toxicology test has proved inconclusive but West Yorkshire Police suspect he died of a drugs overdose). b. October 19th 1976.
2010: Valentina Tolkunova (63) Russian singer born in Armavir; at the age of 18 she entered Moscow State University and in 1966 became a member of Yury Saulsky's jazz band VIO-66 as a soloist and jazz singer. A performance in 1972 at Moscow's Kolonny Concert Hall, where she sang several songs by Soviet composer Vladimir Shainsky is considered the performance that catapulted her career. Over the next 3 decades or more, Valentina released at least thirteen albums. She also won many awards in Soviet republics and was a 23-time winner of the "Song of the Year" competition on television.She was also bestowed the title of Honored Artist of RSFSR in 1979 and People's Artist of RSFSR in 1987. (On February 16th 2010, Valentina became ill during a concert in Mogilev, Belarus, and went to a local hospital before being transferred to the Botkin Clinic in Moscow. On 22 March, she went into a coma and sadly died two hours later of a brain tumor) b. July 12th 1946.
2011: Frankie Sparcello (?) American metal bassist; he joined the legendary New Orleans' thrash/groove band Exhorder in 1991 just in time to record the basslines for the following year's album The Law. The group broke up a short time later and reformed with its original lineup a few years later. Frankie rejoined Exhorder in 2009 and he was scheduled to perform with the band at this year's Maryland Deathfest IX (?) b. ????
2011: Zoogz Rift (57) American singer, painter and professional wrestler, his musical career was influenced by Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart as well as Salvador Dalí and Ayn Rand. He began his recording career with the album Idiots on the Miniature Golf Course, released by Snout Records in 1979. His long-time collaborators include Richie Häss and John Trubee (the latter being famous for the songshark tune, "A Blind Man's Penis"). He released several albums through SST Records during the 1980s. Keyboard Magazine, in a special "Experimental Music" issue, described Rift's album The Island of Living Puke as "moments of outstanding free-form rock, sandwiched between scrupulously obscene interruptions" (Sadly died after a long battle with diabetes) b. July 10th 1953.
2011: Victor Bouchard (84) Canadian pianist; from 1952 he performed with his wife Renée Morisset, as a piano duo touring Canada, Belgium, Holland and Italy. After debuting at Carnegie Hall, they made many appearances in the United States between 1965 and 1970. Several composers wrote pieces for the duo, including Clermont Pépin's Nombres for two pianos and orchestra - 1963, Roger Matton's Concerto - 1964 and a sonata by Jacques Hétu. For a recording of Matton's concerto, they were awarded the Prix Pierre-Mercure. He was President of the Jeunesses musicales du Canada from 1957 to 1959 and in 1961 became vice president of the Académie de musique du Québec. From 1967 to 1971 he worked for the Ministry of Education of Quebec, and from 1978 to 1980 as the General Director of the Quebec Conservatory. Besides chamber works he composed more than 100 French-Canadian folk songs (Victor sadly died from respiratory disease) b. April 11th 1926.
2012: Johnny McCauley (86) Irish singer-songwriter, born in Fahan, County Donegal, and moved to London as a young adult. In 1953 he began singing with his band, the Westernaires at the Galtymore Club, Cricklewood. He wrote more than 80 songs, including Destination Donegal, Among The Wicklow Hills, Pretty Little Girl From Omagh and Four Country Roads, others include John Wayne and Barry McGuigan tribute songs (?) b. April 23rd 1925.
2013: Bebo Valdés/Ramón Emilio Valdés Amaro (94) Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger, born in born in Quivicán, and started his career as a pianist in the night clubs of Havana during the 1940s.. He was a central figure in the golden age of Cuban music, led two famous big bands, was one of the "house" arrangers for the Tropicana Club and won seven Grammy Awards. His last musical production was recorded with his artist son: 2008’s Bebo y Chucho Valdés: Juntos para Siempre (Together Forever), winner of the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010; they also won the Latin Grammy Award on the same field. (sadly he died with complications from Alzheimer's disease) b. October 9th 1918
2013: Derek Watkins (68) British trumpet player and much in demand session player, Derek Watkins whose horn is heard on the Beatles’ classics ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Penny Lane’, and who Dizzy Gillespie, called "Mr Lead" was born in Reading, Berkshire. He came from a musical background, his grandfather led a brass band and his father played in brass bands and ran a palais band. Derek started to play the cornet at the age of 4, and worked in his father's band at Reading's Majestic Ballroom as a teenager. Over his long career Derek worked with artists and bands of many genre including Eric Clapton, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, >>> Read More <<< (sadly died after a brave two year battle with cancer) b. March 2nd 1945.

March 23rd.
1980: Jacob Miller (23) Jamaican reggae artist well known for his work with Inner Circle; he featured in the film Rockers, alongside many other musicians including Gregory Isaacs, Big Youth and Burning Spear. In the movie, he plays the singer of a hotel house band, in reality Inner Circle, who are joined on drums by the films hero, Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace and play an awesome live version of Inner Circle hit "Tenement Yard". One of his biggest Jamaican hits "Tired Fe Lick Weed" showed his political leanings as can be seen in his performance of the song in the film "Heartland Reggae", where his open enjoyment of a 'ganja spliff' on stage was intended to be seen as a militant statement. He was due to perform along with Bob Marley and Inner Circle in Brazil and then to tour with them; this tour was canceled after Miller's untimely death (car crash) b. May 4th 1952.
1982: Sonny Greer (86)American jazz drummer; he started his career with Elmer Snowden's band and the Howard Theatre's orchestra in Washington, D.C. He met Duke Ellington in 1919 and became the Duke's first drummer, playing in his quintet, the Washingtonians. He moved with Ellington into the Cotton Club, and because of his then second job as a designer with the Leedy Drum Company, he built up a huge drum kit worth over $3,000, as well as chimes, a gong, timpani, and vibes. He stayed with the Duke for over 30 years. In 1950 the two musicians fell out to due to Sonny's heavy drinking and unreliability and they went their separate ways. Sonny worked as a freelance drummer playing with the likes of Johnny Hodges, Red Allen, J. C. Higginbotham, Tyree Glenn, and Brooks Kerr, as well as appearing in films, and briefly leading his own band. He was part of a tribute to The Duke in 1974, which achieved great success throughout the United States (?) b. December 13th 1895.
1985: Zoot Sims/John Haley Sims (59) American jazz saxophonist born in Inglewood, the son of vaudeville performers he learned to play both drums and clarinet at an early age. Throughout his career, he played with renowned bands, including Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Stan Kenton, and Buddy Rich. He replaced his idol Ben Webster in Sid Catlett's Quartet in 1944 and was also one of Woody Herman's "Four Brothers". In the 1950s and '60s, Sims had a long, successful partnership as co-leader of a quintet with Al Cohn, which recorded under the name "Al and Zoot". He frequently led his own combos and sometimes toured with his friend Gerry Mulligan's sextet, and later with Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band. He got the nickname "Zoot" early, while he was in the Kenny Baker band; the name was later appropriated for a sax-playing Muppet (?) b. October 29th 1925.
1994: Donald Swann (70)Welsh composer, musician and entertainer; born in Llanelli, he and Michael Flanders started their working partnership in 1948, writing songs and light opera, Don writing the music and Flanders writing the words. Their songs were performed by artists such as Ian Wallace and Joyce Grenfell. They wrote two two-man revues, At the Drop of a Hat and At the Drop of Another Hat, which they performed all over the world until their partnership ended in 1967. At the same time, Don was maintaining a prolific musical output, writing the music for several operas and operettas, including a full-length version of C.S. Lewis's Perelandra, and a setting of J.R.R. Tolkien's poems from The Lord of the Rings to music in The Road Goes Ever On collection. A life-long friendship with Sydney Carter resulted in scores of songs, the best known being "The Youth of the Heart" which reappeared in At the Drop of A Hat, and a musical Lucy & the Hunter. Throughout the '80s and early 90s he continued performing in various combinations with singers and colleagues and as a solo artist and 'discovered' Victorian poetry and he composed some of his most profound and moving music to the words of William Blake, Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, Oscar Wilde and others. He wrote a number of hymn tunes which appear in modern standard hymn books. It is estimated that Don wrote or set to music nearly 2,000 songs during his career (?) b. September 30th 1923.
1995: Alan Barton (41) English lead singer of hit-making duo Black Lace, alongside Colin Routh, with hits including "Agadoo", "The Music Man" and "Superman". They also represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 in Jerusalem, with the song "Mary Ann", which finished seventh. In 1986, Alan replaced Chris Norman in Smokie recording six albums with them, and touring extensively as their lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist. He was also the lead singer on Smokie's revival of their hit, "Living Next Door To Alice", recorded with British comedian Roy 'Chubby' Brown, as "Who The Fuck is Alice". In 1991 he released his only solo album, "Precious" and two singles: "July 69" and "Carry Your Heart" ft Kristine Pettersen (on his way to Dusseldorf airport the band tour bus careered off the road in a freak hailstorm. Alan died 5 days later while in intesive care) b. September 16th 1953.
2002: Eileen Farrell (82) American opera and concert soprano singer, she preferred the concert hall and radio to the theatre. Born in Willimantic, Connecticut, but raised in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, in 1942 she made her concert debut on CBS radio where she soon presented her own radio program. During 1947–1948, she toured the US as a concert singer, and in 1949 she toured South America. Her song recital in New York in October 1950 was enthusiastically acclaimed and secured for her immediate recognition. That year, she also appeared in a concert performance of Berg's Wozzeck as Marie. In 1952, she was engaged by Toscanini for his first and only studio recording of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. In the 1955 film Interrupted Melody, which starred Eleanor Parker as Australian soprano Marjorie Lawrence, Eileen supplied the singing voice for Ms. Parker. Throughout the 1960s she was a frequent soloist with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Leonard Bernstein. From 1971 to 1980, Eileen was professor of music at the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington. In the 1980's she recorded some pop albums and also made several recordings of blues music as well as the duet with Frank Sinatra on his "Trilogy" album, in which they sang a version of the country music hit "For the Good Times" (?) b. February 13th 1920.
2006: Cindy Walker (87) American singer, songwriter, dancer. The list of artists who have recorded Cindy's work reads like a "who's who" of American giants: from frequent collaborator Bob Wills to Roy Rogers, Webb Pierce, Eddy Arnold and Elvis, her co-writers and musical partners turned to her often for her signature hooks and poignant story-telling. Cindy's renowned pieces include "Take Me in Your Arms (and Hold Me)," "Cherokee Maiden," "You Don't Know Me,""In the Misty Moonlight," "Dream Baby", "Sugar Moon," "Distant Drums" and "I Don't Care." She wrote over 50 songs for Wills, the bandleader for the Texas Playboys, and garnered a new wave of media attention in recently (2006)because of Willie Nelson's newest album, Songs of Cindy Walker. Many are calling the project Nelson's best work in decade. Cindy was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997 (?) b. 20 July 1918.
2006: Pio Leyva/Wilfredo Pascual (88) Cuban singer, born in Morón, Cuba; he was part of the Buena Vista Social Club, and author of the well-known guaracha El Mentiroso ("The Liar"). He won a bongo contest at the age of six and made his singing debut in 1932. Pio recorded over 25 albums since he signed his first contract with RCA Victor in 1950. He sang with other Cuban artists including Benny Moré, Bebo Valdés, Noro Morales and was a member of Estrellas de Areito and "Compay Segundo y Sus Muchachos". He also took part in the 2004 film Música Cubana, which was marketed as a sequel to Buena Vista Social Club (heart attack) b. May 5th 1917.
2010: Blanche Thebom (91) American mezzo-soprano born in Monessen, Pennsylvania. Blanche sang with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City for almost twenty years and is well known for her performance of the role of Brangane in Tristan und Isolde in a recording with Kirsten Flagstad and Ludwig Suthaus, conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler . After her retirement from the Metropolitan 1960, she taught and directed opera performance in Atlanta and Little Rock until around 1980. She also appeared in summer theatre revivals of Broadway musicals such as The Sound of Music, as the Mother Abbess in Atlanta (?) b. September 19th 1918.
2010: Marva Wright (62) American blues singer, Marva sang all her life, starting as a child at home and in church, but she didn’t start her professional career as a blues singer until 1987, when she began singing on Bourbon Street and became the powerhouse of New Orleans' blues and gospel scene. She made her first recording, "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean" in 1989 and made her debut on national television in 1991. Also that year her debut album "Heartbreakin' Woman", was honored by the Louisiana Music Critics Association as Blues Album of the Year. Marva went on to gig across the world, in France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Russia, Norway, Sweden, and Brazil. Her appearances in the U.S. include Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York, Texas, California, Vermont, Colorado, and Florida. She has worked with many artists including Joe Cocker, Glen Campbell, Allen Toussaint, Harry Connick Jr., Bobby McFerrin, Aaron Neville, Fats Domino, Lou Rawls, and Marcia Ball. Marva released 9 albums over her career, the last being "After the Levees Broke" in 2007, one of the first albums by a New Orleans artist to fully address the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (Marva sadly died from complications after suffering two strokes last summer) b. March 20th 1948.
2012: Eric Lowen (60) American singer and songwriter, one half of the song writing duo, Lowen & Navarro. They wrote the song "We Belong," which became a major hit for Pat Benatar in 1984. They became active as a performing group in 1987. In 1990, they began to release a number of records of their own, including "Learning To Fall" and "Purpose" (sadly Eric died from complications of ALS) b. October 23rd 1951.ay

March 24th.
1962: John Jean Goldkette (69) Greece jazz pianist and bandleader born in Patras, he spent his childhood in Greece and Russia, and emigrated to America in 1911. He led many jazz and dance bands, of which the best known was his Victor Recording Orchestra of 1924 – 1929, which included, at various times, Bix Beiderbecke, Hoagy Carmichael, Chauncey Morehouse, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Bill Rank, Eddie Lang, Frankie Trumbauer, Pee Wee Russell, Steve Brown, Joe Venuti, and arranger Robert Ginzler among others. He led many jazz and dance bands, of which the best known was his Victor Recording Orchestra of 1924 – 1929. John later helped organize McKinney's Cotton Pickers and Glen Gray's Orange Blossoms, which became famous as the Casa Loma Orchestra. In the 1930s he left jazz to work as a booking agent and classical pianist. In 1939, he organized the American Symphony Orchestra which debuted at Carnegie Hall (sadly died of a heart attack) b. March 18th 1893.
1972: Linda Jones (26) American soul singer; she started in her family's gospel group the Jones Singers at the age of six. Her first recording was "Lonely Teardrops" under the name Linda Lane, on Cub Records in 1963, and she had unsuccessful singles on Atco Records in 1964 and Blue Cat Records the following year. She signed with Warner Bros. Records subsidiary Loma Records in 1967 at age 27 and released the biggest of several hits, "Hypnotized". Soon after her career took off, however, she was diagnosed with diabetes (slipped into a diabetic coma while at home resting between shows, she was rushed to hospital, but sadly passed away) b. December 14th 1944.
1993: Albert Arlen AM (88) Australian pianist, composer, actor and playwright born in Sydney. He is best known for his musical ''The Sentimental Bloke'', to the poetry of C.J. Dennis; the "Alamein Concerto"; and his setting of Banjo Paterson’s ''Clancy of the Overflow''(?) b. January 10th 1905.
1997: Harold Melvin (57) American soul singer; he was one of the driving forces behind Philadelphia soul, leading his group the Blue Notes. The group formerly known as The Charlemagnes took on the name "The Blue Notes" in 1954, with a lineup consisting of Harold as lead singer, Bernard Wilson, Roosevelt Brodie, Jesse Gillis, Jr., and Franklin Peaker. The 1960 single "My Hero" was a minor hit and 1965's "Get Out (and Let Me Cry)" was an R&B hit. In 1970, Harold recruited Teddy Pendergrass as the drummer for their backing band. That same year Teddy took over as lead singer from John Atkins. The group had a string of hits "If You Don't Know Me By Now", "I Miss You", "The Love I Lost", and "Don't Leave Me This Way", and socially conscious songs such as "Wake Up Everybody" and "Bad Luck" which holds the record for longest-running number-one hit on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart eleven weeks (he suffered a stroke and never fully recovered) b. June 25th 1939.
2008: Neil Aspinall (66) English school friend of George Harrison and Paul McCartney; he started out running them to local gigs in his old Commer van. He soon became road manager, then personal assistant, later he became a record producer and the chief executive of their company, Apple Corps. Although not a musician, he made minor contributions to a handful of The Beatles' recordings. He played a tamboura on "Within You Without You", harmonica on "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!", some percussion on "Magical Mystery Tour", and was among the many, singing on the chorus of "Yellow Submarine". As well as his work for Apple Corps, Neil and his wife were the sole directors of their own Standby Films Ltd. company, run from their home in Twickenham, London. In 1999, Standby Films released a film about Jimi Hendrix, called Hendrix: Band of Gypsys. (sadly died of lung cancer while in New York City) b. March 24th 2008.
2008: Chalmers "Spanky" Alford (53) American jazz guitarist and three time Grammy award winner. He had a illustrious career as a gospel quartet guitar player in the 1960s, 70's, and 80's with groups such as the Mighty Clouds of Joy among others. Later in life he found a new career in the neo-soul movement of the 90's and 2000's, most notably contributing to the sounds of D'Angelo and Tony Toni Toné. Spanky played guitar as part of The Soultronics, (D'angelo's highly regarded band for his 2000 "Voodoo" tour), alongside Questlove, James Poyser, Pino Palladino and Anthony Hamilton among many others. He was an amazing teacher and is credited with teaching Raphael Saadiq among many others to play guitar. He played on several albums with artists such as Joss Stone, John Mayer, Mary J Blige, Raphael Saadiq, D'Angelo and Roy Hargrove (sadly died of diabetes) b. May 22nd 1955.
2009: Uriel Jones (74) African-American drummer with the Funk Brothers, the studio musicians at Motown Records who played without credit on virtually every hit during that label’s heyday in the 1960s and early 1970s. Born in Detroit, he started out as a boxer and trombonist before taking to the drums. He joined the Funk Brothers around 1963 after touring with Marvin Gaye and he moved up the line as recordings increased and drummer Benny Benjamin's health deteriorated. He had a hard-hitting, funky sound, best heard on the tracks for the hits "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - both versions, by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell in 1967 and the 1970 remake by Diana Ross, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye, "Cloud Nine" by the Temptations, Jr. Walker's "Home Cookin'," "I Second That Emotion" by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, "For Once In My Life" by Stevie Wonder, and many more. He remained in Detroit after Motown left in 1972, and continued to play in local clubs with other Funk Brothers alumni, including keyboardist Earl Van Dyke, who died in 1992. Uriel became better known to worldwide music fans through his memorable appearance in the 2002 feature documentary film, Standing In The Shadows Of Motown. After “Standing in the Shadows” he toured widely with other surviving Funk Brothers. (Uriel sadly died of complications after suffering a heart attack) b. June 13th 1934.
2010: Johnny Maestro/John Mastrangelo (70) American singer born in New York; he began his career in 1957 as the original lead singer of The Crests, one of the first interracial groups of the recording industry. After a regional hit with "My Juanita"/"Sweetest One", and two years of chart success with "16 Candles", "Step by Step", "The Angels Listened In", and "Trouble in Paradise", Johnny left the Crests for a solo career, with Top 40 hits "What A Surprise" and "Model Girl" in 1961 and 1962. He next joined and toured with another New York group, the Del-Satinsas as lead singer. In 1967 they joined forces with the 7 piece brass group The Rhythm Method, calling themselves the Brooklyn Bridge. Their first release, "The Worst That Could Happen" reached No. 3 on the Billboard pop chart. The follow up, "Welcome Me Love", and its flip side, Blessed is the Rain, both charted. A dramatic version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and the controversial "Your Husband, My Wife" also reached the middle ranges of the charts. The group sold over 10 million records by 1972, including LP sales. Appearances on Ed Sullivan, The Della Reese Show and other programs helped to bring the group to the national stage. Johnny with the Brooklyn Bridge continued to perform and tour until his passing. More recently, Johnny and the Brooklyn Bridge were featured in one of PBS's biggest fundraising events ever, "Doo Wop 50", performing both "The Worst That Could Happen" and "Sixteen Candles", the entire program was released on VHS and DVD. In 2004 they released a CD titled "Today", featuring more re-recordings of their hits and versions of other groups' songs of the 1950s and 60's and in 2005, the Brooklyn Bridge released a full concert-length DVD as part of the "Pops Legends Live" series. Johnny recorded his last album with the Brooklyn Bridge in 2009, Today Volume 2. His final performance was January 17th 2010, when The Brooklyn Bridge was among groups appearing at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, billed as "The Ultimate Doo-Wop Party". They were honoured in 2005 being inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame, and again in 2006 when they were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15th (Sadly died while battling cancer) b. May 7th 1939.
2012: Vince Lovegrove (64) Australian journalist, music manager, television producer, AIDS awareness pioneer and pop singer, born in Fremantle, Western Australia. He worked with Perth pop groups, The Dymensions and The Winstons, before forming the rock 'n' roll band The Valentines, sharing vocals with Bon Scott whom he later introduced to rock group AC/DC. As a journalist, he wrote for the teen music newspaper Go-Set from 1971, and was based in London for Immedia! from '94 for over 8 years. As a manager, his clients included rock singer Jimmy Barnes and rock group Divinyls formed in Sydney in 1980. Both his second wife, Suzi Sidewinder, and their son, Troy Lovegrove, died of HIV/AIDS, which they contracted from a blood transfusion when Troy was a baby; each was the subject of documentaries produced by Vince, Suzi's Story in 1987 and A Kid Called Troy, a moving journal he wrote of a little boy's battle for lifei n 1993; both were shown on Australian TV and internationally. Vince also wrote an unauthorized biography of INXS frontman Michael Hutchence in 1999 (tragically Vince died when his Volkswagen Kombi crashed on the Binna Burra Rd, near Byron Bay) b. 1948.
2012: Nick Noble/Nicholas Valkan (85) American pop and country singer born in Chicago, popular in the mid-1950s, and he scored four hits on the newly-created Billboard pop charts between 1955 and 1957, "The Bible Tells Me So", "To You My Love", "The Tip of My Fingers", and "Moonlight Swim" (?) b. June 21st 1926.
2012: Iqbal Bahu (67) Pakistani sufi singer born in Gurdaspur, Punjab, British India, but his family migrated to Pakistan after partition, and settled in Lahore. He sang mainly for Radio Pakistan and Pakistan Television but later gave performances around the globe in his later life. He also concerted at BBC Bush House, London in 1992. [1] He was awarded Tamgha-i-Imtiaz in 2008 (sadly died from a cardiac arrest) b. 1944

March 25th.
1918: Achille-Claude Debussy (55) Claude-Achille Debussy Russian composer; along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions. Achille is among the most important of all French composers, and a central figure in European music of the turn of the 20th century. He was made Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 1903 (sadly lost to rectal cancer) b. March 25th 1918
1951: Sidney Catlett (40) American swinging jazz drummer born in Evansville, Indiana, his career began in Chicago in 1928 with Darnell Howard. In adulthood he moved to New York City and worked with Benny Carter, Fletcher Henderson, Elmer Snowden, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Ben Webster, and others. In 1941 he joined Benny Goodman's band and after that joined Teddy Wilson's Sextet. In 1944 he did an album with pianist Harry Gibson. He also had his own band and played for Louis Armstrong's All Stars from 1947 to 1949 and became his drummer of choice. He played bop, dixieland, and other styles (sadly died from a stroke) b. January 17th 1910.
1957: Red Brown/Tom Brown (69) American dixieland jazz trombonist; born in New Orleans, he started out on trombone with the bands of Papa Jack Laine and Frank Christian. By 1910 Tom was leading bands under his own name, playing in a style then locally known as "hot ragtime" or "ratty music". In early 1915 his band was heard by Vaudeville dancer Joe Frisco, who arranged a job for his band in Chicago. On May 15, 1915, Tom Brown's Band from Dixieland opened up at Lamb's Cafe at Clark & Randolph Streets in Chicago, with Ray Lopez, cornet and manager; Tom Brown, trombone and leader; Gussie Mueller clarinet, Arnold Loyacano piano and string bass; and Billy Lambert on drums. In Chicago Gussie Mueller was hired by bandleader Bert Kelly, and his place was taken by young New Orleans clarinetist Larry Shields. This band seems to be the first to be popularly referred to as playing "Jazz", or, as it was spelled early on, "Jass". His band was soon to be callled "Brown's Jass Band". He spent the next decade between New York, Chicago and New Orleans. In the mid 1920s he returned home to New Orleans where he played with Johnny Bayersdorffer and Norman Brownlee's bands, making a few excellent recordings. During the Great Depression he supplemented his income from music by repairing radios and openedup a music shop and a junk shop on Magazine Street. He played string bass in local swing and dance bands. With the revival of interest in traditional jazz he played in various Dixieland bands in the 1950s, notably that of Johnny Wiggs. A local television station thought it would be a good idea to invite Tom and Nick LaRocca to talk about how jazz first spread north from New Orleans, but the show had scaresly started before the two old men got into an argument that turned into a fist-fight. Tom made his last recording just weeks before his death, his trombone playing apparently not suffering from the fact that he had neither teeth nor dentures at the time (died in New Orleans) b. June 3rd 1888.
1959: Billy Joseph Mayerl (56) English pianist and composer who built a career in music hall and musical theatre. He recorded approximately 37 piano rolls for the "Echo" label in London of various popular tunes of the early 20s. and joined the Savoy Havana Band in London. Billy went on to become an acknowledged master of light music. Best known for his syncopated novelty piano solos, he wrote over 300 piano pieces, many of which were named after flowers and trees, including his best known composition, Marigold in 1927. He also composed works for piano and orchestra, often in suites with evocative names such as the 'Aquarium Suite' (1937), comprising "Willow Moss", "Moorish Idol", "Fantail", and "Whirligig" (sadly died from a heart attack) b. May 31st 1902.
1969: Billy Cotton (69) British band leader and entertainer, one of the few whose orchestras survived the dance band era. Today, he is mainly remembered as a 1950s and 1960s radio and television personality, although his musical talent emerged as early as the 1920s. Born in Smith Square, London, he was a choirboy and then started his musical career as a drummer, an occupation he also pursued in the army during the First World War.() b. May 6th 1899. He formed his own orchestra, the London Savannah Band, in 1924. At first a straight dance band, over the years the band moved more and more towards music hall/vaudeville entertainment, introducing all sorts of visual and verbal humour in between songs. Famous musicians that played in Billy Cotton's band during the 1920s and 1930s included Arthur Rosebery, Syd Lipton and Nat Gonella. The band was also noted for their African American trombonist and tap dancer, Ellis Jackson. Their signature tune was "Somebody Stole My Gal", and they made numerous recordsfor Decca. During WWII he and his band toured France with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). After the war, he started his successful Sunday lunchtime radio show on BBC, the Billy Cotton Band Show, which ran from 1949 to 1968. In the 1950s composer Lionel Bart contributed comedy songs to the show. It regularly opened with the band's signature tune and Cotton's call of "Wakey Wakey". From 1957, it was also broadcast on BBC television (sadly died from a stroke) b. May 6th 1899.
1978: Bill Kenny (63) American lead singer with he Ink Spots; he joined the Inkspots in 1936 replacing Jerry Daniels.Their popularity grew through radio programs and tours, having their hit with "If I Didn't Care", in 1939, followed by songs such as "My Prayer" "Address Unknown" "I Can't Stand Losing You" "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" "Whispering Grass" and more. Many of their records made No.1 on early versions of the US pop charts, "The Gypsy" being their biggest chart success, staying at the No.1 in 1946. In 1954 Billy sang solo with a live backing band, consisting of Harry Prather, Everett Barksdale, and Andrew Maze, touring as "Bill Kenny and his Ink Spots". This group appeared on Ed Sullivan. He also performed with Joe Boatner's Ink Spots in the summer of 1962. The Ink Spots were the subject of a 1998 book by Marv Goldberg: "More Than Words Can Say: The Ink Spots And Their Music". (?) b. 12 June 1914.
1979: Anton Heiller (55) Austrian organist; he combined work as répétiteur and choirmaster at the Vienna Volksoper, with further study of piano, organ, harpsichord, music theory and composition at the Vienna Music Academy. He carried out his military service, mostly as a medical aide, graduating from the Academy in 1945, the same year he became an organ teacher at that institution. By 1957 he held the title of professor. After World War II he had an uninterrupted list of concerts, lectures, records, jury service at contests, and professional honors. In 1952 he won the International Organ Competition in Haarlem, and he toured the United States and Europe, he was awarded the Vienna Culture Prize in 1963, the Vienna Cross of Honor for Arts and Science in 1968 , and the Grand Austrian State Prize in 1969. He was probably the 20th-century's finest Bach organist. (he collapsed, probably of a cardiac arrest, after choking on food) b. September 15th 1923.
1980: Jan "Walter" Susskind (66) Czech-born British conductor, born in Prague, he fled to Britian before the German invasion. In 1942 Walter joined the Carl Rosa Opera Company as a conductor, working with singers such as Heddle Nash and Joan Hammond. In 1944 he made his first recording for Walter Legge of EMI conducting Liu’s arias from Turandot with Hammond. After the war, he became a naturalised British citizen. His first appointment as a musical director was to the Scottish Orchestra from '46 to '52. From '53 to '55 he was the conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. After free-lancing in Israel and Sth America he was appointed to head the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from '56 to '65. While with the TSO he taught conducting at The Royal Conservatory of Music where among his pupils were Milton Barnes and Rudy Toth. From 1968 to 1975 he was conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. In 1971 he opened the New York City Opera’s season with The Makropulos Affair (Walter died in Berkeley, California ) b. May 1st 1913.
1991: Royal G. "Rusty" Bryant (61) American jazz tenor and alto saxophonist; born Royal G. Bryant in Huntington, West Virginia but grew up in Columbus, OH. Inspired by the likes of Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt, he took up the saxophone and soon became an important part of the local jazz scene. In the 40s he worked as sideman to both Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes and Stomp Gordon until 1952 when he formed his own band. A few years later he had a major R&B hit with "All Night Long" after which he settled back to his home town, playing locally for the next 10 years. Emerging again in 1968 and releasing his hit song "That Healin' Feelin'" and his 1970 release of "Soul Liberation" charted on both U.S. Black Albums chart and the Top Jazz Albums chart. Rusty recorded extensively for Prestige Records from 1969 until 1974, being a sideman with Boogaloo Joe Jones, Johnny Hammond Smith, Sonny Phillips and recording 8 of his own albums. He continued to record into the early 1980s, recording his final album, "With the Boss 4" in 1981, after which Rusty again returned to Columbus to play locally (?) b. November 25th 1929.
2006: Rocío Dúrcal (60) Spanish singer and actress; in 1959 at the age of 15 years old she to part in a television program and sang a traditional song “La Sombra Vendo”, Luis Sanz, a “talent seeker” of Madrid was impressed by her talent and personality. He placed her in the care of private tutors to complete her secondary education and begin singing, dancing and acting lessons and her singing career was launched. At the age of 17 she was offered a role in Canción de Juventud. After acting in several films she married Filipino singer Antonio Morales, a member of the Pop group Los Brincos. In 1975, after having two of her three children, she retired from the film industry and in 1977 re-launched her singing career. Rocio has sold more than 53 million records worldwide and her style has influenced many female mariachi and ranchera singers from Mexico as well as the Hispanic community of the United States (cancer) b. October 4th 1944.
2006: Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens Jr (76) American singer and guitarist; in 1945, Buck co-hosted a radio show called Buck and Britt. He relocated to Bakersfield, California,frequently traveling to Hollywood for session recording jobs at Capitol Records, playing backup for Tennessee Ernie Ford, Sonny James, Wanda Jackson, Del Reeves, Tommy Sands, Tommy Collins, Faron Young and Gene Vincent, and many others. In the late 50's he recorded a rockabilly record called "Hot Dog" for the Pep label, using the pseudonym Corky Jones. He used the pseudonym because he did not want the fact he recorded a rock n' roll tune to hurt his country music career. In the early 60's he formed his legendary band, the Buckaroos, producing 21 No.1 hits on the Billboard country music charts. Buck and the Buckaroos pioneered what has come to be called the Bakersfield sound, a reference to Bakersfield. He originally used fiddle and retained pedal steel guitar into the 1970s, he can be heard harmonising with his longtime friend and guitarist Don Rich until he died in a motor cycle accident in 1974. Devastated, Buck didn't perform again until 1988 when he teamed up with Dwight Yoakam for a duet of "Streets of Bakersfield", his first No.11 single in 16 years. This led to lots of re-issues, gigs and tours. Buck was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. He was ranked No.12 in CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003 and named the Buckaroos as 2nd greatest country music band in history (heart attack) b. August 12th 1929.
2008: Gene Puerling (78) American jazz musician, singer, musical arranger born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. he formed and led the vocal groups The Hi-Lo's and The Singers Unlimited and was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices in 1982 for his arrangement of "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" as performed by The Manhattan Transfer. A Latin song he arranged for Singers Unlimited, "One More Time Chuck Corea," has been adapted and used by high school and college marching bands and jazz ensembles. In addition to the Hi-Lo's and The Singers Unlimited he contributed to Rosemary Clooney's TV Show and mentored many other singers and groups, including Take 6. His vocal arranging ability and his ability to arrange musical backing by Frank Comstock's Band and several others was masterful (?) b. March 31st 1929.
2009: English Dan/ Danny Wayland Seals (61) American vocalist, guitarist, saxophonist, bassist and the younger brother of Jim Seals from the duo Seals & Crofts. Dan joined with fellow W.W. Samuell High School classmate and longtime friend John Ford Coley to perform first as part of Dallas pop/psych group Southwest "Freight on Board"/" F.O.B", before going under the name of England Dan, and forming the soft rock duo England Dan & John Ford Coley in 1970. They were best known for their hit single "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight". He began a solo career in country music. releasing 16 studio albums and charted more than twenty singles on the country charts. Eleven of his singles reached No.1: "Meet Me in Montana" (with Marie Osmond), "Bop" (also a #42 pop hit), "Everything That Glitters (Is Not Gold)", "You Still Move Me", "I Will Be There", "Three Time Loser", "One Friend", "Addicted", "Big Wheels in the Moonlight", "Love on Arrival", and a cover of Sam Cooke's "Good Times". Five more of Dan's singles also reached Top Ten on the country charts (died following treatment for mantle cell lymphoma) b. February 8th 1948... READ MORE
2009: Manny Oquendo (78) American percussionist, his main instrument was the timbales, and was influenced by Cuban drumming. He grew up in New York, and began studying percussion in 1945. He worked in the bands of tropical and Latin music ensembles such as Carlos Valero, Luis del Campo, Juan "El Boy" Torres, Chano Pozo, Jose Budet, Juanito Sanabria, Marcelino Guerra, Jose Curbelo, and Pupi Campo. In 1950, he became the bongo player for Tito Puente. Following this he played with Tito Rodriquez in 1954 and Vincentico Valdes in 1955. He worked freelance in New York before joining Eddie Palmieri's La Perfecta orchestra in 1962. He worked with his own group, Conjunto Libre/ Libre, from 1974, and had a worldwide hit with "Little Sunflower" in 1983 (?) b. January 1st 1931.
2010: Richard Engquist (76) American lyricist, born in Scandia, Minnesota, he earned a bachelor’s degree in education and speech from Hamline University in St. Paul in 1954. Richard joined the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop in the early 1970s and he composed topical songs for the Brave New Workshop in Minneapolish. He went on to write the lyrics for “Elizabeth and Essex,” a musical version of Maxwell Anderson’s blank-verse drama, “Elizabeth the Queen.” which opened at the South Street Theatre in 1980. He later collaborated with the composer Raphael Crystal on several musicals at the Jewish Repertory Theatre including “My Heart Is in the East” in 1983, “Half a World Away” in 1987 and the highly popular “Kuni-Leml” in 1984. More recently Richard collaborated with Judd Woldin on the musical Little Ham (lung cancer) b. April 26th 1933.
2012: Tom Lodge (75) English radio DJ, born in Forest Green, Surrey; he took up the violin, the clarinet and taught himself the guitar and mouth organ. He played the stand up bass in a four piece skiffle band, called the "Top Flat Ramblers". At 18 he travelled to Hay River, Northwest Territories, Canada, and in the late 50s he moved to Yellowknife, where he joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as an announcer on CFYK. In 1960 he became the CBC manager for CBXH radio station in Fort Smith, until he returned to UK as a CBC correspondent. In 1964 Tom joined England's first offshore pirate radio station Radio Caroline, as disc jockey and programme director. His book The Ship that Rocked the World describes his time there. After the outlawing of the pirate radio ships in 1967 by the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, he worked as a disc jockey for the BBC's newly created Radio 1. In 1968 he became a disc jockey on CHLO, St Thomas, Ontario, Canada, which is now CKDK-FM. In 1970 he founded a creative program at Fanshawe College London, Ontario, Canada, called "Creative Electronics", which after two years he made into Music Industry Arts, a training program for recording engineers and record producers, and is still operating at Fanshawe College. (sadly died while fighting cancer) b. April 16th 1936.
2013: Eddy Doorenbos (91) Dutch jazz singer and composer, he gained fame as a vocalist with the legendary Miller Sextet of Ab Miller, between 1947-1961. He made many radio performances and had long-term commitments in renowned establishments in the Netherlands, as well as extensive foreign tours of U.S. Forces in Belgium, France and Germany, Indonesia, Sweden and Denmark. In 1956 and in 1957 Eddy was elected favorite singer in the poll of the magazine "Rhythm". In 1965 he settled in on the Costa del Sol, where be became a successful artist and sold his paintings to the likes of Gina Lollobrigida, Anita Ekberg and Sean Connery. In 1984 he returned to his homeland, and since the 90s he performed with his own quartet The Swing Mill, and sang with many bands and ensembles, including Dutch radio - orchestra The Skymasters (Eddy died in his sleep) b. December 28th 1921.