Happy Birthday this week to:
May 07
1923 ● Jim Lowe / (James Elsworth Lowe) → Country-pop singer with four Top 40 hits in the mid-50s among seven total Billboard 100 charting songs, including “The Green Door” (#1, R&B #5, 1956), then became a beloved and respected New York City radio personality for over 50 years at WNEW-AM and WNBC-AM and nationally, retired in 1977 and died from natural causes on 12/12/2016, age 93
1931 ● Teresa Brewer / (Teresa Breuer) → Novelty pop singer with hundreds of 50s recordings, including “A Tear Fell” (#5, 1956), reemerged in the 70s as jazz-pop singer, recorded with Count Basie, Duke Ellington and others, died from progressive supranuclear palsy on 10/17/2007, age 76
1931 ● Jerry Chesnut / (Jerry Donald Chesnut) → Nashville-based country music songwriter with a deep oeuvre of songs recorded by many dozens of others, including George Jones (“If Not For You,” Country #6, 1969), Elvis Presley (“T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” #35, Country #11, 1975), Elvis Costello (“Good Year For The Roses,” UK #6, 1981), Loretta Lynn, Del Reeves and many others, retired from songwriting in 1980 and died from respiratory failure on 12/15/2018, age 87.
1932 ● Derek Taylor → Journalist and publicist, Beatles’ PR manager, worked for Apple Corps, record company executive with Warner Bros. Records, died from cancer on 9/8/1997, age 65
1939 ● Johnny Maestro / (John Mastrangelo) → Tenor vocals for biracial R&B/doo wop The Crests, “Sixteen Candles” (#2, 1959), went solo in 60s, then formed pop-rock The Brooklyn Bridge, “The Worst That Could Happen” (#3, 1969), died of cancer on 3/24/2010, age 70.
1939 ● Jimmy Ruffin → R&B/soul singer for Motown, “What Becomes Of The Broken-Hearted” (#7, 1966), older brother of The Temptations‘ David Ruffin, died in a Las Vegas intensive care unit on 11/17/2014, age 75
1940 ● JC Connors / (Jim “JC” Connors) → Renowned radio DJ with WMEX (Boston), among others, and inspiration for Harry Chapin‘s “W O L D” (#36, 1974), died in a car crash on 2/24/1987, age 46
1942 ● Lorrie Collins / (Lawrencine May Collins) → Brassy rockabilly singer and guitarist, one of the first female rock ‘n’ roll singers, with her younger brother, Larry, one half of the teen rockabilly duo The Collins Kids, their flashy Western wear and stage antics were well-suited to early TV variety shows in the 50s and earned them a spot on Tex Ritter‘s weekly Town Hall Party, in the late 50s briefly dated teen idol Ricky Nelson and twice appeared with him on his parents’ sitcom The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet (1958), recorded multiple rockabilly and country-pop songs that did not chart but are nonetheless appreciated by enthusiasts and still available, reunited in 1992 and performed with Larry at rockabilly festivals until her death from complications of a fall on 8/4/2018, age 76
1943 ● Rick Westfield → Keyboards for jazz-fusion then R&B/funk Kool & The Gang, “Jungle Boogie” (#4, 1973), left in 1976 for solo career
1943 ● Ricky West / (Richard Westwood) → Original member, guitar and vocals for British Invasion pop-rock quintet The Tremeloes, sang lead on “Silence Is Golden” (US #11, UK #1, 1967), left the band in 2012 after more than 50 years
1943 ● Thelma Houston → One hit wonder R&B/soul singer, “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (#1, 1977), session vocals, TV and film appearances
1945 ● Christy Moore → Contemporary Irish roots-folk singer/songwriter, lead vocals and guitar for folk-pop Planxty, “Three Drunken Maidens” (1972), frontman for Moving Hearts, solo
1945 ● Cornelius Bumpus → Woodwind and keyboard player, played saxophone for Bobby Freeman in the 60s and Moby Grape in the 70s, joined The Doobie Brothers (“What A Fool Believes,” #1, 1979) for the late 70s and 80s and Steely Dan (“Cousin Dupree,” #30, 2000) from 1993 to 2004, died from a heart attack aboard a flight from New York to Los Angeles on 2/3/2004, age 58
1946 ● Arcelio Garcia → Guitarist for Latin funk-rock Malo, “Sauvecito” (#18, 1972)
1946 ● Bill Kreutzmann → Drummer for rock’s longest, strangest trip Grateful Dead, “Sugar Magnolia” (#91, 1973) and “Touch Of Grey” (#9, 1987), plus Dead spinoff The Other Ones
1946 ● Ray Monette → 40-year guitarist for Motown blue-eyed soul Rare Earth, “Get Ready” (#4, 1970)
1946 ● William Danoff → Singer and songwriter for AM pop one hit wonder Starland Vocal Band, “Afternoon Delight” (#1, 1976), co-wrote “Take Me Home, Country Roads” with John Denver (#2, 1971)
1946 ● Jerry Nolan → Drummer for glam-punk New York Dolls, “Personality Crisis” (1973), left to form The Heartbreakers with Johnny Thunders and Richard Hell, died from a stroke on 1/14/1992, age 45
1948 ● Pete Wingfield → Singer and session pianist, backing bands, producer, solo one hit wonder faux-doo wop “Eighteen With A Bullet” (#15, 1971)
1949 ● Keith / (James Barry Keefer) → One hit wonder pop singer, “98.6” (#7, 1967)
1950 ● Prairie Prince / (Charles L’Empereur Prince) → Drummer for early 70s line up of Journey, then co-founded camp-rock pop-rock satirists The Tubes, “She’s A Beauty” (#10, 1978), later with the New Cars
1955 ● Steve Diggle → Guitarist and vocalist with punk rock Buzzcocks, wrote numerous songs for the band, including “Harmony In My Head” (UK #32, 1979), formed post-punk Flag Of Convenience in 1982 and appeared in the film Vinyl as himself in 2013
1956 ● Anne Dudley / (Anne Jennifer Beckingham) → Academy-award winning film score composer (The Full Monty, 1998) and founding member of avant-garde synth-pop Art Of Noise, “Kiss” featuring Tom Jones (#31, Dance/Club #18, UK #5, 1988)
1958 ● Marty Willson / (Marty Willson-Piper) → Rhythm guitar for Aussie New Wave psych-pop then prog rock The Church, “Under The Milky Way” (#30, 1989)
1961 ● Phil Campbell → Lead guitarist for punk-metal Motörhead, “Ace Of Spades” (UK #15, 1980)
1971 ● Eagle-Eye / (Eagle-Eye Cherry) → One hit wonder alt pop-rock singer/songwriter, “Save Tonight” (#5, 1998), son of avant-garde jazz trumpeter Don Cherry and half-brother of alternative rap pioneer Neneh Cherry
1974 ● Lynden David Hall → Award-winning, up-and-coming singer, songwriter and producer in the Brit neo-soul movement of the 90s with six UK Top 50 singles, including his debut “Sexy Cinderella” (UK #45, 1997), died from complications of a stem cell transplant he received to combat lymphoma on 2/14/2006, age 31
1986 ● Matt Helders → Drums and vocals for Brit teen alt/indie rock Arctic Monkeys, “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” (Modern Rock #7, 2005)
May 08
1911 ● Robert Johnson → Highly-influential, legendary and oft-covered blues singer, songwriter and guitarist, “Cross Road Blues” (1937), his songs were performed by many artists and groups, including Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Cream (“Crossroads”, 1968), Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones (“Love In Vain”, 1969), died from unknown causes on 8/16/1938, age 27.
1940 ● Ricky Nelson / (Eric Hillard Nelson) → TV actor and rockabilly/country-pop singer/songwriter and guitarist, played himself alongside his brother and parents on their 50s radio and TV show The Adventures Of Ozzie and Harriet, became the first to be coined a “teen idol” early in a long and successful recording career started in 1957, scored nineteen Top 10 singles, including “Travelin’ Man” (#1, 1961) and “Garden Party” (#6, AC #1, 1972), died when his tour plane crashed on New Year’s Eve, 12/31/1985, age 45.
1941 ● John Fred / (John Fred Gourier) → Singer, songwriter, guitarist and bandleader for one hit wonder novelty pop-rock John Fred & His Playboy Band, “Judy In Disguise” (#1, 1968), died after a long battle with kidney disease on 4/15/2005, age 63
1942 ● Jack Blanchard → With wife Misty Morgan, one-half of the country-pop vocal duo Jack & Misty, scored two crossover hits, including the Grammy-nominated “Tennessee Bird Walk” (#23, Country #1, 1970) among 15 country chart hits, continued to record and perform without chart success into the 00s.
1943 ● Jon Mark / (John Michael Burchell) → Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and guitarist, mid-60s music arranger for neophyte Marianne Faithfull, founding member of influential but short-lived Brit pop-rock Sweet Thursday, played in John Mayall‘s post-Bluesbreakers band before splitting off with bandmate and flautist/saxophonist Johnny Almond to form prog rock/jazz-pop Mark-Almond and release four acclaimed albums in the 70s and early 80s, moved to New Zealand in the late 80s and focused on Celtic, ambient and new age sounds, won a Grammy in 2004 for an album of Tibetan monk chants, died from undisclosed causes on 2/10/2021, age 77.
1943 ● Paul Samwell / (Paul Samwell-Smith) → Bassist for blues-rock The Yardbirds, “For Your Love” (#6, 1965), left in the late 60s and became a producer for Jethro Tull, Renaissance, Carly Simon, Cat Stevens and others
1943 ● Toni Tennille / (Cathryn Antoinette Tennille) → Singer with husband Daryl Dragon in Grammy-winning pop duo The Captain & Tennille, “Love Will Keep Us Together” (#1, 1975)
1943 ● Danny Whitten → Singer, guitarist and frequent songwriter, member of Neil Young‘s Crazy Horse, wrote “I Don’t Wanna Talk About It” (covered by Rod Stewart, Rita Coolidge and Everything But The Girl), Young‘s “The Needle and the Damage Done” (1972) is about Whitten’s heroin abuse, from which he died of an overdose on 11/18/1972, age 29
1944 ● Bill Legend / (William Fifield) → Drummer for proto-glam-rock T. Rex, “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” (#10, 1971)
1944 ● Gary Glitter / (Paul Francis Gadd) → Brit glam-rock singer/songwriter and guitarist, best known in US for “Rock & Roll, Pt. 2” (#7, 1972), had 17 UK Top 40 singles, convicted of child pornography in England in 1999
1945 ● Keith Jarrett → Jazz and classical pianist and composer, played with Miles Davis and Art Blakely, fronted several of his own bands
1946 ● Charles McCormick / (Charles E. McCormick) → Founding member, songwriter and bass guitarist for high school doo wop group The Sinceres, which morphed into 70s-80s R&B/soul-funk Bloodstone and eight R&B Topo 20 hits, including “Natural High” (#10, R&B #4, 1973), wrote all of the music and co-starred in the film Train Ride To Hollywood (1975), performed as Bloodstone over the decades despite a dwindling number of original bandmates, died from undisclosed causes on 4/22/2022, age 75.
1951 ● Chris Frantz → Drummer for New Wave art-pop-rock Talking Heads, “Take Me To The River” (#26, 1978), co-founder Tom Tom Club (with wife/bassist Tina Weymouth)
1951 ● Philip Bailey → Vocals for R&B/soul-dance-pop Earth, Wind & Fire, “Shining Star” (#1, 1975), solo, including duet with Phil Collins, “Easy Lover” (#2, 1990)
1953 ● Alex Van Halen → Drummer for hard rock megastars Van Halen, “Jump” (#1, 1984), brother of Eddie, now a clean-and-sober ordained minister
1953 ● Billy Burnette → Pop-rock singer, songwriter and guitarist in sessions and tours, solo “Don’t Say Know” (#68, 1980), joined Fleetwood Mac in 1985 and left in 1995, still sessions, tours and occasional solo works
1955 ● Henry Priestman → Founding member, keyboards and vocals for Brit New Wave power pop The Yachts, “Suffice To Say” (1977), then blue-eyed soul sibling trio The Christians, “When Fingers Point” (Dance/Club #29, 1988) and alt rock It’s Immaterial
1964 ● Dave Rowntree → Drummer for alt rock then Britpop Blur, “Girls & Boys” (Alt Rock #4, 1994)
1972 ● Darren Hayes → Vocalist and one-half of Australian dance-pop duo Savage Garden, “Truly Madly Deeply” (#1, 1998), solo, “Insatiable” (#77, UK #8, 2002)
1975 ● Enrique Iglesias → Latin pop megastar singer, “Be With You” (#1, 2000), son of Julio
1976 ● H / (Ian Watkins) → Vocals for pre-fab Brit dance-pop group The Steps, “5, 6, 7, 8” (UK #14, 1997)
1976 ● Martha Wainwright → Canadian/American folk-rock singer/songwriter, daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, sister of Rufus Wainwright, backing vocals on recordings by her family members, released full length eponymous debut in 2006
1977 ● Joe Bonamassa → Virtuoso blues-rock guitarist, songwriter and bandleader, at age 14 formed Bloodline with Waylon Krieger (Robby Krieger‘s son), Erin Davis (Miles Davis‘ son) and Berry Oakley, Jr. (Allman Brothers bassist’s son) for one album, then solo career with 12 Top 10 Blues albums, some featuring guest spots by Eric Clapton, B. B. King and others, currently in Black Rock Communion
1978 ● Ana Maria Lombo → Vocals for all-girl teen dance-pop quintet Eden’s Crush, “Get Over Yourself” (#1, 2001), the first #1 debut single by an all-female group
1985 ● Matt Jay / (Matthew James Willis) → Singer/songwriter and founding member of Brit pop-punk boyband Busted, “You Said No” (UK #1, 2003), solo, “Up All Night” (UK #7, 2006)
May 09
1914 ● Hank Snow / (Clarence Eugene Snow) → Canadian-born country singer, “The Singing Ranger”, released over 100 albums and had 35 Country Top 40 singles between 1955 and 1980, including “Ninety Miles An Hour (Down A Dead-End Street)” (Country #2, 1963), died from heart failure on 12/20/1999, age 86
1935 ● Nokie Edwards / (Nole Floyd Edwards) → Founding member and first bassist for seminal surf rock instrumental combo The Ventures (“Walk – Don’t Run,” #2, 1960 and remake “Walk – Don’t Run ’64,” #8, 1964), switched to lead guitar and perfected the twangy,, staccato riffs that characterized the surf rock genre in the mid-60s, left the band in the 80s but continued to perform and record with his own bands – including occasional gigs with reconstituted versions of The Ventures – until his death from complications of hip reconstruction surgery on 3/12/2018, age 82
1937 ● David Prater / (David Prater, Jr.) → One half of top R&B/soul duo Sam & Dave, “Soul Man” (#2, 1967), died in a single-car accident on 4/9/1988, age 50
1937 ● Sonny Curtis → Songwriter and teenage friend of Buddy Holly and sometime member of Holly‘s The Crickets, wrote songs for The Everly Brothers and Anne Murray before joining The Crickets full-time following Holly‘s death in 1959, penned “I Fought The Law” for them and The Bobby Fuller Four (#9, 1966), later wrote the theme song for TV sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show, “Love Is All Around” (Country #29, 1980), in the 80s and 90s penned TV and radio commercial jingles for McDonald’s, Honda, Olympia Beer, Bell Telephone and Mattel Toys, among others, continues to write and record into the 10s.
1940 ● John Hawken → Keyboards for British Invasion pop-rock The Nashville Teens, “Tobacco Road” (#16, 1964)
1941 ● Peter Birrell → Bassist for British Invasion novelty/comedy pop-rock ‘n’ roll Freddie & The Dreamers, “I’m Telling You Now” (#1, 1965), became a taxi driver and sometime bit-part TV actor
1941 ● Danny Rapp / (Daniel Earl Rapp) → Frontman and singer for early rock ‘n’ rollers Danny & The Juniors, “At The Hop” (#1, 1958), committed suicide on 4/5/1983, age 41
1942 ● Tommy Roe / (Thomas David Roe) → Rockabilly singer and songwriter turned archetypal bubblegum popster with “Sheila” (#1, UK #3, 1962) and “Dizzy” (#1, UK #1,1969)and four other Top 10 hits in between, shifted to a more country-oriented sound in the 70s but kept one foot in bubblegum pop while touring on the oldies circuit for many years before retiring in 2018.
1942 ● Mike Millward → Rhythm guitar for Merseybeat pop-rock The Fourmost, “A Little Loving” (UK #6, 1964), died from complications of leukemia on 3/7/1966, age 23
1943 ● Bruce Milner → Piano and organ for one hit wonder pop-folk Every Mother’s Son, “Come On Down To My Boat” (#6, 1967)
1944 ● Don Dannemann → Co-founder, guitar and vocals for two hit wonder folk-pop The Cyrkle, “Red Rubber Ball” (#2, 1966) and “Turn Down Day” (#16, 1966), signed by Brian Epstein and supported The Beatles on their 1966 US tour, became a successful commercial “jingle” writer, including the “Uncola” song for 7Up
1944 ● Richie Furay / (Paul Richard Furay) → Guitar and vocals, founding member of folk-rock Buffalo Springfield (“For What It’s Worth”, #17, 1967) and country-rock Poco (“You Better Think Twice”, #72, 1970), left in 1974 to co-found country-rock Souther Hillman Furay Band with Chris Hillman of The Byrds and J. D. Souther (“Fallin’ In Love”, #27, 1974), solo bandleader, became a Christian minister, reunited with Buffalo Springfield in 2010
1945 ● Steve Katz → Guitarist and vocalist, founding member of jazz/-blues-rock fusion The Blues Project, “The Flute Thing” (1968), then founded Blood, Sweat & Tears, “Spinning Wheel” (#2, 1969), producer
1946 ● Clint Holmes → One hit wonder novelty pop singer, “Playground In My Mind” (#2, 1973), briefly a TV personality with Joan Rivers’ The Late Show and on Entertainment Tonight, performed in Las Vegas and Atlantic City night clubs since the 70s
1949 ● Billy Joel → Superstar pop-rock singer/songwriter and keyboardist with 17 US #1 albums and 35 Top 40 singles, including “It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me” (#1, 1980)
1950 ● Tom Petersson → Bass and vocals for power pop Cheap Trick, “I Want You To Want Me” (#7, 1979) and “The Flame” (#1, 1988)
1953 ● John Edwards → Bassist since 1986 for long-lived Brit psych-boogie rock Status Quo, “Pictures Of Matchstick Men” (#12, 1968) plus 58 UK Top 40 singles including “Come On You Reds” (UK #1, 1994)
1960 ● Marc Duncan → Bassist for punk-rock The Vibrators, “Automatic Lover” (UK #35, 1978)
1962 ● David Gahan → Lead vocals for electro-dance/synth-pop Depeche Mode, “Enjoy The Silence” (#8, 1990), went solo after 22 years, “Kingdom” (Dance/Pop #1, 2007)
1962 ● P.D. Heaton / (Paul Heaton) → Vocals for Brit jangle-guitar pop-rock The Housemartins, “Caravan Of Love” (UK #1, 1986), then alt pop-rock The Beautiful South, “A Little Time” (UK #1, 1990), solo
1969 ● Peter Wilkinson → Co-founder, backing vocals and bass guitar for 90s alt rock Brit-pop Cast, “Flying” (UK #4, 1996), left in 2002 for sessions work, rejoined Cast in 2010
1971 ● Guigsy McGuigan / (Paul McGuigan) → Bassist for Grammy-nominated Brit pop Oasis, “Wonderwall” (#8, 1996), the band had 22 consecutive UK Top 10 hits, left the band in 1999
1975 ● Nik Vikedal / (Ryan Vikedal) → Drummer for Canadian post-grunge hard rock Nickelback, “How You Remind Me” (#1, 2001), left the band in 1995
1979 ● Pierre Bouvier → Lead singer for French-Canadian pop-punk Simple Plan, “Perfect” (#24, Canada #5, 2003)
May 10
1888 ● Max Steiner / (Maximilian Raoul Steiner) → Austrian-American child-prodigy musician turned three-time Oscar-winning film score composer for over 300 films from the 30s through the 60s, including King Kong (1933), Gone With The Wind (1939), Casablanca (1942) and The Caine Mutiny (1954), died from heart failure on 12/28/1971, age 83.
1899 ● Fred Astaire / (Frederick Austerlitz) → Grammy-winning, renowned film and Broadway stage dancer, actor, vocalist and choreographer, appeared in 31 musical movies, often with dance partner Ginger Rogers, sang multiple, enduring popular songs without a charting single, died of pneumonia on 6/22/1987, age 88
1920 ● Bert Weedon → Virtuoso Brit pop-instrumental guitarist, “Guitar Boogie Shuffle” (UK #10, 1959), published the Play In A Day guitar manual, session work for Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and others
1930 ● Scott Muni / (Donald Allen Munoz) → Deep, gravel-voiced AM Top 40, then FM rock DJ and program director for WNEW-fm (New York) during the heyday of free-format, progressive rock radio in the 70s and 80s, died from complications following a stroke on 9/28/2004, age 74
1934 ● Gary Owens / (Gary Altman) → Los Angeles radio DJ, TV announcer and film voice actor best known for his droll, deadpan narration and announcements on the sketch-comedy series Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In from 1968 to 1973 , later issued several comedy albums, hosted The Gong Show and various radio programs, died from complications of diabetes on 2/12/2015, age 80
1935 ● Larry Williams → Early R&B/rock & roll guitarist, singer and songwriter, “High School Dance” (#5, R&B #1, 1957), his classic songs have been covered by The Beatles “Dizzy, Miss Lizzy” (1965), The Jam and others, died from gunshot wounds in a suspected but unproven suicide on 1/2/1980, age 44
1938 ● Henry Fambrough → Original member, lead and baritone vocals for Grammy-winning Motown and later Atlantic R&B/soul quintet The Spinners, “Then Came You” (#1, 1974) plus eleven other Top 20 hits in the 70s, continues to front the band on tours into the 10s
1940 ● Arthur Alexander → Country and soul genre-melding songwriter and singer, “Anna (Go To Him),” #68, R&B #10, 1962) and other songs covered by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and others, wrote and recorded sporadically through the 80s, continued to perform with his own band until his death from a heart attack on 6/9/1993, age 53
1944 ● Jackie Lomax / (John Richard Lomax) → Star-crossed Liverpudlian blue-eyed soul singer and guitarist, friend of George Harrison and Eric Clapton, co-founded and sang lead vocals for Merseybeat pop-rock The Undertakers, one of the strongest Britbeat groups that never charted on any Top 40 in the U.S. or U.K., first act to be signed to The Beatles‘ Apple Records, received support from Paul McCartney and George Harrison, who wrote his single “Sour Milk Sea” (1970), but he never achieved the expected stardom, played with various bands, toured intermittently and did session work until his death from cancer of 9/15/2013, age 69.
1946 ● Dave Mason / (David Thomas Mason) → Guitar, vocals and songwriter for folk-psych-rock Traffic, “Paper Sun” (#94, UK #5, 1967), then solo, “We Just Disagree” (#12, 1977), session work Eric Clapton, Delaney & Bonnie, George Harrison and others
1946 ● Donovan / (Donovan Phillip Leitch) → Brit psych-folk-pop singer/songwriter, “Mellow Yellow” (#2, 1966), once labeled Britain’s answer to Bob Dylan
1946 ● Graham Gouldman → Bubblegum-pop songwriter, wrote hits for Herman’s Hermits, The Hollies and others, then co-founder, guitar and vocals for soft pop/art-rock 10cc, “I’m Not In Love” (#2, 1975) and 10 UK Top 30 hits, later formed pop-rock Wax, “Bridge To Your Heart” (UK #12, 1987)
1947 ● Jay Ferguson / (John Arden Ferguson) → Vocals, keyboards and songwriting for jazz-rock Spirit, “I Got A Line On You” (#25, 1969), left and co-founded hard rock Jo Jo Gunne, “Run Run Run” (#27, 1972), went solo, “Thunder Island” (#9, 1978), now composes film scores
1949 ● Freddie Porter / (Nolan Frederick Porter) → R&B songwriter and composer with two rock-tinged R&B/soul albums and three modest US chart hits in the 70s (including “Keep On Keeping On,” R&B #39, 1972), but a cult hero in clubs in the north of England during the Northern Soul craze of the time, discontinued recording in the late 70s, married Frank Zappa‘s sister Candy and maintained a presence as a musician and comedian for decades, mostly on the oldies circuit in the UK where he performed for successive generations of new soul fans, died from unspecified causes on 2/4/2021, age 71.
1951 ● Ronald Banks → Vocals for R&B/soul The Dramatics, “In The Rain” (#5, R&B #1, 1972), died of a heart attack on 3/4/2010, age 58
1951 ● Bunny Diamond / (Fitzroy Ogilvie Matthews Simpson) → Co-founding member and vocals in Rastafarian-following, roots reggae Jamaican harmony trio Mighty Diamonds, the group released over 40 studio and live albums from its formation in 1969 and was a major force in driving roots reggae from the streets of Kingston to the international stage in the 70s with the classic reggae hits “Pass the Kouchie” (1981, banned in the UK) and “I Need a Roof” (1976), received the Jamaican national Order of Distinction award along with his groupmates in 2021, suffered from diabetes and was in declining health following a 2015 stroke, died in a Kingston hospital (three days after groupmate Tabby Diamond was killed in a drive-by shooting) on 4/1/2022, age 70.
1952 ● Sly Dunbar / (Lowell Fillmore Dunbar) → Reggae drummer, with session partner Robbie Shakespeare as The Riddim Twins and later Sly & Robbie worked with Peter Tosh, Robert Palmer, Jimmy Cliff, Grace Jones, Joe Cocker, The Rolling Stones and others
1952 ● Lee Brilleaux / (Lee Collinson) → Founding member, lead vocals and harmonica for Brit pub-rock Dr. Feelgood, “Milk And Alcohol” (UK #9, 1979), died of cancer on 4/7/1994, age 41
1957 ● Karl Hyde → Vocals and guitar for electro/trance/dance-pop Underworld, “Two Months Off” (Dance/Club #2, 2002)
1957 ● Sid Vicious / (John Simon Ritchie) → Vocals and bass guitar for renowned and reviled punk-rock The Sex Pistols, “God Save The Queen” (UK #2, 1977), died of a heroin overdose on 2/2/1979, age 21
1960 ● Bono / (Paul Hewson) → Vocalist and guitarist for Irish mega-star rockers U2, “With Or Without You” (#1, 1987) plus five consecutive US #1 albums between 1987 and 1997, poet, peace activist
1962 ● Gary Daley → Vocals and keyboards for new romantic/dance-pop China Crisis, “Wishful Thinking” (UK #9, 1984) and “Working With Fire And Steel” (Dance/Club #27, 1984)
1967 ● Young M.C. / (Marvin Young)) → Pop-rap rhymer and singer, “Bust A Move” (#7, Rap #2, 1989)
1968 ● Richard Patrick → Guitarist for alt rock/industrial group Filter, “Take A Picture” (Alt Rock #3, 1999), then alt rock/post-grunge supergroup Army of Anyone, “Goodbye” (Mainstream Rock #3, 2006), also worked with Nine Inch Nails
1980 ● Jason Dalyrimple → Vocals for urban R&B/dance-club brother quartet Soul For Real, “Candy Rain” (#2, 1995)
1985 ● Ashley Poole → Vocals for R&B/dance-pop all-girl quartet Dream, “He Loves U Not” (#2, 2000)
1991 ● Ray Dalton → Gospel and R&B singer and songwriter best known for his lead vocal contribution to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis‘ 2011 hit song “Can’t Hold Us” (Worldwide #1, 2013)
May 11
1888 ● Irving Berlin / (Israel Isidore Baline) → Siberian-born lyricist, pianist and composer of dozens of enduring pop, stage show and film hits including “White Christmas” (1940), the best selling single of all time, died in his sleep on 9/22/1989, age 91
1905 ● “Kansas” Joe McCoy / (Joseph McCoy) → Delta and Chicago blues slide guitarist and songwriter, recorded often with his younger brother, Charlie, wrote the now-standard jazz-pop “Why Don’t You Do Right?” (1941), his songs have been covered by Led Zeppelin, John Mellencamp and others, died from heart disease on 1/28/1950, age 44
1931 ● Marilyn King → Vocalist for complex and sophisticated four-part harmony 30s, 40s and 50s Big Band/pop sibling singing group The King Sisters, “The Hut-Sut Song” (Top 30, 1944), recorded with her sisters on hundreds of albums and numerous radio specials over three decades and in the musical-variety TV program The King Family Show (1966-1969) and holiday specials thereafter, died from cancer on 8/7/2013, age 82
1934 ● Bobby Black / (Robert Lee Black) → Pedal steel guitar for country-rock/boogie/swing bar band Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen, “Hot Rod Lincoln” (#9, 1972), later played with New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Dolly Parton, the Texas Tornados and many others, released two albums of steel guitar Hawaiian music in the 00s
1935 ● Kit Lambert / (Christopher Lambert) → Assistant film director (The Guns of Navarone and From Russia With Love), record producer, record executive (Track Records, which signed Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon), band manager for The Who until 1971, eccentric but drug-abusing impresario, died from a cerebral hemorrhage after falling down a set of stairs at his mother’s house on 4/7/1981, age 45
1936 ● Tony Barrow / (Anthony F. J. Barrow) → Brit journalist and record company publicist, represented The Beatles for Decca Records in 1962 and, until 1968 with Brian Epstein‘s NEMS Enterprises, coining the term “Fab Four”, later formed his own firm and was chief PR man in Europe during the 70s for The Kinks, Bay City Rollers, The Monkees and others, returned to journalism in the punk era, died from natural causes on 5/14/2016, age 80
1938 ● Carla Bley / (Carla Borg) → 60s Free Jazz composer, keyboardist and bandleader
1938 ● Bruce Langhorne → Greenwich Village folk revival guitarist and songwriter, session musician for multiple 60s folk acts but best known for playing with Bob Dylan on several mid-60s albums central to the emergence of electric folk-rock, and as the inspiration for the title character on Dylan‘s “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1965), later became a macadamia nut farmer in Hawaii and creator of Brother Bru-Bru’s Hot Sauce, a salsa-style condiment, died of kidney failure on 2/14/2017, age 78.
1941 ● Eric Burdon → Vocals and eventual frontman for British Invasion hard/blues-rock The Animals, “House Of The Rising Sun” (#1, 1964), then funk-blues-jazz-rock War, “Cisco Kid” (#2, 1973)
1943 ● Arnie Silver / (Arnie Satin (Silver)) → Baritone vocals for doo wop a cappella harmony turned early garage-rock/dance craze The Dovells, “Bristol Stomp” (#2, 1961)
1943 ● Les Chadwick → Bassist for British Invasion/Merseybeat pop-rock Gerry & The Pacemakers, “How Do You Do It?” (#9, 1964)
1947 ● Butch Trucks / (Claude Hudson Trucks) → Founding member and drummer for Southern rock The Allman Brothers Band, “Ramblin’ Man” (#2, 1973), died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on 1/24/2017, age 69
1955 ● J.J. Jeczalik / (Jonathan Jeczalik) → Record producer, sessionman and founding member of avant-garde synth-pop The Art Of Noise, “Kiss” featuring Tom Jones (#31, Dance/Club #18, UK #5, 1988)
1955 ● Mark Herndon → Drummer for country-pop-rock Alabama, “Love In The First Degree” (#15, 1982)
1955 ● Susan Stenger → Bass and vocals for guitar-centric, “noise” rock quartet Band Of Susans, “Where Have All The Flowers Gone” (1988)
1965 ● Avtar Singh → Founding member and bassist for mixed-race, Indian/Brit dance-pop Cornershop, “Brimful Of Asha” (Dance #35, UK #1, 1998)
1966 ● Doom Schneider / (Christoph Schneider) → Drummer for heavy metal/industrial Kraut rock Rammstein, “Sehnsucht” (Mainstream Rock #20, 1998)
1983 ● Holly Rachel Vukadinovi?) / (Holly Rachel Vukadinovi?) → Yugoslavian-Australian TV actress and pop singer, “Kiss Kiss” (UK #1, 2002)
1986 ● Kieren Webster → Bass guitarist, songwriter and vocalist for Scottish retro-rock/ska punk The View, “Same Jeans” (UK #3, 2007)
May 12
1928 ● Burt Bacharach / (Burt Freeman Bacharach) → Jazz-pop-easy-listening pianist, arranger, producer and master songwriter widely considered in the pantheon of late 20th century popular music, wrote over 70 Top 40 hits, often in collaboration with lyricist Hal David, including “(They Long To Be) Close To You” by the Carpenters (#1, 1970) and “Walk On By” for Dionne Warwick (#6, 1964), won two Oscars for film score to Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969) and for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” from the soundtrack (B. J. Thomas, #1, 1969), with then-second wife Carol Bayer Sager wrote “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” with Christopher Cross (#1, 1981) and Peter Allen, among other 80s hits, occasionally appeared on TV programs in the 70s and had cameo roles in all three Austin Powers movies (1997-2002), toured as a solo act and with others over the decades and until 2015, continued to write and record new material until 2020, died of natural causes at home on 2/8/2023, age 94.
1935 ● Steve Knight → Keyboards in pioneering hard rock/heavy metal band Mountain (“Mississippi Queen,” #21, 1970), after the band broke up in 1972 he returned to traditional jazz, songwriting and miscellaneous projects until his death from complications of Parkinson’s disease on 1/19/2013, age 77
1936 ● Klaus Doldinger → German jazz-rock fusion saxophonist, composer and bandleader (Passport)
1937 ● George Carlin → Five-time Grammy-winning counterculture stand-up comedian, film and TV actor, sociopolitical commentator and author, his landmark “Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television” routine was central to the 1978 Supreme Court case upholding the FCC’s right to regulate indecent material on public airwaves, appeared in films and on TV, and issued albums of new material until his death from heart failure on 6/22/2008, age 71
1939 ● Larry Josephson / (Norman Lawrence Josephson) → “Grumpy” morning-shift radio personality on noncommercial WBAI-FM in New York, his show and the station became pioneers of free format radio in the 60s and 70s and spawned countless imitators and successors around North America, left WBAI in 1972 for a similar gig in California but returned to New York in 1974 with new programs on different stations over the next 40 years, including producing the revival of the classic radio comedy team of Bob and Ray on the syndicated “Bob and Ray Public Radio Show” (1981-1986) and other eclectic subjects, most of which were generated from the spare-bedroom studio of his Manhattan apartment, died from a Parkinson’s disease-related cardiac arrest in a nursing home on 7/27/2022, age 82.
1940 ● Norman Whitfield → Songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Motown Records, collaborated with Barrett Strong on “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”, “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg”, “(I Know) I’m Losing You”, “Cloud Nine”, “War”, “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” and “Car Wash,” died from complications of diabetes on 9/16/2008, age 68
1942 ● Billy Swan / (William Lance Swan) → Country-pop singer/songwriter, touring band member for Kris Kristofferson, producer, solo artist, “I Can Help” (#1, 1974), joined ex-Eagles Randy Meisner in country-rock Black Tie
1942 ● Ian Dury → Cult-favorite singer, songwriter, poet, actor, bandleader (The Blockheads), solo, “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” (1977) and “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” (UK #1, 1978), died of colorectal cancer on 3/27/2000, age 57
1943 ● David Walker → Guitarist with pop-rock Gary Lewis & The Playboys “This Diamond Ring” (#1, 1965) plus 11 other US Top 40 hits between 1965 and 1968
1944 ● James Purify / (James Lee Purify) → With cousin Robert Lee Dickey in R&B/Southern soul duo James & Bobby Purify, their debut single “I’m Your Puppet” (#6, R&B #5, 1966) mixed doo wop and Stax-style horns and sold over a million copies, issued nine other charting singles before Robert retired in 1970, attempted a solo career then restarted the duo in 1974 with Ben Moore and toured on the oldies circuit into the 80s, re-recorded “I’m Your Puppet” (UK #12, 1976), and released an album, Purify Bros. (1977), retired from music in the late 80s and died from complications of the COVID-19 virus on 1/22/2021, age 76.
1945 ● Jayotis Washington → Vocalist with a cappella The Persuasions, “Chain Gang” (1971), session work for Don McLean, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder and others
1945 ● Ian McLagan → Keyboardist for Brit raunch/psych-pop-rock The Small Faces, “Itchycoo Park” (#16, 1968), after Steve Marriott departed and Rod Stewart and Rod Wood joined, renamed The Faces, “Stay With Me” (#17, 1971), session work for Joe Cocker, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Lucinda Williams and others, died after a stroke on 12/3/2014, age 69
1945 ● Keith Olsen / (Keith Alan Olsen) → Bass guitarist for one hit wonder garage rock quintet The Music Machine (“Talk Talk,” #15, 1966), turned to production and sound engineering in the 70s, produced the album Buckingham Nicks (#28, 1973) for Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, later introduced them to Mick Fleetwood and produced the eponymous Fleetwood Mac (#1, 1975), followed by more than 100 albums and dozens of awards for records by Jethro Tull, Grateful Dead, Eddie Money, Whitesnake and many others over a 20 year career, in the 90s moved into sound equipment product development and manufacturing and served on industry trade groups, died from cardiac arrest on 3/9/2020, age 74.
1946 ● Bob MacVittie → Rhythm guitar for one hit wonder pop-rock Sugarloaf, “Green-Eyed Lady” (#3, 1970)
1948 ● Steve Winwood → Keyboards, vocals and songwriter, teenaged lead singer for Brit pop-rock Spencer Davis Group, “Gimme Some Lovin”” (#7, 1967), then folk-psych-rock Traffic, “Paper Sun” (#94, UK #5, 1967), then super-trio Blind Faith (US #1 album Blind Faith, 1969), solo, “Higher Love” (#1, 1986)
1948 ● Ivan Král → Guitarist, composer and leader for teenage rock bands in Czechoslovakia before emigrating to New York City with his exiled parents ahead of the 1968 Soviet invasion, joined an early incarnation of glam rock Blondie, played bass and co-wrote songs from 1975 to 1979 for punk rock Patti Smith Group on her first four albums, chronicled the emergent New York punk scene in the mid-70s via Super 8 and 16mm cameras filming then-little known acts at rehearsals and live concert venues such as The Bottom Line and CBGB nightclub, the spliced tapes became the film The Blank Generation (1976) and a source for countless documentaries worldwide since, in the 80s did session work and contributed to songwriting for John Cale, Iggy Pop, John Waite and others, returned to his native Czech Republic in the 90s to mentor a new and thriving rock music scene in Prague, recorded his 12th studio album just prior to dying from cancer on 2/2/2020, age 71.
1950 ● Billy Squier → 80s hard pop-rock anthem and balladeer guitarist and singer, “The Stroke” (Mainstream Rock #3, 1981)
1950 ● Jocko Marcellino / (John Marcellino) → Vocals for “greaser” revival parody rock-and-doo-wop Sha Na Na (“(Just Like) Romeo And Juliet,” #55, 1975)
1954 ● Barry Borden → Brief stint in the 80s as drummer for Southern rock power-guitar band Molly Hatchet, “Flirtin’ With Disaster” (#42, 1979)
1955 ● Kix Brooks / (Leon Eric Brooks) → Singer and songwriter, one-half of astronomically successful country-pop vocal duo Brooks & Dunn, “Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You” (#25, Country #1, 2001), solo
1958 ● Eric Singer / (Eric Mesinger) → Hard rock journeyman drummer for Lita Ford, Black Sabbath, Badlands, Paul Stanley‘s touring band, Kiss and Alice Cooper
1958 ● Jimmy Spicer / (James Bromley Spicer) → Early and influential hip hop artist with a number of old-school rap songs in the 70s and 80s, including the ground-breaking, 15-minute epic “Adventures Of Super Rhyme (Rap)” (1980) and electro-rap “Money (Dollar Bill Y’All)” (1983), turned to producing and operating a recording studio when his career stalled in the mid-80s, died from a brain tumor and lung cancer on 9/27/2019, age 61.
1961 ● Billy Duffy → Vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for punk-rock Theater Of Hate, then co-founded hard rock/metal revival The Cult, “Fire Woman” (Mainstream Rock #4, 1989)
1962 ● Brett W. Gurewitz → Co-founder, guitarist and songwriter for hardcore punk Bad Religion, “Infected” (Mainstream Rock #33, 1995), owner of Epitaph Records
1972 ● Mark Morrison → German-born electro-dance-pop singer, “Moan And Groan” (#2, 1997)
May 13
1912 ● Gil Evans → Grammy-winning Canadian jazz pianist, innovator, arranger and bandleader best known for his extensive work with Miles Davis and the development of free jazz and jazz-rock fusion, died while recovering from peritonitis surgery on 3/20/1988, age 75
1926 ● Daddy-O Phillips / (Dewey Phillips) → The “King of Memphis Radio” and one of the earliest rock ‘n’ roll DJ’s on par with Cleveland’s Alan Freed, played black and white music, R&B, pop and jazz punctuated with frenetic, demented-hillbilly delivery that kept him on top for a decade, could not make the transition to Top 40 in the 60s, died from years of drug and alcohol abuse on 9/28/1968, age 42
1927 ● Fred Hellerman → Folk singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer, suspected McCarthy-era Communist sympathizer, founding member of left-leaning, influential, successful folk-pop The Weavers (“Goodnight Irene,” #1, 1950) and key figure in the folk revival movement of the 50s, produced several albums for others, including Arlo Guthrie‘s Alice’s Restaurant (1967), issued his only solo album, Caught In The Act in 2005, died from natural causes on 9/1/2016, age 89
1929 ● Creed Taylor / (Creed Bane Taylor V) → Acclaimed jazz music record label entrepreneur, first with Bethlehem Records in the early 50s, founded Impulse! records in 1960, later the home of jazz legend John Coltrane and other stars, moved to Verve Records in the early 60s and produced the massively influential, Grammy-winning bossa nova LP Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz and guitarist João Gilberto that included “The Girl From Ipanema” (#5, AC #1, 1964), formed CTI Records (Creed Taylor Inc.) in 1967 and issued top-end, high-quality albums by George Benson, Stanley Turrentine, Grover Washington Jr. and many others in the 70s, kept the label alive through financial difficulties in the 80s, created and toured as manager of the CTI All-Stars through the 10s, suffered a stroke and died several weeks later on 8/22/2022, age 93.
1934 ● Barney Ales / (Baldassare Ales) → Rising-star sales manager in 1950s Detroit for Warner Bros. Records, left to join fledgling, black-owned Motown Records and was instrumental in bringing white teenagers to the label in the 60s, when Motown left for L.A. in 1972, stayed and formed his own label but sold it to Motown and rejoined in 1975, serving as President in the late 70s, later worked with Elton John‘s Rocket Records and other jazz and R&B labels, died from undisclosed causes on 4/17/2020, age 85.
1935 ● Teddy Randazzo / (Theodore Alexander Randazzo) → Singer, songwriter and pop music arranger best known for co-writing “Going Out Of My Head” for Little Anthony & The Imperials (#6, 1964) and “Hurts So Bad” (#8 , 1980) for Linda Ronstadt, died of natural causes on 11/21/2003, age 68
1938 ● John Smith → Bass vocals for one hit wonder R&B/doo wop sextet The Monotones, “(Who Wrote) The Book Of Love” (#5, 1958)
1941 ● Joe Brown → Stage and TV actor, BBC radio host, early Brit rock ‘n’ roll singer and guitarist, “A Picture Of You” (UK #2, 1962), still performs after nearly 60 years of rocking
1941 ● Ritchie Valens / (Ricardo Valenzuela Reyes) → Singer, songwriter, guitarist, promising early rock ‘n’ roller and the first Latino pop star, released the Top 5 hit “Donna” (#2, 1958) and the enduring “La Bamba” (#22, 1959) just months before he died along with Buddy Holly and J. R. “The Big Bopper” Richardson in an Iowa plane crash on the night of 2/3/1959, age 17
1943 ● Mary Wells / (Mary Esther Wells) → R&B/soul-pop singer, early and influential Motown solo artist with 12 R&B Top 10 singles during the label’s formative years, including five that crossed over the Top 10 on the pop charts, her signature “My Guy” (#1, R&B #1, 1964) is the embodiment of early 60s Motown soul-pop, left the label in 1964 over a contract dispute, and with the exception of “Dear Lover” (#51, R&B #22, 1968) never had another meaningful hit over the next 25 years at a succession of different labels, toured on the oldies circuit until dying of throat cancer on 7/26/1992, age 49.
1945 ● Blue Lou Mairini / (Louis Marini, Jr. ) → Jazz, blues and rock saxophonist with Blood, Sweat & Tears, the Saturday Night Live house band, The Blues Brothers, “Soul Man” (#14, 1979), solo
1945 ● Magic Dick / (Richard Salwitz) → Harmonica and organ for boogie-blues-rock ‘n roll bar band J. Geils Band, “Centerfold” (#1, 1982)
1947 ● Peter Watts / (Peter Overend Watts) → Bassist for early Brit glam-rockers Mott The Hoople, “All The Young Dudes” (#37, 1972), producer
1950 ● Danny Kirwan / (Daniel David Kirwan) → Guitarist and songwriter with early lineups of Fleetwood Mac (1968-72) and during the band’s transition from blues-rock stalwarts to pop-rock megastars, left before the band achieved superstardom and enjoyed a moderately successful solo career before fading into obscurity outside the music industry, died from undisclosed causes on 06/10/2018, age 68
1950 ● Johnny Logan / (Seán Patrick Michael Sherrard) → Aussie-born Irish singer, songwriter, three-time Eurovision winner and guitarist, “What’s Another Year” (UK #1, 1980)
1950 ● Stevie Wonder / (Stevland Hardaway Judkins) → Teenaged Motown R&B/soul singer (“Fingertips,” #1, 1963) turned Grammy-winning soul-pop singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with 15 #1 albums and over 30 Top 40 singles (nine #1 hits) including “Superstition” (#1, 1973)
1951 ● Paul Thompson → Drummer for prog rock Roxy Music, “Love Is The Drug” (#30, 1976) and post-punk alt rock Concrete Blonde, “Joey” (Modern Rock #1, 1990)
1959 ● Kim McAuliffe → Founding member, vocals and rhythm guitar for early all-girl heavy metal group Painted Lady, which became Girlschool, “Hit And Run” (UK #32, 1981)
1963 ● Julian Brookhouse → Guitarist for Brit teen-pop blue-eyed soul Curiosity Killed The Cat, “Down To Earth” (UK #3, 1986)
1964 ● Lorraine McIntosh → Vocalist for Scottish indie pop-rock Deacon Blue, “Real Gone Kid” (UK #8, 1988), married to lead singer Ricky Ross
1966 ● Alison Goldfrapp → Vocals and synthesizer with Will Gregory in Brit electro-dance-pop due Goldfrapp, “Number 1” (Dance/Club #1, 2005)
1966 ● Darius Rucker → Vocals, rhythm guitar and harmonica for 90s pop-rock quartet Hootie & The Blowfish, “Only Wanna Be With You” (#6, 1995), solo
1967 ● Melanie Thornton → African American R&B/gospel and dance-pop singer with very little attention in the U.S. but with a moderately successful and growing career in Europe, particularly in Germany, died in a commercial plane crash in Switzerland on 11/24/2001, age 34
1979 ● Michael Madden → Bassist for alt funk-rock Maroon 5, “She Will Be Loved” (#5, 2004)
