Happy Birthday this week to:
February 09
1909 ● Carmen Miranda → The “Brazilian Bombshell,” samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress and film star whose trademark fruit-basket headdress and exotic outfits belied her considerable talents, first Brazilian to achieve international stardom and first to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, generally credited with exposing Latin culture to a broader audience worldwide, died in her prime from a heart attack on 8/5/1955, age 46
1914 ● Ernest Tubb → Legendary singer, songwriter and pioneer of modern country music, first of the honky tonk singers and first to achieve national recognition, scored 91 country chart hits over a 50-year career, including “Soldier’s Last Laugh” (#16, Country #1, 1944) and “Walking The Floor Over You” (#18, Country #31, 1979), died from emphysema on 9/6/1984, age 70
1918 ● George Goldner → Jewish-American record producer and label executive who contributed to the development of rock ‘n’ roll in the 50s by recording and promoting R&B acts, primarily doo wop, through his record labels Rama, Roulette, Gee and End Records, brought The Crows, The Wrens, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers and dozens of other groups to the national stage, in the 60s through his Red Bird Records produced hits for the Shangri-Las, the Dixie Cups and the Ad-Libs, among others, died from a heart attack on 4/15/1970, age 52
1939 ● Barry Mann / (Barry Iberman) → Grammy-winning Brill Building songwriter, often as collaborator with his wife, Cynthia Weil, issued novelty pop solo “Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)” (#7, 1961), wrote “On Broadway”, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” and “Somewhere Out There” among other hits for varied rock and pop artists
1940 ● Brian Bennett → Composer, arranger and producer best known as the drummer for multiple early Brit rock ‘n’ roll bands including instrumental pop-rock The Shadows, “Apache” (worldwide #1, 1960) and pop-rock Cliff Richard & The Shadows, “Foot Tapper” (UK #1, 1963)
1942 ● Carole King / (Carol Klein) → Brill Building composer with husband Gerry Goffin, pianist and solo Grammy-winning singer/songwriter, “I Feel The Earth Move” (#1, 1971), wrote or co-wrote nearly 120 pop hits recorded by herself and other artists, including “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” and “One Fine Day”
1942 ● Mark Mathis / (Marcus Felton Mathis) → Multi-instrumentalist and vocals for pop-rock trio The Newbeats, “Bread And Butter” (#2, 1964)
1943 ● Barbara Lewis → R&B/pop-soul singer and songwriter, “Baby I’m Yours” (#11, R&B #5, 1965)
1947 ● Joe Ely / (Earle R. Ely) → Country, honky tonk and rock ‘n’ roll singer/songwriter, first with The Flatlanders, then solo, “Musta Notta Gotta Lotta” (Mainstream Rock #40, 1981), plus session and tour work with artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, Linda Ronstadt and Uncle Tupelo
1947 ● Major Harris → “Philadelphia Sound” smooth R&B/soul guitarist and singer with numerous groups including The Delfonics, “La-La (Means I Love You)” (#4, 1968), then solo, “Love Won’t Let Me Wait” (#5, R&B #1, 1975), died from lung and heart failure on 11/8/2012, age 66
1951 ● Dee Tee Thomas / (Dennis Thomas) → Saxophonist for jazz-fusion then R&B/funk Kool & The Gang, “Jungle Boogie” (#4, 1973)
1955 ● Jimmy Pursey / (James Timothy Pursey) → Founder, frontman and lead vocals for Brit punk rock Sham 69 (“Hersham Boys,” UK #6, 1979), continues to record and perform in the 10s with a new lineup of the band
1960 ● Holly Johnson / (William Johnson) → Lead vocals and founding member of Brit New Wave pop-rock Frankie Goes To Hollywood, “Relax” (#10, 1984)
1963 ● Dave Rotheray → Guitarist for Brit alt pop-rock The Beautiful South, “A Little Time” (UK #1, 1990)
1963 ● Travis Tritt → Grammy-winning, hatless country and Southern rock singer/songwriter with forty country chart hits and five #1s, including “Foolish Pride” (Country #1, 1994)
1964 ● Rachel Bolan / (James Richard Southworth) → Founder, bassist and chief songwriter for New Jersey-based hair metal/pop-metal Skid Row (“I Remember You,” #6, 1989), also worked with Ace Frehley (of Kiss), Mötley Crüe and stoner metal Godspeed
1981 ● The Rev / (James Owen Sullivan) → Founding member, drummer, vocalist and songwriter for heavy metal Avenged Sevenfold, wrote “Almost Easy” (Mainstream #3, 2007) and other hits prior to the band’s peak years in the 10s, died from an overdose of pain killers an alcohol on 12/28/2009, age 28
February 10
1914 ● Larry Adler / (Lawrence Cecil Adler) → Harmonica virtuoso, soloist with major symphony orchestras worldwide, session work varied artists from Fred Astaire to George Gershwin to Elton John, Kate Bush and Sting, fronted the 1994 all-star tribute album Glory Of Gershwin, died of natural causes on 8/7/2001, age 87
1929 ● Jerry Goldsmith / (Jerrald King Goldsmith) → Highly-regarded, prolific film score composer/conductor for movies and TV, including Dr. Kildare, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., died from cancer on 7/21/2004, age 75
1933 ● Don Wilson → Co-founder and guitarist for long-lived, unique-sound rock ‘n’ roll instrumental surf-rock The Ventures, “Walk – Don’t Run” (#2, 1960)
1939 ● Roberta Flack / (Roberta Cleopatra Flack) → Sweet-voiced, Grammy-winning R&B/pop-soul singer and songwriter with multiple hits including, “Killing Me Softly With His Song” (#1, 1973), plus duets with Donny Hathaway including “Where Is The Love” (#5, 1972)
1940 ● Jimmy Merchant → Founding member and second tenor vocals for influential R&B/doo wop Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?” (R&B #1,1956)
1941 ● Manny Charlton / (Manuel Charlton) → Founding member and lead guitarist for Scottish hard rock Nazareth, “Love Hurts” (#8, 1976)
1943 ● Ral Donner / (Ralph Stuart Donner) → Elvis Presley sound-alike early rock ‘n’ roll singer, “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got (Until You Lose It)” (#4, 1961), died of cancer on 4/6/1984, age 41
1944 ● Rick Price → Bassist for Brit psych-rock The Move, “Blackberry Way” (UK #1, 1968), briefly with pop-rock Electric Light Orchestra, then eccentric jazz-pop Wizzard, “See My Baby Jive” (UK #1, 1973), now tours with wife Dianne Lee
1944 ● Peter Allen / (Peter Richard Woolnough) → Aussie singer, cabaret dancer, film and stage actor, and songwriter, wrote or co-wrote several hits for others, including “I Honestly Love You” for Olivia Newton-John (#1, 1974)”I Go To Rio” for Pablo Cruise (#46, 1979) and the Academy Award-winning “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do” for Christopher Cross (#1, 1981), issued eight studio albums and was the subject of the posthumous documentary The Boy From Oz (1998), died from AIDS-relegated illnesses on 6/18/1992, age 48
1944 ● Nathaniel Mayer → Teenaged one hit wonder R&B/soul-pop singer, “Village Of Love” (#22, R&B #10, 1962), disappeared but resurfaced in 2004 with a new album, continued to perform in the Detroit area until his death following a series of stokes on 11/1/2008, age 64
1946 ● Cliff Ward / (Clifford Thomas Ward) → Brit folk-pop singer/songwriter, “Gaye” (UK #8, 1973), died from pneumonia on 12/18/2001, age 55
1949 ● Nigel Olsson → Drummer for Brit psych-pop Plastic Penny, “Everything I Am” (UK #6, 1968), then original drummer in the Elton John Band, sessions
1957 ● Gary Stewart / (Gary Lee Stewart) → Rhino Records in-store salesman, rose to senior vice president for A&R at the label, championed the creation of the box set, reissue and anthology business for which Rhino is known, including the quirky but definitive Have A Nice Day compilation of 70s pop-rock and the Nuggets series of obscure garage rock and psychedelic bands, lured by Steve Jobs to Apple iTunes in 2004 as chief music officer to oversee curation of download playlists, left in 2011 but returned in 2016 to lead streaming music, left again in 2018 and, becoming depressed over his career direction, committed suicide on 4/11/2019, age 62.
1962 ● Robbie Neville → Next generation member (son and nephew) in New Orleans soul-funk sibling group The Neville Brothers, “Yellow Moon” (1989)
1962 ● Cliff Burton → First bassist for heavy metal Metallica, “Enter Sandman” (#10, 1991), was killed when the band’s tour bus crashed in Sweden on 9/27/1986, age 24
1963 ● Tony Reno (Niemistö) → Original drummer for Swedish hard rock/glam-metal Europe, “The Final Countdown” (#8, 1986), solo, now a computer technician
1977 ● Rosanna Tavarez → Vocals for pre-fab, all-girl, teen dance-pop quintet Eden’s Crush, “Get Over Yourself” (#1, 2001), the first #1 debut single by an all-female group
February 11
1882 ● John Mills, Sr. / (John Hutchinson Mills) → Patriarch of the four sons who formed groundbreaking, six-decade jazz and pop quartet The Mills Brothers (“Cab Driver,” #23, AC #3, 1968), the first African-American artists to have their own national network radio show (1930) and the first to have a #1 hit on the Billboard singles chart (“Paper Doll,” 1943), replaced his deceased son, John Jr., after he died in 1936 and performed with the group until just prior to his own death on 12/8/1967, age 85.
1914 ● Josh White → Influential folk revival and Piedmont blues guitarist and songwriter, recorded under pseudonyms “Pinewood Tom” and “Tippy Barton” in 30s, became a social activist for Afro-American musicians, hosted US and UK music TV shows, died during open heart surgery on 9/6/1969, age 55
1914 ● Matt Dennis → Big Band-era songwriter, pianist and singer with a string of albums and radio and TV appearances in his later career, started in Hollywood night clubs in the 20s and 30s, composed and arranged for Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller‘s orchestras in the 40s, fronted his own bands in the 50s, wrote the now-standard “Angel Eyes” (1946) and other songs covered by Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Roberta Flack and others, died of natural causes on 6/21/2002, age 88
1928 ● Raoul Cita → Pianist, songwriter and arranger for critically recognized but commercially little known R&B/doo wop The Harptones (“Life Is But A Dream,” 1955), performed with the group for over 60 years until his death from liver and stomach cancer on 12/13/2014, age 86
1935 ● Gene Vincent / (Vincent Eugene Craddock) → Early and legendary rock ‘n’ roll/rockabilly singer and bandleader with His Blue Caps, “Be-Bop-A-Lula” (#7, 1956), died from a ruptured stomach ulcer on 10/12/1971, age 36
1939 ● Gerry Goffin → Brill Building songwriter and lyricist, with wife Carole King co-wrote over 20 classic pop-rock hits and six chart toppers, including “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” (The Shirelles), “Take Good Care Of My Baby” (Bobby Vee) and “The Loco-Motion” (Little Eva), died on 6/19/2014, age 75
1940 ● Boris Pickett / (Robert George Pickett) → One hit wonder novelty pop bandleader, singer and songwriter, “Monster Mash” (#1, 1962), died from complications of leukemia on 4/25/2007, age 67
1941 ● Earl Lewis → Bass vocals for sophisticated group harmony R&B/doo wop The Flamingos, “I Only Have Eyes For You”, (#11, R&B #3, 1959), then The Five Echoes
1941 ● Sergio Mendes → Brazilian bossa nova, jazz and funk keyboardist and bandleader for Brasil ’66, “The Foot Of The Hill” (#6, 1968)
1942 ● Leon Haywood → R&B/funk and soul singer with several singles and stints with various bands in the 60s with little commercial success, scored several R&B hits on the 70s, including “I Want’a Do Something Freaky To You” (#15, R&B #7, 1975) but stopped recording and turned to record production in the 80s for Edge Records and his own Evejim label
1942 ● Otis Clay → Gospel, soul and Chicago blues singer with numerous minor hits, including “Trying To Live My Life Without You” (#102, R&B #24, 1972) but little resounding success, was a 2013 inductee into the Blues Hall of Fame and continued to perform and record until his death from a heart attack on 1/8/2016, age 73
1943 ● Little Johnny Taylor (Merrett) / (Johnny Taylor Merrett) → Gospel turned R&B/soul and blues singer with one big hit (“Part Time Love,” #19, R&B #1, 1963) and eight other minor chart singles in the 60s and 70s, continued to tour and perform until his death on 5/17/2002, age 59
1946 ● Ray Lake → Guitarist for Brit Northern soul/funk The Real Thing, “You To Me Are Everything” (R&B #28, UK #1, 1976)
1947 ● Derek Shulman → Multi-instrumentalist and lead vocalist for pop/rock Simon Dupree & The Big Sound, “Kites” (UK #9, 1967), then founding member with brothers Ray and Phil of innovative prog rock Gentle Giant, senior executive positions with PolyGram, Atco and Roadrunner record companies
1948 ● Al Johnson → R&B/soul singer and music producer, co-founder of smooth harmony soul quintet The Unifics and lead singer on their two Top 40 hits, “Court Of Love” (#25, R&B #3, 1968) and “The Beginning Of My End” (#36, R&B #9, 1969), turned to a mildly successful solo career and record production in the 80s, reformed The Unifics in 2004, died on 10/26/2013, age 65
1950 ● Rochelle Fleming → Vocals in Philly R&B/disco female group First Choice, “The Player, Part 1” (R&B #7, 1974)
1953 ● Neil Henderson → Joined Scot bubblegum pop-rock Middle Of The Road, “Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep” (UK #1, 1971) in 1974, wrote “Rockin’ Soul” (Germany #31, 1974)
1953 ● Mr. Fabulous / (Alan “Mr. Fabulous” Rubin) → Trumpet and flugelhorn for the Saturday Night Live house band, the Blues Brothers Band, “Soul Man” (#14, 1979) and hundreds of studio sessions with Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Aerosmith and many others, died from lung cancer on 6/8/2011 , age 58
1962 ● Sheryl Crow → Former backing vocalist for Michael Jackson‘s “Bad” tour turned nine-time Grammy-winning roots rock singer/songwriter, “All I Wanna Do” (#2, 1994) and eight other Top 40 hits
1966 ● Tenor Saw / (Clive Bright) → Early ragga and dancehall reggae singer, “Ring The Alarm” (1985), killed by a hit-and-run driver in August 1988
1967 ● Clay Crosse / (Walter Clayton Crossnoe) → Contemporary Christian Music vocalist and multiple Dove Award winner, “I Will Follow Christ” (2000)
1969 ● Shovell / (Andrew Lovell) → Jamaican-born percussionist for Brit dance-pop/house music M People, “Moving On Up” (#34, Dance #1, 1993)
1972 ● Craig Jones → Sampler and keyboardist for Grammy-winning alt metal/rap-metal Slipknot, “Duality” (Mainstream Rock #5, 2004)
1974 ● D’Angelo / (Michael Eugene Archer) → Early and influential 90s R&B/neo-soul singer, “Lady” (#10, 1996), Grammy-winner for “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” (#25, R&B #2, 2000)
1977 ● Mike Shinoda → Guitar and vocals for alt rock/rap-rock/space-rock Linkin Park, “In The End” (Alt Rock #1, 2001)
1979 ● Brandy / (Brandy Rayana Norwood) → Teen pop then R&B/neo-soul-pop star, “Sittin’ Up In My Room” (#2, 1996), songwriter, TV actress, record and film producer
1981 ● Kelly Rowland / (Kelendria Trene Rowland) → Vocals for R&B/dance-pop Destiny’s Child, “Say My Name” (#1, 2000), solo artist and actress
1984 ● Aubrey O’Day → Singer for MTV Making the Band program winner and pre-fab, all-girl dance-pop quintet Danity Kane, “Show Stopper” (#8, 2006)
1991 ● Never Shout Never / (Christofer Drew Ingle) → Multi-instrumentalist one man band acoustic pop singer/songwriter, “Trouble” (Singles Sales #1, 2009)
February 12
1867 ● Len Spencer / (Leonard Garfield Spencer) → Early American phonograph recording star during the transition from cylinders to vinyl discs, two of his more popular songs were the vaudevillian “A Hot Time In The Old Town” (ca. 1897) and the comedy/satire “Arkansas Traveler” (1902), left the industry around 1910 to open a talent booking agency and died from a heart attack on 12/15/1914, age 47.
1904 ● Ted Mack / (William Edward Maguiness) → Host of the TV variety show Ted Mack And The Original Amateur Hour from 1948 to 1970, featured early-career performances by Gladys Knight, Ann-Margret, Pat Boone and others, influenced future musical talent-seeking shows including The Gong Show, American Idol and America’s Got Talent, died from cancer on 7/12/1976, age 72
1914 ● Tex Beneke / (Gordon Lee Beneke) → Big Band-era saxophonist, singer and bandleader who played and snag with the Glenn Miller Orchestra on their hits “In The Mood” (#1, 1940) and “Chattanooga Choo Choo” (#1, 1941), took over leadership of the band in 1946 after Miller‘s death during World War II and later formed his own bands during a forty-year second career that lasted until his death from reparatory failure on 5/30/2000, age 86
1915 ● Lorne Greene / (Lyon Himan Green) → Canadian-born CBC radio newscaster, stage, film and TV actor, and country-pop singer with several albums and a lone hit, the spoken-word ballad “Ringo” (#1, 1964), the second Canadian to have a US #1 single in the U.S., best known for starring in the NBC TV western Bonanza (1959-73), died from prostate cancer on 9/11/1987, age 72
1935 ● Gene McDaniels → R&B singer during the late 50s and early 60s development of classic soul music, “Tower of Strength” (#5, 1961) and five other Top 40 hits, wrote “Feel Like Makin’ Love” for Roberta Flack (#1, 1974), died at home of natural causes on 7/29/2011, age 76
1939 ● Ray Manzarek → Keyboards and backing vocals for influential/controversial rock band The Doors, “Hello, I Love You” (#1, 1968), member of supergroup Nite City and collaborations with Doors bandmate Robby Krieger, died of cancer on 5/20/2013, age 74
1942 ● Rick Frank → Founding member and drummer for jazz-psych-rock Elephant’s Memory, “Mongoose” (Top 100, 1969), which became the backing band for John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the early 70s, worked with Lennon on his 1972 album Some Time In New York City
1946 ● Pete Gage / (Peter Gage) → Blues-rock guitarist, vocalist, keyboards and harmonica player, played in Jet Harris‘s backing band in the 60s and various soul-blues-rock bands in the 70s, formed his own Pete Gage Expression in the 80s, frontman for the 90s lineup of Brit pub-rock Dr. Feelgood, “Milk And Alcohol” (UK #9, 1979), continues to perform with various rock acts into the 10s
1946 ● Joe Schermie → Original bassist for pop-rock Three Dog Night, “Joy To The World” (#1, 1971), left in 1973 to start pop-rock S. S. Fools and session work, died following a heart attack on 3/25/2002, age 56
1947 ● Shelbra Bennett Deane → Original member in R&B/soul vocal quartet The Soul Children, “I’ll Be The Other Woman” (#36, R&B #3, 1973), the group did not meet the expectations of Isaac Hayes and other Stax Records executives who created the group to offset the loss of departed duo Sam & Dave, died on 5/31/2013, age 66
1949 ● Goober Grin / (Stanley Knight) → Guitarist for Southern raunch-rock Black Oak Arkansas, “Jim Dandy To The Rescue” (#25, 1974), died from cancer on 2/16/2013, age 64
1950 ● Steve Hackett → Joined prog-rock Genesis, “Your Own Special Way” (#62, 1977) in 1971, left in 1977 for solo career and eventually prog rock supergroup GTR, “When The Heart Rules The Mind” (#14, 1986) with Steve Howe of Yes
1951 ● G.L. Moore / (Gilbert Moore) → Drummer and vocals for Canadian power rock trio Triumph (“All The Way,” Mainstream Rock #2, 1983), owner of Metalworks Studios, Canada’s largest facility
1951 ● Vincent James → Vocals for Philly-style Brit R&B/soul Sweet Sensation, “Sad Sweet Dreamer” (, , 1975)
1952 ● Michael McDonald → Blue-eyed soul/pop backing singer with Steely Dan, lead vocals for California pop-rock The Doobie Brothers, “Listen To The Music” (#11, 1972), then Grammy-winning solo career, “Sweet Freedom” (#7, 1986)
1958 ● Grant McLennan → Bass, vocals and songwriter for Aussie alt pop-rock The Go-Betweens, “Was There Anything I Could Do?” (Modern Rock #16, 1988), then solo, died in his sleep at home in Brisbane, Australia on 5/6/2006, age 48
1959 ● Neil Conti → Percussion for Brit indie pop-rock Prefab Sprout, “If You Don’t Love Me” (Dance/Club #3, 1992)
1959 ● Omar Hakim → Session and touring drummer for Carly Simon, then joined jazz-rock fusion Weather Report, then sessions for Sting, Dire Straits, Madonna, Miles Davis and others, plus two solo albums
1966 ● Gary Whelan → Drummer for Manchester electro-dance club Happy Mondays, “Stinkin Thinkin” (Dance/Club #1, 1992)
1966 ● Paul Crook → Session and tour guitarist, now with Meat Loaf, formerly with Anthrax and Sebastian Bach
1968 ● Chynna Phillips → Vocals for pop-rock all-girl offspring trio Wilson Phillips, “Release Me” (#1, 1990), daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas And The Papas
1970 ● Jim Creeggan / (James Raymond Creeggan) → Bassist for Canadian alt-rock Barenaked Ladies, “One Week” (#1, 1998)
1971 ● Kei Lewis → Keyboards and guitar for new jack swing R&B/soul-pop sextet Mint Condition, “What Kind Of Man Would I Be?” (#17, 1996)
1978 ● Brian Chase → Drummer in New York indie rock/punk revival trio Yeah Yeah Yeahs (“Maps,” #87, Alt. Rock #9, 2004)
1979 ● Jade Jones → Lead singer for Brit R&B/dance-pop boy band Damage, “Wonderful Tonight” (UK #3, 1997)
1981 ● Lisa Hannigan / (Lisa Margaret Hannigan) → Irish vocalist with folk-rock the Damien Rice Band, “Cannonball” (UK #32, 2002), then singer/songwriter solo career, “Lille” (2008)
1987 ● O’Ryan / (O’Ryan Omir Browner) → Urban teen R&B/dance-pop singer, “Take It Slow” (R&B #122, 2004), younger brother of Omarion
February 13
1919 ● Tennessee Ernest Jennings Ford / (Ernest Jennings Ford) → Country-pop singer and TV host who recorded over 100 albums from traditional country to gospel to early rock ‘n’ roll, “Sixteen Tons” (#1, 1955), died from alcoholic liver failure on 10/17/1991, age 72
1920 ● Boudleaux Bryant → Prolific country and pop songwriter, with his wife Felice wrote “Rocky Top,” “Love Hurts,” “Bye Bye Love” (#2, 1957) and “All I Have To Do Is Dream” (#1, 1958) for The Everly Brothers, as well as “Raining In My Heart” for Buddy Holly, died on 6/25/1987, age 67
1923 ● Gene Ames / (Gene Ames (Urick)) → Vocals for sibling quartet Ames Brothers, “Rag Mop” (#1, 1950), starred in The Ames Brothers Show on TV, died of cancer on 4/4/1997, age 74
1928 ● Dorothy McGuire → Vocals for immensely popular sibling singing trio the McGuire Sisters, “Sugartime” (#1, 1958)
1942 ● Peter Tork / (Peter Halsten Thorkelson) → Struggling Greenwich Village folkie who found nearly instant fame after answering a casting call seeking actor/musicians for a new TV sitcom modeled on The Beatles‘ “A Hard Day’s Night ” and “Help!” movies, the show begat 60s bad-rap, pre-fab pop-rock The Monkees and six Top 10 hits, including “Last Train To Clarksville” (#1, 1966), continued to perform and record as a solo artist and bandleader for Shoe Suede Blues, as well as in Monkees reunion tours, until his death from cancer on 2/21/2019, age 77
1943 ● Bill Szymczyk → Technical engineer and rock and blues music producer, worked with J. Geils Band, James Gang, The Outlaws, Bob Seger, The Who and Edgar Winter Group among many others, including a long association with the Eagles, for whom he produced the album Long Road Out Of Eden in 2007
1944 ● Bettye Swann / (Betty Jean Champion) → One hit wonder R&B/Southern soul singer, “Make Me Yours” (#21, R&B #1, 1967), now a retired teacher
1944 ● Stockard Channing / (Susan Antonia Williams Stockard) → Stage, film and TV actress who portrayed Betty Rizzo in the film adaptation of the Broadway show Grease (1977) and sang lead vocals on “Look At Me I’m Sandra Dee” on the film’s soundtrack album, the highest selling movie soundtrack of all time.
1944 ● Reebop / (Anthony Kwaku Baah) → Ghanaian percussionist and singer with Traffic, Can and Zahara, plus sessions for Steve Winwood and The Rolling Stones, and four solo LPs mixing traditional African sounds with dance-pop contemporary music, died from a cerebral hemorrhage on 1/12/1983, age 38
1945 ● Roy Dyke → Drummer in 60s Brit pop-rock The Remo Four, then art rock Ashton, Gardner & Dyke, “Resurrection Shuffle” (#40, UK #3, 1971)
1945 ● King Floyd / (King Floyd III) → New Orleans R&B/soul singer and songwriter with several minor chart singles and one big hit, “Groove Me” (#6 R&B #1, UK $#41, 1970), died from complications of a stroke on 3/6/2006 , age 61
1950 ● Peter Gabriel → Founding member and leader of prog rock Genesis, left in 1976 to start art rock then successful mainstream pop solo career, “Sledgehammer” (#1, 1986)
1950 ● Roger Christian → Keyboards and vocals for blue-eyed soul sibling trio The Christians, “When Fingers Point” (Dance/Club #29, 1988), left in 1987, died from a brain tumor on 3/8/1998, age 48
1951 ● David Naughton → Actor and singer, starred in the TV sitcom Makin’ It and became a one hit wonder pop singer with the release of the show’s theme song, “Makin’ It” (#5, 1979), later starred in the film American Werewolf In London (1981) and appeared in several 80s and 90s TV sitcoms
1951 ● Rod Dees → Bassist for Brit rock ‘n’ roll revival Showaddywaddy, “Under The Moon Of Love” (UK #1, 1976) and over 20 other UK Top 40 singles
1952 ● Paul Jeffreys → Bassist for glam-rock Cockney Rebel and later Be-Bop Deluxe, died with his new wife on the way to their honeymoon in the bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on 12/21/1988, age 36
1952 ● Ed Gagliardi / (Edward John Gagliardi) → Original bassist for arena rock Foreigner, “Double Vision” (#2, 1978), left to form The Spys with Foreigner keyboardist Al Greenwood in 1978, died from cancer on 5/11/2014, age 62
1955 ● Scott Smith / (Donald Scott Smith) → Founding member and bassist for Canadian hard pop-rock Loverboy, “Turn Me Loose” (#35, Main #6, AUS #3, CAN #7, 1981) and eight other Top 40 hits, presumed drowned at sea when swept overboard from his 11-metre sailboat near the Golden Gate Bridge while from Vancouver to Baja California on 10/30/2000, age 45
1956 ● Peter Hook → Bassist for post-punk Joy Division, then New Wave synth-dance-pop New Order, “Blue Monday” (Dance #5, 1983)
1957 ● Tony Butler / (Anthony Earle Peter Butler) → Bassist for Scottish art-folk-rock Big Country, “In A Big Country” (Mainstream Rock #3, 1983), sessions for The Pretenders, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and others
1958 ● Marc Fox → Percussion and vocals for New Wave funk-pop Haircut 100, “Love Plus One” (#37, 1982)
1961 ● cEvin Key / (Kevin William Crompton) → Multi-instrumentalist and founding member of Canadian avant-industrial rock Skinny Puppy, “Testure” (Dance/Club #19, 1989), after disbandment in 1995 founded industrial noise group Download and issued several solo albums
1961 ● Henry Rollins / (Henry Lawrence Garfield) → Singer, songwriter, MTV host, record producer and frontman for hardcore L.A. punk Black Flag and the Rollins Band
1961 ● Les Warner → Former drummer with hard rock/metal revival The Cult, “Fire Woman” (Mainstream Rock #4, 1989), now with a Vegas hotel house band
1962 ● Rob Ellis → Producer, arranger and drummer for singer/songwriter P. J. Harvey, “50 ft Queenie” (UK #27, 1993) including her alt rock/punk-revival trio PJ Harvey
1966 ● Freedom Williams / (Frederick Brandon Williams) → Lead vocals for dance-pop C+C Music Factory, “Gonna Make You Sweat” (#1, 1991), left for an unsuccessful solo career
1971 ● Sonia / (Sonia Evans) → Brit pop singer, “You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You” (UK #1, 1989) and “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy” (Adult Contemporary #13, 1992)
1972 ● Todd Harrell → Bassist for post-grunge alt rock 3 Doors Down, “Kryptonite” (#3, 2000)
1973 ● David Draiman → Lead vocals/songwriter for Chicago-based heavy metal Disturbed, “Another Way To Die” (Mainstream Rock #1, 2010)
1974 ● Robbie Williams → Vocals for Brit teen dance-pop boy-band Take That, “Back For Good” (#7, 1995), then solo, “Millennium” (Adult Top 40 #22, 1999)
1976 ● Leslie Feist → Award-winning Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist with Broken Social Scene, “1 2 3 4” (UK #4, 2007), solo
1988 ● Aston Merrygold → Vocals for Brit teen pop boy-band JLS (Jack The Lad Swing), “Everybody In Love” (Mainstream Top 40 #38, 2010)
February 14
1922 ● Murray The K / (Murray Kaufman) → Legendary rock ‘n’ roll impresario and radio DJ (WINS-am, WOR-FM, New York), self-appointed “Fifth Beatle” in the mid 60s, died of cancer on 2/21/1982, age 60
1926 ● Al Brodax / (Albert Philip Brodax) → TV producer with King Features Syndicate in the 60s, produced hundreds of “Popeye” cartoons and created the ABC-TV cartoon series The Beatles (1965-1969), then (over the Beatles‘ objections) convinced band manager Brian Epstein to back the now-classic, psychedelic “head trip” animated motion picture Yellow Submarine (1968), died from natural causes on 10/24/2016, age 90
1931 ● Phyllis McGuire → Vocals for immensely popular sibling singing trio the McGuire Sisters, “Sugartime” (#1, 1958)
1934 ● Merl Saunders → Multi-genre keyboardist, early bandmate with Johnny Mathis, collaborated with Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead, Mike Bloomfield, David Grisman and many other San Francisco artists in various bands, tours and recording projects, fronted his own bands and issued several albums of rock, blues-rock and New Age music, directed his own music label and worked with environmental charities, died from complications of a stroke on 10/24/2008, age 78
1934 ● Florence Henderson → Actress and singer with a six-decade career on stage, film and TV, appeared in multiple Broadway shows and as the lead in the musical Fanny (1954-1956), hosted her own variety and cooking TV programs and guested on game shows, issued two albums of Broadway songs, appeared on Dancing With The Stars at age 76, best known as the upbeat mom Carol Brady on the hit sitcom The Brady Brunch (1969-1974), died of sudden heart failure on 11/24/2016, age 82
1937 ● Magic Sam / (Samuel Gene Maghett) → Chicago blues guitarist and singer, “Feelin’ Good (We’re Gonna Boogie)” (1963), died from a heart attack on 12/1/1969, age 32
1939 ● Blowfly / (Clarence Reid) → Mildly successful R&B/soul singer (“Nobody But You Babe,” #40, R&B #7, 1969) and songwriter for himself and others, but best known for his alternate stage persona, the X-rated, proto-rapper Blowfly, under which he continued to perform and record until dying from liver cancer on 1/17/2016, age 76
1940 ● Lillie Bryant → One half of the pop vocal duo Billy & Lillie, “La Dee Dah” (#9, 1958) and two other Top 100 hits in the late 50s
1943 ● Eric Andersen → Greenwich Village folk singer/songwriter, “Thirsty Boots” (1966), continues to tour and release occasional albums
1943 ● Maceo Parker → R&B/soul, funk and jazz saxophonist, played with James Brown in the 60s and George Clinton‘s Parliament/Funkadelic bands in the 70s, started a solo career in the 90s and issued eleven albums of soul/funk music, handled session work for Prince, Jane’s Addiction and others
1944 ● Nick Mason → Drummer and only constant member of space rock Pink Floyd since it formed in 1965, “Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)” (#1, 1979), auto racing driver
1945 ● Vic Briggs → Lead guitar for British Invasion hard/blues-rock The Animals, “House Of The Rising Sun” (#1, 1964)
1946 ● Doug Simril → Piano and guitar for blues-rock then psych-rock then pop-rock Steve Miller Band, “The Joker” (#1, 1974) and Boz Scaggs‘ backing band
1947 ● Tim Buckley / (Timothy Charles Buckley III) → Innovative, genre-blurring folk-psych-prog-rock singer and songwriter with little commercial success but plenty of influences, including his folk-rock and blues singer/songwriter son Jeff Buckley, died from a drug overdose on 6/29/1975, age 28
1950 ● Roger Fisher → Guitarist and founding member of hard rock Heart, “Magic Man” (#9, 1976), left in 1980 and in 1988 co-founded Canadian power ballad rock Alias, “More Than Words Can Say” (#2, 1990)
1951 ● Kenny Hyslop → Scottish journeyman drummer with glam-rock Slik, punk rock The Skids, synth-pop Simple Minds, “Don’t You, Forget About Me” (#1, 1985) and others
1963 ● D’wayne Wiggins → R&B and blues guitarist, producer, composer and community activist, with his brother, Raphael Saadiq and cousin, Timothy Christian, founded R&B/dance Tony! Toni! Toné! (“Feels Good,” #9, R&B #1, 1990), developed and signed Destiny’s Child – the most successful girl group of all time – to his Grass Roots Entertainment label, worked with Alicia Keys, India Arie, Jamie Foxx and others, continues to tour with a reformed Tony! Toni! Toné!
1972 ● Rob Thomas → Lead singer and principal songwriter for post-grunge alt rock Matchbox Twenty, “Bent” (#1, 2000), solo, vocals for Santana on pop-rock “Smooth” (#1, 1999)
1975 ● Scott Owen → Stand-up bassist, singer and occasional songwriter for Aussie rockabilly The Living End, “Prisoner Of Society” (Modern Rock #23, 1997)
1977 ● Sean Watkins → Guitarist for Grammy-winning contemporary folk/progressive bluegrass trio Nickel Creek, “This Side” (Country #56, 2002), duo Fiction Family, supergroup Works Progress Administration and solo
1978 ● Ryan Griffiths → Lead guitarist for Aussie garage rock revival The Vines, “Get Free” (Mainstream Rock #27, 2002)
1980 ● Regina Spektor → Russian-American anti-folk/alt-rock singer, songwriter and pianist, “Fidelity” (#51, 2006) and the #3 album Far (2006)
February 15
1888 ● Lawrence Wright → Brit record shop owner and music publisher who founded Melody Maker magazine in 1926 and wrote or co-wrote over 600 songs between World War I and the early 60s, including “Among My Souvenirs” for Paul Whiteman (#1, 1928) and Connie Francis (#7, 1959), Melody Maker failed to report his death on 5/19/1964, age 76
1905 ● Harold Arlen → Composer and songsmith with over 500 song credits, co-wrote the Oscar-winning “Over The Rainbow” and other songs in the movie The Wizard Of Oz (1939), other credits include “That Old Black Magic” (Glenn Miller, #1, 1942) and “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive” (The Pied Pipers, #2, 1945) and several other songs now included in the Great American Songbook, died from cancer on 4/23/1986, age 81
1918 ● Hank Locklin / (Lawrence Hankins Locklin) → Country-pop crossover singer and songwriter with 70 chart singles, including six Country #1’s and the crossover hit “Please Help Me, I’m Falling” (#8, Country #1, 1960), died from unreported causes on 3/8/2009, age 91
1939 ● Alvin Cash / (Alvin Welch) → St. Louis high schoolmate of Luther Ingram and Tina Turner, then fronted song-and-dance troupe The Crawlers with two brothers, their chanting, funky R&B/dance “Twine Time” (#14, R&B #4, 1965) was one of five hits he recorded with the group or as a solo act, died from ulcer problems on 11/21/1999, age 60
1941 ● Brian Holland → Motown musical arranger and producer with the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team, co-wrote dozens of hits for The Supremes, The Four Tops, Martha & The Vandellas, The Isley Brothers and others, issued solo albums
1942 ● Glyn Johns → Recording engineer and producer, mixed The Who‘s Who’s Next album, worked with Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles‘ Let It Be sessions, Joan Armatrading, Steve Miller, Eagles, The Faces and Led Zeppelin
1944 ● Denny Zager → Vocals in folk-pop-rock one hit wonder duo Zager & Evans, “In The Year 2525” (#1, 1969)
1944 ● John Parry → Session musician and early member of Brit comedy-rock Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, “I’m The Urban Spaceman” (UK #5, 1968)
1944 ● Mick Avory / (Michael Charles Avory) → Drummer for Brit folk-pop-rock The Kinks, “You Really Got Me” (#7, 1964) from 1964 to 1984, played in various 60s revival and Kinks spin-off bands through the 00s
1945 ● John Helliwell → Saxophonist for Brit prog-art-pop-rock Supertramp, “The Logical Song” (#6, 1979)
1947 ● David Brown → Bassist for Latin-rock Santana, “Black Magic Woman” (#4, 1970) and the Boz Scaggs band, died from liver and kidney failure on 9/4/2000, age 53
1951 ● Melissa Manchester → Folk-pop/adult contemporary singer and songwriter, “Midnight Blue” (#6, 1975), TV, film and stage actress
1951 ● Alan Rogan → Freelance guitar technician with dozens of superstar and guitar-god clients, including Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty and Jackson Browne, but closest and longest relationship with The Who and Pete Townshend, for whom he repaired scores of guitars smashed onstage as part of his act, played bass and fronted his own band, BluesClub, died of cancer on 7/3/2019, age 68.
1954 ● David Ricketts → Vocals, guitar and keyboards for New Wave synth-pop duo David & David, “Welcome To The Boomtown”(Top Rock #8, 1986), collaborated with Sheryl Crow
1959 ● Ali Campbell / (Alistair Ian Campbell) → Vocals for multiracial reggae-pop UB40, “Red Red Wine” (#1, 1988) and over 30 other Top 40 hits
1960 ● Mikey Craig / (Michael Emile Craig) → Bassist for new romantic synth-pop Culture Club, “Karma Chameleon” (#12, 1984)
1962 ● David Milner → With twin brother Mike, vocals in Brit R&B/neo-soul-funk The Pasadenas, “Tribute (Right On)” (Dance/Club #27, UK #5, 1988)
1962 ● Mike Milner / (Michael Milner) → With twin brother David, vocals in Brit R&B/neo-soul-funk The Pasadenas, “Tribute (Right On)” (Dance/Club #27, UK #5, 1988)
1974 ● Mr. Lordi / (Tomi Petteri Putaansuu) → Founder and lead vocalist for Finnish heavy metal monster-masked Lordi, winners if 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with “Hard Rock Hallelujah”
1974 ● Stuart Richardson → Bassist for Welsh alt hard rock Lostprophets, “Last Train Home” (Mainstream Rock #10, 2004)
1976 ● Brandon Boyd → Co-founder and lead vocals for alt-metal Incubus, “Drive” (#9, 2001), solo albums and author
1976 ● Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. → Drummer for pop-alt hard rock The Killers, “Mr. Brightside” (#10, 2005)
1977 ● Brooks Wackerman → Drummer for funk-metal Infectious Grooves, in 2001 joined hardcore punk Bad Religion, “Infected” (Mainstream Rock #33, 1995), plus numerous side projects and sessions
1980 ● Conor Oberst → Frontman, guitarist, lead vocals and songwriter for indie rock Bright Eyes, “Lua” (Hot Singles #1, 2004)
1981 ● Olivia Theresa Longott → R&B/hip hop soul singer, member of G-Unit Records house band, vocalist on 50 Cent‘s “Candy Shop” (#1, 2005) plus two solo albums
1984 ● Gary Clark, Jr. → Acclaimed Texas blues, blues-rock and R&B guitarist and actor whom Jambase.com called “the future of Texas Blues,” his 2012 major-label debut LP Blak And Blu reached #6 in the U.S., the Netherlands and New Zealand, recorded with Sheryl Crow, Alicia Keys and Foo Fighters, among others
