This Week’s Birthdays (July 29 – August 4)

0
1127

Happy Birthday this week to:

July 29
1916 ● Charlie Christian → Swing and jazz guitarist, early and important electric guitar performer, played with Benny Goodman, Thelonius Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and others, died from tuberculosis on 3/2/1942, age 25
1918 ● Frank Miller → Guitar and vocals in influential but unheralded 50s folk trio The Easy Riders, co-wrote their big hit, the oft-covered “Marianne” (#3, 1957) and continued to write and record as a solo artist and in groups with other folk luminaires until retirement in the late 60s
1923 ● Jim Marshall / (James Charles Marshall) → The “Father of Loud” and pioneer of guitar amplification with iconic products used by Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page and countless others from garage bands to superstars, often in a “Marshall stack” or wall of black, vinyl-clad cabinets mounted one atop the other, founded and led his company, Marshall Amplification well into his eighties, now considered one of the four major contributors to the development of rock music equipment along with Leo Fender, Les Paul and Seth Lover, died from cancer on 4/5/2012, age 88
1930 ● Jim Stewart → Part-time country music fiddler who co-founded Stax Records in Memphis with his sister, Estelle Axton, and recorded and published some of the top Southern soul and Memphis soul acts of the 60s and 70s, including house band Booker T. & The MG’s, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Staple Singers and many others
1933 ● Randy Sparks / (Lloyd A. Sparks) → Folk and pop musician and founder of iconic folk revival band The New Christy Minstrels (“Green, Green,” #14, AC #3, 1963), the group had 12 charting albums in the 60s, including the Grammy-winning Introducing The New Christy Minstrels (#19, 1962), still leads and performs with the band into the 10s
1938 ● Marvin Ingram / (Marvin Inabnett) → Founding member and high tenor singer for clean-cut light pop vocal quartet The Four Preps, “26 Miles (Santa Catalina)” (#2, 1958) and 6 other Top 40 hits between 1958 and 1961, left the group in 1966 and died on 3/7/1999, age 60
1946 ● Neal Doughty → Co-founder, songwriter, keyboards and only constant member of arena rock REO Speedwagon, “Keep On Lovin’ You” (#1, 1980)
1947 ● Carlo Santanna → Guitar for pop/rock one hit wonder Paper Lace, “The Night Chicago Died” (#1, UK #3, 1974), a second single “Billy, Don’t Be A Hero” (#96, UK #1, 1974) qualifies them as a two hit wonder in the UK
1953 ● Geddy Leee / (Gary Lee Weinrib) → Bassist, lead vocals and founding member of Canadian arena rock/power trio Rush, “New World Man” (Mainstream Rock #1, 1982) and 24 other Mainstream Rock Top 20 singles
1953 ● Patty Scialfa / (Vivienne Patricia Scialfa) → Backing vocals for Bruce Springsteen‘s E Street Band, solo, wife of The Boss since 6/8/1991
1959 ● John Sykes → Guitarist for Irish hard rock Thin Lizzy (1982-83), then hard rock Whitesnake, “Here I Go Again” (#1, 1987), then formed hard rock Blue Murder, solo
1962 ● Martin McCarrick → Guitar for Irish grunge rock/alt metal Therapy?, “Screamager” (, 1993)
1966 ● Martina McBride / (Martina Mariea Schiff) → Grammy-winning country/country-pop singer and songwriter known as the “Celine Dion of Country Music, charted twenty Country Top 10, seven Top 40 and five Adult Contemporary hits through 2016, including “I Love You” (#24, Country #1, AC #1, 1999)
1966 ● Miles Hunt → Frontman, guitar and vocals for alt rock The Wonder Stuff, “Welcome To The Cheap Seats” (Modern Rock #28, UK #8, 1992), TV host
1967 ● Chris Gorman → Drummer for alt pop-rock Belly, “Feed The Tree” (#1, Modern Rock, 1993), now a commercial photographer
1972 ● Simon Jones → Bassist for neo-psych-pop The Verve, “Bittersweet Symphony” (#12, 1998)
1973 ● Wanya Jermaine Morris → Lead vocals for R&B/urban soul a cappella Boyz II Men, “End Of The Road” (#1, 1992)
1977 ● Danger Mouse / (Brian Joseph Burton) → Multi-instrumentalist musician, Grammy-winning producer and songwriter, released the mashup album The Grey Album in 2004 combining The BeatlesWhite Album (1968) with rapper Jay-Z‘s The Black Album (2003), co-founded alt. neo-soul Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy” (#2, 2006), produced albums for Gorillaz, Beck, The Black Keys and U2

July 30
1926 ● Christine McGuire → Vocals for immensely popular sibling singing trio the McGuire Sisters, “Sugartime” (#1, 1958)
1936 ● Buddy Guy / (George Guy) → Pioneering and highly influential Chicago blues guitarist and singer, “Stone Crazy” (R&B #12, 1962), #30 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time
1938 ● Kookie Byrnes / (Edward Byrne Breitenberger) → TV actor (played the character Gerald Lloyd Kookson III on 77 Sunset Strip) and one hit wonder novelty-pop singer, “Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb” (#4, 1959), a take-off from his character’s constant combing of his pompadour
1940 ● Big Jack Johnson / (Jack N. Johnson) → Contemporary Delta blues guitarist, songwriter and bandleader with a dozen critically acclaimed electric blues albums, many with social activism themes, died from an undisclosed illness on 3/14/2001, age 60
1941 ● Paul Anka → Canadian-born teen idol/contemporary pop/easy listening crooner and songwriter, “Lonely Boy” (#1, 1959), wrote the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Tom Jones‘ “She’s A Lady” (#2, 1971) and the lyrics to Frank Sinatra‘s “My Way” (#11, 1969)
1944 ● Chris Darrow → Highly-skilled and sought-after multi-instrumentalist L.A. session musician, co-founded 60s American eclectic folk-rock cult band Kaleidoscope, replaced Jackson Browne in country-rock the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (“Mr. Bojangles,” #9, 1971), worked in Linda Ronstadt‘s backing band, recorded several solo albums and did studio work for James Taylor, Helen Reddy and many others, continues to record and produce folk- and country-rock music into the 10s
1945 ● David Sanborn → Influential jazz-pop saxophonist with the blues-rock The Butterfield Blues Band, jazz-rock fusion The Brecker Brothers, “Sneakin’ Up Behind You” (#58, Disco #3, 1975), Grammy-winning solo career, “Bang Bang” (#53, Adult Contemporary #23, 1992), session work for David Bowie, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder and others
1946 ● Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond → Early bass guitarist for long-lived Brit folk-rock Jethro Tull, “Living In The Past” (#11, 1973), left the band in 1975 to return to his avocation, painting, but made several appearances with the band over the decades
1949 ● Hugh Nicholson → Guitarist and songwriter for Scottish freakbeat/psych-pop The Poets, “She Blew A Good Thing” (#45, R&B #2, 1966), then Scottish pop-rock Marmalade, “Reflections Of My Life” (#10, 1970) and pop-rock Blue, “Gonna Capture Your Heart” (#88, UK #18, 1977)
1949 ● Joyce Jones → Singer for Philly R&B/disco female vocal group First Choice, “The Player, Part 1” (R&B #7, 1974)
1956 ● Phil Fearon → Jamaican-born guitarist and singer for R&B/funk-pop Galaxy, “Dancing Tight” (1983), independent label record company executive
1957 ● David Joseph → Keyboards and lead vocals for North London-based R&B/disco-funk boy band Hi-Tension, “British Hustle” (UK #8, 1978)
1957 ● Rat Scabies / (Chris Millar) → Founding member and drummer for first-wave punk rockers The Damned, “Eloise” (UK #3, 1986), solo and collaborations
1958 ● Kate Bush / (Catherine Bush) → Hugely successful Brit alt pop-rock singer and songwriter, “Wuthering Heights” (UK #1, 1978) and “Love And Anger” (Modern Rock #1, UK #38, 1990)
1959 ● Vaughn Toulouse / (Vaughn Cotillard) → Lead vocals for New Wave ska-pop Department S, “Is Vic There?” (#67, UK #22, 1981), died from AIDS related illness on 8/22/1991, age 32
1963 ● Tex Axile / (Anthony Doughty) → Keyboards for punk-pop-dance Transvision Vamp, “Baby I Don’t Care” (, 1983)
1966 ● Jyoti Mishra → India-born frontman, composer and multi-instrumentalist for one man band, one hit wonder alt dance-pop White Town, “Your Woman” (#23, UK #1, 1997)
1968 ● Louise Wener → Vocals for Britpop Sleeper, “Sale Of The Century” (UK #10, 1996)
1968 ● Sean Moore → Drummer for Brit alt rock/neo-punk Manic Street Preachers, “The Masses Against The Classes” (UK #1, 2000)
1970 ● MC Trouble / (LaTasha Sheron Rogers) → First female rapper signed to Motown Records, issued one album and a minor hit (“(I Wanna) Make You Mine,” Rap #15, 1990), while recording her second album died in her sleep from heart failure during an epileptic seizure on 6/4/1991, age 20
1971 ● Brad Hargreaves → Drummer for post-grunge indie pop Third Eye Blind, “Semi-Charmed Life” (#4, 1997)
1977 ● Ian Watkins → Singer for Welsh alt hard rock Lostprophets, “Last Train Home” (Mainstream Rock #10, 2004)
1980 ● Seth Avett → With brother Scott, frontman and guitarist in progressive folk-rock quartet The Avett Brothers (Ain’t No Man,” AAA #1, Alt Rock #28, 2016)

July 31
1923 ● Ahmet Ertegun → Turkish immigrant who co-founded and became chief executive of Atlantic Records, a dominant force in jazz, R&B and pop/rock and a prime force in moving Black American music into the mainstream, fell and struck his head on a concrete floor backstage at a Rolling Stones benefit concert for the Clinton Foundation and died seven weeks later on 12/14/2006, age 83
1931 ● Kenny Burrell / (Kenneth Earl Burrell) → Bebop, cool jazz and electric blues guitarist with dozens of solo albums and multiple collaborations with Lena Horne, B. B. King, Maria Muldaur, Jimmy Smith and many others, currently professor and Director of Jazz Studies at UCLA‘s Herb Alpert School of Music
1932 ● Morey Carr → Vocals for novelty pop/rock ‘n’ roll The Playmates, “Beep Beep” (#4, 1958) plus 4 other Top 40 hits
1938 ● Bonnie Brown / (Bonnie Jean Brown) → Vocals for 50s-60s country-folk smooth harmony sibling trio The Browns (“The Three Bells,” #1, Country #1, 1959), retired from the music business in 1967 and died from lung cancer on 7/16/2016, age 77
1939 ● John West → Electric organ (“Cordovox”) for pop-rock Gary Lewis & The Playboys, “This Diamond Ring” (#1, 1965) plus 11 other US Top 40 hits between 1965 and 1968
1942 ● Daniel Boone / (Peter Charles Green) → Britbeat pop singer with a number of minor hits in the 60s as lead vocals for The Beachcombers and The Bruisers, or as a solo artist with the pseudonyms Peter Stirling and Lee Stirling, then became one hit wonder pop-rock singer with “Beautiful Sunday” (#15, UK #21, 1972)
1943 ● Lobo / (Roland Kent Lavoie) → Country-folk-pop singer/songwriter and guitarist with several AM Top 40 hits in the 70s, including “Me And You And A Dog Named Boo” (#5, AC #1, UK #4, 1971) and “I’d Love You To Want Ne” (#2, AC #1, UK #5, 1972), continued to tour and record into the 10s
1946 ● Gary Lewis / (Gary Harold Lee Levitch) → Frontman, drums and vocals for pop-rock Gary Lewis & The Playboys, “This Diamond Ring” (#1, 1965) plus 11 other US Top 40 hits between 1965 and 1968, son of comedian/actor Jerry Lewis
1947 ● Karl Green → Guitarist for British Invasion pop-rock Herman’s Hermits, “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” (#1. 1965)
1951 ● Carlo Karges → Guitarist for German pop-rock band Nena, “99 Luftballons” (#2, 1984)
1953 ● Hugh McDowell → Cello for pop-rock Electric Light Orchestra, “Don’t Bring Me Down” (#4, 1979) and 26 other Top 40 hits
1957 ● Daniel Ash → Guitarist for seminal goth-rock Bauhaus, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” (1979) and goth-pop Love And Rockets, “So Alive” (#3, 1989) , solo
1958 ● Bill Berry → Drummer for influential post-punk R.E.M., “The One I Love” (#9, 1987), left the band in 1997 to work his hay farm in Georgia
1960 ● Malcolm Ross → Guitarist for Scot New Wave pop-rock Aztec Camera, “The Crying Scene” (Modern Rock #3, 1990)
1963 ● Fatboy Slim / (Norman Quentin Leo Cook) → Bassist for Brit jangle-guitar pop-rock The Housemartins, “Caravan Of Love” (UK #1, 1986), DJ and remixer for electronic dance-pop Beats International, “Dub Be Good To Me” (Dance/Pop #1, 1990), founder of acid jazz Freak Power, “Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out” (UK #29, 1993), dance-pop Pizzaman and Brit-hop producer and solo artist, “The Rockafeller Skank” (#72, UK #6, 1998)
1964 ● Fuzz Townsend / (Robert Townsend) → Drummer for dance-rock Pop Will Eat Itself, “X, Y & Zee” (Modern Rock #11, 1991)
1964 ● Jim Corr → With three sisters, guitars and keyboards in Irish folk-pop-rock sibling act The Corrs, “Breathless” (Adult Top 40 #7, 2000)
1971 ● John 5 / (John Lowery) → Guitarist for industrial-pop-metal/shock rock Marilyn Manson, “The Dope Show” (Mainstream Rock #12, 1998), five solo instrumental guitar albums, sessions for Garbage, Meat Loaf, Ozzy Osbourne and Lynyrd Skynyrd
1978 ● Will Champion → Drummer for Brit-pop/anthem rock Coldplay, “Speed Of Sound” (#8, 2005)
1981 ● M. Shadows / (Matthew Sanders) → Lead vocalist and songwriter for pop/metal Avenged Sevenfold, “Bat Country” (#60, Mainstream Rock #2, 2005)

August 01
1898 ● Morris Stoloff → Violinist, composer and arranger, wrote and performed “Moonglow” (#1, 1956), the love theme from the film Picnic (1956), arranged film scores for several other movies, including Lawrence Of Arabia (1962), died 4/16/1980, age 81
1929 ● Samuel Charters → Grammy-winning music historian, record producer, musician, poet and widely published author of books on blues and jazz music, his first book, The Country Blues (1959) and accompanying album of the same name are credited with inspiring the folk music revival of the early 60s and injecting forgotten blues artists into the consciousness of dozens of blues-rock artists like The Allman Brothers Band, Cream and The Rolling Stones, died from bone marrow cancer on 3/18/2015, age 85
1930 ● Lionel Bart / (Lionel Begleiter) → Brit pop music songwriter and musical composer, best known for writing the theme song to the James Bond film From Russia With Love (1966) and the hit musical Oliver!, wrote commercial jingles and staged other musicals until his death from cancer on 4/3/1999, age 68
1931 ● Ramblin’ Jack Elliott / (Elliot Charles Adnopoz) → Influential country-folk guitarist, one time protégé of folk legend Woody Guthrie, played in Bob Dylan‘s Rolling Thunder Revue and with Pete Seeger, Jerry Garcia, Grateful Dead and others, Grammy-winning blues album A Stranger Here in 2009
1941 ● Rock Scully / (Rock Robert Scully) → San Francisco rock promoter and manager for psych/folk rock/jam band Grateful Dead (“Truckin’,” #64, 1970) from 1965 to 1985, during which he negotiated the band’s first contract with Warner Brothers and helped orchestrate the transformation from a loose folk and bluegrass outfit to one of rock music’s most memorable and enduring acts, died from lung cancer on 12/16/2014, age 73
1942 ● Jerry Garcia / (Jerome John Garcia) → Founding member, lead guitarist, vocals, songwriter and de facto frontman for rock’s longest, strangest trip Grateful Dead, “Sugar Magnolia” (#91, 1973) and “Touch Of Grey” (#9, 1987), solo and various collaborations, died from a drug-related heart attack on 8/9/1995, age 53
1946 ● Boz Burrell / (Raymond Burrell) → Bassist for prog/space-rock King Crimson, “The Court Of The Crimson King” (#80, 1970), founding member of hard rock supergroup Bad Company, “Can’t Get Enough” (#5, 1974), died following a heart attack on 9/21/2006, age 60
1947 ● Rick Anderson → Bassist for camp-rock pop-rock satirists The Tubes, “She’s A Beauty” (#10, 1978)
1947 ● Rick Coonce → Drummer for AM Top 40 pop-rockers The Grass Roots, “Midnight Confessions” (#5, 1968), left the band in 1971 and moved to Canada to become a farmer and social worker, died from heart failure on 2/25/2011, age 63
1949 ● Jim Carroll → Author, poet, punk rock bandleader, “People Who Died” (#51, 1980), wrote the autobiography The Basketball Diaries, which became a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio (1995), died from a heart attack on 9/11/2009, ager 60
1951 ● Tim Bachman → With his brothers Randy and Robbie, guitarist for Canadian hard rockers Bachman-Turner Overdrive, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” (#1, 1974), left in 1974 to pursue a music production career
1951 ● Tommy Bolin → Underrated and short-lived blues-rock guitarist, first with hard rock Zephyr, then with jazz-rock fusion drummer Billy Cobham on the classic Spectrum album, replaced Joe Walsh in the James Gang, joined Deep Purple in 1972 to replace Ritchie Blackmore, left for solo career, died of a heroin overdose on 12/4/1976, age 25
1953 ● Robert Cray → Grammy-winning contemporary blues guitarist and vocalist , “Smoking Gun” (#22, Mainstream Rock #2, 1986)
1958 ● Michael Penn → Late-80s pop/rock singer, songwriter and guitarist, “No Myth” (#13, 1989), brother of actor Sean Penn
1958 ● Robert Buck → Guitarist and songwriter with folk-pop 10,000 Maniacs, “These Are Days” (Alt-Rock #1, 1992), also played in folk-pop John & Mary with other bandmates, died from liver disease on 12/19/2000, age 42
1959 ● Joe Elliott → Vocals for hard rock/Brit New Wave of Heavy Metal band Def Leppard, “Love Bites” (#1, 1988), formed hard rock Down ‘N’ Outz in 2009
1960 ● Chuck D. / (Carlton Douglas Ridenhour) → Rapper and vocals for influential early hip hop group Public Enemy, “Fight The Power” (Rap #1, 1989), author, producer
1960 ● Suzi Gardner → Guitar and vocals for all-girl post-punk/grunge band L7, “Pretend We’re Dead” (Alt Rock #8, 1992)
1963 ● Coolio / (Artis Leon Ivey, Jr.) → Musician, reality TV show actor, producer and rapper, “Gangsta’s Paradise” (#1, 1995)
1964 ● Adam Duritz → Piano, guitar, vocals, songwriting and frontman for alt-rock Counting Crows, “Mr. Jones” (Modern Rock #2, 1994), solo, producer and record company executive
1964 ● Nick Christian Sayer → Guitarist for punk-pop-dance Transvision Vamp, “Baby I Don’t Care” (, 1983)
1968 ● Dan Donegan → Guitarist for Chicago-based heavy metal Disturbed, “Another Way To Die” (Mainstream Rock #1, 2010)
1970 ● Kenwyn House → Guitar for hard-edged Brit pop Reef, “Place Your Hands” (Mainstream Rock #29, 1997) from the UK #1 album Glow
1978 ● Dhani Harrison → Guitarist and son of George Harrison, completed his father’s final album, Brainwashed, after his death in 2001, now founder, lead guitar and vocals for alt rock Thenewno2
1981 ● Ashley Angel / (Ashley Ward Parker) → Vocals for pre-fab teen idol boy-band O-Town, “All Or Nothing” (#3, 2001)

August 02
1935 ● Hank Cochran / (Garland Perry “Hank” Cochran) → Country-pop music songwriter with seven charting hits of his own in the 60s-80s but better known for penning hits for Patsy Cline (“I Fall To Pieces,” #12, AC #6, Country #1, 1961) and Eddy Arnold (“Make The World Go Away,” #6, AC #1, Country #1, 1965), and songs covered by dozens of artists, including Elvis Costello, Linda Ronstadt and Norah Jones, died from pancreatic cancer on 7/15/2010, age 75
1937 ● Garth Hudson / (Eric Garth Hudson) → Canadian organist, keyboardist and saxophonist for seminal roots rockers The Band, “Chest Fever” (1968), sessions and solo
1939 ● Edward Patten → Vocals in R&B/soul-pop family quartet Gladys Knight & The Pips, “Midnight Train To Georgia” (#1, 1973)
1941 ● Doris Coley / (Doris Coley Kenner-Jackson) → Vocals for first 60s girl-group to achieve national prominence, The Shirelles, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” (#1, 1961), died of breast cancer 2/4/2000, age 58
1941 ● Andrew Steele → Drummer for Brit psych-rock band The Herd, “I Don’t Want Our Loving To Die” (UK #5, 1968), then Scottish folk-pop-rock Stealers Wheel, “Stuck In The Middle With You” (#6, 1973), died 4/18/2005, age 63
1943 ● Kathy Lennon → With her sisters, vocals in semi-religious pop vocal quartet The Lennon Sisters (“Tonight You Belong To Me,” #15, 1956), performed regularly on TV variety shows, including The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1968, continues to record and perform as a trio in the 10s
1946 ● John Fleck / (John Fleckenstein) → Bass guitarist (1965-1966) for influential garage/psych rock Love, “7 And 7 Is” (#33, 1966), then briefly with garage/proto-punk The Standells, “Dirty Water” (#11, 1966)
1948 ● Andrew Fairweather Low → Welsh roots rock guitarist, songwriter and singer, founding member of early prog rock septet Amen Corner, “(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice” (UK #1, 1969), then frontman for hard rock Fair Weather, “Natural Sinner” (UK #6, 1970), solo and sessions plus backing bands for The Who, Roger Waters, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Bill Wyman and others
1949 ● “Fat Larry” James / (Larry E. James) → Drummer, singer and frontman for R&B/soul-funk Fat Larry’s Band, “Act Like You Know” (Dance/Club #24, 1982), died on 12/5/1987 of a heart attack
1950 ● Ted Turner / (David Alan Turner) → Dual lead guitar and vocals for Brit prog-rock Wishbone Ash, “Time Was” (1972), session work for George Harrison, Billy Preston, Al Stewart and others
1951 ● Joe Lynn Turner / (Joseph Linquito) → Guitar, vocals for hard rock Fandango, joined Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow in 1981 as lead vocalist, “Stone Cold” (Mainstream Rock #1, 1982), left in 1985 for solo career, “Endlessly” (Mainstream Rock #19, 1985), joined Deep Purple briefly, “King Of Dreams” (Mainstream Rock #6, 1990), solo
1951 ● Andrew Gold → Pop and light rock (L. A. sound) singer/songwriter, “Lonely Boy” (#7, 1977), session musician for James Taylor, Carly Simon, Nicolette Larson and others, died in his sleep on 6/3/2011, age 59
1953 ● Donnie Munro / (Donaidh Rothach) → Lead guitar and vocals for Scottish Celtic folk-rock Runrig, “An Ubhal As Airde (The Highest Apple)” (UK #18, 1995), solo
1957 ● Butch Vig / (Bryan Vigorson) → Founding member and drummer for Scottish-American alt rock Garbage, “Stupid Girl” (Dance/Club #5, 1996), recording engineer and producer for Nirvana‘s Nevermind album (1991), Sonic Youth, The Smashing PumpkinsGish (1991), L7, Soul Asylum and others
1957 ● Mojo Nixon / (Neill Kirby McMillan, Jr.) → Satirical comedy/novelty singer, songwriter and guitarist, “Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant With My Two-Headed Love Child” (Modern Rock #16, 1989)
1959 ● Johnny Kemp → Bahamian R&B/dance-pop singer, songwriter and session vocalist whose biggest hit, “Just Got Paid” (#10, R&B #1, 1988) was nominated for a Grammy Award, found floating off a beach and presumed drowned in an accident on 4/16/2015, age 55
1961 ● Apollonia / (Patricia Kotero) → One of several female singers and musicians associated with Prince, lead actress in the film Purple Rain (1984), replaced singer Vanity in dance-pop trio Vanity 6 which was rechristened Apollonia 6 (“Sex Shooter” Dance/Club #32, 1984) plus solo a mildly successful solo career (“Since I Fell For You,” Dance/Club #6, 1988)
1961 ● Pete De Freitas → Drummer for gloomy post-punk psych-rock Echo & The Bunnymen, “Enlighten Me” (Modern Rock #8, 1990), died in a motorcycle accident on 6/14/1989, age 27
1962 ● Lee Mavers → Guitar and vocals for Brit jangle pop The La’s, “There She Goes” (#49, UK #13, 1991)
1965 ● Al Macaulay → Drummer for Brit folk-pop-soul Tindersticks, “Bathtime” (UK #38, 1997)
1970 ● Zelma Davis → Vocals for dance-pop C+C Music Factory, “Gonna Make You Sweat” (#1, 1991)

August 03
1917 ● Les Elgart → Swing, dance and jazz-pop bandleader, with his brother, Larry, recorded the original version of “Bandstand Boogie,” the theme song long-running teen dance show American Bandstand, withdrew from performing in the late 60s, died from heart failure on 7/29/1995, age 78
1921 ● Richard Adler → Lyricist, composer and producer of acclaimed 50s Broadway shows, with songwriting partner Jerry Ross created several hit songs, among them “Rags To Riches” (Tony Bennett, #1, 1953) and “Whatever Lola Wants” (Sarah Vaughan, #6, 1955), following Ross‘s death in 1955 continued to write and co-write but had little commercial success, died from natural causes on 6/21/2012, age 90
1924 ● Gordon Stoker → Vocals and piano for premier Southern gospel backing group The Jordanaires, worked behind Elvis Presley for 25 years, backed Patsy Cline and other Nashville country stars, died after a long illness on 3/27/2013, age 88
1926 ● Tony Bennett / (Anthony Dominic Benedetto) → Fourteen-time Grammy-winning pop and easy listening singer, “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” (#19, 1962) and eight other Top 40 singles and four other Adult Contemporary Top 10 hits
1929 ● Arthur Wood → Original keyboardist with Brit blues-rock Climax Blues Band, “Couldn’t Get It Right” (#3, 1977)
1936 ● Kenny Hodges → Bass and backing vocals for folk-sunshine-pop Spanky & Our Gang, “Someday Will Never Be The Same” (#9, 1967), died from viral pneumonia on 1/29/2013, age 76
1938 ● Terry Wogan / (Sir Michael Terrence Wogan) → Irish-born BBC radio and TV personality, Radio 2 host of various programs over nearly 40 years, including Wake Up To Wogan and Eurovision Song Contest
1939 ● Jimmy Nicol → Drummer and temporary member of The Beatles for nine Australian gigs in June 1964 at the height of Beatlemania, sitting in after Ringo Starr collapsed and was hospitalized on 6/3/964 with tonsillitis, returned to obscurity when Ringo rejoined the band on 6/14/1964
1941 ● Beverly Lee → Vocals for first 60s girl-group to achieve national prominence, The Shirelles, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” (#1, 1961)
1946 ● John Foley York → Bassist for The Byrds replacing departed Chris Hillman in 1968, “Lay Lady Lay” (#132, 1969), solo and various collaborations and Byrds spin-offs
1949 ● B .B. Dickerson / (Morris Dickerson) → Bassist for laid-back R&B/soul-funk War, “Spill The Wine” (#3, 1970), continued with spin-off Lowrider Band
1951 ● John Graham → Guitarist for R&B/soul-dance-pop Earth, Wind & Fire, “Shining Star” (#1, 1975)
1953 ● Ian Bairnson → Guitarist for soft pop-rock Pilot, “Magic” (#1, 1974)
1953 ● Randy Scruggs → Grammy-winning country singer/songwriter, producer and session player, solo artist, “It’s Only Love” (Country #67, 1998), son of legendary country/bluegrass great Earl Scruggs
1956 ● Kirk Brandon → Co-founder, guitar and vocals for Brit post-punk/goth/indie rock Spear Of Destiny, “Strangers In Our Town” (Dance/Club #40, 1987)
1959 ● Martin Atkins → Session drummer and member of post-punk Public Image Ltd., “This Is Not A Love Song” (UK #5, 1983), fronted industrial music collective Pigface, worked in industrial metal band Ministry, “I Wanted To Tell Her” (Dance/Club #13, 1983), Nine Inch Nails, “The Day The World Went Away” (#17, 1999) and post-punk/gloom-industrial metal Killing Joke, “Follow The Leaders” (#25, 1981), Invisible Records founder and chief executive
1963 ● Ed Roland → Founder, primary songwriter, guitarist and engineer/producer for post-grunge alt rock Collective Soul, “Shine” (#11, Mainstream Rock #1, 1994)
1963 ● James Hetfield → Co-founder, rhythm guitar, chief songwriter and lead vocals for Grammy-winning heavy metal Metallica, “Enter Sandman” (#16, 1991), ranked #24 in Hit Parader magazine’s 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time
1966 ● Dean Sams → Keyboards and backing vocals for cross-over country-rockers Lonestar, “Amazed” (#1, 1999)
1966 ● Shirley Manson → Scottish lead vocalist for Scottish-American alt rock Garbage, “Stupid Girl” (Dance/Club #5, 1996)
1967 ● Skin / (Deborah Anne Dyer) → Vocals for Brit alt rock/metal Skunk Anansie, “All I Want” (UK #14, 1996)
1971 ● DJ Spinderella / (Deidra Muriel Roper) → Vocals for female hip hop trio Salt-N-Pepa, “Let’s Talk About Sex” (#13, 1991)
1973 ● Stephen Carpenter → Guitar for Grammy-winning alt heavy metal Deftones, “Change (In The House Of Flies)” (Mainstream Rock #9, 2000)
1985 ● Brent Kutzle → Bass guitar and cello for self-proclaimed “genreless” pop-rock OneRepublic, “Apologize” (#1, 2006), most popular digital download/highest airplay song ever to-date
1985 ● Holly Blake-Arnstein → Lead vocals for R&B/dance-pop all-girl quartet Dream, “He Loves U Not” (#2, 2000)

August 04
1901 ● Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong → Immensely influential jazz trumpeter and early soloist, enduring and Grammy-winning pop/easy listening singer and bandleader, “Hello, Dolly!” (#1, 1964) and “What a Wonderful World” (#116, UK #1, 1968) plus “When The Saints Go Marching In” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’”, died in his sleep from a heart attack on 7/6/1971, age 69
1936 ● Elsbeary Hobbs → Bass vocals for Harlem-based R&B/doo wop The Five Crowns, the core of which became post-1958 R&B The Drifters, “Up On The Roof” (1963), died 5/31/1996, age 59
1939 ● Frankie Ford / (Francis Guzzo) → One hit wonder blue-eyed New Orleans soul singer, “Sea Cruise” (#14, 1959), continued to record and perform on the oldies circuit into the 00s, died from natural causes on 9/28/2015, age 76
1940 ● Larry Knechtel → Keyboard player and bass guitarist, performed and recorded with numerous bands, including early rocker Duane Eddy‘s Rebels and soft MOR pop-rock Bread, “Make It With You” (#1, 1970), stood in as bass player for several Doors albums, as a session musician was a member of the L.A.-based session group The Wrecking Crew, worked with Phil Spector as a pianist in the “Wall of Sound,” won a Grammy Award for his piano on Simon & Garfunkel‘s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and played harmonica and electric guitar on The Byrds‘ “Mr. Tambourine Man,” toured with Neil Diamond, Dixie Chicks and other artists and contributed to many albums through the 00s, died from a heart attack on 8/20/2009, age 69
1941 ● Timi Yuro / (Rosemary Timotea Aurro) → Blue-eyed R&B/pop-soul one hit wonder singer, “Hurt” (#2, 1961), toured with Frank Sinatra and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand and other music variety programs in the 60s, died of cancer on 5/30/2004, age 62
1943 ● David Carr → Keyboards and vocals for Brit pop/rock harmony vocals The Fortunes, “You’ve Got Your Troubles” (#7, 1965)
1945 ● Steve Martin → Emmy, Grammy and American Comedy award actor, comedian, producer and one hit wonder novelty song singer, “King Tut” (#17, 1975)
1947 ● Dave Manders → Guitar and lead vocals for pop/rock one hit wonder Paper Lace, “The Night Chicago Died” (#1, UK #3, 1974), a second single “Billy, Don’t Be A Hero” (#96, UK #1, 1974) qualifies them as a two hit wonder in the UK
1947 ● Klaus Schulze → Pioneering German electronic music composer and multi-instrumentalist, in late-60s member of atmospheric space/new age electro-synth proto-Kraut rock Tangerine Dream, left to co-found “kosmiche rock” Ash Ra Tempel in 1971, subsequent solo career includes over 60 albums released over five decades
1947 ● Paul Layton → Guitar and vocals for folk-sunshine pop The New Seekers, “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing” (#7, 1972)
1951 ● Roy Flowers → Vocalist and drummer for Philly-style Brit R&B/soul Sweet Sensation, “Sad Sweet Dreamer” (, , 1975)
1952 ● Moya Brennan / (Maire Ni Bhraonian) → The “First Lady Of Celtic Music,” Emmy-winning singer, songwriter, harpist and frontwoman in Celtic folk-pop sibling group Clannad, “Harry’s Game” (UK #5, 1982), the only British hit single ever to be sung in Irish
1953 ● Vini Reilly / (Vincent Gerard Reilly) → Frontman for Manchester post-punk The Dunutti Column, the first act signed to Factory Records in the late 70s, also collaborated or did session work with Morrissey, Happy Mondays and other local bands, charted several solo albums in the U.K. Top 10 in the 80s, continues to record and perform in the 10s
1958 ● Ian Broudie → Vocals, guitar and frontman for alt rock/Britpop studio project The Lightning Seeds, “Pure” (#31, UK #16, 1989) and later as a full alt rock band, “Three Lions” (UK #1, 1996)
1959 ● Robbin Crosby → Guitarist for hard rock/glam and hair metal Ratt, “Round And Round” (#12, 1984), died from AIDS on 6/6/2002, age 42
1960 ● Graham Massey → Keyboards for electronic/acid-house band 808 State, “Pacific State” (, 1989)
1962 ● Joey Huffman → Keyboard and organ player, member of southern rock the Georgia Satellites (“Keep Your Hands To Yourself,” #2, 1986), did session work and toured with numerous bands, including Matchbox Twenty, Soul Asylum andLynyrd Skynyrd, currently in Hank Williams, Jr.‘s touring band
1962 ● Paul Reynolds → Guitarist for bizarrely-teased hair New Wave pop-rock A Flock of Seagulls, “I Ran (So Far Away)” (#9, 1982)
1963 ● Sam Yaffa / (Sami Takamäki) → Bassist for Finnish glam-punk-metal Hanoi Rocks, covered Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Up Around The Bend” (UK #61, 1984)
1966 ● Andy Henderson → Drummer for Britpop Echobelly, “Great Things” (UK #13, 1995)
1968 ● Rob Cieka → Drummer for 90s Brit guitar-pop The Boo Radleys, “Barney (…And Me)” (Alt Rock #30, 1994)
1969 ● Max Cavalera → Guitar and vocals for Brazilian heavy metal/thrash metal Sepultura, “Roots Bloody Roots” (UK #19, 1996)
1971 ● Yo-Yo / (Yolanda Whitaker) → Grammy-nominated rapper, “You Can’t Play With My Yo Yo” (#36, Rap #1, 1991), protégé of gangsta rapper Ice Cube, actress in several films, including Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit (1993)
1981 ● Batman Houston / (Marques Houston) → Vocals for L.A. pre-teen R&B/pop-rap Immature, “Never Lie” (#5, 1994), then name change to Imx, “Stay The Night” (#23, 1999), TV actor, producer for B2K and Destiny’s Child, among others

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here