Happy Birthday this week to:
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)
1961 ● Phil McCormack / (Philip Wallace McCormack) → Lead vocals and harmonica for Southern rock dual-guitar Molly Hatchet (“Flirtin’ With Disaster,” #42, 1980), took over full time in 1996 after several stints as stand-in for original lead vocalist Danny Joe Brown, appeared on every Molly Hatchet studio and contemporary live album from Devil’s Canyon (1996) to Live at Rockpalast 1996 (2013), died from undisclosed causes on 9/2/2019,age 58.
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)
1963 ● Denise Johnson → Manchester-based backing and guest vocalist on albums by New Order, Johnny Marr, the Smiths and others, best known for her stint with alt. rock Primal Scream (1990-1995) and for a 25-year association with post-punk A Certain Ratio, recorded solo over the years and had a debut album due for release in September, died following a brief but unspecified illness on 7/27/2020, age 56.
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
1938 ● Paddy Moloney / (Patrick Moloney) → Irish folk musician, songwriter, and a lead figure in the revival of traditional Irish folk music and its meshing with rock, pop and coubtry music in the 70s and 80s, co-founded Irish music group The Chieftains in 1962 and fronted the band and wrote much of their music for 60 years, appearing on all 44 of their albums, including six Grammy winners, also collaborated with rockers Van Morrison and Mick Jagger, with country music stars Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris, and with international stars in various genres, composed music for multiple films, including Stanley Kubrick‘s Barry Lyndon (1975), Braveheart (1995) and Gangs of New York (2002), died in a hospital from unspecified causes on 10/12/2021, age 83.
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
1923 ● Earl Shuman / (Earl Stanley Shuman) → Prolific songwriter and lyricist best known for co-writing “Hey There Lonely Girl,” originally recorded by Ruby & The Romantics as “Hey There Lonely Boy” (#27, 1963) but most recognized as the “girl” version by R&B singer Eddie Holman (#2, R&B #4, 1970), also co-wrote over 400 other songs, including “Seven Lonely Days” for Bonnie Lou (Country #7, 1953) and recordings by Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald, Tom Jones and many others, along the way published albums by Meat Loaf and Mountain, died after a brief hospitalization on 2/13/2019, age 95.
1932 ● John Cohen → Folk musician, musicologist, photographer, filmmaker and co-founder of influential 50s-60s roots-folk trio New Lost City Ramblers, his career focused on preserving and promoting the traditional music of the rural American South, influencing countless folk musicians who followed and inspiring the Grateful Dead song “Uncle John’s Band,” his collected works are enshrined in the Library of Congress and numerous museums country-wide, enjoyed a second career as a visual arts professor at SUNY Purchase College (New York) for 25 years and performed in several “old time” jug and string bands through the 00s, died from cancer on 9/16/2019, age 87.
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)
1939 ● Sally Ann Grossman / (Sally Ann Buehler) → Wife of Greenwich Village folk music promoter Albert Grossman, Bob Dylan‘s manager, and business partner with her husband in several Woodstock (NY) restaurants and Bearsville Records, which she managed following his death in 1986, appeared as the mysterious red-dressed woman on the cover of Dylan‘s acoustic-to-electric transition album Bringing It All Home (#6, 1965), later renovated a barn on her property and opened the Bearsville Theater, sold all of her business interests by 2004 and died from unspecified causes on 3/11/2021, age 81.
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 Philadelphia R&B/soul-funk Fat Larry’s Band and multpiple charting singles, including “Act Like You Know” (Dance/Club #24, 1982) and “Zoom” (R&B #24, UK #2, 1982), died from a heart attack on 12/5/1987, age 38.
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 Pumpkins‘ Gish (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 6/3/64 with tonsillitis, returned to obscurity when Ringo rejoined the band on 6/14/1964.
1939 ● Roy C / (Roy Charles Hammond) → Southern soul singer starting as tenor vocal for 50s R&B vocal group The Genies (“Who’s That Knocking’,” #72, 1958), went into military service but reappeared in 1965 with the risqué, sexually-charged novelty hit “Shotgun Wedding” (R&B #14, UK #6, 1965), his outspoken social and political views created recording career hurdles in the late 60s but hooked with unknown teenage boyband The Honey Drippers and recorded the anti-Nixon funky protest song “Impeach The President” (1973), an oft-sampled gem now recognized as an integral track in early hip hop music of the 80s, died from liver cancer on 9/16/2020, age 81.
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 De Wayne Dickerson) → Bassist and vocalist for laid-back R&B/soul-funk War, sang lead on “The World Is A Ghetto” (#7, R&B #3, 1972) and co-wrote “The Cisco Kid” (#2, R&B #5, 1972) and three other Top 10 singles for the band, left in 1979 after 12 albums and later co-founded spin-off Lowrider Band, touring and performing through to a long, undisclosed illness which led to his death on 4/2/2021, age 71.
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 / (Louis Daniel 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
1938 ● Kenny Malone / (Kenneth Morton Malone) → Premier Nashville session drummer and percussionist known for his versatility and innovative styles, recorded with scores of top country, folk and light rock artists, including Dolly Parton (“Jolene,” Country #1, 1973), Dobie Gray (“Drift Away,” #5, 1973), Crystal Gayle (“Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” #2, Country #1, AC #4, 1977), Kenny Rogers and Bela Fleck, in the mid-80s founded modern jazz Tone Patrol and recorded two albums in decidedly un-jazzy Nashville, in later years recorded with notable Contemporary Christian Music artists, died from complications of the COVID-19 virus on 8/26/2021, age 83.
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 → Highly-respected German electronic music composer and multi-instrumentalist with three early and influential “Krautrock” electro-synth groups, Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel and Cosmic Jokers, in the late 70s started a five-decade, 60-album solo career of evolving and innovative music supported by an aggressive annual touring schedule, retired from performing in 2010 but continued to compose music and release recordings, including a final album for July 2022 release, died after a long illness on 4/26/2022, age 74.B saxophonist best known for two stints with soul-dance-pop Earth, Wind & Fire in their 70s and 80s heydays (“Shining Star,” #1, 1975), afterwards collaborated with artists such as Deniece Williams, Stanley Turrentine, Phil Collins, Twennynine, Level 42 and EWF bandmate Philip Bailey, retired from music in the 00s, suffered a stroke and died several years later on 4/24/2022, age 71.
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 → Jamaica-born vocalist and drummer for Philly-style, British R&B/soul Sweet Sensation, “Sad Sweet Dreamer” (#14, UK #1, 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
August 05
1930 ● Damita Jo Deblanc → Comedian, actress and R&B/lounge singer with two “answer songs,” “I’ll Save The Last Dance For You” (#22, 1960) and “I’ll Be There” (#12, 1961), toured with Redd Foxx, died from respiratory failure on 12/25/1998, age 68
1933 ● Billy Lee Riley → Early Sun Records studio musician, rockabilly singer and songwriter, with his band The Little Green Men recorded several songs at Sun, among them “Flyin’ Saucers Rock & Roll” and “Red Hot,” but largely played behind other stars like Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins, continued to tour and perform until his death from colon cancer on 8/2/2009, age 76.
1941 ● Airto Moreira → Brazilian drummer for jazz-rock fusion group Weather Report, “Birdland” (1976), bandleader and solo
1942 ● Rick Huxley → Bassist and vocals for Brit Invasion pop-rock Dave Clark Five, “Catch Us If You Can” (#4, 1965) and 11 other Top 25 hits in the US, died after a long bout with emphysema on 2/11/2013, age 70
1943 ● Sammi Smith / (Jewel Raye Smith) → Country-pop crossover singer with one big hit, her cover of Kris Kristofferson‘s “Help Me Make It Though The Night” (#8, Country #1, 1971) among seven total Country Top 20 singles, one of the rare females in the “outlaw country” movement of the 70s, largely disappeared from the music business in the 80s, died from emphysema on 2/15/2005, age 61
1943 ● Sandy Pearlman / (Samuel Clarke Pearlman) → Music critic for rock-culture Crawdaddy magazine, record producer, band manager, executive and college professor best known for managing, producing and writing for hard rock/pop-metal Blue Öyster Cult (“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” #12, 1976) and producing albums by The Dictators (The Dictators Go Girl Crazy, 1975) and The Clash (Give ‘Em Enough Rope, 1978), suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died from pneumonia seven months later on 7/26/2016, age 72
1947 ● Greg Leskiw → Guitarist for Canadian rockers The Guess Who, “American Woman” (#1, 1970)
1947 ● Rick Derringer / (Ricky Dean Zehringer) → Rock guitarist, vocalist and founder of pop-rock The McCoys, “Hang On Sloopy” (#1, 1965), then joined hard rock Edgar Winter Group, “Frankenstein” (#1, 1973), then solo, “Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo” (#23, 1974) and session work with Steely Dan, Alice Cooper, Todd Rundgren, Led Zeppelin, Kiss and others, producer
1952 ● Louis Walsh → Irish manager for pre-fab teen-pop boy bands Boyzone and Westlife, all-girl Euro-pop vocal group Girls Aloud, Samantha Mumba, G4 and others, judge on reality TV Popstars : The Rivals and with Simon Cowell and Sharon Osbourne on talent show The X Factor
1953 ● Samantha Sang / (Cheryl Lau Sang) → One hit wonder Aussie pop vocalist, “Emotion” (#3, 1978), backing vocals for Eric Carmen and The Bee Gees
1955 ● Eddie “Fingers” Ojeda → Guitarist for heavy metal Twisted Sister, “We’re Not Gonna Take It” (#21, 1983)
1959 ● Pat Smear / (Georg Albert Ruthenburg) → Guitarist and founding member of L.A. punk rock The Germs, “Lexicon Devil” (1979), bit-part TV actor and solo artist during the 80s, in 90s toured with grunge rock Nirvana and was briefly with post-grunge Foo Fighters
1959 ● Pete Burns / (Peter Jozzeppi Burns) → Lead vocals, chief songwriter and androgynous frontman for Brit dance-pop Hi-NRG group Dead Or Alive, “You Spin Me ‘Round (Like A Record)” (#11, UK #1, 1985), later became a flamboyant reality TV personality and occasional host, died from a heart attack on 10/30/206, age 57
1960 ● Stuart Croxford Neale → Synthesizer and vocals for one hit wonder New Wave light synth-bubblegum-pop Kajagoogoo, “Too Shy” (#5, 1983)
1963 ● Mike Nocito → Bass guitar for underappreciated, one hit wonder New Wave sophisti-pop Johnny Hates Jazz, “Shattered Dreams” (#2, 1988)
1964 ● MCA / (Adam Nathaniel Yauch) → Founding member and bassist for hardcore punk then hip hop masters Beastie Boys, “Fight For Your Right” (#7, 1987), videographer and film producer, died from cancer on 5/4/2012, age 47
1965 ● Jeff Coffin → Saxophonist for Grammy-winning progressive folk-bluegrass Béla Fleck And The Flecktones, “The Sinister Minister” (Best Pop Instrumental, 1997) and pop-funk-rock jam band Dave Matthews Band, “Don’t Drink The Water” (#4, 1998)
1966 ● Jennifer Finch → Bassist for all-girl post-punk/grunge band L7, “Pretend We’re Dead” (Alt Rock #8, 1992)
1974 ● Simon Dawbarn → Vocals and co-founding member of Brit teen-dance-pop boy band 911, covered The Bee Gee’s‘s “More Than A Woman” (UK #2, 1998) and Bobby Gosh‘s “A Little Bit More” (UK #1, 1999), a US #11 hit for Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show in 1976
1975 ● Dan Hipgrave → Guitarist and vocals for alt pub rock/white soul Toploader, covered “Dancing In The Moonlight” (UK Top 10, 2000)
1983 ● Dawn Angelique Richard → Singer for MTV Making the Band program winner and pre-fab, all-girl dance-pop quintet Danity Kane, “Show Stopper” (#8, 2006)
August 06
1928 ● Andy Warhol / (Andy Warhol (Warhola)) → The Velvet Underground manager, pop art painter and founder of the Pop Art movement, album cover designer (The Rolling Stones‘ Sticky Fingers album cover and others), avant-garde filmmaker, died following gall bladder surgery on 2/22/1987, age 58
1929 ● Mike Elliott → Jamaican born jazz-pop saxophonist in several ska bands and Brit R&B/soul-pop The Foundations, “Baby Now That I’ve Found You” (#11, 1967)
1940 ● Mike Sarne / (Michael Scheuer) → Multilingual small-part movie actor, pop singer, “Come Outside” (UK #1, 1962), translated several 60s Brit singles for the German market, film director, including Joanna (1968) and Myra Breckinridge (1970).
1946 ● Judy Craig → Vocals for top-tier 60s New York girl group The Chiffons, “He’s So Fine” (#1, 1963)
1946 ● Allan Holdsworth → Highly-regarded journeyman jazz-rock fusion guitarist, during the 70s played with prog rock Tempest, Canterbury-scene fusion band Soft Machine, The New Tony Williams Lifetime, Gong, Jean-Luc Ponty, Bill Bruford and U.K., founded and fronted jazz-rock I.O.U. in the 80s, then solo with over a dozen acclaimed jazz fusion albums in the 90s and 00s, died from a heart attack on 4/15/2017, age 70
1952 ● Pat MacDonald → With wife Barbara K. MacDonald, one half of one hit wonder alt country-folk-pop duo Timbuk 3, “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades” (#19, 1986), solo
1952 ● Vinnie Vincent / (Vincent John Cusano) → Hard rock guitarist, songwriter and “Ankh warrior” character in campy, painted-face glam-rock/hard-rock Kiss (“Detroit Rock City,” #7, 1976), left in 1985 to form metal-rock Vinnie Vincent Invasion with limited commercial success, disappeared from the music scene in the 90s
1958 ● Randy DeBarge → With his sister and three brothers, vocals in R&B/urban contemporary dance-pop sibling quintet Debarge, “All This Love” (#17, 1983)
1963 ● Jamie Kensit → Founder, songwriter and guitarist for Brit pop-rock Eighth Wonder, “Cross My Heart” (Dance/Club #10, 1988)
1969 ● Elliott Smith / (Steven Paul Smith) → Folk-punk singer and songwriter with the Academy Award-nominated “Miss Misery” from the film Good Will Hunting (1997), died from self-inflicted stab wound to the chest on 10/21/2003, age 34
1972 ● Geri Halliwell / (Geraldine Estelle Halliwell) → Vocals and “Ginger Spice” in pop-rock girl-group Spice Girls, “Wannabe” (#1, 1997), left for solo career in 1998, “Look At Me” (Dance/Club #12, UK #2, 1999) and seven other UK Top 10 hits
1981 ● Schleprok McCoy / (Travis McCoy) → Co-founder, MC and vocals for alt hip hop/rap rock Gym Class Heroes, “Intramurals: Cupid’s Chokehold” (#4, 2007), solo
1984 ● Eric Roberts → Bass guitar and vocals for alt hip hop/rap rock Gym Class Heroes, “Intramurals: Cupid’s Chokehold” (#4, 2007), solo
