This Week’s Birthdays (June 24 – 30)

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Happy Birthday this week to:

June 24
1921 ● Peggy DeCastro → Eldest of three sisters who formed the 50s Cuban-American pop singing trio The DeCastro Sisters (“Teach Me Tonight,” #2, 1954), left for a mediocre solo career but continued to perform with her sisters and various other members until her death from lung cancer on 3/6/2004, age 82
1933 ● Rosalie Sorrels / (Rosalie Ann Stringfellow) → Influential folk singer-songwriter and social activist who performed at the Newport Folk Festival in 1966, at Woodstock in 1969 and at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1972 but never achieved commercial success despite inspiring younger artists in the 70s and 80s, appearing on National Public Radio (NPR) on numerous occasions and recorded over 20 folk albums, including the Grammy-nominated My Last Go ‘Round (2005), died from colon cancer and complications of dementia on 6/11/2017, age 83
1939 ● Oz Bach / (Paul Bach) → Founding member, bass guitar and backing vocals for folk-sunshine-pop Spanky & Our Gang, “Someday Will Never Be The Same” (#9, 1967), session work for Fred Neil, Tom Paxton, Linda Ronstadt and Steve Miller, among others, died of cancer on 9/21/1998, age 59
1944 ● Arthur Brown → Outlandish, theatrical, hellfire-bearing frontman for one hit wonder, psychedelic pop The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, “Fire” (#2, 1968), played the Priest in the rock film Tommy (1975)
1944 ● Charlie Whitney → Guitarist for blues/art rock Family, “In My Own Time” (UK #4, 1971)
1944 ● Jeff Beck → Highly influential, five-time Grammy-winning lead guitarist, songwriter and bandleader, replaced Eric Clapton in blues-rock The Yardbirds, “For Your Love” (#6, 1965), formed the Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart and Ron Wood, multiple solo albums and singles, “People Get Ready” (Mainstream Rock #5, 1985), formed The Honeydrippers with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and Nile Rodgers, “Sea Of Love” (#3, 1984), #14 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Great Guitarists of All-Time
1944 ● Chris Wood → Founding member, saxophone and flute for folk-psych-rock Traffic, “Paper Sun” (#94, UK #5, 1967), joined Ginger Baker’s Air Force and later reformed Traffic, sessions, died of pneumonia on 7/12/1983, age 39
1945 ● Colin Blunstone → Founding member and lead vocals in underappreciated art-pop rock The Zombies, “Time Of The Season” (#3, 1969), then solo, “Say You Don’t Mind” (UK #15, 1972), contributed lead vocals for several Alan Parsons Project tracks
1947 ● Mick Fleetwood → Founding member, part namesake and drummer for Brit blues-rock then huge pop-rock Fleetwood Mac, “Go Your Own Way” (#10, 1977)
1948 ● Patrick Moraz → Prog and jazz-rock keyboardist, replaced Rick Wakeman in Yes 1974-76, then 1978-1991 with The Moody Blues, “Your Wildest Dreams” (#9, 1986), solo
1950 ● Duckie Simpson / (Derrick Simpson) → Co-founder and only constant member of Grammy-winning, second generation reggae band Black Uhuru, album Anthem was the Best Reggae Album of 1984
1957 ● Astro / (Terence Wilson) → Vocals for multiracial reggae-pop UB40, “Red Red Wine” (#1, 1988) and over 30 other Top 40 hits
1959 ● Andy McCluskey → Vocals, guitar and keyboards for New wave synth-pop Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, “If You Leave” (#4, 1986)
1961 ● Curt Smith → Bass and vocals for New Wave synth-pop Tears For Fears, “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” (#1, 1085)
1961 ● Dennis Danell → Founding guitarist in Southern California punk revival band Social Distortion, “I Was Wrong” (#54, Alt Rock #4, 1996), died from a brain aneurysm on 2/29/2000, age 38
1967 ● Jeff Cease → Lead guitar for roots/raunch rock The Black Crowes, “Hard To Handle” (Mainstream Rock #1, 1991), left in 1991
1967 ● Richard Zven Kruspe → Lead guitarist for heavy metal/industrial Kraut rock Rammstein, “Sehnsucht” (Mainstream Rock #20, 1998)
1970 ● Glen Medeiros → Teen idol poster-boy singer, “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You” (#12, UK #1, 1988) and duet with Bobby Brown, “She Ain’t Worth It” (#1, 1990)

June 25
1918 ● Sid Tepper → Songwriter and collaborator with Roy C. Bennett, with whom he wrote over 300 songs, including “Red Roses For A Blue Lady” for Vaughn Monroe (#4, 1948), “The Young Ones” for Cliff Richard (UK #1, 1962) and over 40 for ‘Elvis Presley, died from natural causes on 4/24/2015, age 96
1925 ● Clifton Chenier → The undisputed “King of Zydeco,” Creole accordion player, songwriter and bandleader, blended French and Cajun waltzes with New Orleans R&B, blues and jazz to create the exuberant, dance-happy sounds of zydeco, won a Grammy Award in 1983, recognized with a National Heritage Fellowship and inducted posthumously into the Blues Hall of Fame, died of diabetes-related kidney disease on 12/12/1987, age 62
1934 ● Ron Lundy / (Fred Ronald Lundy) → Radio disc jockey who held the midday shift at WABC (New York) – the most successful Top 40 radio station ever – from 1965 until the station switched to talk radio in 1982, moved to WCBS-FM and remained there until his retirement in 1997, died from a heart attack on 3/15/2010, age 75
1935 ● Eddie Floyd → R&B/Memphis soul singer/songwriter, co-founded proto-soul The Falcons, “You’re So Fine” (#17, R&B #2, 1959), then solo artist, “Knock On Wood” (#28, R&B #1, 1966) and staff writer/producer at Stax Records, co-wrote “634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)” for Wilson Pickett (#13, R&B #1, 1966)
1939 ● Harold Melvin → Singer, pianist and bandleader for R&B/Philly soul Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” (#3, 1972), suffered a stroke in 1996 and died on 3/24/1997, age 57
1940 ● Clint Warwick / (Albert Clinton Eccles) → Original bassist for pop-rock The Moody Blues, “Go Now” (#1, UK #10, 1964), left in 1966 to become a carpenter, died of liver cancer on 5/15/2004, age 63
1943 ● Chris Huston → Teenage friend of John Lennon, in 1961 co-founded Merseybeat pop-rock The Undertakers, one of the strongest Britbeat groups that never charted in any Top 40, left in 1966 to tour with Joey Dee And The Starlighters, teamed up with The Rascals as producer and engineer, winning a gold disc for “Groovin'” (#1, 1967), later worked with The Who, Led Zeppelin, Todd Rundgren, War, Eric Burdon, Ben E. King and many others, currently an acoustic and building design consultant in Nashville
1945 ● Carly Simon → Grammy-winning pop-rock singer/songwriter, “You’re So Vain” (#1, 1973) and “Mockingbird” (#5, 1974), a duet with then-husband James Taylor
1946 ● Ian McDonald → Co-founding member and multi-instrumentalist of prog/space-rock King Crimson, “The Court Of The Crimson King” (#80, 1970), then co-founder of hard/arena rock Foreigner, “Double Vision” (#2, 1978), left in 1979 for production, sessions and solo career
1946 ● Allen Lanier → Founding member, songwriter, guitar and vocals for hard rock/pop metal Blue Öyster Cult, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” (#12, 1976), also contributed music to Patti Smith, The Clash and others, died from lung disease on 8/14/2013, age 67
1952 ● Tim Finn / (Brian Timothy Finn) → Singer/songwriter with brother Neil in for New Wave pop-rock Split Enz, “I Got You” (#53, UK #12, 1980), left to form Crowded House, “Don’t Dream It’s Over” (#2, 1987) and Finn Brothers, “Won’t Give In” (UK #6, 2004)
1954 ● David Paich → Vocals and keyboards for Toto, “Hold The Line” (1978)
1963 ● George Michael / (Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou) → Vocals and co-frontman for pop-revival, early boyband duo Wham!, “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” (#1, 1984), then mature Grammy-winning dance-pop solo career, “Faith” (#1, 1987) and 12 other Top 10 hits and three Dance/Club #1 singles, died from heart failure on 12/25/2016, age 53
1968 ● Candyman / (Candell Manson) → Los Angeles crossover rapper, backed Tone-Loc before going solo, “Knockin’ Boots” (#9, Rap #1, 1990)
1972 ● Mike Kroeger → Bassist for Canadian post-grunge hard rock Nickelback, “How You Remind Me” (#1, 2001)
1974 ● Mario Calire → Drummer for roots rock The Wallflowers, “One Headlight” (Mainstream Rock #1, 1996), then Grammy-winning Latin salsa/hip hop/funk-rock blended Ozomatli, 2001 album Embrace The Chaos
1985 ● Hanna Nicole Pérez Mosa → Mexican-American singer and songwriter, with sister Ashley in contemporary Latin pop-rock duo Ha*Ash, “No Te Quiero Nada” (Latin Pop #6, 2008)

June 26
1893 ● Big Bill Broonzy / (William Lee Broonzy) → Pioneering Chicago blues guitarist and prolific songwriter with over 300 titles, including standards such as “All By Myself” (1941) and “Key To The Highway” (1941), died from throat cancer on 8/15/1958, age 65
1909 ● Colonel Tom Parker / (Andreas Cornelius Van Kuijk) → Dutch-born entertainment impresario, manager for Gene Austin, Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow, then took over as Elvis Presley‘s manager in 1955, died from a stroke on 1/21/1997, age 87
1940 ● Billy Davis, Jr. → Founding member and vocals for mainstream R&B/soul-pop The 5th Dimension, “Up, Up And Away” (1967), solo, Grammy-winning duet with wife Marilyn McCoo,”You Don’t Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)” (#1, 1976)
1942 ● Larry Taylor → Bassist for blues-rock/boogie-rock Canned Heat, “Going Up The Country” (#11, 1968)
1943 ● Georgie Fame / (Clive Powell) → Brit R&B, jazz and pop-rock vocalist and keyboard player, “The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde” (#7, UK #1, 1968)
1948 ● Richard McCarken → Bassist for Irish blues-rock power trio Taste, On The Boards album reached UK #18 in 1970
1949 ● John Illsley → Bass and vocals for post-punk New Wave pop-rock Dire Straits, “Sultans Of Swing” (#4, 1983)
1950 ● Junior Daye → Vocals for Philly-style Brit R&B/soul Sweet Sensation, “Sad Sweet Dreamer” (, , 1975)
1955 ● Ivan Julian → Guitarist and founding member of seminal punk/New Wave Richard Hell And The Voidoids, “Love Comes In Spurts” from the album Blank Generation (1977)
1955 ● Mick Jones / (Michael Geoffrey Jones) → Co-founder and lead guitarist of influential and acclaimed punk-ska-dance-rock The Clash, “Rock The Casbah” (#8, 1982), left in 1983 to form funk-punk Big Audio Dynamite, “V. Thirteen” (Dance/Club #15, 1987)
1956 ● Chris Isaak → Rockabilly and roots rock singer/songwriter/guitarist, “Wicked Game” (#6, 1990), occasional actor and TV talk show host
1957 ● Patty Smyth → Lead vocals for hard/arena rock Scandal, “The Warrior” (#7, 1984), left in 1984 for solo career, “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” (#2, 1992)
1959 ● Stef Burns → Guitarist for pop-rock bar band Huey Lewis & The News, “The Power Of Love” (#1, 1985)
1960 ● Chris Duffy → Vocals in Welsh pop-rock duo Waterfront, “Cry” (#10, 1989)
1961 ● Terri Nunn → Vocals for New Wave synth-pop Berlin, “Take My Breath Away” (#1, 1986)
1963 ● Harriet Wheeler → Vocals for Brit alt-indie-rock The Sundays, “Here’s Where The Story Ends” (Modern Rock #1, 1990)
1966 ● Par Wiksten → Guitar and vocals for Swedish alt rock The Wannadies, “You And Me Song” (UK #18, 1996)
1969 ● Colin Greenwood → Bassist for alt/indie rock Radiohead, “There There” (Modern Rock #14, 2003)
1969 ● Mark Decloedt → Drummer for Brit dance-rock quintet EMF (“Epsom Mad Funkers”), “Unbelievable” (#1, 1990)
1972 ● Jussi Sydänmaa → Guitarist for Finnish heavy metal monster-masked Lordi, winners if 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with “Hard Rock Hallelujah”
1973 ● Gretchen Wilson → Country singer/songwriter, “Redneck Woman” (#22, Country #1, 2004)
1975 ● Paul Phillips → On-again, off-again lead guitarist, singer and songwriter for post-grunge Puddle Of Mudd, “Blurry” (#5, 2001)
1979 ● Ivan Nathan Followill → Drummer for Southern blues-indie rock Kings Of Leon, “Sex On Fire” (Modern Rock #1, 2008)
1979 ● Ryan Tedder → Songwriter, producer, founding member for self-proclaimed “genreless” pop-rock OneRepublic, “Apologize” (#1, 2006), the most popular digital download/highest airplay song ever to-date
1980 ● Jason Schwartzman → Drummer for power pop/indie rock Phantom Planet, “California” (Modern Rock #35, 2002), TV and film actor plus solo music projects
1993 ● Ariana Grande (Butera) / (Ariana Grande-Butera) → Broadway and TV actor, voice artist and pop singer with seven Top 10 hits in the 10s including “Problem” (#2, 2014)

June 27
1925 ● Doc Pomus / (Jerome Felder) → Blues singer, guitarist and performer turned prolific rock and pop songwriter, wrote or co-wrote with collaborator and pianist Mort Shuman many memorable hits, including “Turn Me Loose” (Fabian, #9, 1959), “Teenager In Love” (Dion & The Belmonts, #5, 1959), “Save The Last Dance For Me” (The Drifters, #1, 1960), “Sweets For My Sweet” (The Drifters, #16, 1961), and “Viva Las Vegas” (Elvis Presley, #29, 1964), died from lung cancer on 3/14/1991, age 65
1942 ● Bruce Johnston / (Benjamin Baldwin) → Guitar and vocals for surf-pop-rock The Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations” (#1, 1966), solo, wrote Grammy-winning “I Write The Songs” for Barry Manilow (#1, 1976)
1945 ● Joey Covington / (Joseph Michno) → Session and touring drummer in the mid-60s, joined psych-rock Jefferson Airplane in 1969 and co-wrote the band’s last chart hit “Pretty As You Feel” (#60, 1972), left in the early 70s but continued in the San Francisco music scene, co-wrote “With Your Love” (#6, 1976) for Jefferson Starship and worked in a reformed Quicksilver Messenger Service and other Bay-area revival and all-star bands, died in a head-on car collision on 6/4/2013, age 67
1951 ● Gilson Lavis → Drummer in Chuck Berry‘s band, also toured with Jerry Lee Lewis and Dolly Parton, then 1976-92 with New Wave pop-rock Squeeze, “Tempted” (#49, 1981), now Jools Holland’s Rhythm & Blues Orchestra
1958 ● Lisa Germano → American singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, 1994 album Geek The Girl, session work for David Bowie, Sheryl Crow, Iggy Pop, Jewel, John Mellencamp, Simple Minds and others
1958 ● Jeffrey Lee Pierce → Hard-living guitarist, singer and founder of 80s L.A. alt punk rock/cowpunk The Gun Club, left for a brief solo career but returned in 1987, died from a drug addiction-related brain hemorrhage on 3/31/1996, age 37
1959 ● Loretta Lynn / (Loretta Lynn Morgan) → Country-pop singer, “What Part Of No” (Country #1, 1992) and 17 other Country Top 20 hits
1962 ● Michael Ball → Brit TV host, stage actor and pop singer, “Love Changes Everything” (UK #2, 1989)
1970 ● Laurence Colbert → Drummer for Brit neo-psych shoegazing band Ride, “Twisterella” (Modern Rock #12, 1992)
1976 ● Leigh Nash → Singer for Christian pop-rock Sixpence None The Richer, “Kiss Me” (#2, 1998)
1983 ● Evan David Taubenfeld → Lead guitarist and vocals with Avril Lavigne, “Complicated” #2, 2002), formed punk-pop The Black List Club in 2004

June 28
1902 ● Richard Rodgers → Stage, film and TV music composer and lyricist with over 900 titles and 43 musicals, collaborator with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein III on some of the best-known songs in popular music, died on 12/30/1979, age 77
1936 ● Cathy Carr / (Angelina Catherine Cordovano) → USO-tour and Big Band vocalist, later one hit wonder languid pop singer with her rendition of “Ivory Tower” (#2, 1956), continued to record through the 60s with little notice, died from unspecified causes on 11/22/1988, age 52
1943 ● Bobby Harrison → Drummer for prog/psych rock Procol Harum, “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” (#5, 1967), formed psych rock Freedom in 1968
1945 ● David Knights → Original bass guitarist for prog/psych rock Procol Harum, “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” (#5, 1967), left in 1969
1959 ● Clint Boon → Keyboards for Brit psych-alt rock Inspiral Carpets, “Two Worlds Collide” (Modern Rock #8, 1992), formed The Clint Boon Experience in 1995
1963 ● Beverley Craven → Brit easy listening singer/songwriter and balladeer, “Promise Me” (UK #3, 1991) and “Holding On” (Adult Contemporary #30, 1992)
1963 ● Charles Clouser → Keyboardist and drummer for industrial rock Nine Inch Nails, “The Day The World Went Away” (#17, 1999), producer and sound engineer for Deftones, White Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein and others
1965 ● Saul Davis → Guitar and violin for Brit alt pop-rock James, “Sit Down” (UK #2, 1991) and “Laid” (#61, Modern Rock #3, 1994)
1966 ● Bobby Bare, Jr. → Country and roots rock guitarist, singer and songwriter, at age 8 received a Grammy nomination with his father, Bobby Bare, for the duet “Daddy What If” (#41, Country #2, 1974), frontman for alt country-rock Young Criminals Starvation League and indie rock Bare Jr.
1971 ● Ray Slijngaard → Vocals for Euro dance-pop 2 Unlimited, “Tribal Dance” (Dance/Club #7, 1993)
1977 ● Mark Stoermer → Bass guitarist for pop-alt hard rock The Killers, “Mr. Brightside” (#10, 2005)
1979 ● Tim McCord → Bassist for Grammy-winning goth-pop-metal Evanescence, “Bring Me To Life” (#5, 2003)
1986 ● Kellie Dawn PicklerAmerican Idol runner-up and contemporary country/country-pop singer with eight Country Top 40 hits, including “Best Days Of Your Life” (Country #12, 2008) from the Country #1 (Pop #9) album Kellie Pickler

June 29
1901 ● Nelson Eddy / (Nelson Ackerman Eddy) → Classically-trained baritone pop and opera crossover singer and movie actor with nearly 300 recordings and 19 films, often with singing partner Jeanette MacDonald, died hours after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage while performing in Florida on 3/6/1967, age 65
1910 ● Frank Loesser / (Frank Henry Loesser) → Tony- and Oscar-winning Broadway and film composer, wrote the lyrics and music to Guys And Dolls and How To Success In Business Without Really Trying, wrote “Baby It’s Cold Outside” (1944), the Academy Awards best song of the year, died from lung cancer on 7/26/1969, age 59
1911 ● Bernard Herrmann / (Max Herrmann) → Innovative, Academy Award-winning film score composer best known for composing the music to Psycho, North By Northwest, Vertigo, Taxi Driver and dozens of other films, and the theme songs to The Twilight Zone and Have Gun – Will Travel, died in his sleep on 12/24/1975, age 64
1935 ● Johnnie Richardson → One half of the R&B vocal duo Johnnie & Joe, “Over The Mountain, Across The Sea” (#8, R&B #3, 1957) and two other R&B Top 20 hits in 1957, played the oldies circuit and recorded a 1982 album, died following a stroke on 10/25/1988, age 53
1936 ● Leonard Lee → One half of 50s teen R&B/pop male-female contrasting duet-style Shirley & Lee, “Let The Good Times Roll” (#20, R&B #1, 1956), a solo career following a split from Shirley Goodman met with little success, became a social worker and died of a heart attack on 10/23/1976, age 40
1938 ● Billy Storm / (William Hamlin Jones) → Frontman for 50s-60s rock ‘n’ roll Billy Storm & The Valiants, “I’ve Come Of Age” (#28, 1959)
1940 ● Larry Brown / (Lawrence Russell Brown) → Lyricist and composer, wrote or co-wrote numerous pop hits, including “C’mon Marianne” (#9, 1967) for The Four Seasons, “I Woke Up In Love This Morning” (#13, 1971) for The Partridge Family, and “Knock Three Times” (#1, 1971) and “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree” (#1, 1973) for Tony Orlando And Dawn
1942 ● Gilberto Gil / (Gilberto Moreira) → Brazilian “tropicalia” samba-salsa-pop-rock fusion singer and guitarist, Grammy-winning album Quanta Gente Veio Ver: Ao Vivo (1998), Minister of Culture for Brazil, 2003-2008
1943 ● Roger Ruskin Spear → Co-founder, kazoo, Jew’s harp, musical toy instrumentalist for Brit comedy-rock Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, “I’m The Urban Spaceman” (UK #5, 1968), died 1/18/1990
1945 ● Little Eva / (Eva Boyd) → Babysitter and maid for songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin, who wrote her hit “The Loco-Motion” (#1, 1962) about her dancing while doing housework, died of cervical cancer on 4/10/2003, age 57
1948 ● Bill Kirchen → The “Dieselbilly King,” versatile rockabilly, boogie, Western swing, rock ‘n’ roll and trucking music guitarist with Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen, “Hot Rod Lincoln” (#9, 1972), multiple solo albums including the Grammy-winning Word To The Wise (2010), frontman for several bands and tours/sessions with Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris and others
1948 ● Dervin Gordon → With twin brother Lincoln, Jamaican-born lead vocals for Brit reggae-pop The Equals, “Baby Come Back” (#32, 1968)
1948 ● Ian Paice → Drummer for hard rock/prog rock Deep Purple, “Smoke On The Water” (#4, 1973), the only constant member of the band since it formed in 1968, also played with hard rock Whitesnake, “Here I Go Again” (#1, 1987)
1948 ● Lincoln Gordon → With twin brother Dervin, Jamaican-born guitarist for Brit reggae-pop The Equals, “Baby Come Back” (#32, 1968)
1953 ● Colin Hay → Co-founder, vocals and guitar for Scottish-Australian Men At Work, “Down Under” (#1, UK #1, 1983), their Grammy-winning debut album, Business As Usual, was simultaneously the #1 US and UK album in January 1983, gaining them the distinction of being the only Aussie band to hold all four top spots at once
1954 ● Billy Hinsche → High school classmate and member of teenage bubblegum pop trio Dino, Desi & Billy with Dean Paul Martin and Desi Arnaz Jr., “I’m A Fool” (#17, 1965), later became a session and touring guitarist for The Beach Boys and the brother-in-law of Carl Wilson
1964 ● Steadman Pearson → Vocals for Brit family R&B/dance-pop quintet 5 Star, “Can’t Wait Another Minute” (#41, Dance/Club #7, 1986) and fifteen Top 40 singles in native England
1978 ● Nicole Scherzinger → Vocals for all-girl teen dance-pop quintet Eden’s Crush, “Get Over Yourself” (#1, 2001), the first #1 debut single by an all-female group, then lead singer for dance-pop Pussycat Dolls, “Don’t Cha” (#2, 2005), solo, “Baby Love” (Dance/Club #4, 2007), winner of Dancing With The Stars in 2010
1978 ● Sam Farrar → Bassist for power pop/indie rock Phantom Planet, “California” (Modern Rock #35, 2002), son of John Farrar of The Shadows (“Apache,” Worldwide #1, 1960)
1979 ● Richard Breen → Vocals for Brit dance-pop boy band 5ive (aka Five), “When The Lights Go Out” (#10, 1998)
1983 ● Aundrea Aurora Fimbres → Singer for MTV Making the Band program winner and pre-fab, all-girl dance-pop quintet Danity Kane, “Show Stopper” (#8, 2006)

June 30
1917 ● Lena Horne / (Lena Mary Calhoun Horne) → Grammy-winning contemporary pop singer, stage, film and TV actress and nightclub entertainer with a 70 year career from the Cotton Club in the 30s to Hollywood films in the 40s to blacklisting in the 50s and to TV and Broadway in the 70s and 80s, , recorded several charting hits, including “Love Me Or Leave Me” (#19, 1955), died from unspecified causes on 5/9/2010, age 92
1936 ● Dave Van Ronk → Folk and acoustic blues singer/songwriter and guitarist, figurehead in the 60s Greenwich Village folk coffeehouse scene, influenced Bob Dylan and many other young folksters, died from complications of colon cancer surgery on 2/10/2002, age 65
1937 ● Larry Henley / (Lawrence Joel Henley) → Lead vocals for pop-rock trio The Newbeats, “Bread And Butter” (#2, 1964) but better known as a Nashville songwriter with several Country #1 hits and for co-writing “Wind Beneath My Wings” (#1, 1989) for Bette Midler, died from complications of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases on 12/18/2014, age 77
1939 ● Tony Hatch → Composer, pianist, Pye Records staff songwriter, producer for The Searchers, David Bowie, the Montanas and others, wrote “Downtown” for Petula Clark (#1, 1964)
1940 ● Larry Hall / (Lawrence Kendall Hall) → One hit wonder pop singer with the debut hit “Sandy” (#15, 1960), left the industry after several unsuccessful follow-ups and became an Oregon cattle rancher, died from cancer on 9/24/1997, age 57
1943 ● Flo Ballard / (Florence Glenda Ballard Chapman) → Founding member and singer with R&B/soul-pop trio The Supremes, “Where Did Our Love Go” (#1, 1964), left in 1967 when Motown snubbed her and pushed Diana Ross to the front, tried to become a solo act but was largely unsuccessful, died of a heart attack on 2/22/1976, age 32
1944 ● Glenn Shorrock → Songwriter, lead vocals and co-founder of several top-level Aussie pop/rock bands, including Little River Band, “Lonesome Loser” (#6, 1979), solo
1946 ● Billy Brown / (William Brown) → Vocals for R&B/soul trio The Moments, “Love On A Two-Way Street” (#3, 1970), then name change to sweet soul Ray, Goodman & Brown, “Special Lady” (#5, R&B #1, 1979)
1949 ● Andy Scott → Guitar and synthesizer for neo-bubblegum/glam pop-rock Sweet, “Ballroom Blitz” (#5, 1973)
1951 ● Stanley Clarke → Virtuoso electric and acoustic jazz and jazz-rock fusion bassist, bandleader and solo, “Sweet Baby” (#19, R&B #6, 1981), collaborated with Chick Corea in fusion band Return To Forever, session work for Santana, Keith Richards, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney and others, film score composer
1953 ● Hal Lindes → Guitarist and film score composer, joined post-punk New Wave rock Dire Straits, “Money For Nothing” (#1, 1985) in 1981, solo and session work
1956 ● Philip Adrian Wright → Joined synth-pop pioneers The Human League, “Don’t You Want Me” (#1, 1981) in 1978 as “Director of Visuals”, learned keyboards, left the band in 1986 to pursue graphic design
1957 ● Doug Sampson → Original drummer for Brit heavy metal Iron Maiden, “Flight Of Icarus” (Mainstream Rock #8, 1983), left the band in 1977 to escape the rigors of constant touring and never played professionally again
1962 ● Julianne Regan → Vocals for goth-rock All About Eve, “Martha’s Harbour” (UK #10, 1988)
1963 ● Yngwie Malmsteen → Swedish composer, bandleader and technically accomplished neo-classical heavy metal guitarist, pioneer of the lightning fast “shredding” technique, “Heaven Tonight” (Mainstream Rock #19, 1988)
1967 ● Cammy Camell / (Peter James Camell) → Bass and rhythm guitar for Brit jangle pop The La’s, “There She Goes” (#49, UK #13, 1991)
1968 ● Philip Anselmo → Lead vocals for alt heavy metal Pantera, “Planet Caravan” (Mainstream Rock #21, 1994)
1969 ● Tom Drummond → Bassist for alt pop-rock trio Better Than Ezra, “Good” (#30, Modern Rock #1, 1995)
1979 ● Andrew Burrows → Drummer for Brit-Swede indie pop-rock Razorlight, “America” (UK #1, 2006)
1983 ● Anton Gordon → Vocals in teen pop boy band One True Voice, “Sacred Trust / After You’re Gone” (UK #2, 2002)
1983 ● Cheryl Cole / (Cheryl Ann Tweedy) → Singer in pre-fab all-girl Euro-pop vocal group Girls Aloud, “Sound Of The Underground” (UK #1, 2002), judge on the UK version of The X Factor in 2008, solo, “Fight For This Love” (UK #1, 2009)
1984 ● Fantasia / (Fantasia Barrino) → R&B/soul singer, actress, “I Believe” (#1, 2004), the first debut single to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart
1985 ● T-Pain / (Faheem Rasheed Najm) → R&B/hip hop MC and singer, “Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin’)” (#1, 2007)
1992 ● Lamb Lennon Gaede → With fraternal twin sister Lynx, one half of the white supremacist bubblegum teen pop/”hate rock” duo Prussian Blue, “I Will Bleed For You” (2004)
1992 ● Lynx Vaughan Gaede → With fraternal twin sister Lamb, one half of the white supremacist bubblegum teen pop/”hate rock” duo Prussian Blue, “I Will Bleed For You” (2004)

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