This Week’s Birthdays (November 22 – 28)

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ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 09: Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Tom Tom Club perform at Chastain Park Amphitheater on August 9, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Chris McKay/WireImage)

Happy Birthday this week to:

November 22
1899 ● Hoagy Carmichael / (Howard Hoagland Carmichael) → Composer, actor, singer, pianist and bandleader, wrote or co-wrote several classic American pop tunes including “Stardust” (1927), “Georgia On My Mind” (1930) and “Heart And Soul” (1938), died of heart failure on 12/27/1981, age 82
1941 ● Jesse Colin Young / (Perry Miller) → Mid-60s Greenwich Village folk singer and songwriter, co-founded folk-rock The Youngbloods (“Get Together, #5, 1969), left in 1972 for a 40-year solo career, including LPs Song For Juli (#51, 1973) and Songbird (#26, 1975) plus several charting singles
1941 ● Terry Stafford → One hit wonder country and pop-rock singer and songwriter with the Elvis sound-alike “Suspicion” (#4, 1961), died from liver ailments on 3/17/1996, age 54
1942 ● Floyd Sneed → Drummer for pop-rock Three Dog Night, “Joy To The World” (#1, 1971) and nine other Top 10 hits between 1969 and 1973
1942 ● Stephen Caldwell → Vocals in mixed gender R&B doo-wop quartet The Orlons, “The Wah-Watusi” (#2, R&B #5, 1962), left the group in 1964 for a career in trade union management and 29 years on the Philadelphia Board of Education, reformed the group in 1988 for the oldies circuit
1946 ● Family Man Barrett / (Aston Francis Barrett) → Rastafarian and bassist for reggae bands The Upsetters and Bob Marley & The Wailers, “I Shot The Sheriff” (#1, 1974)
1947 ● Sonny Geraci → Lead singer for Cleveland garage rock quintet The Outsiders (“Time Won’t Let Me,” #5, 1966) and L.A. light AM pop Climax (“Precious And Few,” #3, 1972), one of only a very few artists who have scored Top 10 its fronting two different acts, continued to perform on the oldies circuit into the 10s
1947 ● Rod Price → Slide guitar for Brit boogie/blues-rock Foghat, “Slow Ride” (#20, 1975), solo, died following a heart attack on 3/22/2005, age 57
1948 ● Dennis Larden → With brother Larry, guitar and vocals for one hit wonder pop-folk Every Mother’s Son, “Come On Down To My Boat” (#6, 1967)
1950 ● “Miami” Steve (aka “Little Steve”) Van Zandt / (Steven Van Zandt) → Guitarist and songwriter, founding member of Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, joined Bruce Springsteen‘s E Street Band in 1975, solo and frontman for Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul, social activist and founder of Artists United Against Apartheid, record producer and TV actor (“Silvio Dante” on The Sopranos)
1950 ● Tina Weymouth → Bassist for New Wave art-pop-rock Talking Heads, “Take Me To The River” (#26, 1978) and co-founder of synth-pop Tom Tom Club, “Genius Of Love” (#31, R&B #2, 1982)
1954 ● Craig Huxley / (Craig Hundley) → Child actor turned Emmy-winning film producer and Grammy-nominated musician and soundtrack producer over a wide range of projects, including concert collaborations with Deep Purple, session work with Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and others, soundtrack composer for the Star Trek movie series, music director for actor/singer William Shatner, founder of The Enterprise Interactive recording studios and producer of hits by Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg, Paul McCartney and dozens more, music arranger for Broadway shows, IMAX films and extreme expedition Blue-ray videos
1957 ● Sharon Bailey → Percussion for Brit reggae-pop-ska band Amazulu, “Too Good To Be Forgotten” (UK #5, 1986)
1958 ● Jason Ringenberg → Founder, frontman for alt country-rock “cowpunk” Jason & The Scorchers, “Golden Ball And Chain” (Mainstream Rock #16, 1986), now records and performs children’s music as Farmer Jason
1960 ● Jim Bob / (James Morrison) → One half of the alt dance-pop sampling duo Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, “The Only Living Boy In New Cross” (Modern Rock #26, UK #7, 1992)
1962 ● Daniel Schmid → Co-founder and bassist for jazz-rock-ska-swing revival Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, “Zoot Suit Riot” (Modern Rock #15, 1998)
1962 ● Neil Fraser → Guitar for Brit folk-pop-soul Tindersticks, “Bathtime” (UK #38, 1997)
1968 ● Rasa Don / (Donald Norris) → Rapper in Grammy-winning, progressive rap, funk-soul-blues-hip-hop Arrested Development, “Mr. Wendal” (#6, 1992)
1970 ● Chris Fryar → Drummer for Grammy-winning alt-country-rock Zac Brown Band (“Knee Deep,” #18, Country #1,, 2012)
1976 ● Alex Grossi → Journeyman rock guitarist best known for his work with heavy metal/pop-metal Quiet Riot (“Bang Your Head (Metal Health),” #31, 1984)
1978 ● Karen O / (Karen Lee Orzolek) → Vocals and keyboards for New York alt/art-rock trio Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Gold Lion” (Alt Rock #14, 2006)
1979 ● Scott Robinson → Vocals for Brit dance-pop boy band 5ive (aka Five), “When The Lights Go Out” (#10, 1998)
1981 ● Ben Adams → Vocals for Brit-Norwegian pop-rock boy band A1, “Same Old Brand New You” (UK #1, 2000)

November 23
1925 ● Johnny Mandel / (John Alfred Mandel) → Journeyman jazz and Big Band musician in the 50s who became a Grammy-winning jazz and pop music composer, arranger and conductor for movie soundtracks after 1958, including “The Shadow Of Your Smile” from The Sandpiper (1964) and “Close Enough For Love” from Agatha (1969), best known for penning the melody and music to “Suicide Is Painless” (1970), the theme song from the movie and TV show MAS*H (and a surprise #1 hit in the UK) and the updated arrangement to “Unforgettable” (#14, AC #3, 1991) for Natalie Cole and her late, dubbed-in father, Nat King Cole, died from a heart ailment on 6/29/2020, age 94.
1939 ● Betty Everett → R&B/soul-pop vocalist and pianist, “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)” (#6, R&B #1, 1964), died at home on 8/19/2001, age 61
1940 ● Freddie Marsden / (Frederick John Marsden) → With brother Gerry Marsden, co-founder and drummer in 50s Brit skiffle band Mars Bars, which shortly became Merseybeat pop-rock Gerry & The Pacemakers(“How Do You Do It?, #9, AUS #3, UK #1, 1964), the second most popular Liverpool, England band of all time, left the music industry in the late 60s to open a driving school, died from cancer on 12/9/2006, age 66
1945 ● Bobby Bloom / (Robert Bloom) → One hit wonder calypso-pop singer and songwriter, “Montego Bay” (#1, 1974), died in an accidental gun shooting on 2/28/74, age 28
1949 ● Alan Paul → Singer in Grammy-winning jazz-pop fusion vocal group Manhattan Transfer, “Boy From New York City” (#7, 1981)
1949 ● Marcia Griffiths / (Marcia Llyneth Griffiths) → Jamaican pop singer and the “Queen of Reggae,” solo artist in the 60s and later in the I Threes as backing vocalist for Bob Marley & The Wailers, went solo and scored the minor hit “Electric Boogie” (#51, 1982) which became the basis for Ric Silver‘s dance-craze, copyright-infested “Electric Slide” (1976)
1949 ● Sandra Stevens → Vocals in Brit sunny folk-pop Brotherhood of Man “United We Stand” (#13, UK #10, 1970)
1954 ● Bruce Hornsby → Grammy-winning rock-pop-jazz-classical-bluegrass keyboardist, singer and songwriter, bandleader for The Range “The Way It Is” (#1, 1986), solo, producer for Leon Russell and others, filled in on keyboards for the Grateful Dead, now fronts separate bluegrass and jazz bands
1962 ● Calvin Hayes → Keyboards and drums for underappreciated, one hit wonder (in the U.S.) New Wave sophisti-pop Johnny Hates Jazz, “Shattered Dreams” (#2, 1988)
1962 ● Chris Bostock → Bassist in dance-pop-rock Jo Boxers, “Boxer Beat” (UK #3, 1983)
1964 ● Conny Bloom / (Conquistador Blomqvist) → Guitarist and songwriter for Finnish glam-punk-metal Hanoi Rocks, covered Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Up Around The Bend” (UK #61, 1984)
1966 ● Charlie Grover → Drummer in post-grunge alt rock Sponge, “Molly (16 Candles Down The Drain” (Modern Rock #3, 1995)
1966 ● Ken Block → Lead singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer for Southern folk-rock Sister Hazel, “All For You” (#11, 1997), solo
1978 ● Alison Mosshart → Singer, songwriter and occasional model, lead singer for indie rock The Kills (“The Good Ones,” UK #23, 2005) and blues-rock supergroup The Dead Weather (“Die By The Drop,” Alt Rock #20, 2010)
1978 ● Tommy Marth / (Thomas Christian Marth, Jr.) → Freelance journalist, Las Vegas nightclub manager,Hard Rock Café marketing director and session saxophonist in alt hard rock The Killers (“Mr. Brightside,” #10, Alt. Rock #3, 2003), committed suicide by gunshot on 4/23/2012, age 33
1984 ● Lucas Stephen Grabeel → Pop singer and actor, played “Ryan Evans” in High School Musical movies (most watched cable TV movies ever)
1992 ● Miley Cyrus / (Destiney Hope Cyrus) → Teen idol actress and star of the Disney Hannah Montana series, then pop vocalist, “Party In The U.S.A.” (#2, 2009), daughter of country-pop singer Billy Ray Cyrus

November 24
1868 ● Scott Joplin → The “King of Ragtime,” pianist and prolific jazz and ragtime composer best known for his signature piece, “Maple Leaf Rag” (copyright 1899), died from dementia caused by syphilis on 4/1/1917, age 49
1924 ● Eileen Barton → Child vaudeville performer, teenage radio program vocalist, 20-something pop singer with ten Top 40 hits in the 50s, including the perky “If I Knew You Were Coming I’d Have Baked You A Cake” (#1, 1950), continued as a night club and stage entertainer in her 30s and 40s, died from ovarian cancer on 6/27/2006, age 81
1931 ● Tommy Allsup / (Tommy Douglas Allsup) → Rockabilly and swing guitarist with Buddy Holly & The Crickets, lost a coin toss with Ritchie Valens for the last seat on the fateful flight on February 3, 1959 that killed Holly, Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, later worked as a session musician for Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson and others, died from complications of a hernia surgery on 1/11/2017, age 85
1938 ● Charles Laquidara → Radio DJ on early “free format” WBCN/Boston, his morning drive time show The Big Mattress ran for nearly 30 years and set the bar for FM radio morning shows
1939 ● Jim Yester → Guitar and vocals for light pop-rock vocal group The Association, “Along Comes Mary” (#7, 1966)
1939 ● Carl Bunch → Rock ‘n’ roll drummer recruited for Buddy Holly‘s band in the “Winter Dance Party” tour of 1959, suffered frostbite due to a malfunctioning tour bus heater and was hospitalized while the rest of the band took the ill-fated plane flight that killed Holly and others, did session work in Nashville following a stint in the Army, died from diabetes on 3/26/2011, age 71
1940 ● Johnny Carver → Country-pop crossover singer with fifteen Country Top 40 hits in the late 60s through the late 70s, including counterfeits of Tony Orlando & Dawn‘s “Tie A Yellow Ribbon ‘Round The Old Oak Tree” (Country #5, 1973) and Starland Vocal Band‘s “Afternoon Delight” (Country #9, 1976), performed in Branson, MO venues into the 90s
1941 ● Pete Best / (Randolph Peter Best) → The “5th The Beatle“, drummer for The Beatles from August 1960 until fired and replaced by Ringo Starr in August 1962, went into civil service and continued to perform as frontman to his own bands
1941 ● Duck Dunn / (Donald Dunn) → Bassist, songwriter, highly regarded session player, member of Stax Records house band Booker T. & The MG’s, “Green Onions” (#3, 1962) and The Blues Brothers, “Soul Man” (#14, 1979), died in his sleep while on tour in Tokyo on 5/13/2012, age 70
1941 ● Wayne Jackson / (Wayne Lamar Jackson) → Trumpet player for various studio session bands at Stax Records, first as The Mar-Keys (“Last Night,” #3, 1961) and later as Booker T. & The M.G.’s, joined with tenor saxophonist Andrew Love to form The Memphis Horns in 1969 and played on scores of albums by Elvis Presley, Rod Stewart, U2, among others, died from congestive heart failure on 6/21/2016, age 74
1942 ● Billy Connolly → Scottish comedian, film and TV actor and singer, member of folk trio The Humblebums with Gerry Rafferty in 70s, then briefly a folk-novelty-pop solo artist, covered “D.I.V.O.R.C.E.” (UK #1, 1975)
1943 ● Robin Williamson → Guitarist and principal in Scottish psych-folk and early world music duo The Incredible String Band, 1968 album The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter reached #161 in the US
1943 ● Richard Tee / (Richard Ten Ryk) → R&B and funk keyboardist, session musician, arranger and singer who played on hundreds of studio albums by top-tier artists in rock, pop and soul as well as in band’s led by George Benson, Grover Washington, Jr., Steve Gadd and others, issued seven solo albums, two of which reached into the Jazz Top 25, died in his prime from prostate cancer on 7/21/1993, age 49
1945 ● Lee Michaels / (Michael Olsen) → One hit wonder psych-rock/blue eyed soul singer, songwriter and keyboardist, “Do You Know What I Mean” (#6, 1971)
1948 ● Tony Bourge → Guitarist for early and influential heavy metal Budgie, “Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman” (1971)
1949 ● Anita Louis → Original member in R&B/soul vocal quartet The Soul Children, “I’ll Be The Other Woman” (#36, R&B #3, 1973), the group did not meet the expectations of Isaac Hayes and other Stax Records executives who created the group to offset the loss of departed duo Sam & Dave
1950 ● Robert Burns, Jr. → Original drummer and founding member of raunchy Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Sweet Home Alabama” (#8, 1974), left in 1974 after the band’s first two albums due to road fatigue, died in a single-car accident on 4/3/2015, age 64
1955 ● Clement Burke / (Clement Bozewski) → Original drummer for New Wave pop-rock Blondie, “Heart Of Glass” (#1, 1979), later with The Romantics, occasional tours with The Ramones (as “Elvis Ramone”), session work for Pete Townshend, Bob Dylan, The Gog-Go’s, The Sex Pistols and others
1957 ● Chris Hayes → Guitar and backing vocals for pop-rock bar band Huey Lewis & The News, “The Power Of Love” (#1, 1985)
1958 ● Carmel McCourt → Brit jazz-pop-rock vocalist and bandleader for Carmel, “Bad Day” (UK #15, 1983)
1962 ● Gary Stonadge → Bassist for funk-punk Big Audio Dynamite, “V. Thirteen” (Dance/Club #15, 1987) and The Rotten Hill Gang
1962 ● John Squire → Guitarist for Brit guitar pop-rock The Stone Roses, “She Bangs The Drums” (Alt Rock #9, 1989) and indie rock The Seahorses, “Love Is The Law” (UK #3, 1997), painter
1964 ● Tony Rombola → Guitarist for hard rock Godsmack, “Straight Out Of Line” (Mainstream #1, 2003)
1970 ● Chad Taylor → Guitarist for alt rock Live, “Lightning Crashes” (Modern Rock #5, 1995) and The Gracious Few, “Appetite” (Mainstream Rock #29, 2010)

November 25
1931 ● Nat Adderley / (Nathaniel Adderley) → Hard bebop and soul jazz cornet and trumpeteer player, wrote and recorded the now-standard “Work Song” in 1960, played with his brother Julian “Cannonball” Adderley in various jazz-pop bands, died from complications of diabetes on 1/2/2012, age 68
1935 ● Mack Starr / (Julius McMichael) → R&B vocalist, songwriter and frontman for Brooklyn street-corner harmony quintet The Paragons (“Florence,” 1957), unraveled the group in 1961 for a solo career, joined doo wop The Olympics in 1968 but left in the early 70s, died in a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles on 6/1/1981, age 45
1941 ● Percy Sledge → Pleading R&B/Southern soul balladeer, “When A Man Loves A Woman” (#1, 1965) and three other Top 40 hits, died from liver cancer on 4/14/2015, age 73
1942 ● Bob Lind → One hit wonder folk-pop singer and songwriter, his “Elusive Butterfly” (#5, 1966) is sometimes credited with being in the vanguard of folk-rock music and his songs have been recorded by scores of other artists, continues to perform into the 10s
1944 ● Bev Bevan / (Beverly Bevan) → Drummer and founding member of Brit psych-rock The Move, “Blackberry Way” (UK #1, 1968), pop-rock Electric Light Orchestra, “Don’t Bring Me Down” (#4, 1979) and 26 other Top 40 hits and Black Sabbath, now a UK radio host on Saga FM
1947 ● Val Fuentes → Drummer for San Francisco psych-folk-rock It’s A Beautiful Day, “White Bird” (1969)
1950 ● Jocelyn Brown → R&B/dance-pop session vocalist and solo artist, “Somebody Else’s Guy” (R&B #2, 1984), worked with John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and others
1959 ● Steve Rothery → Original member and lead guitar for Brit prog-rock revival group Marillion, “Kayleigh” (Mainstream Rock #14, 1985)
1960 ● Amy Grant → Grammy-winning Contemporary Christian music (CCM) then pop-rock singer and songwriter, “Every Heartbeat” (#1, 1991) and six other Top 40 hits
1964 ● Mark Lanegan → Vocals and songwriting for garage/psych/grunge rock Screaming Trees, “All I Know” (Mainstream Rock #9, 1996), stoner metal Queens Of The Stone Age, “No One Knows” (#51, Mainstream Rock #5, 2002) and solo
1966 ● Stacey Lattishaw → R&B/dance-pop vocalist, “Let Me Be Your Angel” (#21, R&B #8, 1980), retired from music in 1990 to raise her family
1966 ● Tim Armstrong → Grammy-winning guitarist, songwriter poet, producer and independent record label owner, frontman for 90s punk revival Rancid, “Time Bomb” (Modern Rock #8, 1995)
1967 ● Rodney Sheppard → Guitarist for funk-pop-rock Sugar Ray, “Fly” (#1, 1997)
1968 ● Tunde / (Babatunde Emanuel Baiyewu) → Nigerian-descent singer in Brit R&B/Northern soul duo Lighthouse Family, “Lifted” (UK #4, 1996) and 9 other UK Top 40 hits, solo
1972 ● Mark Duane Morton → Lead guitar for groove metal Lamb God, album Wrath reached #2 in 2009

November 26
1917 ● Nesuhi Ertegun → Record producer and music company executive, joined his younger brother, Ahmet at Atlantic Records in 1956 and focused on the label’s jazz catalog and artists, worked with John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and others, later branched into R&B and rock with Ray Charles, The Drifters and Roberta Flack, founded WEA International and served as its CEO until just before his death from cancer on 7/15/1989, age 71
1924 ● Michael Holliday / (Norman Milne) → Late 50s, pre-Beatles adult contemporary/pop crooner, “The Story of My Life” (UK #1, 1957), died from an apparent suicidal drug overdose on 10/29/1963, age 38
1933 ● Roberrt Goulet → Grammy-, Emmy- and Tony-winning, French-Canadian-American stage and screen entertainer and resonant baritone singer with several charting hits, including “My Love, Forgive Me (Amore, Scusami)” (#16, AC #3, 1964) and dozens of jazz-pop/easy listening albums, plus 30-years worth of Broadway, TV, film and Las Vegas show performances until his death from pulmonary fibrosis on 10/30/2007. age 73
1939 ● Tina Turner / (Anna Mae Bullock) → R&B/soul-pop diva, first as a member of The Ikettes, husband Ike Turner‘s backing vocal group, then soul-pop duo Ike & Tina Turner, “Proud Mary” (#4, 1971) and Grammy-winning solo career, “What’s Love Got To Do With It” (#1, 1984) and 12 other Top 40 singles
1939 ● Dave White / (David Ernest White) → Rock ‘n’ roll/pop singer-songwriter, founding member of doo-wop quartet Danny & The Juniors, co-wrote their hit “At the Hop” (#1, 1957) and composed the follow-on single “Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay” (#19, 1958), left in 1960 to team with John Madara to write and produce “The Fly” (#7, 1961) for Chubby Checker, “You Don’t Own Me“ (#2, 1963) for Lesley Gore and “1-2-3” ( 1965) for Len Barry, among many other songs, later founded short-lived pop trio The Spokesmen (“The Dawn Of Correction,” #36, 1966), lived off royalties from his hits and performed occasionally with a reformed Danny & The Juniors until dying from lung and throat cancer on 3/16/2019, age 79.
1940 ● Davey Graham / (David Michael Gordon Graham) → Folk guitarist, songwriter and highly influential figure in the Brit folk revival of the early 60s known for blending folk, blues, jazz and Middle Eastern sounds and inspiring Joni Mitchell, Bert Jansch, Jimmy Page and others, his oft-covered acoustic instrumental “Anji” (1962) is a standard among acoustic guitarists, died from lung cancer on 12/15/2008, age 68
1944 ● Jean Terrell → R&B/soul singer, replaced Diana Ross in The Supremes in 1969, “Up The Ladder To The Roof” (#10, 1970), left in 1973 for a solo career and backing vocalist for various jazz acts
1945 ● John McVie → Founding member, part namesake and bassist for Brit blues-rock then huge pop-rock group Fleetwood Mac, “Go Your Own Way” (#10, 1977)
1946 ● Burt Ruiter → Bassist for Dutch prog rock band Focus, “Hocus Pocus” (#9, 1971)
1946 ● Graham Foote → Guitarist in British Invasion pop-rock The Mindbenders, “The Game Of Love” (#1, 1965)
1948 ● John Rossall → Saxophone, trombone and music director for Gary Glitter‘s backing group The Glitter Band, “Angel Face” (UK #4, 1974) and later incarnations of the group
1949 ● Gayle McCormick → Little-known pop-rock singer with several minor albums and singles as a solo artist, plus lead vocals for pop-rock cover vocal group Smith and their grittier version of The Shirelles‘ “Baby It’s You” (#5, 1969), which charted higher than the original version from 1962, and on the group’s cover of “The Weight” from the soundtrack to the film Easy Rider (1969)
1949 ● Martin Lee → Vocals in Brit sunny folk-pop Brotherhood of Man, “United We Stand” (#13, UK #10, 1970)
1963 ● Adam Gaynor → Rhythm guitarist for post-grunge alt rock Matchbox Twenty, “Bent” (#1, 2000), solo
1967 ● John Stirratt → Bassist and songwriter for alt country-rock Wilco, “Outtasite (Outta Mind)” (Mainstream Rock #22, 1997)
1970 ● Ron Jones → Guitarist for neo-psych alt rock The Flaming Lips, “She Don’t Use Jelly” (#55, 1995)
1981 ● Natasha Bedingfield → New Zealand-born dance-pop singer and songwriter, “Unwritten” (#5, 2006) plus three other Top 40 hits
1984 ● Ben Wysocki → Drummer for mainstream/piano rock The Fray, “How To Save A Life” (#3, 2006)
1985 ● Lil Fizz / (Dreux Frederic) → Vocals for R&B/hip hop urban boy band B2K, “Bump, Bump, Bump” (#1, 2002)
1990 ● Rita Ora → Kosovo-born UK dance/pop singer and dancer with three consecutive UK #1 singles, including “How We Do (Party)” (#62, Dance/Pop #1, UK #1, 2012)

November 27
1935 ● Al Jackson, Jr. → Drummer, songwriter, producer, highly regarded session player, member of Stax Records house band Booker T. & The MG’s, “Green Onions” (#3, 1962), murdered by intruders in his home on 10/1/1975, age 39
1936 ● Henri Belolo → Club DJ in his native French-Morocco and record label A&R man in Paris, then US-based disco-era songwriter, band manager, producer and, with with his business partner, composer Jacques Morali, co-creator of R&B/disco The Ritchie Family and overtly gay, campy funk-disco troupe The Village People, the two co-produced multiple disco hits, often co-written with VP lead singer Victor Willis, including “Brazil” for the Ritchies (#11, Dance/Club #1, 1975), and “Y.M.C.A.” (#2, 1979) and “In The Navy” (#3, 1979) for the Village People, returned to France in the 90s and produced Latin-tinged dance music until his death from pancreatic cancer on 8/3/2019, age 82.
1941 ● Eddie Rabbitt / (Edward Thomas Rabbitt) → Country-pop singer and songwriter, “I Love a Rainy Night” (#1, 1980), Elvis Presley, Dr. Hook, Tom Jones and others covered his songs, died of lung cancer on 5/7/1998, age 56
1942 ● Jimi Hendrix / (James Marshall Hendrix) → Electric blues, rock and R&B guitar innovator and virtuoso, songwriter and bandleader, “Purple Haze” (US #65, UK #3, 1967), died from a drug overdose in his London hotel room on 9/18/70, age 27
1944 ● Trevor “Dozy” Ward-Davies → Bass guitar for Brit 60s pop-rock two hit wonder quintet Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, “The Legend Of Xanadu” (UK #1, 1968)
1945 ● Randy Brecker → Grammy-winning trumpeter and composer, collaborator with brother Randy in jazz-rock fusion The Brecker Brothers, “Sneakin’ Up Behind You” (#58, Disco #3, 1975), worked with jazz-rock/pop-rock fusion band Blood, Sweat & Tears, plus Horace Silver, Larry Coryell and other sessions, solo
1948 ● Dave Winthrop → Flute, saxophone and occasional lead vocals for Brit prog-art-then pop-rock Supertramp, “The Logical Song” (#6, 1979), briefly with blues-rock Chicken Shack and mod revival Secret Affair, session work
1953 ● Lyle Mays / (Lyle David Mays) → Accomplished jazz-rock fusion keyboardist, composer and author, co-founded the Pat Metheny Group in 1977 and co-wrote most of the band’s music with frontman Pat Metheny over a 40-plus-year collaboration, won eleven Grammy Awards in the process, composed several children’s audio book and toured and recorded as a bandleader for his own jazz and fusion bands and as a sideman with others, including Joni Mitchell and David Bowie (“This Is Not America,” #32, UK #14, 1985), died from an undisclosed, recurring medical condition on 2/10/2020, age 66.
1959 ● Charlie Burchill → Guitar for Scottish New Wave pop-rock Simple Minds, “(Don’t You) Forget About Me” ($1, 1985)
1960 ● Ashley Ingram → Vocals for R&B/electro-dance-soul Imagination, “Just An Illusion” (Dance/Club #15, 1982)
1961 ● Princess / (Desiree Heslop) → Vocalist in Afro-pop/worldbeat Osibisa, “The Warrior” (Dance/Club #32, 1977) and solo “Say I’m Your Number One” (UK #7, 1985)
1962 ● Charlie Benante → Drummer for speed/thrash metal Anthrax, “Only” (Mainstream #26, 1993) and punk/metal side project Stormtroopers Of Death
1962 ● Mike Bordin → Drummer for influential metal/funk/hip hop/punk fusion band Faith No More, “Epic” (#9, 1990)
1965 ● Fiachna Ó Braonáin → Vocals and guitar for Irish rockers Hothouse Flowers, “Don’t Go” (Modern Rock #7, 1988), duet with Belinda Carlisle on her 2007 album Voila
1970 ● Skoob (aka “Books”) / (William “Willie” Hines) → Vocals in rapid-fire, nonsensical rap duo Das EFX, “Straight From The Sewer” (Rap #3, 1992)
1971 ● Terry Corso → Guitarist for alt rock Alien Ant Farm, “Smooth Criminal” (#23, 2001)
1973 ● Twista / (Carl Terrell Mitchell) → Chicago rapper known at one time as the world’s fastest, “Slow Jamz” (#1, 2004) from the #1 album Kamikaze
1978 ● Mike Skinner → Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, rapper, songwriter and leader of the rap/garage “grime” project The Streets, “Dry Your Eyes” (UK #1, 2004)

November 28
1929 ● Berry Gordy, Jr. → Professional boxer turned record producer and talent agent, founded Motown Records and brought black music into tens of millions of white homes, composer and co-writer of several hits, including “Lonely Teardrops” for Jackie Wilson (#7, R&B #1, 1958)
1932 ● Ray Perkins → Bass vocals for Canadian harmony pop/rock quartet The Crew Cuts, covered “Sh-Boom” (#1, 1954)
1932 ● Ethel Ennis / (Ethel Llewellyn Ennis) → Affectionately but unofficially the “First Lady of Jazz” in Baltimore, Maryland, up-and-coming jazz singer in the 50s and 60s who toured Europe with Benny Goodman, worked with Miles Davis and John Coltrane, appeared on TV with Duke Ellington, recorded eight solo albums and became a regular on Arthur Godfrey Time on national radio and TV, but gave up the limelight and potential superstardom for the smaller stages, including her own nightclub, in her home city where she died following a stroke on 2/17/2019, age 86.
1936 ● Roy McCurdy → Mid-70s drummer in jazz-rock/pop-rock fusion band Blood, Sweat & Tears, “Spinning Wheel” (#2, 1969), session work and now music professor
1939 ● Gary Troxel → Vocals in pop/blue-eyed soul/doo wop trio The Fleetwoods, “Come To Me Softly” (#1, 1959)
1940 ● Bruce Channel / (Bruce McMeans) → One hit wonder country-pop and pop/rock singer, “Hey Baby” (#1, 1962)
1940 ● Glen Curtis → Vocals for Brit pop/rock harmony group The Fortunes, “You’ve Got Your Troubles” (#7, 1965)
1943 ● Randy Newman / (Randall Stuart Newman) → Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and pianist, “Sail Away” (1972) and “Short People” (#2, 1978), wrote “Mama Told Me (Not To Come)” for Three Dog Night (#1, 1970), composed the film soundtrack to Ragtime (1981)
1944 ● R.B. Greaves / (Ronald Betram “R.B.” Greaves, III) → One hit wonder soul-pop singer, “Take a Letter Maria” (#2, 1969)
1946 ● Billy Kinsley → Founding member, lead guitar and lead vocals for Britbeat pop-rock The Merseybeats, “Mr. Moonlight'” (UK #5, 1964) and seven other UK Top 40 hits but no chart presence in the US, then folk-pop vocal duo The Merseys, “Sorrow” (UK #4, 1966), reformed The Merseybeats in 1993 and continues with the band
1947 ● Gary Taylor → Bassist for Brit psych-rock band The Herd, “I Don’t Want Our Loving To Die” (UK #5, 1968)
1948 ● Beeb Birtles / (Gerard Bertelkamp) → Rhythm guitar and vocals for Aussie pop/rockers Little River Band, “Lonesome Loser” (#6, 1979), solo
1949 ● Hugh McKenna → Scottish keyboardist for rock ‘n roll The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, “Delilah” (UK #7, 1975)
1949 ● Paul Shaffer → Pianist, composer, music director, actor, and frontman for the Saturday Night Live and David Letterman house bands
1951 ● Lynton Guest → Keyboardist for London-based, teenage R&B/soul-pop Love Affair, “Everlasting Love” (UK #1, 1968) and four other UK Top 20 hits in the late 60s, fell into obscurity following the band’s break-up in the 70s
1953 ● Alan Murphy → Brit session guitarist for Kate Bush, Go West, Mike + The Mechanics, Joan Armatrading and others, joined jazz-funk-pop fusion Level 42, “Lessons In Love” (#12, 1987) in 1988, died from AIDS-related pneumonia on 10/19/1989, age 35
1954 ● David Jaymes → Bassist for Brit dance-pop band Modern Romance, “Can You Move” (Dance/Club #2, 1981) and “Best Years Of Our Lives” (UK #4, 1982)
1958 ● David Van Day → Singer for Brit cabaret-pop Guys N’ Dolls, “There’s A Whole Lot Of Loving” (UK #2, 1975), then formed pop duo Dollar with Thereza Bazar, “Mirror, Mirror” (UK #4, 1981), solo and lately with pop-dance Bucks Fizz
1962 ● Matt Cameron → Drummer for seminal grunge-rock group Soundgarden, “Black Hole Sun” (Mainstream Rock #1, 1994)
1968 ● Dawn Robinson → Vocals in Grammy-winning female club-dance quartet En Vogue, “Hold On” (#2, 1990)
1970 ● Matt Cheslin → Bassist for indie punk-rock Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, “Not Sleeping Around” (Modern Rock #1, 1992)
1973 ● Jade Errol Puget → Guitarist for alt-punk-rock AFI (A Fire Inside), “Miss Murder” (#24, Modern Rock #1, 2006) and keyboards for electronica Blaqk Audio, “Stiff Kittens” (Dance/Club #38, 2007)
1974 ● Apl.de.Ap / (Allan Pineda Lindo, Jr.) → Filipino-American hip hop singer, producer, rapper with Black Eyed Peas, “Don’t Phunk With My Heart” (#3, 2005)
1979 ● Chamillionaire / (Hakeem Seriki) → Rapper called the “Mixtape Messiah”, producer, record executive, “Ridin'” (#1, 2006)
1983 ● Rostam Batmanglij → Multi-instrumentalist and producer for indie Afro-pop/rock Vampire Weekend, “Cousins” (Alt Rock #18, 2009)
1983 ● Tyler Glenn → Vocals and keyboards for pop dance-punk Neon Trees, “Everybody Talks” (#6, 2012)
1984 ● Trey Songz / (Tremaine Aldon Neverson) → R&B/hip hop tenor singer and songwriter with multiple R&B and Hip Hop Chart Top 10 hits, including “Bottoms Up” (#6, Hip Hop #2, 2010) and

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