BIRTHDAYS
1929     Edie Adams, Actress/Vocals. b. Kingston, PA, USA. b. Elizabeth Edith Enke. Best remembered as wife of Comedian Ernie Kovacs whom she married in 1955, and they remained married until 1962, when Kovacs died in a car accident. The marriage produced one daughter. Tragically, Edie lost both her husband and her daughter to separate car accidents, her daughter died in a car crash in 1982. Another of her problems was that Kovacs believed that the tax system was unfair, and simply refused to pay taxes. And, so at the time of his death, Ernie owed the US Internal Revenue Service several hundred thousand dollars in back taxes. Refusing any help from their friends, Edie Adams took it upon herself to pay the back taxes. To raise the money, she appeared in TV shows and commercials and after several years, she was finally able to pay the back taxes. (She often appeared in the Muriel Cigar Ads, - Ernie's trademark was his cigar.) In 1964, she married Marty Mills with the marriage ending in divorce. Then in 1972, she married musician Pete Condoli, and that marriage also ended in a divorce. She was voted Miss U. S. Television, in 1950, and then in 1956, won a Tony award for her work in "Li'l Abner".
1924     Keith Ailer, (Jazz/R&B) vocalist/composer, b. Washington, D.C., USA
1931     Gerard Badini, Tenor Sax, clarinet, b. Paris, France
1954     Ellen Barken, vocals, b. New York, NY, USA.
1923     Warren Barker, Composer, arranger, b. Oakland, CA., USA. d: August 3, -2006, Greenville, SC USA.
1951     John Bentley, bass, b. UK. Member group: 'Squeeze'
1963     Nick Berry, guitar/vocals.
1933     Perry Botkin, Leader, b. New York, NY, USA. (Led studio band on the Bert Convy show.)
1910     Boyce Brown, Alto Sax, b. Chicago, IL, USA. d. Jan 30, 1959, USA
1956     Paul Buchanan, vocals/guitar, b. Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. Member group: 'The Blue Nile'
1889     Charlie Chaplin, Actor/composer, b. London, England. d. Dec 25, 1977. né: Charles Spencer Chaplin. Very few people are aware of the fact that Charlie composed most all the music for his own films. In addition, much of the background music that one heard in theaters showing the old "Silents" (music for the 'Chase' scenes and such) was composed by Chaplin. Charlie was not a musician. He would think of the melody that he wanted for the film, and would call in one of the studio's musicians who would put in down on paper. (Often- "Skitch" Henderson.)
1939    John Delafose, accordion/harp, b. Duralde, LA, USA. d. Sept. 17, 1994, USA. As a child, he crafted fiddles and guitars out of old boards and cigar boxes fitted with window-screen wire. He later taught himself to play the harmonica, and by age 18 had learned to play the button accordion. As a young adult, he chose farming for a career. As a result, he didn't seriously pursue music until the early 1970s, when he found work as an accordionist and harpist with a variety of local 'Zydeco' bands. In 1975, he his formed his own combo, 'The Eunice Playboys' featuring guitarist Charles Prudhomme and his bassist brother "Slim" Prudhomme. In time, the band included Delafose's sons John "T.T." on washboard, Tony on drums, and (later) Geno, trading vocal and accordion leads with his father. In 1980, their LP 'Zydeco Man' had a regional hit with "Joe Pete Got Two Women", followed with 1982's "Uncle Bud Zydeco". They became one of the hottest attractions on the Gulf Coast circuit. Both their 1984 release of "Heartaches & Hot Steps", and 1985's "Zydeco Excitement" were again local hits. Their next hit didn't come until 1992s "Pere et Garcon Zydeco". 1993's "Blues Stay Away from Me" was his final album. Failing health forced his retirement, and on September 17, 1994, Delafose died. (His son Geno succeeded him as leader.)
1931     Walt Dickerson, Vibraphone, b. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1904     Fifi D'Orsay, vocalist/actress, b. Montréal, Québec, Canada, d. Dec. 2, 1983, Woodland Hills, CA, USA. (cancer). née: Yvonne Lussier. Although often called "The French Bombshell", she was actually a Canadian, born in Quebec. (Photo source unknown). After she moved to New York city, famed singer Helen Morgan helped her to get into show business. Fifi went on to star in American Vaudeville for many years. She became involved with the vereran Vaudevillian Ed Gallagher, (of Gallagher and Shean fame, and 37 years her senior). Fifi once told interviewers that Gallagher taught her "....all the little tricks of the business. I wanted to learn everything about Show Business and he taught me - believe me!". She subseqently found work in Hollywood where she appeared in the early talkie "Going Hollywood" starring Bing Crosby. In the film, she introduced the song "Temptation". Fifi went on to appear in some early Television shows including 'Bewitched', 'Adventures in Paradise' and the 'Perry Mason' mystery series, among others. In 1971-72, at age 67, she appeared on Broadway in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Follies", in the role of "Solange LaFitte". Her sexy rendition of the song "Ah, Paris" helped to make the cast album a success. SHe was 79 years of age when she died in 1983.
1916     Joe Farreras, Drums, b. Barcelona, Spain
1970     "Gabrielle", vocals, b. London, England, UK. née: Louise Gabrielle Bobb. Gabrielle's right eye has a drooped lid and she usually wears a sequined eyepatch or dark glasses. By ignoring cosmetic surgery, she has turned a potential image setback into a virtue that sets her apart from the pack. Her debut album, "Find Your Way", sold over a million copies worldwide, and ended up in the Guinness Book of Hit Singles as the highest U.K. chart entry for a debut female act, topping the charts for three weeks.
1923     Bennie Green, Trombone, b. Chicago, IL, USA. d. March 23, 1977
1945     Stefan Grossman, C&W vocals, b. New York, NY, USA. Best hit record: "Yazoo Basin Boogie"
1929     Roy Hamilton, vocalist. born in Leesburg, GA, USA. d. July 20th, 1969, (Heart Attack). His big hit "You'll Never Walk Alone" plus "Ebb Tide", "Unchained Melody", and others
1910     Bobby Henderson, piano, vocal, trumpet, b. New York, NY, USA, d. Dec. 9, 1969, Albany, New York, USA. (Some sources say b. May 15). né: Robert Bolden Henderson. As a young child, Henderson was already playing professionally in New York city. At only age 15, he was the intermission act at a Fletcher Henderson engagement where he accompanied Edgar Sampson. (b. Edgar Melvin Sampson, August 31, 1907, New York, NY, USA, d. Jan. 16, 1973, Englewood, New Jersey, USA. arrangers/alto saxophone/violin). Some sources imply that Henderson took lessons from 'Fats' Waller, while others have implied that he was a distant relative of 'Fats'. Whatever the truth, Henderson was a technically skilled stride-pianist. By 1933, still in New York, he was playing at various Harlem clubs such as 'Pod's and Jerry's'. He was also accompanist for singer Billie Holiday with whom he played at various Harlem clubs including the 'Lafayette Grill', the 'Hot-Cha Club', the 'Jarvena Tavern And Grill'. and many other nightspots. ( One of Billie Holiday's biographers, Stuart Nicholson, has suggested that it was Henderson who was the 'main attraction' which resulted in their being booked to appear at Harlem's Apollo theatre in November 1934. ) Henderson was a somewhat feckless sort of chap, frequently failing to arrive for record sessions arranged by John Hammond Jr.. In addition, Henderson and Holliday seem to have had an affair, but Holliday ended matters soon after the Apollo gig upon discovering that Henderson was a bigamist. During the last half of the 1930s, Henderson played in various upstate New York towns without achieving any great fame. Author John Chilton, has noted that during World War II, he played trumpet while serving in U. S. Army bands. After his Service discharge, he returned to playing in the Albany, NY area, and continued their until his demise. (In 1957 he played at the Newport Jazz Festival.)
1943     Erling Kroner, Trombone, b. Copenhagen, Denmark
1947     "Butch" Lacy, piano/composer, b. Richmond, VI, USA. né: Edward R. Lacy, II.
1960     Colin Linden, guitar, b. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
1931     John Littlejohn, guitar, b. Learned, MS, USA
1924     Henry Mancini, Piano, Leader, Composer,arranger, conductor, b. Cleveland, OH, USA. d. June 14, 1994, Los Angeles, CA, USA. (cancer). Age: 70
1930     Herbie Mann, Flute/sax/bass clarinet, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA. d. July 1, 2003, Pecos, NM, USA. (Prostate Cancer. Age: 73) né: Herbert Jay Solomon Mann. Certainly one of the very finest Jazz flutists anywhere. He helped to pioneer the instrument in Jazz groups. At age 9. Mann began to study the clarinet, soon mastered saxophone, and then the flute. His performing career began while stationed in Italy with the U.S. Army in the 1950's. He had recorded for Savoy, Verve and other labels before beginning, in 1960, a long association with the Atlantic label. Ten years later he worked as a record producer and executive for the short-lived Embryo label, -an Atlantic subsidiary. In the early 1980's, after leaving Atlantic, he started his own label, Herbie Mann Music. In the late 1950's, he was concentrating on the flute, at the time, an instrument very rarely used by Jazz musicians. Herbie's musical expertise was such that, within a decade, the flute became common in Jazz ensembles, and was usually the second or third instrument for Reedmen. In 1962, he began working with Brazilian musicians, recording an album in Brazil with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sergio Mendes and others. Mann would look beyond the Jazz world for inspiration, and he later made elements of Middle Eastern, African, and Japanese music a part his repertory. Interestingly, in 2000, Mann finally got around to the music of his own people when he recorded the album "Eastern European Roots," with both traditional and new songs evoking his own Jewish heritage. All during the 1970s, Mann's recordings often catered to the commercial market, rather than to Jazz. He recorded albums with such titles as "London Underground," "Reggae," and "Discotheque". He had two 'singles' in Billboard magazine's Top 40, --"Hijack" in 1975, and "Superman" in 1979. On May 3, 2003, Mann performed for the last time, at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. He walked on stage, lugging a bottle of oxygen with him to help him cope with the cancer that had then spread to his bones, and received a standing ovation. His wife, Susan Janeal Arison, later told interviewers ""It wasn't just a jazz fest. It was a love fest,. I think sometimes he didn't really realize how much he was appreciated. He was a path maker."
1911     Christine McIntyre, vocals/actress, b. Nogales, AZ, USA. d. July 8, 1984, in Van Nuys, CA, USA. (Cancer)
1905     "Memphis Piano Red", piano, b. Germantown, TN, USA. Please see below: John "Piano Red " Williams
1967     Junko Onishi, piano
1963     Jimmy Osmond, vocals, b. Ogden, UT, USA. Orig. member of 'The Osmonds' vocal group which included his sister Marie and brother Donnie.
1964     David Pirner, vocals, b. Green Bay, WI, USA. Member group: 'Soul Asylum'
1911     Alton Purnell, Piano/Vocal, b. New Orleans, LA, USA. d. Jan. 14, 1987 age 75. Perhaps best-known as a member of George Lewis' Ragtime Band. Purnell worked as a vocalist before becoming a professional pianist in his native New Orleans in 1928. He subsequently played with such well known New Orleans Jazzmen as Isaiah Morgan, Alphonse Picou, "Big Eye" Louis Nelson, Sidney Desvigne's big band, and Cousin Joe, among many others. In 1945, Purnell was a part of Bunk Johnson's group, where he met with George Lewis. In 1946, Bunk Johnson disbanded, and Purnell returned to New Orleans and became an important part of Lewis' group. In the 1950's he toured the world with Lewis, and was heard on their many recordings. In 1957, Purnell relocated to Los Angeles, CA, where he played with Teddy Buckner, Joe Darensbourg, Kid Ory, Barney Bigard and Ben Pollack. In the early 1960's Purnell often toured as a guest soloist, and later in the decade he was heard performing as a member of the Legends Of Jazz. His last 20 years were primarily spent playing with warious local pickup groups. As a leader, Alton Purnell recorded for Warner Bros. (1958), Dixie, 77, the Danish CSA label, the French Pragmaphone label, Alligator Jazz and GHB.
1947    Gerry Rafferty, vocals/guitar, b. Paisley, Scotland. Member: 'The Humblebums' and 'Stealers Wheel'. Best recalled single: "Baker Street".
1966     Dan Reiser, drums. Member group: 'Marcy Playground'
1923     Trefoni "Tony" Rizzi, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
1917     Bobby Robinson, label owner (Fire/Fury), b. Union, SC, USA.
1935     "Cool Papa" Sadler, guitar/songwriter, b. Denver, CO, USA.
1956     Garry Segal, harmonica/guitar, b. Manchester, CT, USA. Member: Garry & The Moodswingers'
1954     Selena, Tejano vocals, b. Lake Jackson, TX, USA. d. March 31, 1995, Corpus Christi, TX, USA. né: Selena Quintanilla. She was shot in the back by 34-year-old Yolanda Saldivar, the woman who managed Selena's boutique in San Antonio, and the founder of the Selena fan club. Saldivar had been embezzling from the fan club.
1949     Bill Spooner, guitarist with group: The Tubes.
1939     "Dusty" Springfield, vocals, b. London, England, UK. d. March 2, 1999, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, U.K. (breast cancer). née: Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien. Very early in her career, she and her brother Tom (né: Dion O'Brien, b. July 2, 1934, Hampstead, London, England), and a friend, Tim Field, formed 'The Springfields', one of Britain's top pop/folk acts of the early 1960s. Among her hit recordings were "The Windmills of Your Mind", "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me", "The Look of Love", and "Son-of-a-Preacher Man".
1885     Alexandre Stellio, Clarinet/Leader, b. L'Anse du Four, Martinique, d. July 24, 1939. The beguine began in Martinique and Guadeloupe around 1850. Africans had by then fused their indigenous rhythms with French belairs and quadrilles, as well as other European forms like polkas and mazurkas. Arguably, the greatest practitioner of the form,was "Alexandre Stellio et son Orchestre Créole". In 1902, after a volcanic eruption, Stellio, fled Martinique for French Guiana. He used his clarinet to create a lyrical style which would influenced a whole generation of musicians such as Eugène Delouche and Alexandre Kindou, It was Stellio who introduced the 'Martinique Biguine' rhythm to Paris and the rest of the world aaround the start of the 1930s.
1934     Robert Stigwood, Impressario, b. Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Perhaps his greatest success was as producer behind the movie blockbusters 'Saturday Night Fever' and 'Grease'.
1964     Esbjörn Svensson, piano, b. Vasteras, Sweden Member: Esbjörn Svensson Trio: Esbjorn Svensson (piano); Dan Berglund (bass); Magnus Ostrom (drums).
1929     Ed Townshend, vocals, b. Fayetteville, TN, USA. Best recalled release: "For Your Love"
1952     Jukka Tolonen, Guitar, b. Helsinki, Finland Member Finnish rock quintet: "Tasavallan Presidentti" (President of the Republic), formed 1969 consisting of Juhani Aaltonen (sax and flute b. Dec 12, 1935), Mâns Groundstroem (Bassist, b. April 23, 1949) and Frank Robson (vocals, b. April 27, 1946) Jukka Tolonen (Guitar, b. April 16, 1952) and Vesa Aaltonen (drums, b. March 7, 1950)
1908     Ray Ventura, Piano/Leader, b. Paris, France, d. March 30, 1979
1935     Bobby Vinton, vocals, b. Canonsburg, PA, USA. né: Stanley Robert Vintulla. Among his hit records are "Roses are Red" and "Blue on Blue".
1958     Ulf Wakenius, guitar
1953     John Walters, Composer, b. Chesterfield, England
1937     Artie "Blues Boy" White, vocals, b. Vicksburg, MS, USA.
1905     John "Piano Red " Williams, piano, b. Germantown, TN, USA, d. 1980. (beaten to death with the butt of his own shotgun when he confronted a burglar who had broken into his home.). His date of birth is not accurately known. Member: 'Memphis Blues Caravan'. His working life was spent as a furniture mover, only playing piano after hours at his own home, clubs, parties and gatherings. He never recorded for a label. In 1979, he toured to toured to Europe where he appeared at the Molde, Norway Jazz Festival.
         Notable Events occuring this date include:
1954.    Blues vocalist Alger Texas Alexander died in Richards, Texas, Age: 53. In 1927, he started to record, and was soon well known in the Brazos River bottomlands of Texas. Unable to play himself, he used a variety of accompanists including guitarists "Little Hat" Jones, Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang, and the string band blues of "The Mississipi Sheiks", and Joe "King" Oliver's New Orleans Jazz band. In 1940, he was sent to the state penitentiary at Paris, TX, for murdering his wife. After his released in 1945, he joined his cousin Lightnin' Hopkins, in Houston, for live shows and recording for the Freedom label with pianist Buster Pickens. By 1954, he was back in the bottomlands where he died a debilitated victim of the ravages of syphillis.
1968.    Dorsey Murdock Dixon, C&W vocals, and member "Dixon Brothers," died. Age: 70
1972.    Western Swing bandleader William Howard "Jesse" James died in Texas; age 55.
1976.    Charley West, piano, died in Chicago, IL61
1992.    Neville Brand died in Sacramento, CA, USA. Age: 91.
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
     1946 "Oh, What It Seemed to Be" - Frankie Carle Orchestra (vocal: Marjorie Hughes)
     1946 "You Won't Be Satisfied "- Les Brown Orchestra (vocal: Doris Day
     1946 "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" - Betty Hutton
     1948 "Toolie Oolie Doolie", Andrews Sisters
     1948 "Nature Boy", Cole, Nat King
     1954 " Wanted" - Perry Como
     1954 "Cross Over the Bridge" - Patti Page
     1962 "She's Got You" - Patsy Cline
     1962 "Slow Twistin'" - Chubby Checker
     1966 "Leaning On The Lamp Post", Herman's Hermits
     1966 "Monday, Monday", Mamas & The Papas
     1966 "Gloria", Shadows Of The Night
     1970 "Let It Be" - The Beatles
     1970 "Spirit in the Sky" - Norman Greenbaum
     1977 "Lonely Boy", Andrew Gold
     1977 "Sir Duke", Stevie Wonder
     1978 "Someone Loves You Honey" - Charley Pride
     1978 "Lay Down Sally" - Eric Clapton
     1978 "Night Fever" - Bee Gees
     1983 "Flashdance...What A Feeling", Irene Cara
     1983 "Straight From The Heart", Bryan Adams
     1983 "My Love", Lionel Richie
     1986 "Rock Me Amadeus" - Falco
     1986 "She and I" - Alabama
     1988 "One More Try", George Michael