BIRTHDAYS
1961     Carl Allen, drums, b. Milwaukee, WI, USA. Worked with such stars as Art Farmer, Jackie McLean, Freddie Hubbard, George Coleman, and Benny Green.
1965     Eric Avery, bass, b. Santa Monica, CA, USA. Member group: 'Jane's Addiction'
1964     Andy Bell, vocals. Member group: Erasure
1913     Earl Bostic, Leader/Alto Sax, b. Tulsa, OK, USA d. Oct. 28, 1965
1949     Michael Brown, keyboards, b. New York, NY, USA. Member group: 'Left Banke'
1928     Ervin "Vin" Bruce, Cajun vocals, b. Cut Off, LA, USA. Tag: "King of the Cajuns" From a musical family, hs father was a fiddler who played for the local Cajun dances.
1915     Cliff Bruner, fiddler/bandleader, b. Houston, TX, USA. Recalled today as one of the fiddlers who helped create and develop "Western Swing" by fusing Country and Jazz sounds. He led his own 'Texas Wanderers', a group that focused on the simpler vocal pieces, with lyrics that spoke of disillusionment and hard luck. simpler vocal pieces with lyrics that spoke of disillusionment and hard luck.
1928      Vassar Clements, Fiddle, b. April 25, 1928, Kinard, SC., USA, d. Aug. 16, 2005, (near) Nashville, TN, USA, (lung cancer which had metastasized to his liver and brain). Age: 77. Here's a photo of Vassar Clements, shown here on the left side playing violin with fellow "violinist" Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Vassar was one of the most innovative musicians in the history of Bluegrass music, but his style encompassed both Jazz and Pop. He was self taught, and basically could not read music. Over his 50 year career, he played and recorded with a wide variety of musicians, including Woody Herman, Paul McCartney, Linda Ronstadt, Dickey Betts, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Bonnie Raitt, the Grateful Dead, and the String Cheese Incident, to name just a few (he played on over 2000 albums). He also appeared in Robert Altman's 1975 film "Nashville". His 2005 Grammy award for best country instrumental performance was for "Earl's Breakdown," by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Clements once told an interviewer "Bands like Glenn Miller, Les Brown, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James and Artie Shaw were very popular when I was a kid. I always loved rhythm, so I guess in the back of my mind the Swing and Jazz subconsciously comes out when I play, because when I was learning, I was always trying to emulate the big-band sounds I heard on my fiddle." At age 14, he began his career playing with Bill Monroe, and subsequently joined the 'Blue Grass Boys' band, remaining for seven years. In 1957, he joined the 'Jim & Jesse McReynolds' bluegrass band, staying with them until 1962. In 1967, he returned to Nashville and became a much sought after sessions musician. He briefly toured with Faron Young, and in 1971 joined John Hartford's 'Dobrolic Plectral Society,' when he met guitarist Norman Blake and Dobro player Tut Taylor, and together they recorded 'Aereo Plain', a widely acclaimed 'newgrass' album. About a year later, he joined Earl Scruggs. In 1972, he worked with the 'Nitty Gritty Dirt Band' on their album "Will the Circle Be Unbroken", and later worked with the Grateful Dead's "Wake of the Flood" and Jimmy Buffett's "A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean". Truly, a musical genius, he was not always able to earn his living playing music. He worked at such 'blue collar' jobs as switchman for the 'Atlantic Coast Railroad', a Georgia paper worker, an insurance salesman, and was briefly employed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, working as a plumber. He once owned a potato chip franchise. He once told an interviewer: "It was God's gift, something born in me, I was too dumb to learn it any other way. I listened to the (Grand Ole) Opry some. I'd pick it up one note at a time. I was young, with plenty of time and I didn't give up. You'd come home from school, do your lessons and that's it. No other distractions. I don't read music. I play what I hear". But music was always part of his life. He once said "I'd always play. Square dances, anything".
1945     Stu Cook, bass, b. Oakland, CA, USA. Member group: 'Creedence Clearwater Revival'.
1954     Rob Crosby, C&W Singer-Songwriter, Sumter, SC, USA. né: Robert Crosby Hoar.
1908     Joe Dean, piano, b. St. Louis, MO, USA. (Tag: "Joe Dean From Bowling Green")
1958     Derek William Dick, vocals/guitar, b. Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. Nickname: 'Fish'. Member group: 'Marillion'
1946     Digby Fairweather, trumpet/cornet/vocals/arranger, b. Rochford, Essex, England. Member: 'Digby Fairweather's New Georgians'
1909     Karl Farr, guitar, b. Rochelle, TX, USA, d. Sept. 20, 1961. né: Karl Marx Farr, One of the Farr Brothers who worked with "The Sons of The Pioneers".
1950     Steve Ferrone, drums, b. Brighton, England. Member group: Average White Band.
1917     Ella Fitzgerald, vocals, b. (some sources say b. 1918) Newport News, VA, USA (raised in Yonkers, a New York city suburb). d. June 15, 1996, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Diabetes. (variously credited with dying at ages 75, 76 78.) In 1934, after having spent some time in a home for indigent young girls, Ella was discovered when she won an 'Amateur Night' contest at New York's Apollo Theater (in Harlem). In 1935, she made her professional debut with 'Tiny' Bradshaw's band at the Harlem Opera House and later that same year (age 16) became the vocalist with drummer 'Chick' Webb's orchestra, where her recording of her own tune "A Tisket A Tasket" made her (and 'Chick') nationally famous. Ella would go on to record over 200 albums. She was equally at home singing the sophistcated lyrics of Rogers and Hart, George Gershwin, and Cole Porter, and with 'scatting' along with the orchestra. She was voted 13 Grammy awards (more than any other Swing vocalist), as well as winning the 'Best Female Vocalist' award three years in a row. Her marriage to Ray Brown (1949-1953) ended in divorce. They had one son. In 1955 Ella, Promotor Norman Granz, 'Illinois' Jacquet, and Dizzy Gillespie, were arrested by the vice squad in Houston, TX before a 'Jazz At The Philharmonic' concert. They were charged with gambling backstage but, upon payment of a $50 fine, were released in time to perform. Promoter Granz later indicated that the raid was "set-up" due to his insistence that the concert not be segregated. Tragically, in her final years, Ella had a bout with with congestive heart failure (Aug. 1986 followed with a 5 way bypass operation), and the bilateral amputation of both legs due to complications arising from Diabetes. Over her career, Ella's work was heard on records, Radio, Television and Films. One of the last of the great Swing vocalists,- Ella helped to define the vocals of the era. She was called the "First Lady Of Song".
1965     Simon Fowler, vocals, b. Solihull, West Midlands, England, UK. Member group: 'Ocean Colour Scene'
1915     Sal Franzella (Jr), alto sax/clarinet/bass clarinet, b. New Orleans, LA. USA. Leader: 'Sal Franzella and the Accordionaires'
1966     Jeffrey Howard Hawkins, Country/Rock guitar/vocals, b. Arlington, TX, USA. Member: "Little Texas"
1928     Rick Henderson, Alto Sax, b. Washington, DC, USA.
1950     Bobbi Humphrey, flute, Marlin, TX, USA. (raised in Dallas, TX). She began playing flute in high school, and then continued her studies at Texas Southern University, and Southern Methodist University. It was at a talent contest at Southern Methodist that trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie saw Humphrey play, and he urged her to pursue a musical career in New York City. Shortly after, she relocated to New York, and was first heard performing at one of the Apollo Theatre "Amateur Night" shows. She was soon playing regularly throughout the city, and even had a gig with Duke Ellington. In 1971, Bobbi signed with the Blue Note label. In 1973, she appeared at the Montreux Festival in Switzerland. In 1976, Billboard named her "Best Female Instrumentalist". In 1974, she switched record labels, signing with Epic, who released her album 'Tailor Made' (containing the popular 'Lover To Lover'). Happily, Bobbi is still performing (2005).
1932     Willis 'Gator Tail' Jackson, Tenor Sax, b. (some sources say b. 1928 ) Miami, FL. USA. d. Oct. 25, 1987, New York, NY, USA. Early in his career, he played in his local Miami area, and had studied music theory at the University of Miami. Jackson is credited with inventing the "gator horn", a long saxophone with a ball-shaped bell with small opening, sounding between alto and soprano. During 1948-1955, he played on and off with the "Cootie" Williams band. His playing on Cootie's 1948 hit "Gator Tail" won him his nick-name. In 1950, he first began recording as a leader. He lived with singer Ruth Brown (for 5 years, 1950-'55 -they were never legally married), and was often heard backing her on her releases on the Atlantic label. Before Atlantic, much of his work leaned towards R&B (and Rockabilly), but after Atlantic recordings, he leaned more towards Jazz. His 1959-1964 Prestige label recordings featured him on organ. He continued to work steadily well into the 1980s.
1913     "Don" Santiago Jimenez, accordion, b. San Antonio, TX, USA. d. December 18,1984, San Antonio, USA, USA.
1913     George Johnson, Alto Sax/clarinet, b. Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
1923     Albert King, Blues guitar/Vocals, b. Indianola, MS (raised in Forrest City, AR), USA, d. Dec. 21, 1992, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. (heart attack) (né: Albert Nelson) Certainly one of the most important blues guitarists to ever pick up the electric guitar. King plays guitar left-handed, --without re-stringing the guitar from a right-handed setup. King pulls down on the same strings that most players push up on when bending the blues notes. It is this "upside-down" playing accounts for his difference in tone from other guitarists. This, and his tone and totally unique way of squeezing bends out of a guitar string, have had a major impact on many contemporary guitarists, -especially Rock & Rollers. Perhaps his best recalled songs are "Born under a Bad Sign", and "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong".
1950     Harold Land Jr., piano
1933     Jerry Lieber, composer, part of the Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller team. Among the tunes for which they are well remembered are "Up on the Roof", "Hard Times", "Smokey Joe's Cafe", and "On Broadway".
1940     O.B. McClinton, R&B singer-songwriter, b. Senatobia, MS, USA. d. Sept. 23, 1987. né: Obie Burnett McClinton.
1950     Robbie McIntosh, guitar, b. Scotland. A classically trained acoustic guitarist who has played with such artists as Paul McCartney, The Pretenders, Candy Dulfer (German saxist), Joe Cocker, Phil Collins, Annie Lennox, and Carl Perkins. In early 2000, The Robbie McIntosh Band released "Emotional Bends", and in the fall of 2000, released "Unsung". "Wide Screen" appeared in spring 2001.
1941     Harry Miller, bass, b. Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, d. Dec. 16, 1983, The Netherlands. CAUTION: Do not confuse with Harry Miller, b. 1962 in St. Louis, MO, USA, who plays Piano/Keyboards/Arranger/Composer
1938     Thomas Miller, vocals, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA. Member: 'The Flares'
1920     Earl Phillips, drums, b. New York (Harlem), NY, USA.
1945     Larry Robbins banjo, b. Dickerson, MD, USA Member: 'The Johnson Mountain Boys'
1914     Bob Russell, lyricist
1915     Johnny Shines, vocals/guitar/slide guitar, b. Frayser, TN, USA, d. April 20, 1992, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA. (some sources claim b. April 26). né: John Ned Lee Shines Jr. His family moved to Memphis when he was just 6, and he was soon playing guitar on the streets of that city. In 1934, he first met Robert Johnson (in Memphis), and began accompanying Johnson on the Southern juke-joint circuit. In 1937, the two split up in Arkansas, and never saw each other again before Johnson's death in 1938. Shines went on to play the Southern circuit until 1941, when he relocated to Chicago.where his cousin offered him a "day" job in the construction business. In Chicago, he first recorded -- for the Columbia label, who were so unappreciative of his talents that they suppressed most of his recordings for the next 25 years (although he did also record for the Okeh and Chess labels- as "Shoe Shine Johnny"). In 1952, he and "Big Walter" Horton recorded for the JOB label. In 1958, disillusioned by the music business and difficulties getting his royalties. he stopped actively playing. Instead he found a job at a Blues club called "Silvio's" as a photographer taking souvenir photos of the clubs patrons. In the mid-1960s, he was rediscovered by fellow bluesman Johnny Young, and was recorded by the Vanguard label. In the 1970s, Shines toured first by himself and then teamed, and toured for the next 10 years, with Robert Johnson's only step-son, Robert Junior Lockwood. The pair released two albums in 1980., The possibility of more albums ended that same year when Shines suffered a debilitating stroke that left him unable to play the guitar. He did perform occasionally as a solo singer, and he also appeared in a documentary about Robert Johnson titled "The Search for Robert Johnson"' In 1991, Shines won the W.C Handy award. for his collaboration with Snooky Pryor on "Back to the Country". Johnny died just 5 days short of his 77th birthday.
1945     Björn Ulvaeus, vocals/guitar, b. Gothenburg, Sweden. Member group: 'ABBA'
         Notable Events occuring this date include:
1792.    "La Marseillaise," the French national anthem, was composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg
1945.    Teddy Weatherford, piano, died in Calcutta, India. Age: 41
1959.    In America, the popular radio show "Your Hit Parade" debuted on network TV.
1961.    Cisco Houston, guitar, died in San Bernardino, CA, USA. Age: 42
1962.    Eddie South, violin, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 57
1968.    The Beatles refused to perform for the Queen at a benefit for the British Olympic team.
1988.    Carolyn Franklin, singer-songwriter, died in Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA. Age: 43
1990.    Tenor saxman Dexter Gordon died Philadelphia, PA, USA. Age: 67. (kidney failure). He had worked with Charlie Parker, Bud Powell and Dizzy Gillespie. Gordon played from the 1940s until his death. He also starred in the movie "Round Midnight" which was about a sax player in Paris. His character, Dale Turner, was a composite of Powell and Lester Young.
1990.    Rufus Jones, drums, died in Las Vegas, NV, USA. Age: 53
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1941   "I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time", Andrews Sisters
1941   "Everything Happens To Me", Tommy Dorsey
1941   "Goodbye Now", Horace Heidt
1946   "Bumble Boogie", Freddy Martin
1947   "Mam'selle", Dennis Day
1947   "Mam'selle", Dick Haymes
1947   "Heartaches" - The Ted Weems Orchestra (Elmo Tanner whistled.)
1952   "I'm Yours", Eddie Fisher
1952   "Kiss Of Fire", Tony Martin
1953   "Ho Ho Song, The", Red Buttons
1955   "Unchained Melody" - Al Hibler
1955   "In the Jailhouse Now" - Webb Pierce
1955   "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" - Bill Hayes
1960   "Love You So", Ron Holden
1963   "Can't Get Used to Losing You" - Andy Williams
1963   "I Will Follow Him" - 'Little' Peggy March
1964   "It's Over", Roy Orbison
1970   "Make Me Smile", Chicago
1970   "Which Way You Goin' Billy?", Poppy Family
1981   "Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do), A", Ray Parker Jr.
1971   "Joy to the World"- Three Dog Night
1979   "Heart of Glass" - Blondie
1979   "All I Ever Need is You" - Kenny Rogers and Dottie West
1987   "Wanted Dead Or Alive", Bon Jovi
1987   "Always", Atlantic Starr
1987   "Sign 'o' the Times - Prince
1987   "Rose in Paradise - Waylon Jennings
1992   "Everything About You", Ugly Kid Joe