BIRTHDAYS
1947    Greg Allman, vocals/guitar, b, Nashville, TN. USA. Member group: 'The Allman Brothers'.
1944    George Baker, singer/songwriter/multi-instruments, b. Volendam, Holland. né: Hans Bouwens. Member group: 'The George Baker Selection', a Volendam outfit which, in the 1970s, became one of the very few Dutch groups to became world famous. First formed in 1967 as the 'Soul Invention', and in 1969 changed to 'The George Baker Selection'. Even though their first single, "Little Green Bag" (1969), a psychedelic rock-style tune, made it into the high teens of the Billboard American Top 100, the group seemingly disappeared until 1975 when their "Una Paloma Blanca" hit the top-20 on the US.Charts. In their native Holland, they are hugely successful, racking up sales in the millions, with numerous gold and platinum albums.
1919    Johnny Board, tenor sax, b. Chicago, IL, USA, d. Dec. 15, 1989
1944    Mike Botts, drums, b. Oakland, CA, USA. Member group: 'Bread'
1909    Cleo Brown, Vocals, b. Meridian, MS, USA, d. April 15, 1995, Denver, CO, USA. (some sources say b. 1903). née: Cleopatra Brown. Cleo first sang in her father's church, then in 1919 after her family moved to Chicago, she studied music, learning to play piano. During the 1920s, she not only worked in clubs and tent shows, but was a frequent broadcaster with her own radio show. All during the 1930s and '40s, Brown recorded and toured the U.S.A. She was often heard performing at the 'Three Deuces'. a club on New York's famed 52nd Street. Cleo Brown had a 'tiny' happy voice, and was one of a number of lady pianist-vocalists (like Rose Murphy) who combined a cute singing style with truly virtuosic piano ability. (As a 'boogie-woogie' pianist, Cleo accompanied a great many leading Jazzmen of the era.) Then, in the late 1940s Brown underwent a religious experience and in 1953, retired from music. For awhile, she earned her living working as a nurse before returning to music, --but this time playing gospel music. Thanks to the efforts of another wonderful lady pianist, Marion McPartland (trumpeter Jimmy McPartland's wife), Brown was "rediscovered" in the mid-1980s, living in Colorado, and was persuaded to play on McPartland's radio show. Shortly afterwards, Jazz writer Whitney Balliett contributed an article on her life to the New Yorker (magazine), which was later reprinted in his book 'American Singers' (1988). In an interview on New York's WNYC radio station, famed pianist Dave Brubeck said "When Fats Waller died, the musicians in that band wanted her to take over, that's how great she was. She gave me a note to take to Art Tatum."
1939    Jerry "The Iceman" Butler, vocals, b: Sunflower County, MS, USA. Member: 'The Impressions'
1886     Gerard Carbonara, Composer, conductor and violinist, b. New York, New York, USA, d. Jan. 11, 1959, Sherman Oaks, California, USA.
1957    Phil Collen, (backup) vocals/guitar, b. Hackney, London, England. Member group: 'Def Leppard'. Originally joined the successful East End rock band 'Tush', he soon started a band called 'The Dumb Blondes'. After the 'Dumb Blondes', he was in a band called 'Girl'. It was from 'Girl' that he joined Def Leppard.
1956    Warren Cuccurullo, guitar/drums, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA. Member group: 'Duran Duran'
1925    Sammy Davis, Jr., Vocals/Dancer/Actor, b. New York, NY, USA. d. May 16, 1990. Great "Pops" vocalist/tap dancer/actor. Integral part of the "Rat Pack" (Frank Sinatra; Dean Martin and Sammy)
1942    Bobby Elliott, drums, b. Burnley, England. Member group: 'The Hollies'
1962    Marty Friedman, guitar, b. Baltimore, MD, USA. Member group: 'Megadeth'
1906    William J. Gollan, piano and organ, b. Chicago, IL, USA. d. January 2, 1982, Loma Linda, CA, USA. Gollan was part of the Old Chicago Dixieland era. He played with Whiteman, Goodman, Venuti, Johnny Perring, the Red Hot Peppers, and a host of others at and including the Chicago Theater, Aragon Ballroom, Green Mills, Uptown, Congress Hotel, etc.
1950    Dan Hartman, bass/producer, b. Harrisburg, PA, USA.
1899    James "Pigmeat" Jarrett, piano, b. Cordele, GA, USA.
1908    Henry Johnson, vocals/guitar(bottleneck)/piano, b. Union, SC, USA. d. As a child, he performed Gospel music, and in the 1930s, he was performing the 'Devil's Music' on radio broadcasts.
1908    Rufe Johnson, guitar, b. Union, SC, USA.
1946    Graham Knight, vocals, b. Glasgow, Scotland (UK). Member group: 'Marmalade'
1943    Jim Morrison, vocals, b. Melbourne, FL, USA, d. July 3, 1971. né: James Douglas Morisson. Member: 'The Doors'
1972    Ryan Newell, lead guitar/vocals, b. Fairfax, VA, USA..'Member group: Sister Hazel', a group originally based out of Gainsville, FL. Ken Block, working with Andrew Copeland (Acoustic Guitar, Vocals), had an act called "Ken & Andrew". Then, Ken (who has his Masters degree in Counseling Psychology) added three new members, Lead guitar/vocalist Ryan Newell, guitarist Jeff Beres (b. Indianapolis, IN. Bass Guitar, Vocals), and drummer Mark Trojanowski.
1966    Sinead O'Connor, vocals, b. Dublin, Ireland.
1959    Marty Raybon, C&W vocals, b. Greenville, AL, USA. Member group: 'Shenandoah', a popular C&W band that recorded albums and singles from 1989 to 1996.
1930    Oscar Ross, singer/guitar, b. Toronto, Ont, Canada. Member group: The Travellers.
1953    Colin Routh, vocals/guitar, b.Yorkshire, England. Member group: 'Black Lace', a duo of Alan Barton (b. Yorkshire, Eng.) and Colin Routh. In 1995, Alan Barton was killed in a coach crash in Germany.
1952    Mathias Ruegg, Piano, keyboards, Composer, arranger, conductor, vocals, leader, b. Zurich, Switzerland
1959    Paul Rutherford, vocals, b. Liverpool, England. Member group: 'Frankie Goes To Hollywood', this openly "Gay" band, formed in the summer of 1980, consisted of Holly Johnson -vocals, (né: William Johnson, b. Feb. 19, 1960, Khartoum, Sudan), Paul Rutherford (b. Dec. 8, 1959, Liverpool, England), "Nasher" Nash -rhythm (né: Brian Nash, b. May 20, 1963), Mark O'Toole -Bass Guitar (b. Jan. 6, 1964, Liverpool, England) and Peter Gill -Drums (b. March 8, 1964, Liverpool, England).
1949    Ray Shulman, Bassist, but also: trumpet, violin, vocals, viola, drums, percussion, recorder, guitar, b. Portsmouth, England. 'Gentle Giant'
1925    Jimmy Smith, Organ, b. Norristown, PA, USA. d. Feb. 8, 2005. né: James Oscar Smith. initially studied piano with his parents. in 1948, attended the Hamilton School of Music, and in 1949 and 1950, at Philadelphia's Ornstein School of Music. In 1951, he began playing the Hammond organ. He relocated to New York City, and played at the Cafe Bohemia. A subsequent 'Birdland Cafe' date, and his 1957 Newport Jazz Festival appearance launched Smith's career. During the '60s and '70s, he toured extensively. His Blue Note recordings included collaborations with such Jazzmen as Lou Donaldson, Kenny Burrell, Jackie McLean, Lee Morgan, Tina Brooks, Ike Quebec and Stanley Turrentine among others. In 1974 and 1975, Smith visited Israel and Europe In the mid-'70s, he and his wife opened a club in Los Angeles, CA. In the early '80s, Smith resumed touring returning to New York in 1982 and 1983. In 1985, he resigned with rgw Blue Note label, and later with the Milestone label in the '90s.
CAUTION: Do not confuse with:
--- Bluesman Jimmy Smith, b. Aug. 26, 1903, Oklahoma City, OK, U.S.A., and d. June 8, 1972
--- Drummer Jimmie Smith, b. Jan 27. 1938
1912    Jack Stapp, Founder: Tree Music Publishing Corp., b. Nashville, TN, USA. 'Tree Music' is now (2005) a part of the Japanese Sony organization.
1969    Tanita Tikaram, vocals, b. Munster, Germany (of Indian and Fijian/Maylasian descent). Now (2004) a resident of England, Tikaram's haunting debut album, "Ancient Heart" (Reprise), was a huge hit on the European continent. Her songs (in an articulate tradition) such as "Twist in My Sobriety" and "For All These Years", are moody metaphors that explore love and its loss without offering easy solutions. This is all the more interesting considering that she was just age 19 at the time.
1914    Floyd Tillman, C&W vocals/guitar, b. Ryan, OK, USA.
1936    Larry Vuckovich, jazz pianist/composer/ label owner (Tetrachord Music), b. Kotor, Yugoslavia. Talk of a musical family, - Larry's wife, Sanna Craig, is a vocalist, percussionist, producer, and co-partner in Larry's own label, and his son Alexi is a talented young pianist. After appearing, and touring the world, with some of the finest Jazz stars, Larry currently (2006) makes his home in California's Napa Valley area. He regularly appears with the top Bay Area instrumentalists and vocalists, including his own ensembles, 'Blue Balkan', 'Young At Heart', and 'La Orquesta El Vuko'.
1912    Irving Waugh, (C&W) radio and TV executive, b. Danville, VA, USA.
1931    Jimmy Wisner, piano
1922    Sol Yaged, Clarinet, b. New York, NY, USA. Studied with Simeon Bellison of the New York Philharmonic. While playing with var. Chamber and symphonic groups, he was familiar figure at Jam Sessions in NYC. He freelanced with virtually every single band ever heard on New York's famed 52nd Street ('swing street') and in Greenwich Village section of NY. He worked for hundreds of leaders including Eddie Condon, Pee Wee Erwin, Fletcher Henderson, Phil Napoleon, Muggsy Spanier, Hot Lips Page, Jimmy McPartland, Max Kaminsky, and Claude Hopkins to name just a few. He adored Benny Goodman's playing. Sol taught Steve Allen to play the clarinet for Steve's role in the film 'The Benny Goodman Story'.
         Notable Events occuring this date include:
1923.    Vess Ossman, banjo, died in Minneapolis, MN, USA.
1944.    Rod Cless, clarinet, died in New York, NY, USA. (result of a Fall from an apartment balcony). né: George Roderick Cless, he was related by marraige to reedman Bud Freeman. When Rod Cless died, Pee Wee Rusell was given his clarinet, which Pee Wee used for a while, before returning it to Rod’s widow.
1945.    Richard M. Jones, piano, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 53
1958.    Julia Lee, piano, died in Kansas City, MO, USA. Age: 56
1967.    Louis Bacon, trumpet, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 63
1967.    John Mills Sr.,vocals, died in Bellefontaine, OH, USA. Age: 85. Member: 'The Mills Brothers
1974.    Hugues Panassie, discographer, died in Montauban, France, Age: 62
1980.    John Lennon, guitar/singer-songwriter, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 40
1981.    "Big" Walter Horton, harmonica, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 63
1982.    Marty Robbins, singer-songwriter, died in Nashville, TN, USA. (heart attack)
1983.    "Slim" Pickens, Radeo performer/(Cowboy) actor, died. Age: 64. Basically, a very successful actor, who, on rare occasions, did sing some Western tunes. né: Louis Bert Lindley, Jr. (b. June 29, 1919, Kingsburg, California)
1984.    Gene Ramey, bass, died in Austin, TX, USA. Age: 71. Worked with Jay McShann
1984.    Rollie Culver, drums, died in the USA.
1986.    "Hollywood Fats" (né: Michael Mann), guitar, died in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Age: 32
1988.    Herbert "Toubo" Rhoad, vocals, died in Sacramento, CA, USA. Age: 44. Member: 'The Persuasions'
1988.    Willie "Rough Dried" Williams, drums, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 66
1991.    Buck Clayton, trumpet, died in New York (Manhattan), NY, USA. Age: 80
1994.    Antonio Carlos Jobim, piano, composer, arranger, died in New York, NY, USA (Age: 67)
2006.    Martha Tilton, vocal died in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Age: 91 aka: "Liltin' Martha Tilton" and "The Sweetheart of Swing"
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1950     Tennessee Waltz, -Guy Lombardo Orch.
1950     Be My Love, -Mario Lanza voc.
1950     Roving Kind, The, -Guy Mitchell vocal.
1956     Moonlight Gambler, -Frankie Laine vocal
1958     Chipmunk Song, The, -Chipmunks
1958     Gotta Travel On, -Billy Grammer
1958     Lonely Teardrops, -Jackie Wilson
1962     Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah, -Bob B. Soxx and The Blue Jeans
1962     Hotel Happiness, -Brooks Benton
1962     Go Away Little Girl, -Steve Lawrence
1973     Smokin' In The Boy's Room, -Brownsville Station
1973     I've Got To Use My Imagination, -Gladys Knight and The Pips
1973     Helen Wheels, -Paul McCartney
1979     Long Run, The, -Eagles
1979     Don't Do Me Like That, -Tom Petty
1984     Easy Lover, -Phillip Bailey
1984     Boys Of Summer, The, -Don Henley
1984     Loverboy, -Billy Ocean
1990     Just Another Dream, -Cathy Dennis
1990     I'm Not In Love, -Will To Power