BIRTHDAYS
1938     Roger Blank, drums, b. New York, NY, USA.
1929     Robert "Bob" Brookmeyer, Valve Trombone/piano/arranger/composer, b. Kansas City, MO, USA.
1918     Henry Roeland Byrd - aka: "Professor Longhair". b. Bogalusa, LA, USA, d. Jan. 30, 1980, USA.. nickname: "Fess". The "Professosr" has become perhaps the most influential New Orleans R&B pianist since 'Jelly Roll' Morton's time. Growing up in New Orleans (in the 1930s) Byrd was part of a novelty dance team, and also played piano accompanying John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. After serving in the US Army during WWII, Byrd became resideny at the Caldonia club, whose owner christened him "Professor Longhair". He had now developed his piano style that combining rumba and mambo elements with more standard boogie-woogie and barrelhouse rhythms. One of his most ardent disciples is "Dr John" (né: Malcolm John Rebennnack. R&B Piano, b. Nov. 12, 1940, New Orleans, LA, USA)
1908     William "Bill" Carlisle, C&W vocals. member: 'The Carlisle Brothers' vocal group.
1934     Rudi Carrell, Vocals, b: Holland.
1921     Bob Dale, vocalist. Among the bands with whom he sang are Oscar Rabin (where he replaced Roy Edwards, Cyril Stapleton and Geraldo. Dale is also credited as co-composer (lyric) with Art Strauss, of the tune "Honey Chile", which was later played by the Joe Loss orchestra. CAUTIION: Do not confuse with the rocker guitarist Bob Dale, who is (2005) a member of the rock group 'The Return'.
1952     Jeff Davis, Trumpet, b. St.Albans, NY, USA.
1920     "Little" Jimmy Dickens, C&W vocals/guitar. né: James Cecil Dickens
1942     Cornell Dupree, guitar, b. Fort Worth, TX, USA.
1929     Clarence Ford, clarinet/alto/tenor/baritone saxes, b. New Orleans, LA, USA, d. Aug. 9, 1994, New Orleans, LA, USA.
1952     Janie Fricke, vocals/piano/guitar, b. (near) South Whitney, IN, USA. née: Jane Frickie. Janie was one of the most popular female country singers of the 1980s.
1958     Chris Hamill, vocals, b. Wigan, England. Changed his name to "Limahl" (an anagram of his surname) at the time he was recruited by the other 4 band members. Member group: 'Kajagoogoo', line-up comprised of Limahl (vocals), Nick Beggs (bass), Steve Askew (guitar), Jez Strode (keyboards) and Stuart Neale (drums). In 1983, the band fired Limahl due to a huge disagreement. Beggs took over as vocalist, but the hits had dried up. (In 1986, after Kaja (ex Kajagoogoo) split up, Steve Askew set up a band called the 'Smalltown Elephants'.)
1927     Harry Harman, Bass/Tuba, b. Melbourne, Australia
1943     Wendell Holmes, guitar/piano/vocals, b. Plainfield, NJ, USA. Member: 'Holmes Brothers'
1957     Doug Johnson, keyboards, b. New Westminster, B.C., Canada. Member group: 'Loverboy'.
1944     Alvin Lee, guitar/bandleader, b: Nottingham, England, UK. Member group: 'Ten Years After'
1937     Milcho Leviev, Keyboards, b. Plovdiv, Bulgaria
1957     Eric Marienthal, alto-soprano-tenor sax, flute, b. Sacramento, CA, USA. Eric attended Berklee for two years, then toured with Al Hirt. Later with Disney films and other studio work. In 1986, he was in "'Chick' Corea's Elektric Band". He also recorded under his own name for GRP (and toured with the GRP All-Star Big Band). In 1998, his "Walk Tall", (a tribute to Cannonball Adderley) was released. Eric has toured with such men as David Benoit and Lee Ritenour.
1945     John McEuen, C&W sisnger/songwriter/banjo/fiddle, b. Garden Grove, CA, USA. Tag: "the String Wizard". Member: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Among the other instruments that McEuen plays are the Fiddle, Guitar, Accordion, Mandolin, Dulcimer, Piano, and Lap Steel Guitar.
1928     Santos Miranda, Bongos/Timbales/drums, b. Ponce, Puerto Rico
1940     Phil Ochs, folksinger/songwriter, b. El Paso, Texas, USA, d. April 9, 1976, New York (Far Rockaway), NY, USA. Perhaps best remembered for the protest songs he wrote in the 1960s on topics ranging from the Vietnam War to civil rights.
1915     Edith Piaf, vocalist. b. Paris (Ménilmontant), France, d. Oct. 11, 1963, Paris, France. (Cancer) Age: 47. née: Edith Giovanna Gassion. The name "Piaf" in French means 'little bird' and Edith became widely known as "The sad Little Sparrow" (due to a sad personal life.) She rose from an uneducated Paris street urchin to become an international star. She lost her only child (at age three). Later, Edith became a victim of drug abuse problems. She managed to survive three car accidents, while taking a seemingly endless parade of lovers, (one of whom died in a plane crash while on his way to visit her). While she helped many of her lovers to become songwriters or singers, some of them badly mistreated her. Many of her recorded songs captured the essence of the French soul, and became world wide hits. Among them were "La Vie en Rose," "Milord," "Mon Légionnaire," "L'Hymne à l'Amour," and "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" among them -- that many of her fans felt. Still revered as France's greatest Popular singer. Her biography is the stuff that legends are made of.
1918     "Professor Longhair". Please see Henry Roeland Byrd above.
1968     Kevin Shepard, drums, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA. Member group: 'Tonic'
1944     Simtec Simmons, guitar, b. Chicago, IL, USA
1938     Pete Strange, Trombone, b. London, England, UK. d. August 14, 2004, Banstead, Surrey, England, UK Although first taught the violin as a child, by age 18 (1956), he was playing a Dixieland style trombone professionally in banjoist Eric Silk's Southern Jazz Band. Iin 1957, Silk's clarinettist Teddy Layton left to form his own group, and took Strange with him. During 1957-'60, Strange played with traditional bands led by Charlie Gall, Sonny Morris, and the trumpeter Ken Sims. In 1961. he joined the "Bruce Turner Jump Band". In 1964, Strange left Turner, and , for the remainder of the '60s played with various Dixieland groups including Freddy Randall, Joe Daniels and Ron Russell. In the mid-1970s, he rejoined Turner, and in 1978, he and trumpeter Alan Elsdon became founding members of the repertory 'Midnite Follies Orchestra'. In 1980, Strange and some of his trombonist friends formed 'Five-A-Slide', Then, in 1983, he joined the Humphrey Lyttelton band, remaining with the band for 21 years until death ended his career. A fine trombonist, he deserves better recognition.
1895     Erskine Tate, Violin/Leader, b. Memphis, TN, USA. d. Dec. 17, 1978
1935     Robert Henry "Bobby" Timmons, Piano/composer, b. Philadelphia, PA, USA. d. March 1, 1974, New York, NY, USA. Perhaps best known for his work with 'The Jazz Messengers'. Also composer of such jazz hits as "Moanin'", "Dis Here" and "Dat Dere".
1948     Richard "Hock" Walsh, vocals, d. 1999 Member: 'Downchild Blues Band'
1911     Lu Watters, Trumpet/Leader, b. Santa Cruz, CA, USA. d. Nov. 5, 1989, Santa Rosa, California, USA.
1947     Don Weller, Tenor Sax, b. Croyden, England
1949     Lenny White, Drums, b. New York, NY, USA.
1941     Maurice White, singer/leader/ drums, b: USA, Member group: 'Earth, Wind & Fire'
1966     Vincent Wolfe, vocal, b. Canada. Wolfe comes from a musical background. His father was a Mercury records executive, and his mother was a popular 1950s singer. Wolfe's uncle was a working guitarist who had accompanied both Nat "King" Cole, and Billie Holiday during their Canadian tours. In 1987, after receiving private lessons from Alan Paul of the 'Manhattan Transfer', Wolfe joined the Toronto Jazz vocal group called 'Fifth Avenue'. He subsequently worked with singer Phyllis Hyman (b: July 6, 1941, Philadelphia, PA, USA, d: June 30, 1995, New York, NY, USA -suicide) He dedicated his first album "Trust The Vibe" to her memory. Currently (2007), Wolfe actively tours both the USA and Canada.
1944     Zalman Yanovsky, songwriter/harmonica, b. Canada, d. Dec. 13, 2002. Member grou'The Lovin' Spoonful'. Zalman and John Sebastian were the founders of the 'Lovin' Spoonful'. In 1967, Yanovsky left the band when he was deported to his native Canada after a marijuana arrest. Later, Zalman recorded a solo album "Alive and Well in Argentina" which met with little success. Subsequently, he left the music business, ran a restaurant, and wrote a cookbook. "Loving' Spoonful' co-founder, John Sebastian (b. March 17, 1944, New York, NY, USA) was born in New York's Greenwich Village area. His father (also named John Sebastian) was a well known classical harmonica player and his mother was a radio script writer. Sebastian thus grew up surrounded by music and musicians, including Burl Ives and Woody Guthrie. He was able to hear folk singers such as 'Leadbelly' and 'Mississippi John' Hurt when they played in the Greenwich Village clubs. "The Lovin' Spoonful" had such folk-flavored hits as "Nashville Cats", "Jug Band Music", "Six O'Clock", "Do You Believe in Magic", "Daydream", "Summer In the City", "Did You Ever have to Make Up Your Mind," and "Younger Girl".
1969     Aziza Mustafa Zadeh, Piano/Vocal, b. Baku, Azerbaidjan
          Notable Events occuring this date include:
1946.    Noel Coward's musical "Pacific 1860," premieres in London, England.
1971.    Gary Britt, vocals, died in Biscoe, NC, USA.
1973.    Casco Williams, arranger/guitar, died in New York (Harlem), NY, USA. Age: 79. Worked with pianist James P. Johnson
1989.    Hans Rettenbacher, bass, cello, piano, percussion, died
1989.    Floyd Jones, guitar, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 72
1992.    Curtis Peagler, alto sax, died in Beverly Hills, CA, USA. Age: 63. Played with Count Basie and Ray Charles.
2000.    Jazz bassist and photographer Milt Hinton, called "The Judge", died at the age of 90. During his 70-year career, Hinton performed with, and photographed almost every well known Jazz artist.
2005.    Billy Amstell, clarinet, alto & tenor sax,died in Manchester, England, UK. Age: 94(b. August 20 1911)
          Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1940     There I Go, - Will Bradley Orch.
1940     There I Go, - Vaughn Monroe voc. and Orch.
1941     Jingle Bells, - Glenn Miller Orch
1947     Here Comes Santa Claus, - Gene Autry
1960     Corinna, Corrina, - Ray Peterson
1964     Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow The Sun), - Del Shannon
1964     Love Potion Number Nine, - Searchers
1970     Rose Garden, - Lynn Anderson
1970     If I Were Your Woman, - Gladys Knight and The Pips
1970     Your Song, - Elton John, Elton
1981     Leader Of The Band, - Dan Fogelberg
1987     Don't Shed A Tear, - Paul Carrack
1987     Tunnel Of Love, - Bruce Springsteen
1992     7, - Prince