BIRTHDAYS
1929     Red Balaban, Bass, Tuba electric bass, guitar, banjo, vocal, leader, b. Chicago, IL, USA.
1927     Ronnie Ball, Piano, b. Birmingham, England
1954     Warren Benbow, drums, b. New York, NY, USA. (Some sources claim b. 1951)
1942     Jorge Benjor, Singer/Songwriter, b: Brazil. né: Jorge Ben
1924     Tish Bray, Reeds/Flute, b. Geelong, VIC, Australia
1913     Dudley Alonzo Brooks, piano, arranger, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA.
1939     Nick Ceroli, Drums, b. Warren, OH, USA. d. August 11, 1985
1905     Art Christmas, Alto Sax/multi-instrumentalist, vocal, b: Kingston, ONT, Canada, d: Sept. 24, 1961, Blind River, ONT, Canada. (Coronary) This Canadian was one of Great Britain's (and Europe's) best known and sought after instrumentalist during the 1930s and 1940s. In 1924, Art left Canada went to England as a young featured musician with the Captain Plunkett's Dumbells Orchestra, (ca. 1921) and remained in England for 30 years. While in England he was featured with The Toronto Band From Canada-1926, The Roy Fox Orchestra-1933-1938, and The Jack Payne Orchestra -1940-1945 (approx.), and many others in between. He, and his wife Maisie (showgirl/dancer) were a big part of the late 1940s touring show "For The Fun Of It". Art was just 55 years old when he died
1968     Richard James Edwards, Rhythm guitar/lyricist, b. Gwent, South Wales, UK. Member group: 'Manic Street Preachers'. He joined the band despite his inability to play guitar because he looked good and gave a great interview...or looked great and gave a good interview. His problems are well known - alcoholism, depression, anorexia, insomnia, self-harm. He has inspired a very dedicated following of fans known as the "Cult of Richey". Richey went missing on January 31, 1995. He disappeared from the Embassy Hotel in London, and is known to have briefly visited his . flat in Cardiff on the day he disappeared. Two weeks later his car was found abandoned at the Severn Bridge service station near Aust, a well known suicide spot. his body was never found. His passport, credit cards and Prozac tablets were found in his flat in Cardiff. Since then, there have been a number of unverified sightings of Edwards. A spokesman for the 'Manic Street Preachers' has said, "It seems very strange that all these sightings are in bars at night in high-profile holiday resorts. "As far as we know, Interpol were involved when he first went missing and I don't think there was an application for another passport so I don't know how Richey could have left the country, if he is still around, if he doesn't have his passport."
1958     Frank Gambale, Guitar, b. Canberra, Australia
1949     Robin & Maurice Gibb (Twins), singer/songwriters, b: England. Members: 'Bee Gees'
1919     Lillian "Lil" Green, Blues Vocals, b. Clarksdale, MS, USA. d. April 14, 1954, Chicago, IL, USA.
1941     Beb Guérin, bass, b. La Rochelle, France
1897     Max Hansen, vocals/actor, b. Mannheim, Germany, d. Nov. 13, 1961, Copenhagen, Denmark. The Danish Actress, Eva Haller, was his mother, and his father's name was von Waldheim. Hansen had sung at the Opera House, earning him the nickname "The Little Caruso" ("Der kleine Caruso"). He went on to formally study Music and Voice, and then got a job at Munich's 'Simplizissimus Cabaret'. From 1914 he played Operettas in Vienna and became a friend many composers, including Franz Lehár. Leaving Vienna, he relocated to Berlin, where he starred in various operettas, revues, cabaret and radio. From 1926 to '28, he appeared in five silent films In 1930, he appeared in a "talkie" "Wien, du Stadt der Lieder", followed by "Vienna, City of Song" (1930). . In 1932, he played opposite Gitta Alpar in "Die - oder keine" ("She, or Nobody"). In 1933, Hansen left Germany, -touring to Vienna, Switzerland, Amsterdam (Holland), Oslo (Norway) and Helsinki (Finland). In 1936, Swedish singer Zarah Leaner then working in Copenhagen, received a telephone call from Max Hansen asking if she spoke German. When Zarah replied that she did, Hansen then asked if she would take the female lead in "Axel an der Himmels Tür" ("Axel at the Gate of Heaven",- an Operetta with music by Ralph Benatzky). Hansen, collaborating with Hans Weigel and Paul Morgan, was producing the Operetta in 'Theater an der Wien'. Zarah Leander was so excited that she accepted the part without even asking how much money they were offering her. In 1949, after World War II had ended, Max Hansen visited Hamburg, and in 1951, played in Berlin and Scandinavia. Please see our Zarah Leander, calendar entry for Zarah.
1929     Solomon "Sparrow" Hardy, Saxophone/guitar.
1921     "Hawkshaw" Hawkins, C&W vocals, b: Huntington, WV, USA, d: March 5, 1963, USA. né: Harold Franklin Hawkins. In the late 1940's, he had some hit releases with the King label including "Slow Poke", "I Wasted a Nickel," and "Sunny Side of the Mountain." In the 1950's, Hawkins met with but little success, however his March 3rd, 1963 release "Lonesome 7-7203" made it's way to number one on the C&W Charts. Just two days later, Hawkins was dead, dying in the same airplane crash that killed Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas.
1922     William F. "Bill" Hitz, reeds/clarinet, b. Philadelphia, PA, USA.
1880     "Aunt" Molly Jackson, C&W singer/songwriter, b. Clay County, KY, USA. née: Mary Magdalene Garland
1944     Mal Jennings, Trumpet/Vocal/cornet, b. Melbourne, VIC, Australia
1910     Reunald Jones, Trumpet, b. Indianapolis, IN, USA. d. Feb 26, 1989, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Best recalled for his time with the Count Basie band.
1962     Paul Martin, C&W vocals/guitar, b. Winchester, KY, USA. Member group: 'Exile'
1960     Charles "Chuck" Lynn Mead, guitar/vocals. b. Nevada, MO, USA. 'Chuck' (or Hershel as he is sometimes known) formed the Nashville group called 'BR5-49', -named after a telephone number used in a 'Hee Haw" radio show skit.   BRS-49 (Formed: 1994) played "Retro-Country" style music and the group consisted of:
   Gary Bennett (b. October 9, 1964, Las Vegas, NV. USA), Vocals
        Raised in Cougar(near Mount St. Helens), Washington state. Previous non-music
        jobs included logging and falling timber. Also plays bass guitar and trombone.
   Donald John Herron, Jr. (b. Sept. 23, 1962, Stubenville, OH, USA.),
        Raised in Moundsville,West Va. Majored in music at South Plains College.
        non-music jobs include dairy farming and driving a dump truck for Kern
        County in Bakersfield, CA.
   "Smilin" Jay Michael McDowell (b. June 11,1969,Bedford, IN, USA), Raised in
        West Lafayette, IN (both parents played guitar). His non-music
        jobs include being a plumber's helper. He was a full-time guitar
        instructor in Indiana (5 years).
   "Hawk" Shaw Wilson (b. July 10, 1960, Topeka, Kansas). né: Randall Edward
        Shaw Wilson. Raised in Wichita, KS. His non-paying jobs include landscaper,
        roofer, painter, pump jock and sod buster. His father played guitar and
        admired Merle Travis and Chet Atkins.
   "Chuck" Mead, Raised in Lawrence, Kansas. His non-music job was
        as a movie projectionist. His family played in the 'Wynes Family' and they
        also sang on Radio Station KNM in Missouri. Chuck once told an interviewer
        "there are only two kinds of music - good and bad."
1934     Lenny Miles, vocals, b. Fort Worth, TX, USA.
1972     Vanessa Paradis, vocals/actress, b. Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Val-de-Marne, France. Paradis was a model and a singer before becoming a film-star. Her first success was the song "Joe Le Taxi". It was a hit in 15 countries. Her first film was a success for her, she won the 1990 'Ceasar' for it. For the next 5 years, she concentrated on her musical career, rejecting Pedro Almodovar and John Boorman. In 1994 she got a good script from Jean Becker and she made a film again. This was Elisa. She currently (2004) has a home in New York (Manhattan) city, where she enjoys the American life. She has been dating Johnny Depp (b. June 9, 1963, Owensboro, KY, USA) as of June 1998 until present (2004), and has a daughter by him. Depp played in a band called 'P.', and played slide guitar on the Oasis song "Fade In-Out" from 'Be Here Now' (1997).
1956     Lee Roy Parnell, C&W vocals/guitar, b. Abilene, TX, USA.
1959     John Patitucci, bassist/composer, b. New York, NY, USA. In 1979, while still attending college in California, he played with Gap Mangione. During 1982-1985, he worked in Los Angeles as a sessions bassist, and also worked with such stars as Stan Getz, Wayne Shorter, Ernie Watts, Dave Grusin, Tom Scott, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Freddie Hubbard, and others. In 1985, he joined Chick Corea as a regular member of the Elektric and Akoustic bands. In the early 1990s, he left the bands but still continued to occasionally work with Corea. He has also had some sessions for the GRP and Stretch labels. In 1996, John moved back to New York city, where he taught at the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz, and also worked as Artistic Director of the Bass Collective (a school for bassists). Besides leading and touring with his own group, the John Patitucci Quartet, he composes for many mediums outside conventional band formats. For example, in 1994, the Italian chamber orchestra Suono e Oltre commissioned him to write a piece for six-string electric bass. (Later, the same work was performed with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in Tokyo.) Currently (ca. early 2000s), his work has included touring the U.S.A. with an all-star quintet led by Herbie Hancock, and working again with Wayne Shorter.
1901     Danny Polo, Clarinet/alto-tenor-baritone sax, b. Toluca, IL, USA. d. July 11, 1949, Chicago, IL, USA.
1937     Alvin Robinson, guitar, b. New Orleans, LA, USA.
1957     Ricky Ross, singer/songwriter/guitar, b. Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Member group: 'Deacon Blue', a band that took their name from a song on the Steely Dan album "Aja". Serveral changes were made during the band's fromation, but eventually a stable quintet was formed with Douglas Vipond on drums, James Prime on keyboards, Graeme Kelling on guitar and Ewen Vernal on bass. They experimented with backing vocals during their live sets and soon felt that a female vocal added a new perspective to the overall sound of the band. Singer Carol Moore who had carried the backing vacals during live sets, was soon replaced by Lorraine McIntosh. Subsequently, others have come and gone from "Deacon Blue". For example, the line-up for Ross' album 'Fellow Hoodlums' consisted of Michael Boyd (b. Los Angeles, CA USA), Brian "Bart" Simpson (b. Houston, Scotland), Sverrir "Jolli" Hreidarsson (b. Iceland), Trevor Mathers (b. Britain), and "Grendle" (b. Bronxville NY, USA).
1966     Danny Saber, bassist/producer, b. Great Britain. Member group: 'Black Grape'. In 1995, Danny joined 'Grape', an alternative rock/dance group, which had already been formed around singer Shaun Ryder (formerly with the Happy Mondays). He played on, and produced, their albums. The group became quite popular in the U.K. leading Saber to produce such acts as 'Garbage', 'David Bowie', 'John Lydon' and 'U2'. The Rolling Stones enlisted Saber to help out on 'Bridges to Babylon', and he wound up producing and playing on the song "Gunface". He also played on "Out of Control" and mixed the track "Might As Well Get Juiced". Subsequently he has worked with artists like Marilyn Manson, Public Enemy, Seal and Herb Alpert.
1937     "Red" Steagall, C&W singer/songwriter/guitar, b. Gainesville, TX, USA. One phase of Red's career has been as a songwriter, writing over 200 compositions, some of which became hits for other performers. For example, in 1967 (when Red was age 30), Ray Charles recorded his "Here We Go Again," which was later covered by Nancy Sinatra. Another phase of his career was working as a Nashville-based performer during the 1970s. Steagall had his share of chart action and a few major hits too. In the 1970s, he had such hit recordings as "I Gave Up Good Morning Darling", and "The Finer Things in Life", both of which made the Top 20. In 1976, he scored a Top 15 single with "Lone Star Beer and Bob Wills Music". Still another phase of his career was as a singer of 'Western' songs. He is one of modern music's finest 'cowboy' balladeers. Red and his band, the 'Coleman County Boys', became very popular at rodeos, while his recordings were very well received by fans of cowboy songs. Along the way, Red 'discovered' a young C&W singer Reba McEntire. Reba had been working with her family on the Rodeo circuit, and Red took note when he heard her sing the national anthem in 1974, at the National Rodeo Finals in Oklahoma City. He was intrumental in getting her a recording contract while she was still in her teens. Red has also authored a book of poetry about the American West, with his poems "Ride for the Brand" and "Born to This Land" becoming extremely popular. In 1991, the Texas legislature voted Steagall the Official Cowboy Poet of Texas. During the 1980s, Steagall acted in several Hollywood films, including 'Benji the Hunted', 'Dark Before Dawn', and 'Big Bad John'. In the 1990s, Steagall recorded steadily throughout the decade, releasing (under the Warner Western imprint) "Born to This Land" (1993), "Faith and Values" (1995), "Dear Mama, I'm a Cowboy" (1997), and "Love of the West" (1999).
1924     Dan Terry, Leader/arranger/trumpet, b. Kingston, PA, USA. né: Daniel Kostraba
1950     Alan Williams, vocals, b. Welwyn Garden City, England. Member group: 'The Rubettes'. In 1974, a group of sessions singers including Alan Williams, John Richardson, Bill Hurd, Tony Thorpe, Mick Clarke and Peter Arnesen recorded a track 'Sugar Baby Love' and watched it zoom to No. 1.
1935     Joe Lee Wilson, Vocals, b. Bristow, OK, USA.
1910     'Elder' Roma Wilson, (gospel) harmonica, b. Hickory Flat, MS, USA.
         Notable Events occuring this date include:
1939.    Blues singer Gertrude ("Ma") Rainey, died in Columbus, Georgia. At the peak of her career, she travelled in her own railway car, and was the biggest-selling artist for Paramount Records. (A "race" label targeting recordings to a 'Black' audience.)
1963.    Roy Palmer, trombone, died in Chicago, IL, USA.
1984.    Viola Gertrude Wells (Miss Rhapsody), vocals, died in Belleville, NJ, USA. Age: 82
1985.    Gus Jenkins, (Jarrone Pharoah), piano/producer, died in Inglewood, CA, USA. Age: 54
1989.    Boston Smith, piano, died in Dallas, TX, USA. Age: 82
1990.    Bernard Addison, guitar, died
1991.    Beaver Harris, drummer died in New York, NY, USA. (b. April 20, 1936 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. né: William Godvin Harris.) In 1957, following his discharge from the U. S. Army, Harris returned to Pittsburgh, where he played with such touring musicians as Horace Silver and Benny Golson. In 1962, he moved to New York city. In 1966, Harris recorded with Gato Barbieri, Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, Marion Brown, and Roswell Rudd. In 1968, Harris, together with trombonist Grachan Moncur III, and pianist Dave Burrell formed the cooperative group '360 Degree Music Experience'. In the '70s, Harris worked with Cecil Taylor. However, for the remainder of his life, the '360 Degree Music Experience' group, in all its variations, would be Harris' primary creative vehicle, eventually assuming the group's leadership. All during the 1970-'80s, among the musicians who played with the group included steel drummer Francis Brown, bassist Cameron Brown, and pianists Rahn Burton and Don Pullen, and saxophonists Ken McIntyre, Hamiet Bluiett, and Ricky Ford. Among the other stars with whom Harris worked during his career, include Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Rouse, and Al Cohn.
1998.    Charlie Short, bass, died
2001.    Johnny Wakley, C&W singer/songwriter, died from liver disease. Age: 57. Johnny was the son of Jimmy Wakley.
2003.    Dave Dudley, C&W Singer-Songwriter/Guitar, died. (Coronary) Age: 75
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1950     You're Just In Love, - Perry Como
1950     Tennessee Waltz, - Les Paul
1956     Don't Forbid Me, - Pat Boone
1956     Banana Boat Song, - Tarriers
1958     16 Candles , - The Crests
1958     Manhattan Spiritual , - Reg Owen
1962     Night Has A Thousand Eyes, The, - Bobby Vee
1973     Love's Theme, - Love Unlimited Orchestra
1973     Way We Were, The, - Barbra Streisand
1979     Yes, I'm Ready, - Teri DeSario
1979     Sara, - Fleetwood Mac
1984     I Would Die 4 U, - Prince
1984     Careless Whisper, - Wham
1990     Disappear, - INXS
1990     I'll Give All My Love To You, - Keith Sweat