BIRTHDAYS
1921     Steve Allen, piano/composer/actor, b. New York, NY, USA, d. Oct. 30, 2000, Encino, CA, USA. Age: 78. (Heart Attack). né: Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen. Grad. Drake Univ. He was survived by his wife, actress Jayne Meadows. In the early 1950s, while on a visit to America, famed actor/composer/vocalist Noel Coward described Steve Allen as "the most talented man in America." During his career, Allen composed over 7,400 songs, including "This Could Be The Start of Something Big," "Picnic," "Impossible," "Gravy Waltz," "South Rampart Street Parade,"and "Pretend You Don’t See Her" He wrote the score for several musicals, including the Broadway production of 'Sophie', and the CBS-TV version of 'Alice in Wonderland'. Allen also made over 52 record albums/CD’s.
1963     Dana Baldinger, bass, b. CA, USA. Member group: 'Popinjays', the original Popinjays were comprised simply of songwriter Wendy Robinson (vocals. b. April 6, 1964, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England), Polly Hancock (guitar/vocals. b. July 16, 1964, Berkshire, England), and a drum machine. Dana Baldinger (Bass. b. Dec. 26, 1963, CA, USA) joined in 1989. After just one single release, Baldinger departed and was replaced by Anne Rogers (bass. b. Oct. 17, 1962, New York, NY. USA), and the next year, the drum machine was replaced by Seamus Feeney (b. Nov. 19, 1964, Middlesex, England).
1903     Dick Ball, Bass, Sousaphone, tuba, b. Southwark, London, England, UK. d. 1978
1917     George "Butch" Ballard, Drums, b. Camden, NJ, USA. (some sources say b. 1918)
1957     Guy Barker, Trumpet, b. London, England
1933     Billy Bean, Guitar, b. Philadelphia, PA, USA.
1922     T. D. Bell, guitar, b. Lee City, MS, USA.
1926     Earle Brown, piano/trumpet/composer, b. Lunenburg, MA, USA, d. July 2, 2002, Rye, NY, USA. Often worked with John Cage.
1962     Tony Buck, drums, b. Sydney, Australia
1929     Monty Budwig, Bass, b. Pender, NE, USA. d. March 9, 1992
1957     Beldon Bullock, bass, b. Boston, MA, USA.
1915     Una Mae Carlisle, Piano/vocals/composer, b. Xenia, OH, USA. d. Nov.7, 1956, New York, NY, USA. Began her professional career working in the Cincinnati radio studios where "Fats" Waller found her. His piano style profoundly affected her. She not only emulated his playing, but, in 1938 while visiting England, even used a Waller-like combo on some recordings. In 1939, back in the USA, she sang on the "Fats" Waller recording of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love". During 1940-'41, she recorded with her own 'All Star' combo that included Benny Carter, Lester Young and John Kirby, for Bluebird (RCA) records. During 1940, she composed her biggest hit "Walking By The River", and in 1941, wrote "I See A Million People". All during the 1940s she toured with her own group, and even had her own Radio and TV series (late '40s and '51-3). In 1950, she recorded (with Bob Chester and Don Redman) for Columbia records. In 1954, Una retired to Ohio, remaining there until her demise.
1946     Bob Carpenter, keyboards/vocals, b. Philadelphia, PA, USA. Member group: 'Nitty Gritty Dirt Band', a country-rock formed in 1966, they've been together in one form or another for a staggering 37 years. Among the embryonic members were Jeff Hanna (guitar/vocals, b. July 11, 1947; Detroit, MI USA. (others say Dec. or Nov. 11), Dave Hanna (guitar/vocals), Bruce Kunkel (banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, b. 1948), Glen Grosclose (drums), Ralph Barr (guitar) and Les Thompson (bass/vocals) completed the embryonic Dirt Band line-up, However, Grosclose and Dave Hanna quickly made way for Jimmie Fadden (guitar/banjo/drum/harmonica), and Jackson Browne (guitar/vocals), -with Browne remaining only for a few months (he was replaced by John McEuen (mandolin/fiddle, b. Garden Grove, CA, USA) although his songs remained in the group's repertoire throughout their early career. In time, others would join the band including guitarist/bassist/mandolinist/vocalist Jimmy Ibbotson (in 1969), and keyboardist/vocalist Bob Carpenter (in 1976),
1942     Ernie and Earl Cate, (Southern Style) R&B Ernie: Piano/vocals, and Earl: guitar/vocals, b. Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. Member group: 'The Cate Brothers'. (Twins)
1922     Harry Choates, fiddle/accordion/guitar (steel and acoustic), b. Rayne, LA, USA. d. July 17, 1951, Austin, TX, USA (while in Jail). Every Cajun musician and lover of Cajun/Zydeco music knows this phrase: "Eh ye' yaille chere, "Mais Jolie Blonde". Harry Choates was the Cajun musician who, in the 1940s, started the Cajun Music going with his hit record of "Jolie Blonde", a song often called the "Cajun National Anthem". About 1946, Choates started his own band called 'The Melody Boys', and also recorded (Gold Star label) "Jole Blon", an old Cajun waltz. It was a big success, but because Harry suffered from chronic alcoholism, he sold "Jole Blon" for $100 and a bottle of whiskey. One year later, piano player Moon Mullican released his own hit recording of the tune. While still a child, Harry had started playing with Leo Soileau and Happy Fats "LeBlanc. The official version of his death was that he died from beating his head against the cell bars, while he was in need of alcohol. But, it is possible his jailers may have killed him while attempting to calm him. Today, this wonderful Cajun musician is virtually unknown.
1933     Frank De La Rosa, Bass, b. El Paso, TX, USA.
1944     (Lowell) Dwight Dickerson, Piano, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA.
1946     Gordon Edwards, keyboard, b. Southport, UK, USA.
1935     Abdul 'Duke' Fakir, vocals, b. Detroit, MI, USA. Member group: 'The Four Tops', comprised of Levi Stubbs (b. 1938, Detroit, MI, USA)., Renaldo 'Obie' Benson (b. 1947, Detroit, Mich., USA.), Lawrence Payton (b. 1938, Detroit, MI, USA d. June 20, 1997, Southfield, MI, USA.) and Abdul 'Duke' Fakir (b. Dec. 26, 1935, Detroit, MI, USA). The Tops had no personnel changes in their more than 35 years together From 1964 to 1988, they placed 24 hits on the charts. (They first recorded as The Four Tops for Leonard Chess and Chess Records in 1956).
1966     Jay Farrar, Alt-Country singer-songwriter, b. Belleville, IL, USA. Member of both "Uncle Tupelo", and "Son Volt" bands.
1957     Brandon Fields, soprano/alto/tenor/bariton sax, flute, synthesizer, (some sources say b.1958)
1915     Marty Gold, (Space-age/Pop) Leader/arranger/composer/A&R, b. New York, NY, USA. He began his career as a Big Bands pianist, and when that era ended, in the early 1950s, he became a studio arranger at Decca Records. In 1951, he composed the song "Tell Me Why", which became a huge hit for "The Four Aces" vocal group. When he joined RCA, he helped another vocal group, "The Three Suns". As a leader (Marty Gold and His Orch.), he recorded (for RCA and its affiliates Vik and X) some LPs including "Soundpower!" "Stereo Action Goes Hollywood", "Music to the Limits of Audibility and Soundaroundus", and " Organized for Hi-Fi".
1942     Doug Hammond, drums, b. Tampa, FL, USA.
1951     Brooks Kerr, Piano, b. New Haven, CT, USA.
1911     Pete Oswald Kirby, vocals. aka: "Bashful Brother Oswald". Best known aw member: The 'Smoky Mountain Boys'. (Bro: Breecher Ray Kirby)
1969     Peter Klett, guitar, b. Bellevue, WA, USA. Member group: 'Candlebox', a band formed in 1991 (and first called 'Uncle Duke') by singer Kevin Martin ( French horn, drums, guitar, bass and piano, b. April 9, 1969), and drummer Scott Mercado, They enlisted guitarist Peter Klett and bassist Bardi Martin (no relation to Kevin) and changed the band's name to Candlebox, after a phrase in a "Midnight Oil" song.
1958     Travis Lewis, C&W vocals, member: "The Lewis Family" group.
1938     Stan Martin, DJ/MC, b: Brooklyn, NY, USA. d: Jan. 28, 2003, New York, NY, USA. (Stroke) né: Stanley Martin Feuerman. Guests on his radio shows included such stars as Rosemary Clooney and Tony Bennett. (His last radio position was as manager for New York's WQEW-AM.) He also was a M.C. for cabaret shows.
1910     Rupert Nurse, bass/arranger/tenor sax, b. Port of Spain, Trinidad, West Indies, d. March 18, 2001.
1955     Alan O'Bryant, (Bluegrass) guitar/banjo, b. Reidsville, NC, USA. Member group: "Nashville Bluegrass Band,", comprised of (founder) O'Bryant, who then recruited Minnie Pearl, Vernon Oxford, Steve Young, and others.
1911     "Bashfull Brother Oswald", (C&W) Dobro, b. Sevier County, TN, USA. né: Beecher Ray "Pete" Kirby. For over thirty years, the 'Bashful Brother' served as one of the most important members of Roy Acuff's 'Smoky Mountain Boys'.
1947     George Porter Jr., bass, b. New Orleans, LA, USA.
1937     Ronnie Prophet, C&W vocals, b. Hawkesbury, Ontario Canada. Chet Atkins once described Prophet's act as "...the greatest one-man show I've ever seen". Pursuing his career mainly in the USA, Ronnie won the 1977 Juno Award for 'male country vocalist'.
1951     Paul Anthony Quinn, guitar, b. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. Member group: 'Saxon'. Originally formed in 1976 in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England as "Son Of A Bitch" with bandmembers Peter "Biff" Byford (vocals), Paul Quinn (guitar), Graham Oliver (guitar), Steve Dawson (bass), and Pete Gill (drums). They changed name to 'Saxon' just before their first album (on the French label 'Carrere'). They were leaders in the 'NWOBHM' movement, -'New Wave of British Heavy Metal' bands. They had.several hit singles and best-selling albums. Though popular in the UK, the band never made a hit in the USA. Dawson has claimed that the character of Derek Smalls from the spoof-metal band Spinal Tap was strongly influenced by him.
1941     "Rattlesnake Annie", vocals, b. Paris, TN, USA. "Rattlesnake" is a Cherokee Indian (with Scotch-Irish blood) who started out playing Country Blues, which in time, fused with the ethnic music of the world. This truly remarkable lady is an international ambassador of American Country-Blues music. In the history of Country-Blues music, there has perhaps never been a woman, who with just her voice and her guitar, accomplished what 'Rattlesnake Annie' has done with her artistry. She has spanned the globe teaching people around the world about Southern roots music, singing and recording in many languages, all the while fusing her music with the varied ethnic music of the world. She has told interviewers that as a baby, she was carried in a washtub out to the fields, and grew up listening to the field calls, spirituals, blues, and amusing stories of migrant workers and local pickers. At age 10, she was already playing the guitar, and writing songs. By age 12, she was performing in public. When she was just 16, she traveled to Memphis, TN, where she spent several years playing on Beale Street with such legends as Lightnin; Hopkins, Memphis Minnie, Furry Lewis, and even Muddy Waters. "Rattlesnake" subsequently relocated to Huntsville, Alabama and performed as a vocalist in local venues. In the 1960's, she moved to a ranch near Fort Worth, Texas, where she first met Willie Nelson, who later guested on one of her records. In 1978, she moved to Nashville, TN. Since then, she has toured the world recording and singing with artists from different countries. Presently, 2004, this Paris, TN, little lady has made her home in southern Spain, where she has honed her skills as a Flamenco guitarist, singer, and recording artist.
1951     John Scofield, Guitar, b. Dayton, OH, USA.
1902     J. D. Short, Vocals (but also guitar/piano/saxophone//harmonica/clarinet/drums), b. Port Gibson, MS, USA, d. Oct 21, 1962 in St. Louis, MO, USA. At home, he played at the local house parties. In the 1920s, he relocated to Chicago, IL, where, from the 1930s until the early '60s, he worked with such men as Henry Spaulding, "Honeyboy" Edwards, Douglas Williams, and "Big Joe" Williams. He later worked with 'The Neckbones', a 'trashy garage punk' rock band, consisting of guitarist/bassist Robbie Alexander, guitarist Tyler Keith, and drummer Forrest Hewes. Along the way, he was recorded by the Vocalion, Folkways, Delmark, and Sonet labels. In 1963, Short appeared in the documentary film 'The Blues'. Sadly, he died before it was released.
1940     Phil Spector, record producer. b: USA. Formed his own company in 1961, and his work help such artists as the Ronettes, the Crystals, and Ike and Tina Turner. He retired briefly, but returned to produce the Beatles "Let It Be" album, George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" and a three- L-P set of the 1971 Concert for Bangla Desh. He is also remembered for his technique of adding layer upon layer of instruments to form what is now called a "wall of sound."
1931     Thomas "Tom" Stewart, tenor/bari horn, b. Bridgeport, CT, USA.
1963     Lars Ulrich, drums/songwriter, b. Dec. 26, 1963, Gentofte, Denmark, Member group: 'Metallica'
1962     Brian Westrum, drums, b. Dallas, TX, USA. Member group: 'Sons of the Desert'. A Texas 'Contemporary Country' music band formed in 1989, the band evolved into Drew Womack, (Frontman/Lead Vocals/songwriter, b. July 8, 1970, - joined in 1990), Tim Womack (Acoustic Guitar, b. April 23, 1968 - joined in 1995), Doug Virden (Electric Guitar, b. Oct. 14, 1970), Scott Saunders (Bass Guitar, b. March 18, 1964, Dallas, TX, USA. - joined in 1993), Brian Westrum (Drums, Dec. 26, 1962, Dallas, TX, USA. - joined in 1993)
1967     Audrey Wiggins, C&W vocals, b. Ashville, NC, USA. John (b. Dec. 13, 1962, Waynesville, NC, USA.) and Audrey Wiggins are the children of country singer John Wiggins. The brother-sister team began singing professionally as children and later moved to Nashville to make it in country music. All the Wiggins' owe much to Country singer Ernest Tubb. The father, John Wiggins, was the bus driver for Tubb, who was so impressed with his singing, that he brought him onstage with the show. And it was Tubb, who helped Audrey to appear on the "Grand Ole Op'ry" show.
1908     Quinn Wilson, Bass/Tuba/sousaphone/arranger, b. Chicago, IL, USA. d. June 14, 1978, Evanston, IL, USA.
1967     J. Yuenger, guitar, b. Chicago, IL, USA. né: Jay Noel Yuenger. a.k.a. J-Yuenger, a.k.a. "J". Member group: 'White Zombie',
         Notable Events occuring this date include:
1951.    Vic Berton, drums, died in Los Angeles (Hollywood), CA, USA.
1957.    Jimmie Osborne, "The Kentucky Folk Singer", committed suicide. Age: 34
1958.    Eva Gauthier, Canadian mezzo-soprano (Ottawa) died in New York City. Age: 73. Paul Whiteman was in the audience of Gauthier's historic 1923 recital in New York, during which she sang the music of Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, and George Gershwin (with Gershwin at the piano). Whiteman was so impressed with Gershwin's talent that he commissioned him to write a work for piano and orchestra, which resulted in a piece Gershwin named "Rhapsody in Blue"
1965.    Peter Packay, trumpet, died
1973.    Lowman Pauling, guitar, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 47
1973.    Joseph Rena, drums, died
1974.    Al Norris, guitar, died. Age: 66. Played with Jimmy Lunceford band.
1980.    Willie James Lyons, guitar, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 42
1980.    Peck Kelley, piano, died in Houston, TX, USA. Age: 82 (né: John Dickson Kelley Perhaps best recalled for his 1920s orchestra, Peck's Bad Boys, which at various times during the decade included such notable musicians as Jack Teagarden, "Pee Wee" Russell, "Wingy" Manone, "Snoozer" Quinn, Johnny Wiggs, Leon Prima (the brother of Louis), and Leon Roppolo.
1982.    George "Fats" Gordon, vocals, died in Newark, NJ, USA. Age: 66
1987.    Leslie Thompson, trumpet, died in London, UK, Age: 86
1989.    Rev. Cecil Franklin, vocals, died in Detroit, MI, USA. Age: 49
1992.    Jack Gold, A&R/songwriter/producer, died in Tujunga,CA, USA. Age: 71
1992.    Jimmy Arnold, Traditional Bluegrass vocals/fiddle/guitar/harmonica, died. Age: 40
1994.    Buddy Ace, vocals, died in Waco, TX, USA. Age: 57
1996.    Joe Valino, a 1950s pop singer, died in Philadelphia, PA, USA, (heart attack). Age 67. In 1956, his recording of "Garden of Eden" climbed to number-12 hit on the Billboard chart.
1996.    Oscar Valdambrini, trumpet, composer, died in Italy.
2000.    Johnny Hathcock, C&W songwriter, died in Amarillo, TX, USA. Age: 81
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1945     "Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy", Stan Kenton Orch. (on Capitol)
1941     White Cliffs Of Dover, The, - Glenn Miller Orch.
1941     This Is No Laughing Matter, - Charlie Spivak Orch.
1953     Stranger In Paradise, - Tony Martin
1963     I Want to Hold Your Hand, - The Beatles (Capitol Records released this date.)
1964     You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', - The Righteous Brothers
1970     Lonely Days, - Bee Gees
1981     Take It Easy On Me, - Little River Band
1987     Say You Will, - Foreigner
1987     What Have I Done To Deserve This?, - Pet Shop Boys