BIRTHDAYS
1920     Alfred "Chico" Alvarez, Trumpet, b. Montreal, Quebec, Canada, d. Aug. 1, 1992, Las Vegas, NV, USA. Age: 72, (Cancer). Best recalled for his work with the Stan Kenton band in the 1940s, and also played with the Red Norvo and Charlie Barnet bands.
1898     Lil Armstrong, see "Lillian "Lil" Hardin a few lines down.
1960     Craig Bailey, alto sax/flute, b. Cincinnati, OH, USA.
1977     Grant Barry, trombone. Member group: 'Reel Big Fish'
1964     Matraca Berg, C&W singer-songwriter, b. Nashville, TN, USA. Her mother, Icee Berg, was herself a songwriter and session vocalist, and so was able to get Matraca started in the music business through her music publisher contacts. Besides Matraca's own hit releases, she has contributed material to such stars as Suzy Bogguss, Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, Pam Tillis, Deana Carter, Martina McBride, and many others.
1909     Artie Bernstein, Bass, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA. d. Jan. 4, 1964
1903     Martin Block, Amer. Disk Jockey, d. Sept. 19, 1967. His "Make Believe Ballroom" was perhaps the best known DJ show in all radio.
1924     Bully Buhlan, vocals/pianist, b. Berlin, Germany. d. Nov. 7, 1982, Germany. Age 58: First popular singer of Post-WW2 Germany. Often worked with singer Rita Paul. their greatest hit was "Maecki Boogie", composed for them by Michael Jary.
1957     Tony Butler, bass, b. Ealing, London, England. Member group: 'Big Country', a Scottish quartet formed in 1982.
1940     Angelo D'Aleo, vocals, b, USA. Member group: 'Dion & The Belmonts'.
1947     Dave Davies, guitar/vocals, b. Great Britain. Member: 'The Kinks'
1919     Dolly Dawn, Vocal, b. Newark, NJ, USA, d. Dec. 11, 2002, New York, NY, USA (kidney failure). née: Theresa Anna Maria Stabile, bandleader Dick Stabile's cousin. As a teen-ager, she was singing on a local weekend radio show under the name Billie Starr. She soon won first place in an amateur talent contest in Newark, conducted by the George Hall orchestra. Two years later, after learning that Loretta Lee, Hall's 'girl' vocalist was leaving the band, Dolly auditioned for Hall and won the job. Hall wanted a different stage name for his new singer. After the New York Journal-American columnist Harriet Mencken met Dolly, Mencken reportedly said "Well, you're as dimpled as a dolly, and as fresh as the dawn." Mencken asked Hall "What about Dolly Dawn?" In 1935, Loretta Lee left, and Hall began featuring the 16 year old Dolly Dawn. Her success was almost immediate and just a year later, she appeared in a Vitaphone Short with the Hall orchestra. Hall's full orchestra had somewhat pedestrian arrangements, and soon Dolly was singing with a small group of musicians from the main band, under the billing "Dolly Dawn and Her Dawn Patrol". The band's, and her, success was greatly helped by their broadcasts from New York's Hotel Taft (later home for the Vincent Lopez band). Six days a week, they were heard in a 30-minute broadcast over the CBS radio network from noon to 12:30. At the height of her success, Miss Dawn was simultaneously under contact to two rival record labels: RCA's Bluebird label with the George Hall Orchestra, and Vocalion, Columbia's Jazz label, as Dolly Dawn and Her Dawn Patrol. In 1941, Hall decided to stop leading his band. On July 4, 1941, in a ceremony at New York's Roseland Ballroom, he officially turned over the band's leadership to Miss Dawn, continuing to serve just as the band's manager. It proved to be the apex of Dolly's career. America entered World War II, and in less than a year, her musicians were drafted into the U. S. Armed Forces. 'Dolly Dawn and Her Dawn Patrol' disbanded. Dolly did continue with a solo career, but never matched her previous success. By the early 1950s, her career was in decline. Until her demise, Dolly performed occasionally in New York clubs. Her signature tune was "You're a Sweetheart".
1937     Bobby Durham, drums, b. Philadelphia, PA,USA. Durham has played with Lionel Hampton, "Wild Bill" Davison, "Slide" Hampton. In 1967, he toured with "Duke" Ellington, and subsequently joined Oscar Peterson's trio. CAUTION: Do not confuse with Country singer Bobby Durham, born 1942 in Bakersfield, CA, USA.
1943     Dennis Edwards, vocals, member: 'The Temptations'
1933     John Handy, Alto & tenor sax/educator, b. Dallas, TX, USA. CAUTION: Do not confuse with "Cap'n" John Handy, b. June 24, 1900, Pass Christian, MS, USA.
1898     Lillian "Lil" Hardin, Pianist, arranger, vocals, composer, leader, d. August 27, 1971. aka: Lil Hardin Armstrong. Louis Armstrong's first wife. This gifted lady was a fine musician in her own right (excellent pianist). She also wrote many of the Freddie Keppard Creole Jazz Band arrangements. She met Satchmo when both were playing in King Oliver's Original Creole Jazz Band (in Chicago). They were married and later Lil was also the pianist with Louis Armstrong's Hot Five.
1949     Linda Hargrove, C&W singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, b. Jacksonville, Fl, USA.
1943     Eric Haydock, bass guitar, b. Stockport, England. Member group: 'The Hollies', a group consisting of Haydock, Allan Clarke - vocals (b. April 5, 1942, Salford, England), Graham Nash - rhythm guitar/vocals (b. Feb. 2, 1942, Blackpool, Salford, England), and Bobby Elliott - drums (b. Dec. 8, 1942, Burnley, Salford, England).
1965     Nick Hawkins, guitar, b. Luton, Bedfordshire, England. Member group: 'Big Audio'
1895     Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon, b. Montgomery, AL, USA. d. d. 1944. This 5'2" Black entertainer was very active in Chicago, IL, during the 1920s, with his "Quarts of Joy Orch." A great favorite; sometimes appeared as a female impersonator. During WW2, worked for U.S. A. Federal Gov't and continued that till he retired.
1927     Paul Knopf, piano, composer, b. New York, NY, USA.
1956     Nathan Lane, Actor/vocals, b. Jersey City, NJ, USA. né: Joseph Lane.
1935     Owen Masters, C&W star. né: Johnnie Owen Masters. member: 'Masters Family'
1900     Mabel Mercer, vocals, b. Birmingham, England, d. April 20, 1984, Pittsfield, MA, USA. Mercer, the child of American Jazz singer Warren Mercer, Sr. (who died before Mabel's birth) and British music-hall actress Gertrude Doak, was classically trained in voice. Nevertheless, while still in her teens, she made her professional debut as a dancer,. However, by the 1920s, Mercer went back to vocals, and during the decade appeared in clubs throughout Europe and the Middle East. By the end of the Roaring Twenties, she had settled in Paris, France, then populated by famous American expatriates from Cole Porter to Ernest Hemingway. She soon became a favorite on the Paris cabaret scene. In 1938, Mabel relocated to New York city, where she would remain for the next twenty years. In the early '50s, Mercer signed with the Atlantic label and recorded several LPs during the decade. During the '60s, she recorded two live LPs with Bobby Short. She remained quite active during the 1970s, and the decade saw her appearing at New York's famed Carnegie Hall, as well as on her own British television Special. In the early 1980s, she retired, and also received the 'Presidential Medal of Freedom'. Mabel's singing had influenced many other artists including Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, and Nat King Cole, among others.
1915     Bill Miller, pianist, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA, d. July 11, 2006, Montreal, Canada. (Complications from a Heart Attack). Miller, who was largely a self-taught pianist, will always be remembered as Frank Sinatra's primary accompanist for 46 years. Like Sinatra, he first came up through the big bands. Miller began playing professionally at just age 16, and at age 18, joined 'Larry Funk and his Band of a Thousand Melodies', and then with arranger 'Joe Haymes and his Orchestra'. Miller subsequently joined vibraphonist Red Norvo and jazz vocalist Mildred Bailey's group. It was while he was with Norvo that Frank Sinatra first heard him playing. When Norvo disbanded, Miller joined saxist Charlie Barnet's great pre-WWII band, and then after serving in the U.S. Army, he played with a variety of bands — Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and Barnet again — and with some singers, including Martha Raye. Songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen recommended Miller to Sinatra, and in 1951, Sinatra came to hear Miller who was playing the lounge at the 'Desert Inn' in Las Vegas. The crooner liked Miller's understated style and asked him to join his TV show. The two went on to share the stage for 46 years, except for several years starting in 1978 when they had a falling out. In 1952, Miller began working with Sinatra in Las Vegas, NV. That period was perhaps the low point of Sinatra's career, and Miller subsequently played a prominent role in virtually every Sinatra album and single. On Miller's demise, his friend and Sinatra's longtime guitarist, Al Viola, said "Bill is the best. If you listen to the few records they did without any orchestra, like ‘Where Or When,' you can hear the strong structure of his harmonies backing Sinatra — it's perfect!" Perhaps, because of his work with Sinatra at Capitol Records, Miller also became the pianist of choice for Sinatra's arrangers, Nelson Riddle and Billy May. In 1969, Miller tragically lost both his wife and his house in the Los Angeles hills due to a mudslide. Sinatra paid his hospital bills and bought him a new apartment. On July 1, 2006. Miller suffered from a broken hip, and then from a heart attack following surgery.
1943     Shawn Phillips, singer-songwriter/guitar, b. Fort Worth, TX, USA.
1956     Lee Ranaldo, singer-songwriter/guitar, b. Glen Cove, Long Island, NY, USA. Member group: 'Sonic Youth'
1941     Claude Ranger, Drums, b. Montreal, Quebec, Canada
1936     Dave Rich, C&W singer-songwriter, b. Briar Creek, KY, USA.
1947     Melanie Safka, vocals, b. USA. Best recalled song: "Brand New Key"
1945     Bob Stewart, Tuba, b. Sioux Falls, SD, USA.
19??     Greg Tardy, tenor sax/flute/clarinet/bass clarinet
1896     "Kid Thomas" Valentine , Trumpet, b. New Orleans, LA, USA. d. June 16, 1987
1928     Frankie Vaughn, vocals, b. Great Britain. Best known recording: "Tower of strength"
1935     Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, guitar/vocals, b. USA. d. 1996, USA.
1935     Jody Williams, guitar/songwriter/nusic publisher, b. AL, USA. né: Joseph Leon Williams
1937     Leroy Williams, Drums, b. Chicago, IL, USA.
1946     Stan Webb, guitar, b. London, England. Member group: 'Chicken Shack'
1919     "Snooky" Young, Trumpet, b. Dayton, OH, USA. d. né: Eugene Edward Young

         Notable Events occuring this date include:
1941.    "Amapola", was recorded by the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra (Decca), with a Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly vocal duet.
1959.    An airplane crash near Mason City, Iowa, takes the lives of 22-year-old Buddy Holly, 28-year-old J. P. Richardson ('The Big Bopper') and 17-year-old Ritchie Valens. Vocalist Don McLean, in his 1972 hit "American Pie", made the line " The Day the Music Died" popular. (Due to "The Big Bopper's" illness, Waylon Jennings, bass player for Buddy Holly, gave up his seat on the plane. Waylon's act of kindness saved his own life.)
1964.    Art Kassel, alto & tenor sax, clarinet, leader, died in Van Nuys, California, USA. (kidney failure). Age: 69
1966.    Herbert Yates, label founder: (American Rec Corp), died in Sherman Oaks, CA, USA. Age: 85
1971.   Lynn Anderson received a gold record for her hit single, "Rose Garden". (an accomplished equestrian, she was the California Horse Show Queen in 1966.)
1973.    Andy Razaf, Afro-Amererican songwriter, died in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Age: 67
1994.    John "Buddy" Bailey, vocals, died in Las Vegas, NV, USA. Age: 63. Member: 'The Clovers'
1994.    Louis George Alexander Stephenson, reed, bass, vocal, died
1995.    Turner Foddrell, guitar, died in Blacksburg, VA, USA. Age: 66
1996.    "Wild" Jimmy Spruill, guitar, died in Fayetteville, NC, USA. Age: 61
2006.    Romano Mussolini, piano, died in Rome, Italy.

         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
      1944    "I Couldn't Sleep A Wink Last Night", Sinatra, Frank
      1950    "Rag Mop", Hampton, Lionel
      1950    "It Isn't Fair", Kaye, Sammy
      1950    "Cry Of The Wild Goose, The", Laine, Frankie
      1958    "You Are My Destiny", Anka, Paul
      1958    "Short Shorts", Royal Teens
      1958    "I Beg Of You", Presley, Elvis
      1962    "Crying In The Rain", Everly Brothers
      1968    "Valley Of The Dolls, (Theme From)", Warwick, Dionne
      1973    "Cover Of "Rolling Stone", The", Dr. Hook
      1973    "Killing Me Softly With His Song", Flack, Roberta
      1973    "Dueling Banjos", Weissberg, Eric & Steve Mandell
      1979    "What You Won't Do For Love", Caldwell, Bobby
      1990    "Love Will Lead You Back", Dayne, Taylor
      1990    "Black Velvet", Myles, Alannah