BIRTHDAYS
1932     Johnny Adams, C&W Vocals, b. New Orleans, LA, USA. d. Sept. 14, 1998, Baton Rouge, LA, USA. né: Lathan John Adams.
1935     Ricky Allen, vocals, b. Nashville, TN, USA
1950     Arthur Baron, multi-instrumentalist (including trombone, mandolin, and didjeridoo)/recorder/leader, b. Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA
1961     Piotr Baron, soprano and tenor sax, clarinet, keyboards, b. Poland.
1936     John Bates, Trombone, tuba, vocal, b. Sydney, Australia
1926     Ace Brigode, bandleader, b. Illinois, d. Feb., 3, 1960
1926     Jack Brokensha, Vibes/drums, b. Adelaide, Australia
1949     George Brown, drums, b. Jersey City, NJ, USA. Member group: 'Kool & The Gang'
1952     John Brown, bass, b. Lubbock, TX, USA. Member: 'Garry & Moodswingers'
1947     Shirley Brown, vocals, b. West Memphis, AR, USA.
1951     Peter "Biff" Byford, vocals, b. Barnsley, Yorkshire, England, UK. Member group: 'Saxon'
1946     Andre "Dede" Ceccarelli, drums, b. Nice, France
1925     Dorothy Claire, vocals, b. LaPorte IN, USA. sang on the Paul Winchell (Ventriloquist) and Jerry Mahoney (the Dummy) Show on radio and on early TV in the USA.
1893     Libba Cotten, guitar, b. Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
1906     "Wild Bill" Davison, Cornet, b. Defiance, Ohio, USA. d. Nov. 14, 1989, Santa Barbara, CA, USA. né: William Edward Davison. U.S. Celebrated jazz cornet player. Recorded more than 800 songs in an active career.
1923     Lenny Dee, Organ/Accordion, b. Chicago, IL. né: Leonard G. DeStoppelaire. Lenny was a master of the Organ and Accordion. The youngest of eleven children, he grew up in Chicago, where his father ran a tavern near Logan Square. He began studying music in his early teens, taking accordion lessons and was working as a professional before being drafted in 1943 (WW2). He had saved his Army pay and bought a Hammond 'Model A' organ, one of the first commercially-available electronic organs in the U.S.A. Returning to music, this time as an organist, he had only moderate success until the early 1950s, when 'Country' singer Red Foley heard him and convinced his label, Decca, to hire Dee as a corn-fed alternative to the lively Ethel Smith. Dee's biggest hit, "Plantation Boogie," came early in his career, but he produced 3-4 albums a year for Decca, and its successor MCA, until the early 1970s. While his later albums are strongly influenced by the "Countrypolitan" Nashville sound, his early albums are marked by a charming goofiness, as shown by the litany of punning titles. A longtime resident of Florida, Dee opened his own night club, 'Lenny Dee's Den', in St. Petersburg, in the late 1960s, and appeared there at least several times a week into the early 1990s.
1961     Iris Dement, Gountry/folk singer-songwriter, b. (near) Paragould, AR, USA.
1898     R.Q. Dickerson, Trumpet, b. Paducah, KY, USA. d. Jan. 21, 1951 né: Roger Quincy Dickerson.
1935     "Chuck" Flores, Drums, b. Orange, CA, USA.
1940     Athol Guy, double bass/vocals, b. Melbourne, Australia. Member group: 'The Seekers', a very popular Folk music group comprised of Judith Durham (b. July 3, 1943), Athol Guy (b. Jan. 5, 1940), Bruce Woodley (b. July 25, 1942), and Keith Potger (b. March 21, 1941, Sri Lanka). In July 1968, the group officiallly announced their disbandment (just before making a TV special 'Farewell the Seekers'.)
1929     Wilbert Harrison, Piano/Vocals/guitar/drums/harmonica, b. Charlotte, NC, USA. d. Oct. 26, 1994, Spencer, NC, USA (Stroke). Regretfully, most 'oldies' fans consider him as a two-hit wonder. His "Kansas City" (1959) and a heartwarming "Let's Work Together" (a full decade later) were his only chart toppers.
1927     Lennie Hastings, Drums, b. London, England, d. July 14, 1978
1930     Richard Hayes, Vocal, b. Pasaaic, NJ, USA.
1940     Alan Richard Jackson, writer (Britain's New Musical Express (better known as the NME, -a UK pop music magazine), b. Nottingham, London, England, UK. CAUTION: Do not confuse with Alan Jackson, C&W singer-songwriter, b. Oct. 17, 1958, Newnan, Georgia, USA.
1922     Bob Keene, Clarinet/leader/producer/label owner, b. Manhattan Beach, CA, USA.
1944     Jo-Ann Kelly, Guitar, b. Streatham, South West London, England, UK. d. Oct. 21, 1990
1951     Sam King, guitar, b. Oakland, CA, USA.
1930     Oscar Klein, Trumpet/cornet/clarinet/guitar/harmonica/flute/tarogato, b. Graz, Austria..d. Dec. 12, 2006. NOTE: The Tarogato is a single reed, conically bored instrument superficially resembling the Clarinet, with a haunting, vibrant sound and a wide dynamic range.
1923     "Big Bill" (6'7") Lister, C&W singer-songwriter, b. Karnes County, TX, USA.
1940     George Malone, vocals, b. Newark, NJ, USA. Member: 'The Montones'
1960     David McLeod, Piano/Vocals, b. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
1957     Myra Melford, Piano/composer, b. Glencoe, IL, USA.
1923     Sam Phillips, label founder (Sun Records), b: Florence, AL, USA.
1919     Woolf Phillips, Trombone/Reeds/Composer/Leader, b. London, England, UK.
1971     Jim Pryor, keyboards, b. Chicago, IL, USA.
1931     Dizzy Reece, Trumpet, b. Kingston, Jamaica.
1918     Dal Richards, leader/alto sax.
1904     Mike Riley, Trombone/leader/vocals, b. Fall River, MA. USA. d. Sept. 2, 1984. Two gentlemen, Riley and Farley had a band ("Mike Riley, Eddie Farley & their Onyx Club Boys") playing at the Onyx Club, on New York's famed 52nd Street ("Swing Street"). One fine day (1935) they composed a daffy tune called "The Music Goes Round and Round." ("Mike" Riley/Ed. Farley/William "Red" Hodgson). It became a huge, overnight worldwide success -- the only success they ever had.
1950     Paul Steve Ripley, C&W singer-songwriter/guitar/engineer/producer, b. Idaho, USA. Member group: 'The Tractors', a group founded by Ripley.
1966     Kate Schellenbach, drums, b. New York, NY, USA. Member group: 'Luscious Jackson', a group comprised of Kate along with Jill Cunniff and Vivian Trimble. Kate was the only lesbian in 'Luscious Jackson' and has always maintained that it was a 'non-issue'.
1934     Cees Sees, Drums, b. Amsterdam, Netherlands, d. Dec. 9, 1985
1940     Gerald Sims, guitar/songwriter/arranger, b. Chicago, IL, USA.
1930     Maynard Solomon, label founder (Vanguard Records), b. New York, NY. USA.
1950     Chris Stein, guitar/songwriter, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA. Member group: 'Blondie', formed in New York City in August 1974 by singer Deborah Harry (b. July 1, 1945, Miami, FL, USA- formerly of 'Wind in the Willows'), and Chris Stein (out of the remnants of Harry's previous group, the Stilettos). During the next year, new members were added including Drummer Clement Burke (b. Nov. 24, 1955, New York, NY, USA -joined in May 1975), Bassist Gary Valentine (joined in August). In October, keyboard player James Destri (b. April 13, 1954) joined, completing the initial permanent lineup.
1944     Louis Stewart, Guitar, b. Waterford, Ireland
1934     Rufus Thibodeaux, b. Ridge, LA, USA.
1941     Grady Thomas, vocals, b. Newark, NJ, USA. Member: 'Funkadelic'
1929     Tabby Thomas, guitar, b. Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
1954     Verlon Thompson, C&W vocals/guitar/mandolin, b. Ardmore, OK, USA.
1964     Phil Thornalley, bass, b. London, England. Member group: 'The Cure', a long-lived group, some of whose original members were Boris Peter Bransby-Williams (b. April 24, 1957, Versailles, France), Matthieu Aiden Hartley (b. Feb. 4, 1960, Smallfield, England), Michael Stephen Dempsey (b. Nov. 29, 1958, Salisbury, Rhodesia), Clifford Leon Anderson (b. Jan. 30, 1951, London, England), Paul Stephen Thompson (b. Nov. 8, 1957, Wimbledon, England), and laurence Andrew Tolhurst (b. Feb. 3, 1959, Horley, England). Some recent members of 'The Cure' include Roger O'Donnell (b. Oct. 29, 1955), Simon Jonathan Gallup (b. June 1, 1960, Duxhurst, England), Perry Bamonte (b. Sept. 3, 1960, London, England), Jason Toop Cooper (b. Jan. 31, 1967, London, England), Simon Jonathan Gallup (b. June 1, 1960, Duxhurst, England), and Robert James Smith (b. April 21, 1959, Blackpool, England).
1969     Brian Hugh Warner, singer-songwriter, b. Canton, OH, USA. aka: Marilyn Manson. the name Marilyn Manson is a contraction of actress 'Marilyn' Monroe and murderer Charles 'Manson'. Marilyn Manson has been protested just about everywhere he has played, and it is safe to say that he is not well liked many people. Still, he's contributed songs to such movies as 'The Matrix Reloaded', 'Bowling for Columbine', 'From Hell' and 'Resident Evil'. He is also an accomplished painter and some of his water colors were sold to Nicholas Cage and Jack Osbourne.
1953     Paul Wertico, Drums, b. Chicago, IL, USA.
1964     Grant Young, drums, b. Iowa City, IA, USA. Member group: 'Soul Asylum', a group comprised of Karl Mueller, bass (b July 27, 1962, Minneapolis, MN, USA), Dave Pirner, guitar, piano, sax, vocals (b. April 16, 1964, Green Bay, WI, USA), Dan Murphy, guitar (b. July 12, 1962, Duluth, MN, USA), and drummer Grant Young. CAUTION: Do not confuse with Grant Young, the Canadian singer/songwriter, b. Lachine, Quebec, Canada (and presently based out of Toronto). a mostly self-taught musician playing the guitar, bass and drums, and who writes guitar-rock music with modern-day lyrics. At age 5, his family moved to Mississauga, Ontario, (20 minutes west of Toronto, Canada). Back in the 1990s, he attended the Musicians Institute, in Hollywood CA (a performing arts school), but has sinced claimed that the school didn't teach him much.
         Notable Events occuring this date include:
1940.    Major E.H. Armstrong demonstrated his invention of the "FM" radio before the U. S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). One year later, in 1941, the first commericial FM transmitter went into operation.
1959.   Austin Allen, Singer, Banjo, Guitar, Tenor Banjo, died. Age: 57 (Member of the Allen Brothers, a duo of "Austin" né: Austin Ambrose Allen, and Lee William Allen, Singer, Guitar, Kazoo, Piano, b. June 1, 1906 , both brothers born Sewanee, Tennessee, USA)
1964.    Cecil Scott, tenor sax, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 58
1979.    Charles Mingus, bass, died in Cuernavaca, Mexico
1985.    Jacinto "Papa Jac" Assunto, trombone, banjo, died (His two sons died before him. Fred Assunto died young in 1966; his brother Frank died in 1974)
1994.    Jess Stacy, piano, died in Los Angeles, California, USA. (congestive heart failure) né: Jesse Alexandria Stacy
1996.    Danny White, vocals, died in Capitol Heights, MD, USA. Age: 64
1997.    Burton Lane, composer, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 85. (né: Burton Levy)
1998.    Sonny Bono died in South Lake Tahoe, CA, USA. Age: 62.
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
       1951 If, - Perry Como
       1951 So Long, - Gordon Jenkins
       1957 Young Love, - Sonny James
       1959 Stagger Lee, - Lloyd Price
       1963 Loop De Loop, - Johnny Thunder
       1974 Jungle Boogie, - Kool & The Gang
       1985 Method Of Modern Love, - Hall & Oates
       1985 Misled, - Kool & The Gang
       1991 Where Does My Heart Beat Now, - Celine Dion
       1991 All The Man That I Need, - Whitney Houston
       1991 Around The Way Girl, - L.L. Cool J.
       1991 I Saw Red, - Warrant