BIRTHDAYS
1924     Joe Albany, Piano, b. Atlantic City, NJ, USA. d. Jan. 12, 1988, New York, NY, USA.
1904     Will Batts, (Blues and Jug Band style) violin, b. Michigan, MS, USA, d. April 16, 1954. Recorded for the Banner, Melotone, and Vocalion labels. The lives of Will Batts, Dan Sane (b. Michigan, MI, USA. d. Feb. 18, 1956, Memphis, TN, USA, -see below), Jack Kelly (b. ca. 1905, Mississippi, USA, d. ca. 1960, Memphis, TN, USA), and Frank Stokes (b. Jan. 1, 1888, Whitehaven (near Memphis), TN, USA, d. Sept. 12, 1955, Memphis, TN, USA -Stroke) are intertwined. Fiddler Will Batts was the primary instrumentalist in (singer-guitarist) Jack Kelly's 'South Memphis Jug Band'.
1949     John Belushi, actor/(vocalist?), b. Chicago, IL, USA. d. March 15, 1982 (Heroin Overdose) John was basically an actor/comedian. He is included here for his role in the 1982 film 'The Blues Brothers'. In the film, he was Jake Blues, a vocalist in the Blues Brothers, -a Rock band. The film has spawned a number of 'tribute' bands.
1970     Pat 'Sleepy' Brown, R&B vocals, b. Atlanta, GA, USA. Member group: 'Society of Soul', a hip-hop group. "Sleepy" is the son of Jimmy Brown, the multi-instrumentalist leader of Atlanta's popular 1970s jazz/funk band, 'Brick'.
1945     Curtis Burch, dobro/guitar/vocals, b. Montgomery, AL, USA. Member: "New Grass Revival"
1933     Zeke Carey, vocals, b. Bluefield, W. VA, USA. Member: The Flamingos
1934     Ann Cole, (soul) vocals, b. Newark, NJ, USA. née: Cynthia Coleman
1944     Bob Degen, Piano, b. Scranton, PA, USA. In the 1960's, he lived in Germany, playing with expatriates Art Farmer & Leo Wright. Returning to the USA, he fronted a trio with Paul Motian & Gary Peacock (unrecorded) and also played in Buddy DeFranco's Glenn Miller Band, then returned to Germany and joined Albert Mangelsdorf's group. In 1997, he was in Brooklyn, NY where, in 1998, recorded a CD album for Enja called 'Catability',
1941     Neil Diamond, singer-songwriter, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA
1969     Duane Eubanks, trumpet, b. Philadelphia, PA, USA. Upon graduating from the University of Maryland, Duane studied Jazz at Temple University, performing in master classes with Dr. Billy Taylor and Wynton Marsalis.
1956     Mitchel Forman, Jazz piano, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA. Soon after graduating from Manhattan School of Music, Forman was touring and recording with Gerry Mulligan, playing in both his big band and quartet. He next worked with Stan Getz. In 1980, his solo career (and first album "Live at Newport"), began with a piano performance, that was recorded at the 'Newport Jazz Festival'. Over the next years, Forman worked on the road with Phil Woods, Carla Bley, Mel Torme, and Astrud Gilberto. He also recorded two solo piano albums for Soul Note and toured in Europe regularly. In the early 1980's, Mitchel was a busy New York city sessions man, and became a member of guitarist John MacLaughlin's 'Mahavishnu', touring and recording with that group for a year and a half. He next led his own band and recorded "Train of Thought" for Windham Hill. In 2000, he and guitarist Chuck Loeb co-led their new band 'Metro'. Forman has worked with such luminaries as Richard Elliot, guitarist John Scofield ("Blue Matter"), Rick Braun, Mike Stern ("Upside Downside") Janis Siegal, Dave Samuels, Jeff Golub, Diane Schuur, Gary Burton (Reunion GRP), Pat Metheny, Wayne Shorter, Simon Phillips, Freddie Hubbard, Bill Evans, and Ricki Lee Jones.
1920     Jimmy Forrest, Tenor Saxophone, b. St. Louis, MO, USA. d. August 26, 1980, Grand Rapids, MI, USA. né: James Robert Forrest, Jr.
1923     'Guitar Shorty', guitar, b. Belhaven, NC, USA, d. May 26, 1976, USA. né: John Henry Fortescue. CAUTION: Do Not Confuse with another 'Guitar Shorty' whose real name is David William Kearney (b. Sept. 8, 1939, Houston, TX, USA. -raised in Kissimee, FL, USA), and who is currently (2006) still very active. (Exercise caution because many websites confuse BOTH their Year of birth, and their place of birth.)
1938     Julius Hemphill, Tenor-alto-soprano sax, flute, composer, arranger, b. Fort Worth, TX, USA. d. April 2, 1995
1950     Becky Hobbs, (C&W/Honky-Tonk) pianist/singer-songwriter, b. Bartlesville, OK, USA. Becky's father was a violinist.
1955     Jools Holland, piano/leader, b. London, England. né: Julian Miles Holland. - 'Squeeze', and 'Jools Holland Big Band'
1911     Les Houck, vocalist, b. Cisna Park, IL, USA, d. Sept. 4, 1992, Roseburg, OR, USA. né: Lester Franklin Houck. Les is perhaps best remembered for his days as a member of the Biltmore Trio vocal group (the other two were Don Dorsey and Ned Hewitt). Named for one of the venues where they appeared, Los Angeles' Biltmore Hotel, they sang with the Earl Burtnett Band (with whom they also recorded) and with the Ted Fio Rito orchestra too. Les married another entertainer (vocals and banjo), Dottie, whom he met when they were both appearing at Denver's Elitch's Gardens. (Later, Dottie would take a position at Paramount Pictures where she was a head seamstress working under famed costume designer Edith Head.) When the Big Band era closed, the couple settled in Burbank, CA, USA, where Les found work with the Prudential Insurance Company. He remained with Prudential until his retirement 30 years later, after which be briefly worked with another insurance firm (Security Life) and even sold cars for awhile. Very sadly, the couple divorced, although Dottie remained in touch with Les and also with Don Dorsey and his wife. Les did re-marry and continued to play the organ and write music in his spare time. (The Big Bands Database Plus thanks Ms. Pam Houch Shriver for this information on her father, Les Houck.)
1947     Joe Isaacs Bluegrass, member: The Isaacs. Joe Issacs (and Ralph Stanley) have been nominated (1999) for a Grammy in the 'Gospel Album of the Year' category. Their Album is titled A Gospel Gatherning.
1954     Vance Kelly, guitar, b. Chicago, IL, USA.
1936     Doug Kershaw, Fiddle, b. Tiel Ridge, Cameron Parrish, LA, USA. (An Island just off the coast of LA., on the Gulf of Mexico). né: Douglas James Kershaw. This venerable fiddle player is known as the "Ragin' Cajun." 1960 - First TV Appearacnce on the Johnny Cash Show. His hit songs incl. "Diggy Diggy Lo", "Cajun Joe", and "Rita Put Your Black Shoes On". Then 1961 autobiography tune called "Louisiana Man" was a huge hit. In 1969, "Louisiana Man" ecorded over 800 times, and was the first song broadcast back to Earth from the Moon by the crew of the Apollo 12 Mission.
1902     James Kok, leader/Violin/sax/clarinet/piano, b. Czernowitz, Bukovina. d: Oct. 18, 1976, Berlin, Germany. né: James Arthur Kok.
1933     Lennie McBrowne, Drums, b. New York, NY, USA.
1950     Johnny B. Moore, Guitar/Songwriter, b. Clarksdale, MS, USA. (A "Chicago Blues" style musician.)
1948     Patrick Moraz, Rock piano, b. Morges, Switzerland. Member group: 'Moody Blues' Began classically training on the piano at the age of three. Since then, his talent has spanned progressive, Jazz and Pop genres.
1928     Peter Sidney ("Mick") Mulligan, trumpeter, bandleader and grocer: b. Harrow, Middlesex, England, UK, d. Dec. 20, 2006, Chichester, West Sussex, England, UK. His greatest fame came in the 1950s, during Britain's Trad-Jazz revival. His behaviour was often bizarre and outrageous, but Mulligan's antics were always accompanied by a measure of wit and even a kind of louche elegance. He acquired a passion for jazz while attending the Old Merchant Taylors' School, and began playing the trumpet. In 1948, after National Service in the Rifle Brigade, he formed his first band, 'Mick Mulligan's Magnolia Jazz Band', a name that he would keep throughout constant changes of personnel and one complete collapse. The band was in the classic jazz revival mould with tuba and, Yerba Buena-like, two banjos, playing a repertoire based around the 1920s King Oliver/ Louis Armstrong output. After a shaky start, in various various depressing suburban pubs, the band, with George Melly as vocalist, found some modest success, thanks to an upsurge of interest in revivalist jazz. (Alan George Heywood 'George' Melly, b. August 17, 1926 in Liverpool, England, UK, a British jazz and blues singer and writer. From 1965-1973 he was a film and television critic for The Observer. He also lectures on art history, with an emphasis on Surrealism.) The band recorded for a series of small record labels and toured non-stop for several years. The round of Corn Exchanges, Drill Halls and Palais de Danse was enlivened by epic drinking bouts, and sexual encounters (including the most evanescent kind, known as "knee tremblers"). By the early 1950s, the band's style and repertoire had moved toward a looser, Condon-type "Dixieland" with guitar and string bass. As mentioned, the Magnolia band had constant changes of personnel throughout it existence. One incarnation had Leader—Cornet: Mick Mulligan; Trombone: Dave Keir. Clarinet: James Livesey. Baritone Sax: Paul Simpson. Piano: Ian Pearce. Guitar: Jimmy Curry. Bass: Pat Malloy. Drums: Stan Bellwood. Vocals: George Melly, Jo Lennard, Michael Lawrence. The staff arrangers were: Jimmy Curry, Mick Mulligan. In 1953, following a bus crash, Mulligan decided to disband, but 18 months later launched a new Magnolia band. Melly remained with him for another seven years, despite attractive offers elsewhere. Once, when asked to account for his loyalty, Melly could say only: "The reason is I love him." At one time, Mulligan's band had the distinction of backing Louis Armstrong (Mick's idol since adolescence) during a visit to Britain, but the great trumpeter was unimpressed with the way in which Mulligan kept his horn. Once, when Armstrong borrowed it for the benefit of photographers. He handed it back gingerly, saying: "What you got in here, man? Newts and saveloys?" In 1962, Mulligan disbanded, retired to Sussex, and became a grocer and wine merchant. Until the end of the 1970s he continued to play occasionally in other people's bands, including the 'Fourteen Foot Band', the 'Stane Street Stompers' and 'Brian Green's Jazz Band', after which he ceased playing altogether. Besides his love of Traditional Jazz, another of his passions was horse racing, and he owned or part-owned several horses. Mick Mulligan was married twice. His first wife predeceased him.
1967     John Ro Myung, bass guitar/violin, b.Chicago, IL, USA. Member group: 'Dream Theater'. As a child, John studied the Violin. At age 15, he began to play the bass guitar.
1941     Aaron Neville, R&B Vocals.b. New Orleans, LA, USA. né: Aaron Joseph Neville. Member: 'The Neville Brothers'- New Orleans first family of rock n'funk. His trademark tremolo falsetto voice has been heard on the 1966 ballad, "Tell It Like It Is," and on his Grammy-winning hit duets with Linda Ronstadt and Trisha Yearwood, as well as his own solo releases.
1917     Avery Parrish, Piano, b. Birmingham, Al, USA, d. Dec. 10, 1959, New York, NY. Besides his great piano playing, he will always be recalled as the composer of "After Hours".
1927     Bobby Pratt, Trumpet/trombone/piano/vocals, b. Scotland, UK. d. June 5, 1968
1967     Marcus Printup, Trumpet/flugelhorn, b. Conyers, Georgia, USA
1963     Randy Keech Rainwater, drums, b. Plano, TX, USA. Member group: 'Lonestar', a C&W band that was formed in Tennessee in 1992, although all the members are indeed from Texas. They are Keech (on drums), Richie Vance McDonald (lead vocals, guitar, b. Feb 6, 1962 Lubbock, TX, USA), John Rich (lead vocals, bass), Michael Wayne Britt (lead guitar, background vocals, b. June 15, 1966, Fort Worth, TX, USA), and Kenneth Dean Sams (keyboard, background vocals, b.August 3, 1966, Garland, TX, USA).
1904     Dan Sane, guitar/vocals, b. Michigan, MI, USA. d. Feb. 18, 1956, Memphis, TN, USA. The lives of Bluesmen Dan Sane, Will Batts (b. Jan. 24, 1904, Memphis, TN, USA - see above entry), Jack Kelly (b. ca. 1905, Mississippi, USA, d. ca. 1960, Memphis, TN, USA), and Frank Stokes (b. Jan. 1, 1888, Whitehaven (near Memphis), TN, USA, d. Sept. 12, 1955, Memphis, TN, USA (Stroke) are intertwined. (Sane and Batts have the same birthdate.) Dan Sane may be best known for his long collaboration with guitarist Frank Stokes. During the 1920s, Sane relocated to Memphis where he played in the string band led by violinist Will Batts, and where he first began playing with Frank Stokes. A little later, the two guitarists again worked together, this time in Jack Kelly's Memphis Jug Band. In 1927, the duo made their own first recordings for the Paramount label. In 1928, they moved to Victor but returned to Paramount the following year. Their 1929 Paramount sides were their last as a team, although Sane continued performing with Frank Stokes until 1952 when Stokes retired.
1937     Bobby Scott, Piano/vocals, b. New York (Bronx), NY, USA. d. Nov. 5, 1990, Mt. Pleasant, NY, USA (Lung cancer, Age: 53). His recording of "Nature Boy" was (is) excellent. Although noted mainly for his piano and vocals, Bobby was a multi-instrumentalist playing vibraphone, accordion, cello, bass, and clarinet. In 1945, Bobby first studied at Dorothea Anderson Follette's School of Music, and in 1949 studied composition with Claude Debussy's former pupil, Edward Moritz. Even before his teen years, he had already turned to Jazz, and by age 15 was playing with Louis Prima. In the mid-1950s, Scott worked with Gene Krupa (and recorded with Krupa) and Tony Scott (no relation). Over his career he also worked with Quincy Jones, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Paul Simon. By 1954, he was recording under his own name for various labels including Savoy, Bethlehem, Atlantic and ABC. In 1956, he scored a U.S. Top 20 hit with his version of "Chain Gang", (written by Sol Quasha and Hank Yakus -not the Sam Cooke song). In 1958, he appeared at New York's 'Great South Bay Jazz Festival', and in 1959, at the 'New Haven Festival of Arts'. He also resumed his studies with Moritz. Among Scott's compositions are 1960's "A Taste Of Honey", the theme song for Shelagh Delaney's play which became a hit for pianist Martin Denny. (It was also a hit for Tony Bennett when Ric Marlow added a lyric, and it was included on the Beatles' first UK album. In 1962, the song won a Grammy, and three more in 1965 when Herb Alpert's release reached the US Top 10.) Other Scott's compositions include the 1969 song "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (lyrics by Bob Russell). The tunes first success came in 1969 for 'The Hollies", again in 1970 for Neil Diamond. (In 1988, it was featured in a UK 'Miller Lite Beer' television commercial.) The 1969 movie "Slaves", featured singer Dionne Warwick singing his "Slaves (Don't You Know My Name?)". The 1970 film "Joe" featured Scott's tune "Where Are You Going?" (co-composer: Danny Meehan - Joe Butler sang it). Scott composed incidental music for some plays, radio advertisements, and art exhibitions. His writing for the guitar included "Solitude Book" and "The Book Of Hours", the latter recorded with Brazilian guitarist Carlos Barbosa-Lima.
1936     Jack Scott, "Rockabilly" Vocals, B: Windsor, Ontario, Canada. né: Jack Scafone, Jr.
1925     Jimmy Scott, Conga drums, b. Nigeria. d. 1986 (pneumonia). né: Jimmy Anonmuogharan Scott Emuakor. In the 1950s, Jimmy came to England and found work in various local London Jazz venues. For a while he played with Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames. In 1965, Jimmy was a backing musician for Motown singer Stevie Wonder's tour of Britain. It is interesting to note that in the 1960s, "Beatle" Paul McCartney got to know Scott during his visits to London clubs. McCartney "borrowed" Scott's catch phrase "ob-la-di ob-la-da" (a Yoruba tribal phrase meaning "life goes on") for the title line in one of the White Album's more famous cuts, "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da." In 1984, McCartney told Playboy Magazine "He got annoyed when I did a song of it because he wanted a "cut". I said 'Come on, Jimmy. It's just an expression. If you'd written the song, you could have had the "cut"." Author Steve Turner, in his book A Hard Day's Write: The Story Behind Every Beatles Song, has reported that around the end of the 1960s, Scott was imprisoned for failing to pay alimony. McCartney paid for his legal bill, in exchange for Scott dropping contentions that he was owed something for the title phrase. In the 1970s, Scott held workshops on drumming and on African music at the Pyramid Arts project in East London. In 1983, he became a member of the ska-rock band 'Bad Manners'. He was still with that group when he died in 1986. It was reported that Scott caught pneumonia during an American tour, and died the day after a 'strip-search' upon his re-entry to Britain, where he was left naked for two hours.
CAUTION: Do Not Confuse with vocalist Jimmy Scott, b. July 17, 1925.
1939     Ray Stevens, Composer/Comedy vocals/multi-instrument, b: Clarksdale, GA, USA. né: Harold Ray Ragsdale
1907     Isadore "Tuts" Washington, Pianist, b: New Orleans, LA, USA, d. August 5, 1984, New Orleans, LA, USA (while on stage at the New Orleans World's Fair). ("Tuts" was also widely known as "Papa Yellow"). 'Tuts' was 76 years old when his first solo recording was released. He began playing piano at age ten and worked with a number of famed New Orleans bandsmen -- Kid Rena, Papa Celestin, Kid Punch Miller -- over the course of his long career. As a child, he followed Brass Bands on the streets of New Orleans, memorizing the tunes and working out his own versions at home. Self-taught at first but at age 18 started taking lessons. His teacher introduced him to "Red" Caillou, whose hands he described as "like lightning." Along with the standard tunes, Tuts also had a repertoire of bawdy blues songs He is often credited as a major influence on Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, James Booker, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint.
1936     Bobby Wellins, Tenor Sax, b. Glasgow, Scotland
1953     Matthew Wilder, singer-songwriter, b. New York, NY, USA. Wilder is perhhaps best known for writing and performing the early 1980s Pop hit "Break My Stride." He is one of that small group of artists who have been able to escape from the stigma of having only one smash single and still find more success in the music industry.
1909     "Tiny" Winters, Bass, b. London, England, d. Feb. 7, 1996. né: Frederick Gittens.
1954     Glenn Worf, C&W bassist, b. Dayton, OH, USA.
1947     Warren Zevon, Singer-Songwriter, b. Chicago, IL, USA. d.Sept. 7, 2003, West Hollywood, CA, USA (lung cancer).

         Notable Events occuring this date include:
1936.    Benny Goodman and his orchestra recorded "Stompin' at the Savoy," in a session at the Congress Hotel in Chicago. It is now a "standard" that has been recorded by hundreds of various artists.
1936.    John Mills, Jr., vocals (Mills Bros.), died
1963.    Otto Harbach, lyricist, died in New York, NY, USA. né: Otto Abels Hauerbach.
1970.    James "Shep" Sheppard, vocals, died in New York (Long Island), NY, USA. Age: 34
1976.    Gosta Theselius, piano, died in Stockholm, Sweden
1986.    George McCrae, vocals/producer, died in FL, USA. Age: 41
1989.    Les Spann, guitar. Age: 57
1991.    Shot Jackson, C&W Steel Guitarist, died. Member Hall of Fame. Age: 70
1992.    James "Thunderbird" Davis, guitar, died in St. Paul, MN, USA. Age: 53
1992.    Ken Darby, songwriter, died. Perhaps his best known tune is "Love Me Tender"
1998.    Justin Tubb, C&W vocals/guitar, died (Stroke). Age: 62
1998.    Walter Bishop, Jr., piano, died in New York, NY, USA.

         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
       1936    "Goody, Goody", - Benny Goodman Orch.
       1941    You Walk By, - Eddy Duchin Orch.
       1941    Perfidia (Tonight), - Xavier Cugat Orch.
       1946    I'm Always Chasing Rainbows, - Perry Como
       1953    Doggie In The Window, The, - Patti Page
       1953    Side By Side, - Kay Starr
       1970    Psychedelic Shack, - Temptations
       1981    Crying, - Don McLean
       1981    Best Of Times, The, - Styx
       1987    You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party, - Beastie Boys
       1987    Big Time, - Peter Gabriel
       1987    Somewhere Out There, - Linda Ronstadt