BIRTHDAYS
1932   Rasheed Abdullah, Blues vocals, b. Natchez, MS, USA. né: Julius Cain
1912   Ray Barr, piano, b. USA. Member of the Vincent Lopez orchestra.
1939   William Bell, "Soul" singer/composer, b. Memphis, TN, USA. né: William Yarborough. A principal architect of the 'Stax'-'Volt' sound, Bell is best known for his classic "You Don't Miss Your Water," one of the quintessential soul records to emerge from the Memphis scene. In 1957, he recorded his first sides as a member of 'The Del Rios'. In 1961, he joined Stax Records as a staff writer, and made his solo debut with his own composition "You Don't Miss Your Water," a country-soul tune that became the label's first big hit. He then served two years in the U. S. Army. In 1967, his single "Everybody Loves a Winner" became a Top 20 hit, and in that same year, Albert King also scored with another classic Bell composition, the oft-covered "Born Under a Bad Sign." 1968 saw his next solo hit "A Tribute to a King," a farewell to the late Otis Redding, this was followed by an R&B Top Ten hit "I Forgot to Be Your Lover". In 1969 he relocated to Atlanta and set up his own 'Peachtree' label, but the hits dried up. In 1977, Bell's "Trying to Love Two," topped the R&B charts. In 1985, he founded still another label, 'Wilbe', and issued "Passion", which found its most receptive audiences in the UK. In 1987 Bell was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame
1948   Ruben Blades, Salsa vocals/actor, b. Panama City, FL, USA.
1931   Sunny Blair, harmonica, b. Jefferson City, AR, USA. né: Sullivan Jackson
1947   Tom Boggs, R&R drums. b. UK. Member group: Box Tops
1909   "Teddy" Buckner, Trumpet, b. Sherman, TX, USA. d. Sept 22, 1994. né: John Edward Buckner.
1951   Lorraine Chase, actress/vocals, Member: Cats
1927   Mindy Carson, vocals b. New York, NY, USA.
1932   John Chilton, Trumpet/flugelhorn/Writer, b. London, England. Chilton's "Who's Who of Jazz" contains many previously unknown details about pre-1920s Jazz musicians, and it is for this work that he is mainly known. Among his other books are biographies of such Jazzmen as Sidney Bechet, Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins, Louis Armstrong, and Bob Crosby. Early on in his career, John Chilton did work as a trumpeter with Dixieland, Swing and mainstream groups, but it is as an author that he is most significant.
1952   Stewart Copeland, Drums/singer/songwriter, b. Alexandria, Egypt. aka: Klark Kent. Member group: 'Curved Air'
1956   Ian Curtis, R&R vocals, b. England, U. K. Member: 'Joy Division' and 'Transmission'.
1941   Desmond Dekker, (Reggae) singer-songwriter, b. Kingston, Jamaica, d. May 24, 2006, Surrey, England, UK (heart attack). In 1969, he enjoyed his biggest success with the reggae classic "Israelites". This was four years before Bob Marley brought 'reggae' into the mainstream culture. It topped the charts in the U.K. and many other countries, and reached the top 10 Chart in the United States.
1898   Rafael Escudero, Bass/tuba, b. Manati, Puerto Rico, d. April 10, 1970, Puerto Rico. (aka: Ralph Escudero). Escudero is largely forgotten now, but deserves to be better remembered. It was his meticulous sense of time that kept the intricate arrangements of such swinging big bands as McKinney's Cotton Pickers and the Fletcher Henderson band from falling apart. By age 12, he was already playing the Double Bass. Subsequently, under the auspices of the New Amsterdam Musical Association, he moved to New York city, where, during 1920-'21, his first recordings were backing vocalists Ethel Waters and Lucille Hegamin. While working a gig with the Wilbur Sweatman Orchestra (at the Howard Theatre in Washington, D. C.), bandleader Fletcher Henderson, heard him and recruited him on the spot. He stayed with Henderson through 1926. In late 1926, he started working with 'McKinney's Cotton Pickers', a band then being drilled to perfection by the great Don Redman, and he remained with the Cotton Pickers for 5 years, appearing on many of their recordings. Subsequently, Escudero worked with Jazz drummer Kaiser Marshall, playing the tuba in his band the Bostonians, and still later toured with W.C. Handy's blues combo. Into the late 1930s, he alternately lived in both New York and Los Angeles but returned to Puerto Rico where he remained active as a jazzman through the 1960s.
1904   Eddie Farley, Trumpet/Vocal, b. Newark, NJ. USA
1949   Alan "Fitz" Fitzgerald, R&R keyboardist/vocals
1964   Polly Hancock, guitar/vocals, b. UK. Member: 'Popinjays'
1940   Tony Jackson, (British) rock bassist/vocals, b. Dingle, Liverpool, England, UK. Member: 'The Searchers'.
1941   Patricia Jennings, (gospel) piano/organ, b. Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
1946   Arthniece "Gas Man" Jones, harmonica, b. Glendora, MS, USA.
1935   James "Middle Water" Jones, guitar/harmonica, b. Augusta, AR, USA.
1971   Ed Kowalczyk, Rock vocals/guitar. Member: 'Live'
1939   Denise LaSalle, singer-songwriter, b. Belzoni, MS, USA.
1949   Ray Major, Rock guitarist. Member group: 'Mott The Hoople'
1933   Sollie McElroy, R&;B vocals, b. Gulfport, MS, USA. Member: 'The Flamingos', and 'The Moroccos'
1936   Buddy Merrill, guitarist, b. Torrey, UT, USA. Member 'Lawrence Welk Orch.'
1925   Nat Pierce, Piano, leader, organ, celeste, arranger, b. Somerville, MA, USA. d. June 10, 1992, Los Angeles, CA, USA. né: Nathaniel Pierce. While Pierce worked as arranger for several well-known big bands and solo artists, he is perhaps best recalled as co-leader of Los Angeles' "Frank Capp-Nat Pierce Juggernaut". Not only was the "Juggernaut's" style very similar to post-1950s Count Basie orchestra, but Nat's own piano style was very similar to Basie's own spare playing style. Pierce even subbed for Basie off and on from the late 1950s until Basie's death in 1984.
1957   Bobby Previte, Drums, b. Niagara Falls, NY, USA.
1911   Ginger Rogers, Actress/vocals/dancer. Academy Award Winner. This writer still remembers her singing "Music Makes Me", in the film "Flying Down To Rio", the first time she was teamed with Fred Astaire. (Gene Raymond and Delores Del Rio were the film's stars.)
1967   Anton Schwartz, tenor sax
1891   Blossom Sealey, vocals. One of the great vaudevillians.
1940   Jeannie Seely, vocals, b. Titusville, PA, USA.
1923   Bola Sete, Guitar, b. Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, d. 1987.
1925   Art Sheridan, owner Chance/Sabre record labels, b. Chicago, IL, USA.
1916   "Pops" Taylor, producer (for Blues singer Koko Taylor), b. Memphis, TN, USA.
1925   Cal Tjader, vibraphone/drums/bongos/piano, b. St. Louis, MO, USA. d. May 5, 1982, Manila, Phillipines. né: Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. After completing his music and education studies at San Francisco State College, Tjader found work playing the durms with fellow Bay Area resident Dave Brubeck in the Brubeck Trio from 1949 to 1951. In 1951, he joined Alvino Rey's orchestra, and also led his own small group. In 1953, he joined George Shearing's quintet as a vibraphonist and percussionist. While working with Shearing, Tjader began a love affair with Latin music started by the 1950's Mambo dance craze, and supported by his contact with Willie Bobo, Mongo Santamaria, Armando Peraza, and Shearing's bassist Al McKibbon. In 1954, he left Shearing and formed his own band that, while playing mainstream Jazz, also emphasized Latin rhythms. Bobo and Santamaria eventually joined Tjader's band as sidemen and Vince Guaraldi served for awhile as pianist and contributor to the bandbook ("Ginza," "Thinking Of You, MJQ"). From the mid-`50s through the early-`60s, Tjader recorded a series of mostly Latin Jazz albums for the 'Fantasy' label. In 1961, he switched to the 'Verve' label where he worked with such stars as Kenny Burrell, Lalo Schifrin, Anita O'Day,and Donald Byrd. In the 1970s, Tjader returned to 'Fantasy'. In 1979, he signed with the new 'Concord Picante' label, remaining there until his demise in 1982.
1934   Rene Utreger, Piano, b. Paris, France.
1965   Andrea Vicari, Piano, b. Miami, FL, USA.
1955   Annie Whitehead, Trombone/Vocal, b. Oldham, England.
1967   Todd Williams, saxophone/clarinet
CAUTION: Do not confuse with:
-- Todd Williams, the Country singer and performer in Sydney, Australia.
-- Todd Williams, the film director, with many music films to his credit
-- Gospel artist Todd Williams, singer of contemporary Christian music
1949   Bob Wilson, C&W piano. Member: "Earl Scruggs Revue"
         Notable Events on this date include:
1957.   Serge Chaloff, bsax, died in Boston, MA, USA. Age: 33 One of the great baritone-saxophonists and the first major soloist on that instrument to emerge since Harry Carney (he preceded Gerry Mulligan), Serge Chaloff was a drug addict during his prime years, resulting in broken friendships and lost opportunities. After playing with the orchestras of Boyd Raeburn (1944-45), Georgie Auld (1945-46) and Jimmy Dorsey (1946-47), he found fame as one of the "Four Brothers" with Woody Herman's Second Herd (1947-49). After a stint with Count Basie's octet (1950), Chaloff returned to his native Boston where he eventually worked on kicking his dangerous habit. Ironically when he finally got off drugs, Chaloff contracted spinal paralysis and he played his final recording session (a reunion of the Four Brothers in 1957) seated in a wheelchair. Mosaic's 1993 limited-edition four-CD Serge Chaloff box set has all of his sessions as a leader and his exciting solos still put him near the top of his field.
1963.   Jimmy Ryan, owner: Jimmy Ryan's, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 52. (A favorite haunt of this writer both when Jimmy had his joint on 52nd Street, and later when he had to move to 54th street between 6th and 7th avenues. I can still see Roy Eldridge, perched on that shelf behind the (54th St) bar wailing away on his trumpet.)
1981.   Harry Chapin died in Jericho, NY, USA. Age: 38. (auto accident)
1984.   Billy Williams, vocalist on Sid Ceasar's 'Your Show of Shows', died at the age of 73.
1985.   Leonard Allen, owner: United/States Record labels, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 85
1985.   Orchestra leader Wayne King, "The Waltz King", died at the age of 84
1986.   Columbia Records announced that the contract of Country music star Johnny Cash would not be renewed. Cash had been with the label for 28 years. Cash's 1969 recording of "A Boy Named Sue" was his biggest hit for the Columbia label.
2006.   Malachi Thompson, trumpet, leader, composer, died in Chicago, IL, USA (Cancer). Age: 56 (b. Aug 21, 1949, Princeton, Kentucky, USA )
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1914   "Aba Daba Honeymoon", - Arthur Collins and Byron Harlan voc.
1915   "Down In Bom Bombay", - Arthur Collins and Byron Harlan voc.
1916   "Since Maggie Dooley Learned The Hooley Hooley", - Margaret Farrell voc.
1916   "Sweet Babette, She Always Did The Minuet", - Margaret Farrell voc.
1916   "Ragtime Traveler", - Conway's Band with the Lucia Sextet.
1926   "Tiger Rag", - Ted Lewis Orch.
1926   "Blues My Naughty Sweety Gives To Me", - Ted Lewis Orch.
1934   "Beach Boy", - Paul Whiteman Orch.
1934   "For All We Know", - Isham Jones Orch.
1934   "New Moon Over My Shoulder", - Isham Jones Orch.
1934   "Blue Moon", - Isham Jones Orch.
1934   "Georgia Jubilee", - Isham Jones Orch.
1937   "So Rare", - Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians Orch.
1937   "That Old Feeling", - Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians Orch.
1938   "My Reverie", - Larry Clinton Orch.
1938   "Change Partners", - Larry Clinton Orch.
1940   "'Deed I Do", - Will Bradley Orch.
1948   "You Were Only Fooling", - Blue Barron Orch.
1955   "Ain't That A Shame", - Fats Domino
1966   "Mothers Little Helper", - The Rolling Stones
1977   "Smoke From A Distant Fire", - Sanford/Townsend Band
1983   "I'll Tumble 4 Ya", - Culture Club
1988   "Fast Car", - Tracy Chapman
1988   "Monkey", - George Michael
1988   "Simply Irresistible", - Robert Palmer