BIRTHDAYS
1931     Thomas "Papa Dee" Allen, keyboards, d. August 30, 1988. Member: War
1939     Brian Auger, Organ/keyboards/vocals, b. London, England. Played with the 'Mahavishnu Players'.
1927     Don Bagley, Bass/arranger, b. Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
1924     Earl Beal, Baritone vocals. Member group: The Silhouettes
1950     Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Records, (and Virgin Atlantic Airways, and Virgin trains, etc.)
1949     Wally Bryson, Rock&Roll Guitar. Member group: Raspberries
1910     Lou Busch, pianist/A&R man/arranger/leader, b: Louisville, KY, USA, d: Sept. 19, 1979, Camarillo, CA, USA, Auto Accident. né: Louis Ferdinand Busch. Best recalled for his "honky tonk" style piano recordings. Led his own band at just age 12, left home at age 16, and briefly played with the Clyde McCoy, Henry Busse and George Olsen bands. Then entered the famed Cincinati Conservatory of Music. He next joined the Hal Kemp band, - marrying the band's vocalist- Janet Blair. He and fellow bandsman Hal Mooney were doing most of the arrangements for Kemp. In 1940, when Kemp died in an auto crash, Mooney and Busch (and his wife Janet) moved to Hollywood and found work as studio musicians, -while Janet found work as a film starlet. Busch served for 3 years in the U.S. Army during WWII. In 1945, he found work with the then new Capitol label as an A&R man. (That's when he invented his pseudonym of Joe "Fingers" Carr for his work on a Jo Stafford/Paul Weston hit "Ragtime Cowboy Joe".) Busch married another very popular Capitol artist, singer Margaret Whiting, daughter of famed composer Richard Whiting, but the marriage only lasted a couple of years. In the late 1950s, Busch became an A&R man for the Warner Brothers. His best recalled work for the Warners was the Allan Sherman hit single "Hello Muddah Hello Faddah", plus other Sherman comedy albums.
1910     Joe "Fingers" Carr, Please see entry for Lou Busch above. né: Louis Ferdinand Busch
1955     Terry Chambers, drums. b. UK. Member group: 'XTC'. Their 1982 single "Senses Working Over Time" hit No.10 in the UK.
1917     Joe Comfort, Bass, b. Alcorn, MS, USA. d. 1988. Worked with both Nat "King" Cole and Lionel Hampton, among others. (some sources say b. 1919,)
1900     Wilton Crawley, Clarinet, b. Smithfield, VA, USA. d. ca. 1948.
1970     Patrick Dancy, Pop vocals, Member group: Guys Next Door
1968     Alex Désert, TV Actor/Rock & Roll Bassist/composer, b. USA. Best recalled as singer/songwriter for the ska band 'Hepcat'.
1939     Dion, vocals/composer/guitar. né: Dion DiMucci. b. New York (Bronx), NY. USA. Member: 'Dion and the Belmonts' vocal group.
1978     Tony Fagenson, rock guitar. Member group: Eve 6.
1941     Frank Farian, Singer/Songwriter/. b. Germany. Also writer for group: Milli Vanilli, and also Music Producer of 'Boney M'.
1928     Carl Fontana, Trombone, b. Monroe, LA, USA. d. Oct. 9, 2003, Las Vegas, NV, USA. Age: 75. Carl started his musical career playing in a dance band headed by his father, Charles "Collie" Fontana. Carl had two brothers, Michael and George "Bootsie" Fontana, who was a dentist and musician too. After, Carl's demise, The two brothers were interviewed by a reporter for the local Monroe, LA, newspaper. Michael told the reporter that "My dad put a horn in Carl's hand when he was about six years old." "Bootsie Fontana told the reporter "That's about all he ever wanted to do, -play music." Upon Carl's graduation from a local High School (Neville High), he attended Louisiana State University. It was while he was pursuing a master's degree in Music at LSU that famed bandleader Woody Herman invited him to join his 'Third Herd' orchestra. Carl subsequently toured with Herman, Stan Kenton, and Kai Winding for several years. He also performed on such television programs as the "Ed Sullivan Show," "The Tonight Show," and even appeared at New York's famed Carnegie Hall. Carl created a Trombone technique called "doodle tonguing" which allowed trombonists to play extremely fast and clean. Fontana himself called his technique "a self-defense against saxophone players." In 1957, he settled permanently settled in Las Vegas, NV, where he played with men such as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, and singer Frank Sinatra. He also gave workshops at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His brother Michael told reporters "Though slowed by Alzheimer's disease, Fontana continued to play almost until his death".
1962     John Robert Goleman, C&W bassist, b. Shreveport, LA, USA. Member: "Cactus Brothers", a quartet of "Walk The West" players comprised of Goleman, vocalist/guitarist Paul Kirby, multi-instrumentalist "Tramp", and Will Golemon (banjo/guitar) playing a traditional country sound, and only gigging around Nashville. Soon, the popularity of the Cactus Brothers surpassed that of Walk the West, and Walk the West subsequently transformed itself into the Cactus Brothers.
1948     Phil Harris, R&R guitar. b. UK. Member: 'Ace', The 1974 single "How Long" hit No.20 on UK charts. CAUTION: Do not confuse with 1930s-40s bandleader Phil Harris.
1929     Screamin' Jay (Jalacy) Hawkins, R&B vocals/pianist. Rolling Stone magazine voted his "I Put a Spell on You" as one of 50 greatest songs of the 1950s
1914     Bob Helm, clarinet/soprano sax, b. Fairmead, CA, USA. d. Sept. 1, 2002.
1962     John Hermann, rock guitar. Member group: Widespread Panic.
1909     Harriet Hilliard, vocals/actress. d. Oct. 2, 1994. née: Peggy Lou Snyder. As vocalist with Ozzie Nelson's band, she used the name Harriet Hilliard. Later, she became Mrs. Ozzie Nelson. Later, they had their own TV Show 'The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" 1952 -1966.
1946     Chris Hills, guitar/bass.
1942     David Hines, trumpet, b. St. Louis, MO, USA
1950     Glenn Hughes, vocals. d. March 4, 2001. Member group: The Village People, The 1978 single "Y.M.C.A." hit No.2 in the USA, and in 1979 made it to No.1 in the UK.
1962     Jack Irons, rock drums. Member group: Pearl Jam
1940     Jim Kweskin, guitar, New England, MA, USA. Member: 'Jim Kweskin Jug Band' (Vanguard recordings)
1959     Audrey Landers, Actress/C&W Singer, b. USA. Actress on many US TV "Soap Operas". She records in Europe.
1939     Richie Landrum, Percussion, b. New York, NY, USA.
1910     Charlie LaVere, Piano, trumpet, trombone, altosax, accordion, vocals, arranger, composer, b. Salina, KS, USA. d. April 28, 1983, Ramona, CA, USA. né: Charles LaVere Johnson. Now little recalled, LaVere was one of the early Jazzmen. He is also credited with composing a number of tunes. Today, he is basically recalled for a set of recordings made with his 'Chicago Loopers', a studio group featuring Jack Teagarden, Billy May, Matty Matlock, George Van Eps, Floyd O'Brien and little-known cornetist Rico Vallese. Charlie first played trumpet, but eventually settled on the piano as his main instrument. His earliest work was with his cousin Stan Weis where they appeared as "Dan and Stan". He next played Alto Sax with Herb Cook's Oklahoma Joy Boys. Following this, he was part of the Frank Williams' Oklahomans (when that band was stranded in New York city). He continued to 'knock about' accompanying Bert Forman, then with Etzi Covato in Pittsburgh, with the Sam Robbins' Orchestra (in Bermuda) and gigging with Marshall Van Pool, Tracy Brown, Boyd Schreffler and (playing trombone) with Johnny Dorchester. In 1933 LaVere recorded with Jack Teagarden and gigged with Wingy Manone. In 1935, led a record date that included Jabbo Smith, (he had previously toured with the Eddie Neibauer and Dell Coon bands). In 1937, he played in the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, and was also heard on radio playing with Rico Marcelli's band. In the same year he played (trumpet) with Joe Sanders, and also played with Henry Busse's Orchestra. During 1939-47 he was mostly active as Bing Crosby's accompanist. After leaving Crosby, he teamed with Gordon Jenkins and they had a Million Seller record with LaVere singing "Maybe You'll Be There." In 1944, 1945 and 1950, he recorded some "all-star" dates for the Jump label (as leader) which at times included Jack Teagarden, George Van Eps, Joe Venuti, Matty Matlock and Joe Rushton . He led his own Dixieland group called "The Sextet from Hunger" which played at the Dixieland Jubilee, and was also active in the recording studios. In 1950, he recorded with Billie Holiday, and, in 1951 with Louis Armstrong. During 1955-59, he worked at Disneyland, and was comedian George Burns' accompanist. During 1961-62, he played with Bob Crosby's band. In 1963, after working with Wingy Manone, he led his his own small combos in Los Angeles area clubs. Charles was a true journeyman player with a likable style, who appeared in many jazz settings over his career. In later years he found work as a piano tuner and repairman. Note: This information on Charlie LaVere has been condensed and edited from his bio in famed author John Chilton's Who's Who of Jazz.
1943     Robin MacDonald, guitar. Member group: Billy J. Kramer And The Dakotas. The 1964 single "Little Children" hit No.1 in the UK.
1941     Lonnie Mack, guitar: b. Harrison, IN. USA. né: McIntosh or Aurora
1948     Steve Madaio, trumpet, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA. Played with Paul Butterfield
1908     Ivor Mairants, guitar/banjo, b. Rypin, Poland, d: Feb. 20, 1998 age 89 worked with:Roy Fox; Geraldo; Ambrose; George Melachrino. Sid Phillips.
1945     Danny McCullock, R&R Bassist, b. UK. Member group: Eric Burdon and The Animals, with 1964 single "House Of The Rising Sun" No.1 in both the USA and the UK.
1906     Gilbert "Little Mike" Mckendrick, banjo and guitar, b. Paducah, KY, USA. d. . Jan. 26, 1961, Chicago, IL, USA.. Their father, violinist and trombonist Gilbert McKendrick, Sr. had five sons, - and gave all of them the middle name of Michael. Thus the Mike McKendrick who played trombone was Richard "Mike" McKendrick, the violinist was Daniel "Mike" McKendrick and the pianist was James Mike McKendrick. SInce both Rubin "Mike" Mckendrick and Gilbert "Mike" Mckendrick both played banjo and guitar, they required some additional indentification, and so the younger of the two became known as "Little Mike" McKendrick, while his 2 year older older brother became "Big Mike" McKendrick. Interestingly, all 5 boys were raised in Paducah, and all 5 boys relocated to Chicago, IL, at the same time. All during the 1920s and 1930s, Big and Little Mike were stalwarts of the Chicago "Trad" Jazz, Swing and Blues scenes. At times, "Big Mike" McKendrick managed as well as played in Louis Armstrong's band. It is not now well remembered, but "Little Mike" McKendrick, was at one time involved in a tussle with Sidney Bechet (that involved some gunplay). In the mid 1920s, "Little Mike" first played with the Hughie Swift Orchestra, and subsequently worked with "Doc" Cook's Dreamland Orch., Joe Jordan's Sharps and Flats, Eddie South, and at times also led his own group. In the late '20s, he toured Europe with Eddie South, and when South returned to the USA., "Little Mike" remained behind, touring France and Spain with a collective ensemble. In 1939, he returned to New York City, and a few years later returned to Chicago, where for the remainder of his career he led his own small group, 'The International Trio'.
1938     Buschi (Johannes) Niebergall, Bass, b. Marburg, Germany. d. Jan. 8, 1992.
1909     Harriet Nelson, SEE Harriet Hilliard above.
1966     Karen Oberlin, vocals, b. New York, USA. Oberlin has a deep background in classical music (she is the youngest daughter of two classical musicians), and often performed and competed in classical music singing events as a child in upstate New York. She also played piano and flute, and cello in the county orchestra, and she performed in her first role in an opera at age six. Since then she has performed continuously and trained extensively. After receiving her B.A. in English Literature, she went on to study at New York's 'Circle In The Square Professional Workshop'. Oberlin has since made a career as Jazz singer in cabaret and stage performances, Though she embraces a lot of the Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and other standards that were written in the 1920s, '30s and '40s, she is not hostile to rock or R&B. In the late 1990s, she played one of the leading roles in the off-Broadway play 'Our Sinatra'. She performed in the world premiere of the newly discovered musical by Duke Ellington and Herb Martin, "Renaissance Man," as well as in an all-star CD version, "Secret Ellington" (True Life), which featured Joe Lovano, Grover Washington, Jr., and Freddy Cole, among others. She is married to David Hajdu ("Who's Got the Blues?") who has been writing about music for more than 20 years and is the author of two award-winning books, 'Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn' and 'Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Fariña and Richard Fari&ncirc;a'. He has played guitar, along with other writers, in a swing band that he has said is aptly named the 'Sad-Assed Gypsies' Karen has studied voice for more than twenty years, and she teaches master classes and private sessions in both acting and interpreting song.
1938     Dudu Pukwana, Alto Sax, b. Port Elizabeth, South Africa, d. 1990.
1941     Martha Rose Reeves, vocals. b. Eufaula, AL, USA. Member group: 'Martha and the Vandellas' vocal group
1970     Gruff Rhys, vocals, b. UK. Member group: 'Super Furry Animals'.
1917     Henri Salvador, singer, guitarist, b. French Guiana, d. Feb.13, 2008, Paris, France. (aneurysm) Age: 90. Born into a middle-class family. His father, a municipal tax collector of Spanish descent, and his mother, a Caribbean Indian, both came from the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. The family moved to Paris when Salvador was 7. After hearing records by Duke Ellington and Louis Armstong, he persuaded his father to buy him a guitar. and he taught himself to play, practicing, he said, "17 or 18 hours a day, until my fingers bled." He got his first gig at age 17. He worked briefly with Django Reinhardt in 1939, then for a few years in Ray Ventura's band touring South America, In 1946, as France emerged from World War II, Salvador struck out on his own. becoming a huge star in his own right. In the early 1950s, Salvador teamed up with two people who would mark his career, songwriter Boris Vian and Jacqueline Garabedian, who became his impresario and second wife. With Vian, Salvador collaborated on more than 400 songs that ran the gamut of styles, from Blues to French Caribbean Beguines. The duo is also credited with importing rock 'n' roll to France, with the hit "Rock and roll mops." Garabedian, who died in 1976, was a driving force behind Salvador's stardom. A savvy businesswoman, she understood the power of television and pushed her husband to embrace it. Salvador was among the first singers to set his songs to televised images, prompting some in France to call him the father of the music video. At age 83, after an eclipse in the 1970's, his career revived with 3 very good albums in a row. His avowed models were the Duke, Satchmo and Sinatra. One of his songs from 1957 is said to have influenced the then nascent bossa-nova movement.
1957     Lynn Seaton, bass
1939     Roger Sellars, Drums, b. Melbourne, Australia.
1943     Bobby Sherman, vocals/actor, b. Santa Monica, CA, USA. né: Robert Cabot Sherman, Jr.
1954     Ricky Lee Skaggs, (c&w) vocals/guitar/mandolin/fiddle, Cordell KY, USA. member: Boone Creek, and also The Clinch Mountain Boys.
1906     Belle Stewart, singer, d. Sept. 4, 1997
1943     Frank Tate, bass, electric bass, b. Washington, D.C., USA. Frank was already 23 years old when he started playing bass in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 1968, he returned to D.C., where he eventually became leader of the house band at a venue called 'Blues Alley'. In 1975, Frank moved to New York where he joined the 'Marian McPartland Trio'. He also began to freelance and worked with Bobby Hackett, Dave McKenna, Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, Joe Venuti, Lionel Hampton and Wild Bill Davison. From 1985 to '90, Frank toured with Pearl Bailey. Most recently, he joined the newly formed Ruby Braff trio, that includes Howard Alden.
1958     Nigel Twist, drums. b. UK. Member group: The Alarm
1908     Lupe Velez, actress, d. Dec 13/14, 1944 (Age: 36). née: Maria Guadeloupe Velez de Villalobos. Basically recalled as a wonderful actress, but included here for her (only?) recording of "Where Is The Song Of Songs For Me".
1906     Speed Webb, Drums/Leader, b. Peru, IN, USA.
1941     Pete Yellin Alto-sax/Woodwinds/flute
1950     Cesar Zuiderwyk, vocals/drums. Member: Golden Earring. 1974 Single "Radar Love" hit No. 13 in USA, and No. 7 in the UK.

         Notable Events on this date include:
1944.    Will Marion Cook, leader/songwriter, died in (Harlem), NY, USA. Age: 75
1960.    Eddie Brunner, alto/tenor sax, clarinet, piano, leader, died in Zurich, Switzerland, (b. July 19, 1912, Zurich, Switzerland,)
1966.    Bobby Fuller, guitar, died in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Age: 23
1972.    Cliff Edwards, (aka: Ukulele Ike) Ukulele, died in Hollywood, CA, USA. Age: 76
1979.    Matthew Gee, trombone, died in New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA. Age: 57 Best recalled for his work with Count Basie
1983.    The team of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel began a 19-city tour beginning in Akron, OH, USA their first tour since their success in the 1960s.
1983.    Jimmy Liggins, guitar/bandleader, died in Durham, NC, USA. Age: 61. Jimmy Liggins was an ex-pugilist -turned bandleader. He was a more aggressive bandleader ('The Drops of Joy'), than his brother, Joe Liggins ('The Honeydrippers'). Jimmy actually worked as brother Joe's chauffeur for a year. In 1947 he began recording for Art Rupe's 'Specialty' label, with such reedmen as Harold Land, Charlie "Little Jazz" Ferguson, and Maxwell Davis. In 1954, Liggins left Specialty, and recorded the classic "I Ain't Drunk" on the Aladdin label, before finally fading from the scene.
1983.    James Scott Jr., guitar died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 70
1986.    Don Wilkerson, tenor sax died in Houston, TX, USA. Age: 54.
1988.    Nico (née; Christa Paffgen) died in Ibiza, Spain at the age of 49. Her fascinating story is recounted in the biography "Nico: The Life & Lies of an Icon", by Richard Witts (published in Great Britain by Virgin books). Another book, "The End", by a member of her touring band, James Young, recounts her drug-filled final years. Nico lived on Rock's fringes, hobnobbing, working, and romantically linked with an incredible assortment of legendary 1960s entertainers, including Alain Delon (she had his baby), Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, the Velvets, the Stones, Jim Morrison, Iggy Pop, and others, Though she later toured with her own group, she herself never attained the fame of her peers Nico first rose to fame as a European supermodel, and then landed a bit part in Federico Fellini's film "La Dolce Vita" (and gave birth to a son by Alain Delon). In 1965, she came to the attention of Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. She subsequently moved to New York, where Andy Warhol installed her as lead singer for the Velvet Underground. During the rest of the 1970s - '80s, she struggled with a massive drug habit and tangled personal life.
2001.    Mimi Farina, folk singer (and sister of Joan Baez), died in Mill Valley, CA, USA. Age: 52.

         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
      1911   "Red Rose Rag", - Billy Murray vocal.
      1916   "Hawaiian Echos", - Louise and Ferera
      1916   "Hawaiian Waiu Luilului", - Louise and Ferera
      1924   "Charley My Boy", - Eddie Cantor vocal release
      1924   "Skin A Ma Rink A Rink A Ree", - Billy Jones and Ernie Hare (The Happiness Boys) Voc.
      1929   "Loose Like A Goose", - Benny Moten's Kansas City Orch.
      1929   "Pig Meat Papa", - Memphis Mose (Tommy Dorsey Orch.)
      1934   "Miss Otis Regrets", - Peggy Johnson and her Orch.
      1938   "A Ramblin' Wreck From Georgia Tech", - Ozzie Nelson Orch.
      1938   "Meet The Beat of My Heart", - Gene Krupa Orch.
      1939   "Hobson Street Blues", - Bob Zurke Orch
      1939   "Southern Exposure", - Bob Zurke and the Delta Rhythm Band
      1941   "Misirlou", - Xavier Cugat Orch.
      1941   "I Guess I'll Have To Dream The Rest", - Lani Ross vocal release
      1941   "Goodbye Dear, I'll Be Back In A Year", - Horace Heidt
      1941   "Til Reveille", - Kay Kyser
      1946   "Stone Cold Dead In The Market", - Ella Fitzgerald
      1947   "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)", - Tex Williams
      1952   Indian Love Call", - Slim Whitman
      1960   "Finger Poppin' Time", - Hank Ballard
      1964   "Hard Day's Night", - The Beatles
      1964   "Rag Doll", - The 4 Seasons (reached top spot on the record charts)
      1964   "I Wanna Love Him So Bad", - Jelly Beans
      1964   "Where Did Our Love Go", - The Supremes
      1981   "Endless Love", - Diana Ross
      1987   "La Bamba", - Los Lobos
      1987   "Who's That Girl", - Madonna
      1987   "It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)", - Jefferson Starship