BIRTHDAYS
1965   Tex Axile, keyboards, b, Crawley Sussex, England. Member group: Transvision Vamp. The 1989 single "Baby I Don't Care" reached No.3 on UK charts.
1939   Harold Burkett, C&W; guitar, b. Steubenville, OH, USA. Member: "The Four Guys"
1943   Mike Bloomfield, blues guitar, b. Chicago, IL, USA. d. Feb. 15, 1981, San Francisco, CA, USA. (found dead in his car of a drug overdose ) Member groups: 'Butterfield Blues Band'. Interestingly, Bloomfield'sfirst band included harp player Charlie Musselwhite. His next band, The Electric Flag, included organist Barry Goldberg (and singer/songwriter Nick Gravenites, as well as bass player Harvey Brooks and drummer Buddy Miles). The band, initially well received, quickly fell apart due to drugs, egos, and poor management.
1935   Horace C. Boyer, gospel vocals, b. Winter Park, FL, USA. Member: "The Famous Boyer Brothers "
1927   Guy Carawan, guitar/folklorist, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA.
1936   Jerry Carter, piano, b. Georgiana, AL, USA. Member: 'Carter Brothers'
1924   "Corky" Corcoran, Tenor Sax, b. Tacoma, WA, USA. d. 1979. né: Gene Patrick Corcoran. "Discovered" by Jimmy Lunceford, Corky began his career, at age 16, when he joined the Sonny Dunham orchestra, and by age 17 (Aug. 1941) became lead trumpet with the Harry James orch. His many appearances on stage and in films with the James band earned him much fame. During his early years with James, Sonny was hailed as a prodigy. He placed 2nd in the 1943, and '44 Downbeat Magazine Poll. In May 1948, he became a member of the Tommy Dorsey band. In 1949, he led his own group, but returned to James in '49, '51 and '54. In 1957, he left James, and went on a European tour, after which, he returned home and led his own small combo, - mainly in Seattle, WA, but with occasional trips to Los Angeles, CA, USA.
1882   Jimmy Cox, songwriter.
1950   Hal Crook, trombone, piano/educator
1931   "Guitar Crusher" né: Sidney Selby, guitar, b. Hyde County, NC, USA.
1938   George Cummings, steel guitar. Member group: Dr Hook. His 1972 single "Sylvia's Mother" hit No.5, in the USA, and No. 2 in the UK.
1952   Floyd Domino, (Western Swing) pianist, b. California, USA. né: Jim Haber, - a two-time Grammy winner
1949   Peter Doyle, vocals. member group: The New Seekers
1914   Carmen Dragon, Conductor, d: 1984. Best recalled as conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra.
1937   Peter Duchin, leader/pianist, b. USA. Son of famed bandleader Eddy Duchin.
1946   Jonathan Edwards, Bluegrass singer/songwriter/guitarist/harmonica, b. Aitkin, MN, USA. Member group: 'Sunshine'.
1954   Nnenna Freelon, vocals
1936   Jim Galloway, Soprano-tenor sax/clarinet, b. Kilwinning, Scotland.
1964   Michael Gassmann, trumpet
1955   Gregg Giuffria, rock guitar, Member groups: House of Lords; and Sahara.
1936   Jim Hughart, bass
1930   Junior Kimbrough, guitar, b. Hudsonville, MS, USA.
1949   Simon Kirke, Drums, b. Shrewsbury, England, UK. Member group: 'Free'
1965   Delfeayo Marsalis, Hard Bop Trombone, b. New Orleans, LA. This older brother of drummer Jason Marsalais, and younger brother of Wynton and Branford Marsalis began his career as a record producer, studying both the Trombone and also Studio Production at University of Southern California's Berklee campus. He toured with Ray Charles, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and Abdullah Ibrahim. In 1992, he recorded his first album as a leader. More recently, he has played with the Elvin Jones' Jazz Machine. He has written some outrageously opinionated liner notes for his brothers' albums, while trying to appear objectively indifferent.
1891   Mary McBride, vocals, b. Algiers, LA, USA.
1962   Michael McCanless, Fiddler (Country/Rock/Celtic), b: Des Moines, Iowa, USA, d: Feb. 1, 2003 , Nashville, TN, U.S. (Cancer) He was a member of The Dale Thomas Band and worked with Hank Williams III.
1925   "Pico" Payne, R&B Vocals, b. Baltimore, MD, U.S.A., d. July 26, 2002, né: Simon Alfred Payne. Worked with The Ink Spots,The Melody Masters, The Platters, and The Drifters.
1907   Leon Prima, Trumpet, b. New Orleans, LA, USA.
1904   Ikey Robinson, Banjo/Guitar, b. Dublin, VA, USA. d. Oct. 25 1990. By the age of 14, "Banjo Ikey" Robinson was already working professionally (vocal and banjo) with several local Virgina groups. In 1922, he worked with Harry Watkin's Orchestra in Virginia. In 1926, Ikey moved to Chicago where he found work most notably with Jabbo Smith and Jelly-Roll Morton. "Ikey" was still active into the 1970s touring Europe and even recording in Hamburg, Germany. He remained musically active until his demise.
1950   Roy G. Rogers, slide guitarist, b. Vallejo, CA, USA. ( CAUTION: Do not confuse with movie star Roy "King of the Cowboys" Rogers --for whom he was named). This Roy Rogers is the highly acclaimed San Francisco Bay area artist who is known as one of the premier slide guitarists performing today. He is also an internationally acclaimed (and Grammy Award winning) producer for John Lee Hooker, Ramblin' Jack Elliot and others.
1922   A. K. Salim, arranger, composer
1938   Buddy Spicher, C&W session fiddle player, b. Dubois, PA, USA.
1980   Noel Sullivan, vocals. b. UK. Member group: Hear'Say. The 2001 single "Pure and Simple" got up to No.1 on the UK charts.
1962   Rachel Sweet, vocals, b. UK. Her 1978 single "B-A-B-Y" got up to No. 35 in the UK Top 40 chart.
1905   Winston Collins Tharp, composer, b. Little Rock, AR, d. May 3, 1961, Little Rock, AR, USA.
1949   Steve Took,, drums, b. London, England, UK. d. 1980 (choked on a cocktail cherry). Took was one half of the duo "Tyrranosaurus Rex", - the other half was Marc Bolan, who went on to wide acclaim with his group "T-Rex". Took and Bolan released three albums together and built a small cult following However, Took's drug addiction and his bizarre acts of violence onstage, such as whipping himself with a belt until he bled, caused him to fall out of favor with his partner Bolan. After a 1969 American tour, Took was asked to leave the band. He subsequently played with the "Pink Fairies" for a time before leading a somewhat more subterranean lifestyle in London. Took watched helplessly as 'T Rex', and his old partner Marc Bolan, went on to become stars in the U.K. as well as in the USA.
1901   Rudy Vallee, Singer/Leader/Sax, b. Island Pont, VT, USA, d. July 3, 1986, Hollywood, CA, USA. né: Hubert Prior Vallee. Among his many hit vocals were "My Time is Your Time" (his theme song), "Betty Coed", "Live a Little, Love a Little", and "As Time Goes By". (Trivia: In 1933. the singing telegram was introduced, and Rudy Vallee was the first person to receive a singing telegram (in honor of his 32nd birthday).
1955   Gerald Veasley, bass
1945   Richard "Rick" Wright, Keyboards, Member: 'Pink Floyd'
1915   Frankie Yankovic, accordion/leader. Called: 'The Polka King', Grammy Award-winning musician.
         Notable Events on this date include:
1933.    The singing telegram was introduced on this day. Singer Rudy Vallee, was the first person to receive a singing telegram in honor of his 32nd birthday.
1962.    Eddie Costa, piano/vibes, died in New York, NY, USA. (né: Edwin James Costa, b. Aug 14, 1930 in Atlas, Pennsylvania, USA).
1981.    George Meek, sax, died in Springfield, IL, USA. Played with Walter Barnes
1995.    Eddie Hinton, guitar/piano/songwriter, died in Birmingham, AL, USA. Age: 51
2002.    French Impresario Eddy Marouani died at age 81. During his long career, he managed careers of some of the most famous Frence stars including Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel, Michel Sardou, Serge Lama and comedian Michel Boujenah. His memoirs, published in 1989, was entitled "Fishing for Stars, Impresario Profession."
2003.    Samuel Aaron Bell, bass, died in New York (Bronx), NY, USA. Age: 82. (b. April 24, 1922, Muskogee, OK, USA. )
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1927   "Meet Me In The Moonlight", - Jules Herbevaux Orch.
1928   "Makin' Whoopee", - Ben Bernie Orch.
1928   "When You're With Somebody Else", - Bernie Cummins Orch.
1928   "It Was The Dawn Of Love", - Herb Gordon Hotel Adelphia Orch.
1928   "Wa Da Da", - Bix Beiderbecke and his Gang.
1928   "Old Man River", - Bix Beiderbecke and his Gang.
1928   "When Love Comes Stealing", - Regent Club Orch. (Bob Haring Orch.)
1928   "Poor Butterfly", - Paul Whiteman Orch.
1928   "Let's Do It", - Lee Morse and her Blue Grass Boys.
1936   "Bojangles of Harlem", - Fred Astaire vocal.
1941   "Yours", - Eddy Howard Orch.
1941   "I'll Be True To You When You're Gone", - Gene Autry vocal.
1954   "This Old House", - Clooney, Rosemary
1954   "High And The Mighty, The", - Victor Young
1956   "Canadian Sunset", - Hugo Winterhalter
1958   "Ginger Bread", - Frankie Avalon
1958   "Little Star", - Elegants
1958   "Born Too Late", - Poni-Tails
1973   "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose", - Dawn
1973   "Let's Get It On", - Marvin Gaye
1973   "Delta Dawn", - Helen Reddy
1979   "After The Love Is Gone", - Earth, Wind & Fire
1979   "I'll Never Love This Way Again", - Dionne Warwick
1984   "If This Is It", - Lewis, Huey & The News
1984   "She Bop", - Cyndi Lauper
1990   "Blaze Of Glory", - Bon Jovi