BIRTHDAYS
1970     B-Real (né: Louis Freeze), 'rap' vocals. His 1993 album 'Black Sunday' hit No. 1 in the USA.
1968     Merril Bainbridge, vocals.
1931     Ronald Hillier "Ronnie' Bedford, Drums, b. Bridgeport, CT, USA.
1905     Roosevelt "Baby" Brooks, guitar, b. Greenville, SC, USA
1927     Carl Butler, C&W guitar/singer-songwriter. d. Sept. 4, 1992, Franklin, TN, USA (heart attack). né: Carl Roberts Butler, team of Carl and Pearl Butler (née: Pearl Dee Jones, b. Sept. 20, 1930, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, d. March 3, 1988, USA -thyroid complications). Among the songs Carl composed were "If Teardrops Were Pennies" (1951). Carl also co-wrote some songs with Earl Scruggs, including "Crying My Heart Out Over You". It was a 1960 hit for Flatt And Scruggs, and, in 1982, became a number 1 Country hit for Ricky Skaggs. Carl never recovered from the loss of his wife Pearl, and eventually drifted into obscurity.
1945     Graham Bonney (Bradley), vocals, b. Great Britain, U.K.
1934     Johnny Carter, vocals, b. Chicago, IL, USA. Member: 'The Dells' and 'The Flamingos'
1917     Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston, Piano, b. Sumrall, MS, USA, d. Aug. 22, 1987, Minneapolis, MN, USA. Worked with Willie Dixon and others
1943     Jimmy Castor, vocals/arranger/tenor sax, b. New York, NY, USA
1925     "Big" Norman Cave, Trombone/piano, b. Liverpool, Lancashire, UK. Cave and another trombonist, Pete Hodge, both worked in the Sid Phillips Orch. (England). Freddy Randall, writing in the 1995 Companion to Jazz, the Rough Guide, wrote that Cave and Hodge were the "...best of the 1940s/1950s Dixielanders." Both men helped to make Sid Phillips orchestra so popular.
1945     Joyce Cobb, vocals, b. Okmulgee, OK, USA.
1924     Zolman M. "Porky" Cohen, trombone, b. Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, d. April 14, 2004, Providence (area), RI, USA From 1942 to 1950, Cohen played in the big bands of Charlie Barnet, Lucky Millinder, and Benny Goodman among others. He returned to Rhode Island and played locally with the Jewels of Dixie, and also worked at Ladd's Music, in Cranston, and later in Providence. Cohen had earlier recorded with Charlie Barnet, and later recorded with 'Big' Joe Turner, Earl King and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson.. From 1979-'88, he was a member of Rhode Island's 'Roomful of Blues' band.
1965     Jeremy Cunningham, bass, Member: 'The Levellers'
1962     Thor Eldon, guitar. Member group: 'The Sugarcubes'
1913     Bert Farber, Leader, b. New York (Brooklyn) NY, USA. Led orchestras for Arthur Godfrey and Vic Damone.
1937     Pierre Favre, Drums, percussion, b. Neuchatel (Le Locle), Switzerland. Worked with such musicians as : Chet Baker, Lou Bennett, Max Greger, Bud Powell, and Geo. Gruntz
1970     Matthew Garrison, bass and guitar.
1980     Irish Grinstead, R&B vocals. Member of Female group: 702. (Kameelah Williams; Irish Grinstead and LeMisha Grinstead. )
1941     William Guest, vocals, b. Atlanta, GA, USA. Best recalled as member of group 'Gladys Knight & The Pips'
1944     Marvin Hamlisch, Composer/piano. né: Andy Renko Hamlisch.
1878     Wallace Hartley, Leader. b. England, d. April 14, 1912. Hartley was the leader of the band on the Titanic. It is said that he had the band play "Nearer My God To Thee" as the vessal sank. His body was later recovered (by the SS MacKay-Bennett) from the Atlantic Ocean, and returned for internment in England.
1923     Ernie Hood, Guitar/zither, b. Charlotte, NC, USA. d. 1991
1937     Jimmy Jones, vocals, b. Birmingham, AL, USA.
1929     Gildo Mahones, Piano, b. New York, NY, USA. part of Group: Lambert, Hendricks and Ross
1939     Charles Miller, Sax/clarinetist, b. Olathe, KS, USA. Member: 'War'
1946     John Morell, Guitar, b. Niagara Falls, NY, USA.
1929     Jeff Morton, drums
1921     Marty Napoleon, Piano, b. Brooklyn (NYC) NY. né: Mathew Napoli. In 1941, with Bob Astor Orch.; 1942 with Chico Marx Orch. - and then playing variously with Joe Venuti: Lee Castle; Georgie Auld; Teddy Powell and Charlie Barnet bands. In 1946, was in Gene Krupa's band (where he had replaced his own brother - Teddy.) In 1950 (after he had worked in his Uncle Phil Napoleon's band), he worked with both Charlie Ventura's big band and, in '51, with the Big Four (Chubby Jackson, Marty, Ventura, and Buddy Rich). In 1952, he toured Hawaii, and in 1953 - Europe, with Louis Armstrong after he had replaced Earl "Fatha" Hines in Louis' hot combo. In December 1955, he and his brother Teddy formed a twin piano quartet, after which Marty formed his own group for a gig, that lasted from 1956 to 1958, at New York's Metropole cafe. He was still at the Metropole during 1958 - '59 but now with Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Shavers. During '59-'60, he had his own trio. Subsequently, he appeared at the Stony Brook, Randall's Island, and Great South Bay Jazz Festivals (all in New York, NY USA).
1921     Burnie Peacock, alto sax/clarinet, b. Columbus, Tennessee, USA;
1941     Irene Schweizer, Piano, b. Schaffhausen, Switzerland
1928     Milt Sealey, Piano/Vibes/Bass, b. Montreal, Canada. Has worked with Lennie Bush, Kansas Fields and Phil Seaman.
1962     Ian Shaw, Vocal, b. St.Asaph, England, UK
1917     Max Showalter, Actor/composer, b. Caldwell KS,USA, d. July 30, 2000 Middletown, CT, USA. (cancer) . His mother was a pianist in the "Silents" theaters, and often took her toddler with her so she could keep an eye on him. Between 1935-'38, he acted in 92 shows at the Pasadena (CA, USA) Playhouse. Broadway debut acting in "Knights of Song" (working with Oscar Hammerstein II). He subsequently spent two years in Irving Berlin's road version of "This Is the Army". Showalter is also a composer, lyricist, and pianist. Altogether, he has estimated that he has made over 1000 appearances in films, TV, and stage shows.
1900     Valaida Snow, Trumpet/Vocal, b. Chattanooga, TN (or Washington, D.C.), d. May 30, 1956, New York, NY. USA (some sources say b. 1903)
1954     Michael Steele, bassist/vocals.
1907     Louis George Alexander Stephenson, reeds/Double Bass/Vocals, b. St. Ann's Parish, Jamaica, West Indies, d. Feb. 3, 1994
1950     Chubby Tavares, vocals, b. Cape Verde Islands. Member: 'The Tavares'
1908     Othar Turner, fife/drums, b. (rural) Rankin County, Mississippi, USA, d. February 27,2003, Gravel Springs, Mississippi, USA. Age: 94. aka: Otha Turner. It is fairly well known that Fife and Drum bands have military backgrounds in the United States. However, many folks may not know that fife and drum bands are also an African tradition. Aftrican slaves, brought to America, continued that tradition, even though many Southern plantation owners tried mightily to suppress it. (Even Thomas Jefferson had a fife and drum band put together from his own slave holdings.) With the end of the U. S. Civil War, a great many former slaves did continued to perform in fife and drum bands, but their numbers began to slowly dwindle. By the turn of the 20th century, only a handful of performers remained active. Happily, the tradition still survives (2006) in the remote areas of Northern Mississippi. However, many of the modern day performers are now passing on, Memories of Sid Hemphill and Napolian Strickland are starting to fade, and, with younger players in short supply, there is some doubt as to how long the tradition will survive. (Even Jessie Mae Hemphill, who carried on her grandfather's style, was recently incapacitated by a stroke and no longer performs.) Othar Turner began playing the fife at just age 16, when a neighbor gave him one. His mother disapproved of his playing, and broke the fife. Fortunately, Othar had was able to remember the finger-hole positions and began to make his own fifes from the sugar cane found near his home. Othar continued creating his own homemade fifes throughout his entire life. He heard fife and drum bands playing at local picnics and other social gatherings and in time created his own 'The Rising Star Fife and Drum Band'. He performed with Sid Hemphill and later with the younger Napolian Strickland. In the early 1960s, researchers found him, and he was finally recorded. Othar Turner's popularity continued throughout the 1990s and into the 21st Century. His song "Shimmie She Wobble" can be heard in the Martin Scorsese film, "Gangs Of New York." In 1992, the 'National Endowment for the Arts' honored Turner awarding him with a National Heritage fellowship in recognition of his lifelong commitment to the continuance of fife and drum music. In the U.S.A., this is the highest honor given to performers of traditional American music.
1932     Sammy Turner, vocals. b. USA. né: Samuel Black.
1941     Charlie Watts, drums (some sources say b. July 2)
1936     Otis Williams, vocals, b. USA.

         Notable Events occuring this date include:
1929.    Don Murray, clarinet, saxophone, died in Los Angeles, CA, USA (freak automobile accident) (b.June 7, 1904, Joliet, Illinois, USA )
1940.    Len Williams, vocals, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 40. Member: 'The Norfolk Jubilee Quartet'
1942.    Bunny Berigan, trumpet/leader died in New York, NY, USA. (b. Nov 2, 1908, Hilbert, Wisconsin, USA)
1958.    Louis Sterling, ceo EMI records, died in London, England, UK. Age: 79
1967.    Clarence "Tom" Ashley, Traditional Bluegrass/Vocals/Banjo, died. Age: 71
1968.    Martha Primose Ledbetter (Leadbelly),vocals, died in New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA. Age: 63
1969.    Albert Stinson, bassist, died (under mysterious circumstances). Age: 24.
1986.    Romaine L. Brown, piano/vocals, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 63. Member: 'Red Caps'
1988.    David Wildmann, label owner (Meta Meta), died in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Age: 34
1990.    Walter Davis Jr., piano, died in Ithaca, NY, USA. Age: 57
1990.    "Washboard Slim" (Robert Young), washboard, died in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Age: 89
1991.    "Bell Boy" Carter, drums, died in St. Louis, MO, USA. Age: 51
1997.    "Doc" Cheatham, trumpet died in Washington, D.C., USA. (b. June 13, 1905, Nashville, Tennessee, USA)
1998.    Carl Wilson of 'The Beach Boys' died today. (Lung Cancer). Age: 51
1998.    Erroll Parker, piano, drums, died (b. October 30, 1925 )
1999.    Andrew Simpkins, bassist, died in Culver City, California, USA. (b. April 29, 1932, Indiana, USA )
2000.    Adolph Hofner, Western Swing pioneer, died in San Antonio, TX, USA
2001.    Talented singer, dancer and comedic actress Imogene Coca died. Age: 92. (Natural Causes.)

         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
     1938   "Wire Brush Stomp", - Gene Krupa Orch.
     1950   "Mona Lisa", - Nat King Cole
     1956   "Born To Be With You", - Chordettes
     1956   "On The Street Where You Live", - Vic Damone
     1956   "I Want You, I Need You, I Want You", - Elvis Presley
     1958   "Purple People Eater, The", - Sheb Wooley
     1962   "Cindy's Birthday", - Johnny Crawford
     1962   "Snap Your Fingers", - Joe Henderson
     1962   "That's Old Fashioned", - Everly Brothers
     1962   "Stripper, The", - David Rose
     1973   "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", - Jim Croce
     1973   "Kodachrome", - Paul Simon
     1973   "Shambala", - Three Dog Night
     1979   "When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman", - Dr. Hook
     1979   "Shine A Little Love", - E.L.O.
     1979   "Gold", - John Stewart
     1984   "I Can Dream About You", - Dan Hartman
     1984   "Legs", - ZZ Top
     1984   "Infatuation", - Rod Stewart
     1990   "Girls Nite Out", - Tyler Collins
     1990   "Cradle Of Love", - Billy Idol
     1990   "Power, The", - Snap