BIRTHDAYS
1945     Rodney Terence Argent, keyboards, b St. Albans, England. Leader of group: The Zombies.
1930     Michel Attenoux, Saxophone, b. Paris, Francem d. 1988
1928     Pepsi Auer, Piano, b. Munich, Germany.
1941     Sam Baker, vocals, b. Jackson, MS, USA.
1936     Renaldo "Obie" Benson, (doo-wop) vocalist, d. July 1, 2005, Member: The Four Tops
1944     Janie Black, C&W vocals, b.
1913     Stanley Black, Piano, composer, conducter, bandleader, b: London, England, d: Nov. 26, 2002, London, England.
1940     Al Boudreau, drums/leader/vocals.
1947     Darius "Dave" Brubeck, piano/keyboards, b. San Franciso, CA, USA
1911     George Carlisle, C&W vocals, b. Reno, NV, USA.
1927     Joe Cinderella, guitar. Was playing the guitar when just nine years old. Later studied guitar with Frank Staffa and attended The Essex Conservatory earning a degree in music. In the 1950's recorded with Chris Connors ('Sings Lullabys For Lovers'), and Vinnie Burke ('East Coast Jazz 2'). Recorded with Gil Mell for the Bluenote and Prestige labels. Those Mell recordings -"Primitive Modern", and "Patterns in Jazz"- earned Cinderella the Concert Associates 'Player of The Year award'. In 1959, Downbeat Magazine also recognized Joe as an Outstanding Guitarist. He also recorded "Quadrama" and "Gil's Guests" with Mell. In the 1960's, Cinderella worked in the New York studios as a guitarist doing recording, radio and TV dates, and film scores. On those recording sessions, Cinderella backed such Pop singers as Billy Joel, John Cage and The Beach Boys. He was a staff musician for the Kraft Music Theater, and other venues in the New York and New Jersey areas. In 1969, Cinderella received an appointment as Adjunct Professor of Music at New Jersey's 'Paterson State College' He thus became the first guitar instructor at Paterson, where he established a Jazz guitar curriculum that has since became the model for other university Jazz programs throughout the USA. In year 2000, Cinderella released "Concept" featuring his own compositions, which he played on a custom made 8-string guitar. Joe is also the author of some guitar instruction material.
1929     Cy Coleman, Composer, b. New York, NY, USA. d. .Nov. 18, 2004 né: Seymour Kaufman. Among his compositions is "Witchcraft" a huge hit for Frank Sinatra
1963     Chris DeGarmo, Rock vocals. b. UK. Member group: 'Queensryche'
1946     Dennis Dotson, trumpet
1958     Kenny Drew, Jr. piano, b. , New York, NY, USA. né: Kenneth Sidney Drew, Jr.
1957     Gerald Dural, vocals (with 'Buckwheat Zydeco'), b. Lafayette, LA, USA.
1895     Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards, vocal/Ukulele/composer, b. Hannibal, MO, USA. d. 1971, Los Angeles, CA, USA. né: Clifford Edwards. Cliff, the son of a poor, non musical farming family, had a career that reached heights higher than the Alps and fell lower than the valleys. During a visit to St. Louis, MO, he heard the then-new Edison cylinder talking machine, and became totally fascinated by the fact that the human voice could be "captured" on wax and heard over and over. He soon began singing the "new" music while performing his farm chores. Inevitably, Cliff gravitated to the world of music, first appearing (1909) in the bars around Hannibal, MO. where the phonograph was an early device to bring in the drinking crowd. In 1910, he began to work in St. Louis, MO. eventually learning to play his 'trademark' instrument, the Ukulele. Working usually without accompaniment, he began to improvise sounds by cupping his hands over his mouth imitating a trumpet (a la The Mills Brothers), and experimented with an early type of "scat" singing. In 1918, he began to work with composer Bob Carleton, and helped make Carleton's song "Ja Da" a big hit. Success came fast and furious in the mid-1920s. He appeared in George Gershwin's Broadway show "Lady Be good" (strumming his way through a version of "Fascinating Rhythm"). He followed that by appearing in the Ziegfeld musical, "Sunny", (he and his ukulele were show stoppers), and he also appeared in several editions of George White's "Scandals." A Chicago waiter with a bad memory once called him "Ike", Cliff liked it, and during a singing and ukulele act at Mike Frizl's Arizona Cafe, first started billing himself as 'Ukulele Ike'. He landed a recording contract, and during the 1920s and early '30s he had one hit after another. "June Night" sold 3.2 million records, and "Sleepy Time Gal" over one million. The song "Toot, Toot, Tootsie", though now associated with Al Jolson, was introduced and was a hit for Ukulele Ike. He has been credited with selling over 74,000,000 records. He became almost a "regular" on the Rudy Vallee radio show, while also appearing on a great many other shows. His Hollywood career began in 1928 when production Chief Irving Thalberg (who had seen his act) first signed him for a musical short, and followed that with a four-year pact and a debut part in the Robert Montgomery feature film "So This is College?". His film career really started to take off after he introduced the song, "Singin' in the Rain", in MGM's 'The Hollywood Review of 1929'. Between the mid-1920s to the mid-'40s, Cliff appeared in over 100 films, (including a cameo appearance in "Gone With The Wind"). In 1940, at the end of his career, Walt Disney used his voice for the character of Jiminy Cricket, in the film "Pinocchio". Then his luck ran out. His two bad habits, gambling and drinking, would cause many problems. He was twice divorced and in the following 20 years, glamorous jobs eluded him. He only found occasional radio and second-rate nightclubs appearances, and by the mid-'60s, Cliff was bankrupt. Cliff had a very prolific Hollywood career - appearing in 75 films starting with 'Marian' in 1929 and ending with 'The Man from Button Willow' in 1965. During his active 3 decade long career, the little "farm boy" had earned Millions of dollars, but in 1971, he died in a California nursing home ( Virgil Convalescent Hospital. Hollywood, CA.), in abject poverty. Cliff's body lay unclaimed for over a week because his identity was unknown.
1941     Julie Felix, vocals, b. USA
1914     Lester Flatt, (Bluegrass) Vocals/Mandolin/Guitar, b. Overton County, TN, USA. d: May 11, 1979, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. né: Lester Raymond Flatt. In 1969, after Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs parted ways, Flatt reassembled many of the Foggy Mountain Boys, renamed the group Nashville Grass, and toured very successfully until his death in 1979.
1932     Edward Frank, pianist d. Feb. 13, 1997 at 64.
1961     Boy George, vocals/DJ, b. Eltham, London, England. né: George Alan O'Dowd. Member: Culture Club.
1937     Burton Greene, Piano, b. Chicago, IL, USA né: Narada Burton Greene
1983     Jordan Taylor Hansen, vocals. In 1997, his release "MMMbop" reached No. 1 in both the USA and the UK.
1960     Gary Husband, Drums, b. Leeds, England
1909     Burl Ives, (Folk) vocals/guitar/actor, b. Hunt, Illinois, USA, d. April 14, 1995, Anacortes, Washington, USA. (mouth cancer). né: Burle Icle Ivanhoe Ives.
1905     "Nappy" Lamare, Guitar/banjo/vocals, b. New Orleans, LA. USA. d. May 8, 1988, Newhall, CA, USA. (Age: 82, heart attack in his sleep). (Many biographies list Lamare as erroneously being born in 1907 or 1908 or even 1910). né:Joseph Hilton Lamare. (Also, many biographies erroneously list his birth name as "Hilton Napoleon Lamare". Lamare was christened with the nickname of "Nappy" by his close childhood buddy, Eddie Miller, during the early 1920s). Perhaps, he is best recalled for his vocals with the 'Bob Crosby Bob Cats'. While Lamare could play any musical genre, he remained a true "Dixielander" throughout his life. He (rightly) consideered it to be "Happy Music".
1952     Jimmy Lea, bass/piano/keyboars/violin, b. Wolverhampton, England. Member: Slade.
1942     Pete Lemer, Piano, b. London, England
1938     Ian McDougall, trombone, b: Calgary, Canada. Founding member, soloist, lead trombone, and arranger for the 'Brass Connection' but perhaps best known for his work with Rob McConnell's 'Boss Brass'. In 1960, he toured Great Britain with the John Dankworth Band. Returned to Canada in 1962 and began lengthy career in Vancouver and in Toronto as freelance trombonist, composer and arranger. Currently (2002) resides in Victoria, BC, Canada, where he teaches trombone and conducts the Big Band at the University of Victoria (Prof. of Trombone). He continues to perform regularly with his quartet and sextet.
1958     Natalya Medvedeva, Poet/Singer/Writer, b: Leningrad, Russia, d: Moscow, Russia (coronary). Married to The National Bolshevik party leader Eduard Limono, was also a model posing for Playboy, and other magazines.
1959     Marcus Miller, Bass, producer, b. New York, NY, USA.
1971     Billie Myers, singer-songwriter, b. UK.
1927     Chris O'Toole, drums, b. Ireland, Member group: Carlton Showboat
1945     Tiit Paulus, Guitar, b. Tallinn, Estonia
1917     Leon Payne, guitar/songwiter, b. Alba, TX, USA.
1932     Coleridge Taylor Perkinson, arranger/conductor, d. Mar. 9, 2004
1902     Sid Phillips, Clarinet, b. 1902 or 1907?, London, England. d. May 23, 1973, né: Isador Simon Philips.
1938     George Prayer, vocals, b. East St. Louis, IL, USA. Member: 'The Morocos'
1920     Robert Scherman, producer/label owner (Tampa Records), b. Indianapolis, IN, USA
1950     Daryl Sherman, (Jazz) vocals/piano, b. Woonsocket, Rhode Island, USA. Despite of her masculine name, this talented lady has light voice, and a light touch to her Jazz piano stylings.
1918     John Simmons, Bass, b. Haskell, OK, USA. d. September 19, 1979.
1946     Janusz Stefanski, Drums, b. Krakow, Poland
1908     John Scott Trotter, bandleader, b. Charlotte NC, d. Oct. 29, 1975, Los Angeles, CA, USA. (cancer) Frequently backed Bing Crosby on recordings, and many radio shows including the George Gobel TV Show
1958     Nick Van Ede, Rock vocals. Member group: Cutting Crew.
1931     "Junior" Walker, sax, b. Blytheville, AR, USA, d. Nov. 23, 1995, Battle Creek, MI, USA. (cancer). né: Autry DeWalt Walker Jr.
1949     Alan White, Rock Drummer, Member group: Plastic Ono Band.
1943     "Muff" Winwood, musician, b. Great Britian
         Notable Events occuring this date include:
1881.    John McTammany, Jr., Player Piano inventor, died in Cambridge, MA, USA.
1952.    John Kirby, bass, died in Los Angeles (Hollywood), CA, USA. Age: 43
1968.    "Pop" Stoneman, guitar, died in Nashville, TN, USA. Age: 75
1969.    Wynonie "Mr. Blues" Harris, vocals, died in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Age: 54
1974.    "Brother Bones" (né: Freeman Davis) "Bones" (or "clappers"), died in Long Beach, CA, USA. Age: 71
1978.    Quinn Wilson, bass, died in Evanston, IL, USA. Age: 69
1978.    Matty Matlock, clarinet died in Los Angeles, CA, USA. (b. April 27, 1907 in Paducah, Kentucky, USA)
1980.    Herman Autrey, trumpet, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 75. ( b. Dec, 4, 1904, Evergreen, Alabama USA)
1986.    Alan Jay Lerner lyricist died in New York (Manhattan), NY, USA. Age: 67. (lung cancer)
1991.    Cliff Goldsmith, producer (Galaxy Records), died in Burbank, CA, USA. Age: 66
1993.    Red Mack, vocals/trumpet, died in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Age: 81
1994.    Composer/arranger/leader, Henry Mancini died. Age: 70. (complications from Liver and Pancreatic cancer.)
1994.    Harry "Little Caesar" Caesar, vocals, died in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Age: 68
1995.    Rory Gallagher, guitar, died in London, UK. Age: 47
2000.    Bob Rolontz, record executive, and originator of the "platinum" record, died. Age: 79
2003.    Jimmy Knepper, trombone, died in Triadelphia, West Virginia, USA. (b. Nov 22, 1927 in Los Angeles, CA, USA)
2006.    Roland Alexander, tenor sax, flute, composer, arranger, teacher died in New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA.
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
      1929"I Don't Want Your Kisses", - Jesse Stafford Orch.
      1929"I'm On The Crest Of A Wave", - Arnold Johnson Orch.
      1932"The Night When Love Was Born", - Connee Boswell voc.
      1935"Back Home Again In Indiana", - Hoosier Hotshots
      1935"Honeysuckle Rose", - Adrian's (Rollini) Tap Room Gang
      1945"Bell Bottom Trousers", - Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians Orch.
      1945"Just A Little Fond Affection", - Kate Smith voc.
      1969"Color Him Father", - Winstons
      1975"One Of These Nights", - Eagles
      1975"Midnight Blue", -Melissa Manchester
      1975"Swearin' To God", -Frankie Valli,
      1975"Why Can't We Be Friends", - War
      1975"I'm Not In Love", - Ten CC
      1980"More Love", -Kim Carnes
      1980"Magic", -Olivia Newton-John
      1986"Love Touch", -Rod Stewart