BIRTHDAYS
1913     Nathan Abshire, Cajun Accordion, b. Gueyden, LA, USA, d. May 13, 1981, Basile, LA, USA. In the 1920s, Abshire began playing professionally but only first recorded in the early 1930s with "Happy Fats & His Rayne-Bo Ramblers". Just about that time, Abshire found a 'day job' working at the Basile, LA, town dump, - a job he held the job for most of his working life. His 1950s and '60s recordings, re-popularized the accordion, and he helped to bring the Blues and Honky Tonk to Cajun music Still, he never managed to make a living from his music.
1962     Thomas Agergaard, tenor sax,
1964     Joey Allen, b. Ft Wayne, IN, USA, Rock guitar. Member: 'Warrant', 'Cherry Pie'.
1965     Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs, rhythm guitar, b. Burnage, Manchester, England, UK. Founding Member: 'Oasis'
1970     Eric Bruno Borgman, filmmaker, drums, b. Chelsea, Massachusetts, USA.
1936     Forrie Cairns, all reeds, b. Glasgow, Scotland, UK. né: Forrest Cairns. Brother of pianist John Cairns
1950     William "Bom-Bay" Carter, guitar, b. Chicago, IL, USA.
1929     June Carter Cash, Country & Western vocals, née: Valerie June Carter. aka June Carter. Wife of Johnny Cash - C&W Guitar/Vocals. Also worked as part of 'The Carter Family'.
1966     Mark Chadwick, guitar/vocals. b. UK. Member: 'The Levellers'
1962     Richard Coles, , clarinet,, b. Northampton, England, UK. Member 1980's synthpop act: ' The Communards'. After the Communards, Coles went solo briefly before becoming a writer and journalist, and subsequently was selected for training for the priesthood in the Church of England. His schooling was at the monastic College of the Resurrection, Mirfield, after which he worked as Curate at St. Boltoph’s church, ('The Stump') in Boston, Lincolnshire.
1981     Anthony Costa, vocals, b. Edgware, Middlesex, England, UK. Member British boy band 'Blue'
1955     Glenn Danzig, singer-songwriter, b. Lodi, New Jersey, USA. Member groups; The Misfits, Samhain and Danzig (one of the fathers of the 'Horrorpunk' genre )
1940     Adam Faith, vocals, b. London, England, UK. d. March 8, 2003, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK. (Coronary arrest). né: : Terence Nelhams. Interestingly, up until he applied for a passport and obtained his birth certificate, he was unaware that his real surname was Nelhams-Wright. He was known as Terry Nelhams in early life. Biggest hit: "Poor Me, What Do You Want?"
1970     Myles Goodwyn, vocals (rock), b. Woodstock, N.B., Canada, Member: April Wine
1960     Donald Harrison, alto-soprano sax, b. New Orleans, LA, USA.
1920     Lance Harrison, Tenor Sax/clarinet/leader, b. Vancouver, BC, Canada, d. Nov. 26, 2000
1909     Catherine Henderson, vocals, b. St. louis, MO, USA.
1944     Rosetta Hightower, vocals, b. Philadelphia, PA, USA. Member: 'The Orlons'
1910     Milt Hinton, Bass, b. Vicksburg, MS, USA, d. Dec. 19, 2000, New York, NY, USA age 90. Possibly the most recorded Jazz musician. During his career he played in the Eddie South Orch., Cab Calloway's band (15 years), as well as with Count Basie, Freddie Keppard, Louis Armstrong, and he backed such pop icons as Barbra Streissand, Frank Sinatra, and Paul McCartney, among others. His 70 year career started in Chicago's South Side, - the same place where Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Tony Jackson, and many others started. Hinton didn't take his first music lesson until he was 13, when he immersed himself in the study of the Classical Violin, then the Tuba, and finally teaching himself the Bass. He played in an 'All-City High School Orchestra' under the direction of Frederick Stock, 2nd director of the Chicago Symphony. And, he was listening to Armstrong, Keppard, Morton, and other New Orleans Jazzmen during that great Hey Day of Jazz in Chicago. In the early 1930 Eddie South's band (Eddie was called "The Dark Angel of The Violin") and in 1936, he joined Cab Calloway's band (based in New York) and remained with Cab for 15 years - while also working as a studio musician and bandleader. Hinton played what is called "Slap Bass" style and was known as "The Judge" because of his exact timing. An avid amateur photographer, he published two books lavishly illustrated with his photos of Jazzmen with whom he worked. Jean Bach's 1995 Jazz documentary "A Great Day In Harlem" featured his stills and movie photographs. Over his career, Hinton received 8 Honorary Doctorates, but he said that he considered the one from DePaul University as "....the one that counts the most."
1913     Helen Humes, Vocal, b. Louisville, KY, USA. d. Sept. 13, 1981. née: Helen Elizabeth Humes. Best recalled for her singing with the Count Basie Orch.
1952     Anthony Jackson, guitar, b. New York, NY, USA.
1923     Ella Johnson, vocals, b. Darlington, SC, USA. d. Feb 16,2004, New York, NY, USA. Her brother, Woodrow Wilson "Buddy" Johnson, was a pianist and band leader. In 1937, Ella relocated to New York city, remaining there singing the Blues and even Rock and Roll. In the early 1960s, she turned her energies back to the church.
1948     Luther Kent, vocals, b. New Orleans, LA, USA.
1966     James MacPherson, drums. Member: 'The Breeders'
1953     Pake McEntire, singer/guitarist, b., Chockie, OK, USA. né: Dale Stanley McEntire. Pake is the older brother of mega-star Reba McEntire.
1923     Stanley Mendelson, piano, best recalled as one of the 'Dukes' in 'The Dukes of Dixieland' Jazz band.
1911     Eddie Miller, Tenor Sax, clarinet, b. New Orleans, LA, USA. d. April 1, 1991, . Van Nuys, CA, USA . né: Edward Raymond MÜller
1941     "Deacon" John Moore, vocals, b. LA, USA.
1907     Edward Pola, songwriter, b. New York, NY, USA.
1907     Ben Quillian, guitar, b. Gainesville, GA, USA.
1952     Tim Richards, Piano/Composer, b. London, England
1908     Jean Robert, tenor sax, d. Feb. 28, 1981
1908     Eli Robinson, Trombone, b. Greenville, GA, USA. d. 1972.
1923     George Russell, Composer, Leader, arranger, piano, b. Cincinnati, OH, USA.
1926     Hank Shaw, Trumpet, b. London, England, UK, d. October 26, 2006, UK. His career began in the 1940s, when he played with the dance bands of Jack Jackson, Teddy Foster and Oscar Rabin, among others. In 1947, he was part of the Tommy Sampson band, then joined Basil Kirchin before becoming a founder member at Club Eleven. In 1949, he played with Vic Lewis and Leon Roy's big band as well as others. In the mid 1950s, with the ending of the Big Bands era, Shaw began playing solo jazz dates playing with Jack Parnell (1952-53), Ronnie Scott (1954-56), Tony Crombie, Don Rendell, Joe Harriott (1958-60) and briefly with Tony Kinsey. During the 1960s, Shaw freelanced and led his own quartet (resident at London's 400 club). All through the 1970s and '80s, he worked with such stars as Harry South, Tubby Hayes, Johnny Dankworth and Stan Tracey. During this period, he became a devotee of "bebop", and was an enthusiastic member of the Bebop Preservation Society. He was age 80 when he died.
CAUTION: Do not confuse with Harold M. Shaw, the actor/director who was born ca. 1879 in Tennessee, USA After first working on the stage, he started his film career as an actor in 1909. In 1911, he began to direct films. In 1913, Shaw moved to England where he directed numerous films, many of which starred his wife Edna Flugrath. In 1922 Shaw returned to the U.S. where he continued directing until his retirement in 1924.
1925     Sahib Shihab, Alto-Baritone Sax, flute, b. Savannah, GA, USA.
1904     Willie Mae Ford Smith, (gospel) singer-songwriter, b. Rolling Fork, MS, USA.
1938     Lucille Spann, vocals, b. Bolton, MS, USA.
1940     Stuart Sutcliffe, Bassist (for the Beatles 1960-'61), b. Edinburgh, Scotland. d. April 10, 1962 (cerebral paralysis).
1950     Luther Thomas, alto sax, b. St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1922     Fran Thorne, piano, composer, b. , Bay Shore (Long Island), New York, USA
1940     Diana Trask, vocals, b. Australia, Heard on the 'Sing Along With Mitch (Miller) show.
1915     Zeb Turner, (Country) Vocals/Guitar. né: William Grishaw. Originally a honky tonk guitarist, Zeb joined with his brother James (who took the stage name of Zeke Turner) as 'The Turner Brothers'. After WWII. the duo played guitar on many C&W sessions. They backed such stars as Red Foley and Hank Williams and wrote Eddy Arnold's 1947 hit, "It's a Sin." In between, Zeb Turner often recorded his own 'Country Boogie' sound on small, regional labels (Nashville's Bullet Records and Cincinnati's King Records). Zeb enjoyed a long career, eventually ending up as a folksinger in Montreal, Canada.
1891     June Petrie "Elviry" Weaver, musical saw/vocals/actress, b. Chicago, IL, USA, d. Nov. 27, 1977, Bakersfield, California, USA. Member: "The Weaver Brothers & Elviry"
1975     Virgo Williams, R&B vocals, Member: 'Ghostown DJs'
         Notable Events occuring this date include:
1848.    Belgian Adolphe Sax received a patent for his new invention, -the saxophone.
1956.    Billy Shaw, vocals, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 52
1959.    Boris Vian, French novelist, playwright, poet, jazz musician and critic, singer-songwriter, died in a Paris cinema (heart attack while watching his newest film) (b. March 10, 1920, Ville-d'Avray (near Paris), France). Vian also wrote under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan.). Interesting to note that while still a very young man, Vian often said that he would never live to age 40. He was just 39 when he died in the Cinema Marbeuf.
1972.    Elton Britt, C&W vocals, died. Age: 54.
1981.    "Arkie The Arkansas Woodchopper" - né: Luther Ossenbrink" radio personality, singer, square dance caller, emcee, and humorist, died in Marshall, MO, USA. Age: 65
1984.    Aida Ward, vocals, died in Washington, DC, USA. Age: 84
1991.    "Big Bad" Ben Murphy, guitar/harmonica, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 54
1992.    Fred Robbins, famous American radio DJ ('Robbins Nest'), died in New York (Manhattan), NY, USA. Age: 73
1992.    David Savage, vocals, died in Greenville, MS, USA. Age: 66
1992.    Joseph Savage, vocals, died in Greenville, MS, USA. Age: 64
1995.    Sammy Gardner, multi-instrumentalist/leader, died in Pensacola, FL, USA. Age: 69 Member: 'Sammy Gardner & His Mound City Six'
2000.    Raymond Droz, trombone, alto horn, arranger, died. (b. Jan. 23, 1935, b. Trombone, b. La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland, Year of birth not definite.)
2000.    Jerome C. Richardson reeds, flute, died in Englewood, New Jersey, USA. (b. Nov. 15, 1920 in Oakland, California, USA. )
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1922   "Hot Lips", - Paul Whiteman Orch. (Henry Busse on trumpet)
1923   "Queen of Egypt", - The Benson Orch. of Chicago
1925   "Save Your Sorrow For Tomorrow", - George Olsen and His Music
1927   "Bohunkus and Josephus", - The Mobile Four. (Birmingham Quartet)
1927   "My Blue Heaven", - "Kenn" Sisson Orch.
1932   "The Lady I Love", - The Knickerbockers (Ben Selvin Orch.)
1933   "The River's Taking Care of Me", - Casa Loma Orch.
1933   "Hold Your Man", - Gertrude Niessen voc.
1937   "Reckless Night On Board An Ocean Liner", - Raymond Scott Orch.
1937   "Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannabals", - Raymond Scott Orch.
1939   "I'll Remember", - Larry Clinton Orch.
1941   "Keep Cool Fool", - Jan Savitt and His Tophatters
1950   "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena", - Gordon Jenkins Orch. and voc. chorus.
1950   "Mona Lisa", - Victor Young Orch.
1954   "Sh-Boom", - Chords
1954   "Little Shoemaker, The", - Gaylords
1956   "Glendora", - Perry Como
1956   "Be-Bop-A-Lula", - Vincent, Gene
1958   "Patricia", - Prez Prado
1962   "Theme From Dr. Kildare (3 Stars Will Shine Tonight"), - Richard Chamberlain
1962   "Wah Watusi, The", - The Orlons
1962   "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)", - Dee Dee Sharp
1979   "Mama Can't Buy You Love", - Elton John
1984   "Sunglasses At Night", - Corey Hart
1984   "What's Love Got To Do With It", - Tina Turner
1990   "King Of Wishful Thinking", - Go West