BIRTHDAYS
1900    Leon Alexander Abbey, Violin, b. Minneapolis, MN, USA, d. Sept. 15, 1975, USA. In the 1920s, Leon led his own band, variously known as the 'Charleston Bearcats', the 'Savoy Bearcats', and 'Leon Abbey's Band',
1943    Terry Allen, C&W Vocals/Keyboards, b. Wichita, KS, USA.
1922    Lew Anderson, leader/arranger/composer/actor, b. Kirkman, Iowa, USA. d. May 14, 2006, Hawthorne, N.Y., USA. (complications of prostate cancer). né: Lewis Burr Anderson. Lew will always be recalled for his role of 'Clarabell the Clown', 'Howdy Doody's' sidekick on one of American television's very first children's shows. "Baby boomers" grew up with "The Howdy Doody Show," which began in December 1947, when only 20,000 homes in the U.S.A. had television sets. It ended on Sept. 24, 1960, after 2,243 episodes, and was NBC's first regularly scheduled show to be broadcast in color. As a youngster, Lew began playing his sister's clarinet after she tired of it, and soon had his own band. He attended junior college in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. During World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and started a band between battles in the Pacific theater. After his service, Lou toured the Midwest with bands, where he honed his talent for arranging and composing music. In the late 1940's, he joined the 'Honey Dreamers', a vocal group that appeared on radio and early television shows, including "The Ed Sullivan Show". Anderson later composed advertising jingles, but live music was always his passion. He formed his "All-American Big Band", with great sessions musicians from recording studios and Broadway shows. The band's "book" had over 300 songs, -fully one quarter of which he had composed. In 1990, 'The New York Times' music critic, John S. Wilson, described Anderson's band as "...not merely recalling the days of great swing bands; it is doing so with freshness, polish and originality." In recent years (2005-6), the band had a regular gig, Friday nights, at the Birdland jazz club in Manhattan.
1935    Lars Bagge, Piano, arranger, b. Stockholm, Sweden
1924    Leroy "Lefty" Bates, guitar, b. Pelahatchie, MS, USA.
1915    Kyle Bailes, bass, b. Enoch, WV, USA. Member: 'The Bailes Brothers'. Among their signature songs are "The Drunkard's Grave," "Dust on the Bible," and "Broken Marriage Vows."
1896    Gale Binkley, C&W vocals/guitar, b. Cheatham County, TN, USA. Member: 'The Binkley Brothers Dixie Clodhoppers'
1940    Arthur Blythe, Alto Sax, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA. During the 1960s, Blythe worked with pianist/bandleader Horace Tapscott. The mid 1970s, found him in New York city where he worked with Chico Hamilton. Gil Evans, McCoy Tyner, Jack DeJohnette, Lester Bowie.
1931    Teresa Brewer, Vocalist, b. Toledo, OH, USA. d. Oct. 16, 2007, New Rochelle, NY, USA. (complications of neuromuscular disease). Age: 76. n&eacaute;e: Theresa Breuer. Brewer's greatest popularity came in the mid-1950s, when she scored hits such as "Music! Music! Music!" (1950) with its catchy intro, "Put another nickel in, in the nickelodeon". Originally a "B-side" throwaway track, the bouncy song became her biggest hit and signature tune. Among her many other hits were "You'll Never Get Away," "Ricochet Romance," and the million-selling "Till I Waltz With You Again,", all of which she performed at some of the fanciest rooms in the USA, including the Versailles and the Latin Quarter in New York, the Sahara in Las Vegas, and the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles. Her last charted hit, a cover of Edith Piaf's "Milord," came in 1961. She also had such novelty hits as "Choo'n Gum" (1950) and "The Hula Hoop Song" (1958), In the 1960s, Brewer mostly stopped touring to concentrate on raising her four daughters, but she also began making jazz records, including "It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing," Duke Ellington's last recording. She also recorded with Count Basie, Benny Carter, Stephane Grappelli, and Earl Hines.
1948    Caleb Butler, bass guitar, b. Washington, DC, USA. Member: 'Blind Boys Od Alabama'
1961    Phil "Zoom" Campbell, R&R guitar. Member group: 'Motorhead'
1969    Eagle Eye Cherry, vocals, b. Stockholm. Sweden. Cherry comes from a musical family. His father was singer Don Cherry. His sister is singer Neneh Cherry, and his half sister is Titiyo Jah (b. Stockholm, Sweden (raised in Solna, Sweden).
1942    Lorrie Collins, C&W vocals, b. Tahlequah, OK, USA. Member: "Collins Kids"
1946    Bill Danoff, singer/songwriter, b. Springfield, MA, USA. Member group: 'Starland Vocal Band'
1956    Anne Dudley, keyboards/composer, b. Chatham, Kent, England. A graduate of the Royal College of Music, the classically-trained Dudley began her professional career as a session keyboardist; a protege of producer Trevor Horn, she went on to arrange records including ABC's 'The Lexicon of Love' and Malcolm McLaren's classic "Buffalo Girls" (which she also co-wrote). In 1983, she was one of the co-founders of the electronic pop group 'Art of Noise', a group originally comprised of Dudley, Gary Langan, and Paul Morley, then working as producer Trevor Horn's in-house studio band. JJ Jeczalik was added to complete the lineup. Their groundbreaking experiments in sampling and mixing greatly influenced the emerging 'techno' movement. Anne Dudley later enjoyed success as an Academy Award-winning film composer.
1905    Amos "Bumble Bee Slim" Easton, singer-songwriter/guitar, b. Brunswick, GA, USA. Amos moved to Chicago around 1930, and first recorded six sides by the then young Paramount label; “Stumbling Block Blues,” “Yo Yo String Blues,” and four others. During the mid-1930s Slim was writing, recording, and outselling many of his contemporaries. Between 1934-1937, "Bumble Bee Slim" recorded over 150 sides for Vocalion, Bluebird, and Decca. Even so, all three labels dropped Slim in 1938. Following this setback, he left Chicago for Los Angeles and where he was musically inactive for an entire decade. In the 1950s, he again began to record for the Fidelity, Marigold, and Specialty labels. In 1962, the Pacific Jazz label recorded his last album. For the remainder of his career Slim played in small California clubs until his death in 1968. "Bumble Bee Slim" was a forgotten legend of his time.
1947    Joe Ford, alto-soprano-tenor sax/flute/piano/arranger, b. USA.
1958    Michael Formanek, Bass, b. San Francisco, CA, USA.
1829    Louis Moreau Gottschalk, composer. d. 1869, USA.
1922    Roy Hall, piano, b. Big Stone Gap, VA, USA.
1943    Thelma Houston, vocals, b. Leland, MS, USA.
1950    Janis Ian, singer-songwriter, b. New York, NY, USA. née: Janis Fink. A Grammy Award-winner.
1906    Edward Inge, Clarinet, alto sax, b. Kansas City, MO, USA , d. 1988. Another one of the great Black musicians who came out of Kansas City. At age 12, be began to play clariinet, and by age 18 was performing professionally with the George Reynolds Orchestra. He subsequently worked with Dewey Jackson, Artie Simms, and with Oscar Young, up until 1928. In 1930, he became a member of 'McKinney's Cotton Pickers' In 1931, Don Redman hired Inge away from the "Pickers" and Inge remained with the Redman group until 1939. With Redman, he worked alongside such men as trumpeter Sidney De Paris, and singer Harlan Lattimore, who was known as "The Black Crosby". He then joined Andy Kirk's orchestra (replacing Don Byas), remaining with Kirk until 1943, when he formed his own band that was homebased in Cleveland, Ohio. .That band toured the midwest, and druing the 1950s-'60s , was especially active in the Buffalo, New York area In the last 1960s (still in Buffalo), he joined Cecil Johnson's band, and in the 1970s, worked with C.Q. Price's band, another Buffalo institution. Among the stars with whom he worked are the Boswell Sisters, Cab Calloway, and the Mills Brothers.
1899    Pete Jacobs, Drums, b. Asbury Park, NJ, USA d. ca. 1952
1930    Mitch Jayne, Bass, b. Hammond, IN, USA. Member group: 'The Dillards' One day in Salem, Missouri, Jayne, as the host of the popular Bluegrass music radio show, "Hickory Hollow", invited a local band, 'The Ozark Mountain Boys', featuring Doug Dillard on banjo, and his guitarist/vocalist brother Rodney Dillard, to be musical guests. Subsequently, the Dillards formed another group and invited Jayne to join them as both bassist and lyricist. Jayne quickly taught himself to play the bass, and accepted the brothers' invitation. In the nearly four decades since, Jayne has been an essential part of the band.
1926    "Chink" Johnson, trombone, b. New York, NY, USA.
1946    Bill Kreutzmann Jr., drums, b. Palo Alto, CA, USA.
1927    Jim Lowe, vocals/piano/composer, b. Springfield, MO, USA. Possibly best known for his hit recording "Green Door"
1939    Johnny Maestro, vocals, b. New York, NY, USA.
1946    Ray Monette, Guitar/Vocals, Member: 'Rare Earth'
1945    Christie Moore, Irish folksinger/songwriter, b. Ireland. Member group: 'Planxty', and also soloist.
1946    Jerry Nolan, drums, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA. d. Jan. 14, 1992. Member group: 'The New York Dolls'.
1904    Floyd O'Brien, Trombone, b. Chicago, IL, USA, d. Nov. 26, 1968, Chicago, IL, USA,
1965    Chris O'Connor, Rock vocals. Member group: 'Primitive Radio Gods'. other members are Tim Lauterio (drums, percussion) and Luke McAuliffe (guitar, vocals).
1895    "Yank" Porter, Drums, b. Norfolk, VA, USA d. 1944, Norfolk, VA, USA
1950    Prairie Prince, drums, b. Charlotte, NC, USA. Member group: 'The Tubes'
1894    George Riley Puckett, C&W guitar/vocals, b. Alphareta, GA, USA. Member: "The Skillet Lickers"
1916    Paul Quinichette, sax, b. Denver, Colorado, USA, d. May 25, 1983, New York, NY, USA. (some say b. May 17.) aka: "Vice Prez" (because he sounded much like Lester Young)
1950    Chris Rantz, drums, b. Providence, Rhode Island, USA. Member: 'Talking Heads', originally comprised of three members: David Byrne (vocals, guitar), Chris Frantz (drums), and Tina Weymouth (bass).
1921    Gale Robbins, singer/actress, d. Feb. 12, 1980. Best recalled for her films The Barkley's of Broadway (starring Astaire and Rogers), 'The Fuller Brush Girl', 'Three Little Words' (starring Astaire and Red Skelton), and 'The Belle of New York'.
1946    Sparky Rucker, guitar, b. Knoxville, TN, USA.
1939    Jimmy Ruffin, R&B singer, b. Colinsville, MI, USA. He is the older brother of 'The Temptations' singer David Ruffin.
1948    Ramesh Shotham, Percussion, b. Madras, India
1941    Lars Sjosten, Piano/Leader, b. Oskarshamn, Sweden
1926    Arthur "Kansas City Red" Stevenson, drums, b. Drew MS, USA, d. May 7, 1991, Chicago, IL, USA. (His birthday!).
1926    Herbie Steward, Jazz clarinet/Tenor-alto Sax, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA. First played with guitarist Barney Kessel in 1945, and subsequently worked and recorded with the big bands of Artie Shaw and Alvino Rey. Herbie's greatest fame came as a member of Woody Herman's 'Second Herd' band where he was one of the original "Four Brothers" sax section, along with Zoot Sims, Stan Getz, and Serge Chaloff. In 1948, he left Herman and freelanced. After this, he again played with the Artie Shaw, then Tommy Dorsey, and Elliot Lawrence orchestras. From 1951 to 1954, Herbie performed with Harry James. In the mid 1950s he settled in Las Vegas, gave up Jazz, and concentrated on show music. Steward was always renowned for his versatility and exceptional sight-reading.
1840    Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composer, b. Kamsko-Votkinsk (small industrial town east of Moscow), Russia. d. Nov. 6, 1893 (cholera). Included here because so much of this late 19th century Classical composer's works have become part of the Pop repertoire.
1943    Rick West, Guitar (Acoustic)/Dobro/Mandolin/re-mixer, b. Dagenham, Essex, England, UK. Member group: 'Brian Poole and the Tremeloes'
1959    Marty Willson-Piper, guitarist and songwriter, b. Sydney, Australia. Member: 'The Church'
1948    Pete Wingfield, singer/producer
1955    Axel Zwingenberger, Piano, b. Hamburg, Germany A Blues and Boogie Woogie pianist, he was classically trained but by 1970s was playing the 'Blues'. He first recorded in 1975, He has worked with "Big" Joe Turner, among others. Interestingly, his hobby is photographing steam locomotives,
   Notable Events occuring this date include:
1950.    Bertha "Chippie" Hill, vocals, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 45
1966.    'The Mamas and The Papas' release of "Monday, Monday" reached No. 1 on the Pop charts.
1978.    "Brother" Claude Ely, (gospel) vocals, died in Newport, KY, USA. Age: 55
1990.    Sonny Rodgers, guitar, died in Minneapolis, MN, USA. Age: 50
1991.    "Kansas City Red" (Arthur Stevenson), drums, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 65
1991.    Cleveland Chenier, washboard, died in Lafayette, LA, USA. Age: 69
1998.    Edward Thomas "Eddie" Rabbitt, C&W vocals/guitar, died from cancer. Age: 56
   Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
      1925 "The Charleston", - Paul Whiteman Orch.
      1925 "Ida 'Deed I Do", - Isham Jones Orch.
      1929 "I'll Always Be In Love With You", -Ben Selvin Orch.
      1932 "Got The South In My Soul", -Isham Jones Orch.
      1948 "My Happiness", - Steele, Jon & Sandra
      1951 "Sparrow in the Treetop", - Bing Crosby voc.
      1951 "Mockingbird Hill", -Patti Page voc.
      1951 "Cold, Cold Heart", - Hank Williams C&W vocal.
      1955 "Blossom Fell, A", - Nat "King" Cole
      1955 "Learnin' The Blues", - Frank Sinatra
      1959 "Come Softly to Me", - The Fleetwoods vocal group.
      1966 "It's A Man's Man's Man's World", - James Brown
      1966 "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart", - The Supremes
      1977 "Margaritaville", - Jimmy Buffett
      1977 "Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky)", Bill Conti
      1977 "Undercover Angel", - Alan O'Day
      1983 "Family Man", - Hall & Oates
      1983 "She's A Beauty", - The Tubes
      1988 "Circle In The Sand", - Belinda Carlisle
      1988 "Foolish Beat", - Debbie Gibson
      1988 "Make It Real", - The Jets