BIRTHDAYS
1912     Dave Barbour, guitar/composer/arranger/leader, b. New York (Flushing), NY, USA. d. Dec. 11, 1965, Malibu, CA USA. Guitarist, composer, arranger and band leader.Guitarist with many jazz combos during 1930s-'40s. Began career with Wingy Manone in 1934. In 1935-'36 played with Red Norvo, 1936-'37 with Lennie Hayton, 1938 with Hal Kemp, in 1939 with both Artie Shaw and Raymond Scott. In early 1940s with Lou Holden and also began to freelance, accompanying singers and making guest appearances on radio shows.During 1942-'43, played with Benny Goodman and married Goodman's vocalist Peggy Lee.He and Peggy teamed and composed some very successful songs including "I Don't Know Enough About You" (1946), and in 1947 they wrote both "It's a Good Day" their biggest hit, "Manana" which was the number one song on the charts for nine weeks.His drinking habit caused marriage breakup.In 1945 he became musical conductor for the Curt Massey radio show.In the early 50s he settled on the west coast and led his own band briefly. He used "Forever Nicki" as his theme song.After his divorce from Peggy he was mostly inactive in music.
1931     Sonny Burgess, C&W singer-songwriter/guitar, b. Newport, AR, USA.
1949     Bonnie Burns, producer (for 'The Jacksons'), b. Seattle, WA, USA.
1911     Farris Coursey, C&W sessions drummer, b. Mt. Pleasant, TN, USA.
1917     "Papa" John Creach, Violin/Vocal, b. Beaver Falls, PA, USA. Member groups: 'Jefferson Airplane', 'Hot Tuna', 'Jefferson Starship'
1956     Jerry Douglas, Dobro, b. Warren, OH, USA.
1945     John Fogerty, singer/songwriter. Member group: 'Creedence Clearwater Revival'.
1907     Reginald Foresythe, Piano/composer, b. London, England, d.Dec. 23, 1958, London, England, UK.
1926     Russ Freeman, Piano/composer, b. Chicago, IL, USA. d. June 27, 2002. né: Russell Donald Freeman.
1962     Roland Gift, vocals/actor, b. Hull, England, UK.Member group: 'Fine Young Cannibals'
1959     Steve Harrington, Saxophone/drums, b.Monmouth, Wales, UK. In group 'Visage', he used the name of "Steve Strange". A wealthy star in the 1980s, he fell from the public's grace and was unable to cope with poverty.He became a persistent shoplifter, and was sentenced several times for his crimes. In more recent times, he has returned to his south Wales roots and has set himself up as a manager, promoting local bands.
1907     Arthur Herbert, Drums. b. USA
1911     Arthur "Skeets" Herfurt, alto & tenor sax, d. April, 17, 1992
1955     Edwin "Eddie" Jobson, Rock Violin, b. Billingham, Cleveland, England, UK. Member group: 'Curved Air', 'Roxy Music'. Roxy was formed in January 1971 originally comprised of Bryan Ferry (b. Sept, 26, 1945, Washington, Co. Durham, England; vocals/keyboards); Brian Eno (né: Brian Peter George St. Baptiste de la Salle Eno, b. May 15, 1948, Woodbridge, Suffolk, England; electronics/keyboards); Graham Simpson (bass) and Andy Mackay (b. July 23, 1946, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, England).Over the next year, several new members came and went including drummer Dexter Lloyd, guitarist Roger Bunn and former 'Nice' guitarist David O'List. In early 1972, a fairly settled line-up emerged with the recruitment of Paul Thompson (b. May 13, 1951, Newcastle, England; drums) and Phil Manzanera (né: Philip Targett Adams, b. Jan.31, 1951, London, England; guitar). On June 21, 1973, following a series of disagreements with Ferry over his role in the band, Eno left Roxy Music, and was replaced by former 'Curved Air' violinist Eddie Jobson, working as a hired musician rather than a full member of the group.
1939     Wojciech Karolak, Piano, b. Warsaw, Poland
1898     Andy Kirk, Leader/Saxophone, b. May, 28, 1898, Newport, KY, USA, d.1992. One of the great Kansas City Bands -'Andy Kirk and His Twelve Clouds of Joy Orchestra'. Pha Terrell was the vocalist.
1944     Gladys Knight, singer, "GK and The Pips" vocal group.
1900     Tommy Ladnier, Trumpet, b. Florenceville, LA, USA. d. 1939, USA. (Cardiac Arrest). In 1917, Ladnier left Louisiana for Chicago, IL, USA. In 1921 he was in St. Louis, MO, working with the Charlie Creath, and Fate Marable bands, before returning to Chicago to work with King Oliver. In 1925, he toured Europe with the Sam Wooding Orchestra. 1926 found him working in New York with Fletcher Henderson's band. In 1928, he was again in Europe, where he worked again with Wooding, and in 1930 with the Benny Peyton and Noble Sissle bands. In 1932, back in New York City, he played (and recorded) with Sidney Bechet's New Orleans Feetwarmers. Ladnier and Bechet remained in New York city during the great economic Depression of the 1930s, where they opened the 'Southern Tailor' shop from 1933 to 1934, which like so many other depression businesses failed in due time, and Ladnier drifted about New York at various menial jobs. In 1938, French Jazz critic Hughes Panassie "rediscovered" him and Ladnier, along with Bechet and Mezz Mezzrow were recorded on the "Panassie Sessions". Tommy died suddenly in 1939.
1948     Ray Laidlaw, drums, North Shields, England, UK. Member group: 'Lindisfarne'.The original group consisted of Alan Hull (b.Newcastle, Eng., Feb. 20, 1945, Guitars, Vocals, Keyboards), Simon Cowe (Guitars, Vocals, Mandolin), Rod Clements (North Shields, Eng., Nov 17, 1947,Bass, Vocals, Keyboards, Guitars), Ray Jackson (Wallsend, Dec.12, 1948, Mandolin, Vocals, Harmonica), and Ray Laidlaw (Drums)
1930     Lawrence "Tricky" Lofton, Trombone, b. Houston, TX, USA.
1944     Rita MacNeil, singer/songwriter, b. Big Pond (near Sydney), N.S., Canada
1943     Tony Mansfield, songwriter/producer, b. UK. Member group: 'Billy J.Kramer & the Dakotas', but perhaps best known as the main songwriter of 'New Musik', a synthpop band from the 1980s.
1928     Arno Marsh, tenor sax, b. Grand Rapids, MI, USA. Arno has played with Woody Herman's Thundering Herd, Stan Kenton's Big Band, and the Buddy Rich orchestra. Arno's wife is Jazz singer Mary Lou Marsh, and their son, Randy Marsh (b. Grand Rapids, MI, USA), is an excellent drummer. Randy has credited his mother, for his deep love of Jazz.
1955     John McGeoch, guitar, b. Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland (moved to Manchester as a teenager), UK. d. March 4, 2004. Member groups: 'Magazine', 'Siouxsie & the Banshees', 'Armoury Show'
1968     Kylie Minogue, vocals, b. Melbourne, Australia. Member group: 'Hi-Five'. In 1987, this beautiful lady arrived in the USA, and since then, she's only had one big hit in the U.S.A. This is curious because Kylie Minogue is both Australia's and Europe's biggest selling female pop singer, and a pop culture icon in those areas.
1945     Bob Murphy, piano/organ
1974     Russell Lamont Neal, vocals. Member group: 'Hi-Five', a Southwestern USA teen R&B ensemble originally comprised of Tony Thompson, Roderick Clark, Russell Neal, Marcus Sanders, and Toriano Easley.
1939     Freddy North, singer-songwriter, b. Nashville, TN, USA.
1943     John Michael Palmer, vibes/keyboards/flute, b. Union, SC, USA. Member group: 'The Family Circle', a group formed 1969 in Leicester, England.
1959     Eddie Parker, Flute, b. Liverpool, England
1929     Dale Potter, C&W fiddler, b. Puxico, MO, USA.
1938     "Prince Buster", (Reggae) vocals, b.Kingston, Jamaica. né: Cecil Bustamente Campbell.He produced and recorded hundreds of records for the Blue Beat label.
1939     Raymond Raubisko, Tenor Sax, b.Riga, Latvia
1906     Phil Regan, Singer. d. Best recalled for singing: "My Wild Irish Rose"
1970     Mark Richardson, drums, b. UK. Member group: 'Skunk Anansie', Formed in 1994, this English heavy metal band, featured a Black, "skinhead", female singer, named 'Skin' (Deborah Dyer).Other members included Cass (Richard Lewis) on bass guitar, Ace (Martin Kent) on guitar, and Mark Richardson (he replaced the original drummer, Robbie France). They broke up in 2001, with 'Skin' going on to a solo career.
1946     Claudio Roditi, Trumpet, b. Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
1956     Brent Rowan, guitar, b. Waxahachie, TX, USA.
1953     Cathy Segal-Garcia, jazz vocals.
1955     Janet Seidel, Vocals/Piano, b. Cummins, South Australia, Australia. Janet is the sister of bassist David Seidel
1945     Gary Stewart, (C&W) singer-songwriter/guitar/pianist, b. Jenkins (Letcher County), KY, USA. d. Dec.16, 2003.One of the first so-called "outlaw" country performers of the 1970s, he is best known for his drinking songs. Gary had enjoyed a great 40 year career, but on November 26, the day before Thanksgiving, his wife (Mary Lou) died of pneumonia. They had been married forty-three years. Later, friends later told reporters that he was extremely despondent after Mary Lou's death. On December 16, his daughter's boyfriend visited Stewart's Palm Beach, Florida apartment to check on his welfare and found Gary Stewart dead, -a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the neck.
1898    Lew Stone, pianist/leader/arranger/bass/cello, b. London, England, UK. d. Feb. 13, 1969. Age: 71.
1921     Al Tinney, Piano, b. Ansonia, CO, USA. d. Dec.11, 2002, Buffalo, NY, USA. (Cancer) Member: 'The Jive Bombers' (hit record: "Bad Boy"). Also worked with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gellespie, Art Tatum, Billie Holliday, Peggy Farrell and George Gershwin
1910     Arthur "Traps" Trappier, Drums, b.Georgetown, SC, USA. d. 1975
1937     Cal Valentine, guitar, b. Dallas, TX, USA.
1965     Phil Vassar, piano/composer, b. Lynchburg, VA, USA. Among the great Country hits that Vassar has composed are "Little Red Rodeo" (a hit for Collin Raye), "For A Little While" (Tim McGraw), "I Was" (Neal McCoy), "Right On The Money" (Alan Jackson), and "I'm Alright" and "Bye Bye" (Jo Dee Messina, the later was an ASCAP country song of the year). In 1999 received ASCAP's Songwriter Of The Year award.
1944     Billy Vera , vocals, b. New York, NY, USA. Member group: 'Billy Vera & The Beaters'. Before he began his singing career, Billy was a New York City Policeman.
1937     Bill Walker, C&W arranger-conductor, b. New South Wales, Australia. Bill was Nashville's busiest arranger-conductor in the 60's and 70's.
1910     "T-Bone" Walker, guitar/singer, d. March 17, 1975, USA. né: Aaron Thibeaux Walker.
         Notable Events occuring this date include:
1922.    Otto Krueger led the Detroit (MI, USA) News Orchestra on WWJ Radio. At the time, the Detroit News owned the radio station.It was the first known radio orchestra.
1932.    Ozie Mcpherson, vocals, died in New York, NY.USA.
1981.    Mary Lou Williams, piano/arranger, died in Durham, NC, USA.Age: 71
1988.    Rex Kline, drums, died in Sacramento, CA, USA.
1988.    Sy Oliver, arranger/trombone , died in New York, NY, USA.Age: 77
1991.    Louis E.Cicchetti, producer (For the Regents and Elgins labels), died in Charleston, SC, USA.Age: 72
1993.    Doctor Ross, guitar/harmonica/drums, died in Flint, MI, USA.Age: 67
2001.    Gene Davis, lead vocalist with the "Star Routers" (the Palomino Club's house band) died.
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
      1925 "Dreamy Carolina Moon", - Ben Selvin Orch.
      1931 "I Found A Million Dollar Baby In The 5 and 10 Cent Store", Ben Selvin Orch.
      1941 "This Love Of Mine".Tommy Dorsey Orch, with Frank Sinatra vocal.
      1948 "Love Somebody", - Doris Day
      1948 "You Can't Be True, Dear", - Dick Haymes
      1948 "Woody Woodpecker", - Kay Kyser
      1948 "My Happiness", - The Pied Pipers
      1955 "Something's Gotta Give", - Sammy Davis Jr.
      1966 "When A Man Loves A Woman", Percy Sledge (his biggest hit.)
      1966 "Sweet Talkin' Guy", - The Chiffons
      1966 "Strangers In The Night", - Frank Sinatra
      1975 "Stampede". The Doobie Brothers
      1977 "I Just Want To Be Your Everything", - Andy Gibb
      1977 "Looks Like We Made It", - Barry Manilow
      1977 "My Heart Belongs To Me", - Barbra Streisand
      1983 "Our House", - Madness
      1983 "Come Dancing", - Kinks
      1988 "New Sensation", - INXS
      1988 "Mercedes Boy", - Pebbles