BIRTHDAYS
1957    John Ashton, guitar, b. England. 'Psychedelic Furs'
1936    Hank Ballard, C&W Vocals/songwriter/leader, b. Detroit, MI, USA
1920    Dennis "Long Man" Binder, piano, b. Rosedale, MS, USA.
1959    Cindy Blackman, Drums, b. Yellow Springs, OH, USA
1957    Jenny Burton, vocals, b. New York, NY, USA
1919    Georgia Carroll , vocals, b. Blooming Grove, TX, USA. Best remembered for her work with Kay Kyser Orch.
1936    Donald Eugene "Don" Cherry, Trumpet, cornet, pocket trumpet, flute, piano, percussion, b. Oklahoma City, OK, USA d. Oct. 19, 1995
1941    Con Clusky, guitar, b. England. Member group: The Bachelors
1926    Dorothy Collins, vocalist, b. Winsor-ont, Canada, d. July 21, 1994, Winsor-ONT, Canada, age:67. née: Marjorie Chandler. Best recalled for her work on the Lucky Strike "Your Hit Parade" radio show. (She was married to the show's bandleader Raymond Scott.)
1965    Tim DeLaughter, singer/songwriter/guitar, b. Dallas, TX, USA. Member group: Tripping Daisy, a rock band consisted of founder DeLaughter, Wes Berggren (Guitar), Mitch Marine (Drums), and Mark Pirro (Bass/Keyboards). DeLaughter ran a Dallas based record store called Good Records, before forming the band. Tripping Daisy has stopped recording since Wes Berggren's 1999 death from an overdose (their self-titled album was released post-humously). Frontman Tom DeLaughter went on to form The Polyphonic Spree.
1914    Leonard E. Depaur, gospel vocals, b. Summit, NJ, USA.
1928    Claes-Goran Fagerstedt, piano, b. Stockholm, Sweden, -did much jazzwork w/Swedish groups. Later became Textile Salesman working part-time in jazz music.
1900    Kim Gannon, lyricist, b. Brooklyn, NY, USA. d. April 29, 1974, Lake Worth, FL, USA.
1937    Eddie Graham, Drums, b. New York, NY, USA
1932    Genie Grant, vocals
1923    Lillie "Lil" Greenwood, singer, b. Mobile, AL, USA. Not a "Jazz" singer but a big-voiced Entertainer. Worked in small clubs in San Francisco area. With Duke Ellington's band 1958.
1962    Kirk Hammett, guitar, b. San Francisco, CA, USA. Member group: 'Metallica'
1910    Spencer Jackson, gospel vocals, b. Thomaston, AL, USA.
1925    Don Johnson, trumpet, b. Pasadena, CA, USA. Worked with Johnny Otis
1928    Sheila Jordan, Vocal, b. Detroit, MI, USA. Married to Duke Jordan.
1930    Melvin Lastie, trumpet, b. New Orleans, LA, USA. d, Dec. 4, 1972, New Orleans, LA, USA. At age 15, Lastie joined the Paul Barbarin band, and during his senior year at Booker T. Washington High School in New Orleans, he organized a professional jazz band that featured a piano player named Antoine "Fats" Domino as one of its members. At age 16, he went on the road with Hosa Hill’s band and returned to New Orleans in 1948 to form the Melvin Lastie Orchestra. That same year, Lastie became a member of the U. S. Army. After his service discharge, he and his brother joined musical forces to become 'The Lastie Brothers' and toured extensively. In 1954, the brothers hooked up with renowned blues singer Joe Turner; with Melvin leading Turner’s band during that tour. Tiring of all the touring and difficult life on the road, Lastie returned to New Orleans to both run his father’s concession business, and to play regularly at the famous Show Bar on Bourbon Street. From 1957 to 1959, he ran his own nightclub - "The High Hat"; it took up an entire block and featured three bars with entertainment by Lastie and a host of other artists. He was also a representative for the American Federation of Musicians, Local 496 (New Orleans) and he handled all recording transactions for the musicians union during that time. In 1961, Lastie, with Harold Battiste, formed the A.F.O. Record label. In 1963, Lastie, with his full A.F.O. staff, moved to Los Angeles and began producing for Sam Cooke’s label. The brothers were instrumental in two of Cooke’s hits - "Tennessee Waltz" and "A Change Is Gonna Come". Joe Jones, who was handling the Dixie Cups, called on Melvin to produce what became their first hit, "(Going to the) Chapel of Love". Melvin Lastie went on to arrange music and play for Willie Bobo, eventually handling all of his business transactions. He also produced Bobo’s first hit "Spanish Grease", and his second hit album, "Uno, Dos, Tres". In 1969, Lastie and Battiste again began working together to produce for several artists, including King Floyd and Al "Shine" Robinson.
1916    Jimmy Lyons, Festival founder ('Monterey Jazz Festival'), disc jockey, b. Peking, China
1948    Andrea Marcovicci, vocals/actress, b. New York, NY, USA.
1872    Félix Mayol, vocals, b. Toulon, France, d. Nov. 1, 1941, France. Born into a musical family (his parents were both amateurs singers or actors), he was already appearing on stage at just 6 years of age. In 1895 he settled in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris, beginning a career that spanned more than forty years. His signature song was "Viens Poupoule, Viens Poupoule, Viens!" (Original title (1902): "Komm Karlineken". Words: Alexandre Trébisle, Henri Christiné. Music: Adolph Spalm)
1953    John McFee, C&W guitar, b. Santa Cruz, CA, USA. Member: "Southern Pacific"
1921    Ellis Mclintock, trumpet/leader, b. Toronto, Canada
1909    John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer, Lyricist/Vocalist, b. Savannah, GA, USA. d. June 25, 1976, Bel-Air, CA, USA. Just some of his songs incl. "Jeepers Creepers" "That Old Black Magic" "Skylark" "Laura" "Blues In The Night" and "Too Marvelous For Words". Among his vocal hits were "Dr. Heckle and Mr Jive" w/ TD '33; "Christmas Night In Harlem" and "Fare Thee Well To Harlem" w/ P. Whiteman '34; "Sent For You Yesterday (And Here You Come Today)" w/ Benny Goodman /39; He co-founded Capitol Records in '42.
1917    Henry W. "Boots" Mussulli, Alto Sax, b. Milford, MA, USA. d. Sept. 23, 1967, Norfolk, MA, USA. Played with Toshiko Akiyoshi; Serge Chaloff; Stan Kenton; Gene Krupa; Vido Musso; Herb Pomeroy; Teddy Powell; and Charlie Ventura.
1950    Graham Parker, singer/songwriter/guitar, b. East London, England. Member group: The Rumour. (some sources say b. Nov. 15)
1954    John Parr, singer/songwriter, b. Nottingham, England. John scored two hit singles, but he seems to have been all but forgotten.
1936    Jimmy Radcliffe, singer-songwriter/guitar, b. New York, NY, USA.
1940    Herman Rarebell, rock drums, b. Hannover, Germany. Member group: The Scorpions, a groupd founded in 1969 in Hannover, Germany, and these German rockers have sold over 22-million records, perhpas the most successful rock bands to ever come out of Continental Europe.
1969    Duncan Scott Sheik, singer/songwriter, b. Montclair, NJ, USA.
1927    Victor Sproles, Bass, b. Chicago, IL, USA
1912    Jimmy Swan, C&W Singer-Songwriter/Guitar/Drums/Piano, b. Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA.
1946    Bennie Wallace, Tenor Sax, b. Chattanooga, TN, USA
1946    Jacky Ward, (C&W) guitar/vocals, b. Groveton, TX, USA
1960    Kim Wilde, singer, b. Chiswick, West London, England. She has had 20 or more top 50 UK singles.
1926    Claude Berkeley Williamson, Piano/composer, b. Brattleboro, VT, USA. Stu Williamson's brother.
          Notable Events on this date include:
1940.    Joshua Altheimer, piano, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 30
1951.    Will H. Vodery, (ragtime) piano, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 66
1965.    Lou Black, banjo, died in Rock Island, IL, USA.
1969.    Ted Heath, trombonist and bandleader, died at age 69.
1970.    Hal Dickinson, a singer with the well known vocal group 'The Modernaires', died. age: 56
1971.    Little Junior Parker, harmonica, died in Blue Island IL, USA. Age: 44
1973.    Luther Henry Huff, guitar, died in Detroit, MI, USA. Age: 62
1977.    June Petrie "Elviry" Weaver, C&W vocals, died. Age: 86. Member: "The Weaver Brothers & Elviry"
1977.    Teddi King, vocals, died inMew York, NY, USA. ( lupus erythematosus ) Her husband Josh Gerber, was a society-band drummer.
1978.    Lennie Tristano, piano, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 59
1989.    Freddie Waits, drums, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 49
1990.    Esco Hankins, (Old-Time Country) vocals/Guitar, died. Age: 69 (b. Jan. 1, 1924, Union County, Tennessee, USA.)
1990.    Peter Schilperoort, sax, clarinet, leader, died. (Sometimes known as: Pat Bronx)
1993.    Donald Dee, producer/songwriter, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 30
1994.    Cab Calloway, Leader/vocals/songwriter, died in Hockessin, DE, USA. Age: 86
1995.    Shirley Bergeron, guitar/songwriter, died in Church Point, LA, USA. Age: 62
1999.    Doug Sham, C&W vocals/guitar, died. Age: 58
2001.    Billy O'Connor, pianist, leader died Nov. 18, 2001, in Toronto, ON, Canada, (He was a big part of CBC television history)
          Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
     1943 "My Heart Tells Me", Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orch.
     1949 "Mule Train", Vaughn Monroe
     1949 "Dear Hearts And Gentle People", Dinah Shore
     1957 "Raunchy", Ernie Freeman
     1957 "Raunchy", Bill Justis
     1957 "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine", Jimmie Rodgers
     1967 "You Better Sit Down Kids", Cher
     1967 "Daydream Believer", Monkees
     1972 "Me And Mrs. Jones", Billy Paul
     1978 "Le Freak", Chic
     1978 "Too Much Heaven", Bee Gees
     1978 "Ooh Baby Baby", Linda Ronstadt
     1989 "Just Like Jesse James", Cher
     1989 "Just Between You And Me", Lou Gramm
     1989 "Rhythm Nation", Janet Jackson
     1989 "Everything", Jody Watley