BIRTHDAYS
1934   Leando J. "Gato" Barbieri, Tenor Sax, b. Rosario, Argentina
1934   Alfred Rosario "Al" Beldini, drums/singer, b. Brooklyn (NYC), NY, USA. (aka: Beldiny, and Baldini.)
1896   Frank Black, Bandleader, b. Philadelphia, PA, USA. d. ?
1946   "Blues Boy Willie", -- See: William "Blues Boy Willie" McFalls - below.
1903   Joe Britton, trombone, b. Birmingham, AL, USA. d. Aug. 12, 1972. (Worked with "Sister" Rosetta Tharp.)
1948   "Beeb Burtles", piano, b. Australia. Member group: 'Little River Band', had it genesis in the group 'Mississippi', which had Graham Goble (singer/songwriter/guitar, b. May 15, 1944, Adelaide, South Australia), guitarist Beeb Birtles, and drummer Derek Pellicci. These three, with British-born lead singer Glenn Shorrock, later formed the 'LRB'. In 1956, their lead singer, Glenn Shorrock, (b. June 30, 1944, Rochester,U.K.), had emigrated to Western Australia with his family. (LRB later had John Farnham as lead singer.)
1962   Matt Cameron, drums/songwriter/producer, San Diego, CA, USA. Member group: Soundgarden
1892   Harry Carroll, composer, d. 1962, Mt. Carmel, PA, USA.
1940   Bruce Channel, vocals, b. Jacksonville, TX, USA.
1970   Matt Cheslin, bass. Member group: 'Neds Atomic Dustbin'
1932   Jerry Coker, Tenor Sax/composer/educator, b. South Bend, IN, USA. Both parents Jazz musicians. Jerry played with the Indiana University band.
1923   George Coleman, drums, b. Haines, FL, USA.
1940   Glen Curtis, guitar, b. UK. Member group: The Fortunes. The band also included Bob Jackson (Keyboards/Vocals/Guitar, b. June 1, 1949, Coventry, England).
1928   "Little Sam" Davis, harmonica, b. Winona, MS, USA.
1941   Gary Edwards, Label ceo (Sound Of New Orleans Records), b. New Orleans, LA, USA.
1932   Ethel Ennis, vocals, b. Baltimore, MD, USA. A small-voiced club singer - not a jazz singer. Worked with Benny Goodman on his Summer of 1958 European tour.
1929   Clarence Fountain, vocals, b. Tyler, AL, USA. Member: 'Blind Boys Of Alabama'
1956   Janis Gill, C&W vocals, b. Manhattan Beach, CA, USA. née: Janis Oliver. Member group: 'Sweethearts of the Rodeo', a duo comprised of Janis Oliver, and her sister Kristine Oliver (b. 1 March 1957, Manhattan Beach, California, USA). Growing up, the sisters often practised their vocal harmonies. Janis first studied classical music and soon broadened her interests to encompass bluegrass, western swing and rock. In 1973, she and sister Kristine formed 'Sweethearts of the Rodeo', and began their professional career singing 'Country-Rock' tunes. (Kristine was the lead singer and Janis the songwriter for the "Sweethearts'). Country singer Emmylou Harris "discovered" the girls when they were performing in a local pizza parlor, and invited the women to open for her at the Roxy in Los Angeles, CA. They soon became popular on the West Coast bluegrass circuit. Janis met her future husband, Vince Gill, when the 'Sweethearts' played a show with Gill's group, 'Pure Prairie League'. In 1980, they married, and in 1983, moved to Nashville, TN. Initially, Janis' career surpassed her husband's. After signing a deal with Columbia Records, 'The Sweethearts' first two albums scored seven Top-10 singles, including "Midnight Girl"/"Sunset Town" in 1986 and "Chains of Gold" in 1987. (It was Janis' songwriting royalties that paid for their first home.) In 1989, Vince Gill finally found real success when he released the million-selling "When I Call Your Name". The marriage eventually came apart when Vince began an extra-marital affair with Christian-singer Amy Grant. In 1996, Janis filed for divorce, after 17 years of marriage, and the tabloids had a field day with their reportage. On Oct. 1, 1997, Janis hit rock bottom. She had been riding with Roy Cummings, whom she had hired to manage her farm, when a serious riding accident left her hospitalized for 10 days with a broken wrist, broken ankle and neck injuries. Heartbroken, Janis withdrew from the music business, and remained out of the business for many years before finally re-discovering that music is still her love. Eventually, she began writing songs again, and also enrolled in some engineering classes (where the other students were the age of her 20 year old daughter, Jenny). Then, on 0ct. 30, 2000, she married Roy Cummings, in Maui, Hawaii. Her sister, C&W singer Kristine, the other "Sweetheart of the Rodeo", is happily marry to Leonard Arnold.
1929   Berry Gordy, III., Label Founder (Motown Records), b. Detroit, MI, USA.
1944   R. B. Greaves, vocals, b. Georgetown, British Guiana
1925   Gigi Gryce, Alto Sax/flute/composer/arranger, b, Pensacola, FL, USA. d. March 17, 1983. né: George General Grice, Jr. Adopted Moslem name: Basheer Quism. Studied Boston Conserv. of Music majoring in Classical Composition. (His date of birth given here is the date appearing on his grave stone. )
1887   Louis Hirsch, composer, b. New York, NY, USa, d. May 13, 1924, New York, NY, USA.
1951   Dennis Irwin, Bass, b. Birmingham, AL, USA
1954   David Jaynes, guitar/vocals. Member group: Modern Romance
1956   Charlie Kohlhase. alto & baritone saxes
1893   Ray Leveen, songwriter, b. Newark, NJ, USA. Worked with Louis Jordan Orch.
1889   Roy Lopez, cornet, b. New Orleans, LA, USA. d. April 27, 1970, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
1926   Ralph Lawrence Martin, piano/arranger, b. Paterson, NJ, USA. Studied Music at Syracuse Univ, U of Miami, and Juilliard in New York City. Has Accompanied many singers and worked with such bands as Billy Butterfield, Boyd Raeburn; Ray McKinley; and Don Redman.
1936   Roy McCurdy, Drums, b. Rochester, NY, USA.
1946   William "Blues Boy Willie" McFalls, vocals, b. Memphis, TX, USA.
1949   Hugh McKenna, guitar, b. Scotland, UK. Member group: 'Sensational Alex Harvey Band', a band formed by Alex Harvey (b. Feb 5, 1935, Glasgow, Scotland, d. Feb 4, 1982, Zeebruggen, Belgium. Heart attack). In the early '70s, Harvey recruited the Scottish band 'Tear Gas' -- consisting of Zal Cleminson, Chris Glen, Hugh McKenna, and Ted McKenna, and renamed the quintet ' The Sensational Alex Harvey Band'.
1943   Randy Newman, singer/songwriter/piano, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA. Randy is a member of the famous Newman family of musicians who were/are so influential in the Hollywood studios. However, he is the son of the only Newman brother NOT to be a composer. Randy is the cousin of Thomas and David Newman, and the nephew of Alfred, Lionel and Emil Newman.
1930   A. L. "Doodle" Owens, C&W songwriter, b. Waco, TX, USA, d. Oct. 4, 1999. Age: 68
1968   Dawn Robinson, vocals, b. New London, CT, USA. Member group: 'En Vogue', a group originally consisting of Dawn Robinson, Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones.
1941   Adelhard Roldinger, Bass, b. Windischgarsten, Austria
1949   Paul Shaffer, keyboards, b. Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
1941   Jasper Thilo, Alto-tenor sax/clarinet/flute, b. Copenhagen, Denmark
1943   "Butch" Thompson, Piano/clarinet, b. Marine, MN, USA.
1977   Ilya Toshinsky, C&W vocals/guitar/banjo, b. Russia. Member: 'Bering Strait'
1939   Gary Robert Troyel, trumpet/vocals, b. Centralia, WA, USA. Member group: 'Fleetwoods'. In 1958, Barbara Laine Ellis, and Gretchen Diane Christopher wanted to form a singing group in their hometown of Olympia, WA, to entertain at school functions during their senior year. Deciding to work as a duo, they enlisted trumpeter Gary Robert Troxel. However, the trumpet was out of place, and Gary began to wordlessly vocalize the trumpet part. Thus was born that sound so unique to the Fleetwoods, - then known as Two Girls and a Guy.
1958   David Van Day, vocals, b. UK. Member group: Dollar. In the early 1970s, David Van Day and the Canadian-born Thereza Bazar broke away from Guys 'n' dolls, a six-piece UK pop group, and became the duo, Dollar. The liner notes to one of their CDs, told of their romance - how it happened, and led to engagement, - but not marriage. Thereza end up in Australia as a happily married mother. David ended up selling burgers. C'est La Vie!.
1915   Richard Thomas "Dick" Vance, Trumpet, arranger, vocal, leader, b. Mayfield, KY, USA. d. 1985
1907   George Wettling, Drums, b. Topeka, KS, USA. d. June 6, 1968, New York, NY, USA. né: George Godfrey Wettling. Although widely recalled as a wonderful "Dixieland" Jazz drummer, Wettling actually played with just about every group active during the 1920s through the 1940s, including the great big Swing bands of Jack Hylton (1935), Artie Shaw (1936), Bunny Berigan (1937), Paul Whiteman (1938-1940), Paul Mares, Eddie Condon, Benny Goodman, Red Norvo, and even the short-lived Chico Marx Orchestra. During 1943-1952, he worked as a staff musician at ABC (American Broadcasting Corporation). Towards the end of his life, he occasionally contributed articles on Jazz to both Downbeat and Playboy magazines, and even had some of his artwaork appearing on album jackets. While his propensity towards excessive alcohol consumption limited his ability as a Leader, he did manage to record for the Decca (1940), 'Black & White' (1944), Keynote, Stycon, Columbia (1951), JSP, Kapp, and Stereocraft labels. However, it was with the small groups that his musicality was so evident. In 1921, he and his family moved to Chicago, IL, and Wettling quickly became a part of that city's vibrant Jazz cummunity.playing with such starsd as Muggsy Spanier, a young Benny Goodman, and Sidney Bechet. In 1938, he was part of a trio that included saxophonist Bud Freeman and pianist Jess Stacy, He also recorded with Jimmy McPartland, Wingy Manone, and Eddie Condon, and a lttle later recorded with Joe Marsala and Ben Pollack, Near the end of his career, Wettling often worked with guitarist Eddie Condon's small groups, both at Condon's club and his Town Hall broadcasts.(both in New York city). (Condon was a persistent advocate of small-band Jazz improvisation -unscored.)
         Notable Events on this date include:
1925.    Broadcasting live from Nashville, Tennessee, a radio program later called "the Grand Ole Opry", but originally named the 'Barn Dance' (after a Chicago radio program called the 'National Barn Dance' that had begun broadcasting the previous year) was heard for the first time. The show would become one of the longest-lived and most popular showcases for western music.
1960.    Richard Wright, author/poet, died in Paris, France. Age: 52
1964.    Jack Washington, alto & baritone sax, died. (b. July 17, 1910) (Worked with Bennie Moten, Count Basie and Paul Banks, among others)
1971.    Alexander "Papa George" Lightfoot, harmonica, died in Natchez, MS, USA. Age: 47
1972.    Jimmy Lytell, clarinet, bandleader, died. (at just age 14, he was already leading his own Dixieland Jazz band.)
1983.    Johnny "Scat" Davis, trumpet/vocals/leader/actor died
1986.    Carroll Jenkins, guitar, died in Kansas City, MO, USA. Age: 59
1992.    Wayne Bennett, guitar, died in New Orleans, LA, USA. Age: 58
1993.    Alan Clare, piano, died. (né: Alan Jaycock) (b. May 31, 1921 - 29 November 1993)
1993.    Bruce Turner, clarinet, alto, tenor & soprano saxes died. (cancer)
1994.    Al Levitt, drums, died in Paris. France Age: 62. (cerebral hemorrhage). (performed with Lee Konitz, Chet Baker, Lionel Hampton, Stan Getz and others)
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
     1941 "Sheperd Serenade", Horace Heidt Orch.
     1947 "How Soon (Will I Be Seeing You)", Bing Crosby
     1947 "White Christmas", Bing Crosby
     1953 "Oh, Mein Papa", Eddie Calvert
     1953 "Gang That Sang "Heart Of My Heart", The Four Aces
     1953 "Stranger In Paradise", Four Aces
     1953 "Santa Baby", Eartha Kitt
     1960 "Exodus", Ferrante & Teicher (twin pianos)
     1964 "Jerk, The", Larks
     1981 "Centerfold", J Geils
     1981 "Hooked On Classics", Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
     1987 "The Way You Make Me Feel", Michael Jackson
     1987 "Candle In The Wind (Live)", Elton John
     1992 "In The Still Of The Nite (I'll Remember)", Boyz II Men