BIRTHDAYS
1944     Raymond "The Goat" Aldridge, piano/synthesizer, b: Brisbane-Qld, Australia. Has worked with: Ack Grimsley; Warren Daly 1973-76; and Su Cruickshank.
1966     Harry Allen, Tenor Sax, b. Washington, D.C., USA.
1950     Susan Anton, vocals.
1902     James "Jimmy" Archey, Leader/Trombone, b. Norfolk, VA, USA. d. Nov. 16, 1967, New Jersey. USA.
1929     Nappy Brown, (R&B/Gospel) vocals, b. Charlotte, NC, USA. né: Napoleon Brown Goodson Culp.
1957     Ed Cherry, guitar, b. New Haven, CT, USA.
1927     William Claxton, Photographer, b. Pasadena, CA, USA.
1920     Steve Conway, vocals, b. (Bethnal Green) East London, England, UK, d. April 19, 1952, London, England, UK. né: Walter James Groom. Tag: ' England's Romantic Singer'. Jimmy left school at age 14, with no musical education, -he couldn't read music or play an instrument, but he did enjoy singing by himself. Many years later, he told a press interviewer that within 2 or 3 minutes, he could memorise a song, both words and melody, from just the one hearing. At age 16, he won a talent contest in a Bethnal Green.(London) cinema. During the 1936 to 1938, he participated in some other talent contests hoping to gain some recognition. During the World War II years, he was booked into some London - principally amateur - stage shows put on between films at cinemas. During 1943, Jimmy appeared at the State Theatre, Kilburn in London, and then at the Trocadero Cinema, Elephant and Castle in South London. He was now using the stage name of Gordon James. In January 1944, while appearing for his third appearance at the Trocadero Cinema, he was heard by Reg Morgan, a theatrical agent who, with Charlie Chester ran the Victory Publishing Company. These men managed to get Steve a BBC Jimmy audition. 1945 saw his first broadcast (in the Navy Mixture program and still using the name of Gordon James) which featured a different singer every week. Under Reg Morgan's guidance, he received elocution schooling to get rid of his cockney accent, and took the stage name of Steve Conway. At the end of 1945, Steve sang with "Ambrose and his Orchestra" at Ciro's Club in London, and he also sang with the Joe Loss, Maurice Winnink and Lew Stone bands. In the Autumn of 1945, Columbia released his first record, accompanied by pianist Jack Byfield playing the popular Billy Reid song "The Gypsy" backed with "I Could Never Tell". This was the first of 46 records that Steve Conway would release. (One of his records, "At The End Of The Day" was used for over 30 years by Radio Luxembourg as their signing off record after each night's transmission.) In addition to broadcasting with Ted Heath and Billy Ternent, he also had his own program called "Steve Conway In Romantic Mood" again with Sandy MacPherson. By the end of 1949, he had made over 200 broadcasts. On December 1948, Steve made his television debut in one of the 'Melody And Mirth' variety show broadcasts, and subsequently appeared on post-war BBC Television. In 1950, a rowing accident placed a strain on his heart and he was never quite the same again. In May 1951, Steve was appearing at the Bradford Alhambra when he collapsed. He recovered and continued working until December 1951, when he again collapsed on stage, and was admitted to Hull Royal Infirmary. After returning home, a specialist advised him that the rheumatic fever he had contracted as a child had apparently not been treated properly and had caused mitral stenosis (an abnormal narrowing of the mitral valve). By Christmas, 1951, too ill to stay at home, he was admitted to Charing Cross hospital, remaining there until April 1952 when he was transferred to Guy's Hospital in London for surgery. -with only a 50-50 chance of success. Sadly, he suffered the wrong "50". That same night, he died in his hospital room. He was just 31.
1957     Pat DiNizio, rock vocals/guitar/composer, b. Scotch Plains, NJ, USA. Member group: The Smithereens (Dennis Diken, Mike Mesaros, Jim Babjak, and Pat -the founder). 1988 album Smithereens 11 charted US No.41. Did you know that at one time, Pat DiNizio filed to run for New Jersey Senate on behalf of the Reform Party. (He lost.)
1895     Alfred "Tubby" Hall, Drums, b. Sellers, LA, USA. d. May 13, 1946
1966     Brian Kennedy, singer/songwriter, b. Belfast, Ireland. Member group: 'Van Morrison band'
1938     Jean King, vocals. b. Chicago, IL, USA, d. 1983, Las Vegas, NV, USA (Heart Attack). Member: 'The Blossoms' (She joined them in 1964.)
1950     Sandra King, vocals, b. London, England, UK. née: Sandra Fairbrass. She is the granddaughter of a British music hall composer and song and dance man. Sandra's brother, Richard, is a pianist who later became an employee of the Chappell Music Publishing Company. By 1963, at age 13, Sandra King was cutting songwriters' demos, In 1967, at age 17, she made her professional performing debut in a BBC TV musical. Later, American singer Mark Murphy heard her singing at a local London jazz club, and was instrumental in bringing Sandra together wih Scottish-born lawyer turned jazz pianist Pat Smythe. Smythe, an established arranger and accompanist, was a veteran of Joe Harriott's band. It was the start of what turned into a 15-year partnership. Smythe took the youngster under his wing. He got her an audition with saxophonist/club owner Ronnie Scott, which resulted in Scott booking the 17-year-old for a three-week engagement at his club, on a bill with Horace Silver. She later appeared with Stan Getz and Kenny Burrell. Bucking the Rock and Roll trend, Sandra made her recording debut in 1969 with an album of songs by Henry Mancini. Both Henry Mancini and singer Tony Bennett greatly helped her to build a serious musical career. On April 4, 1982, she made her American debut with a concert at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., singing songs by Vernon Duke. Her accompanists were Tommy Cecil and Pat Smythe, who passed away the following year. With the rock and roll craze riding high, Sandra found "day jobs" working at various book and music stores in New York city (where she still (2006) resides). Sandra often appears at engagements with composer/arranger and singer Richard Rodney Bennet. She is considered to be one of the musical treasures in that toughest of American cities.
CAUTION: Do not confuse with Sandra Ann King (Nickname: "Mother Production"), film supervisor (scripts, production, etc) b. March 8, 1952, Los Angeles, California, USA. who is also known as Sandy King)
1905     Joseph Kosma, composer, b. Budapest, Austria-Hungary (now Hungary), d. August 7, 1969, La Roche-Guyon, France. né: Jozsef Kozma. (some sources claim b. Oct. 22, 1905. We are showing him on both calendars dates.)
1956     David Letts, vocals, b. England. aka: Dave Vanian with the group: 'The Damned', 1986 single "Eloise" charted UK No.3. 'The Damned', a UK punk group, was formed in 1976, and consisted of 'Captain Sensible' (b. Raymond Burns, April 24, 1954, Balham, London, England), 'Rat Scabies' (b. Chris Miller, July 30, 1957, Surrey, England; drums), Brian James (b. Brian Robertson, England; guitar) and Dave Vanian (b. David Letts, England; vocals).
1969     Martie Seidel Maguire, C&W vocals/violin, b. York, PA, USA. née: Martha Elenor Erwin. aka: Martie Seidel. Member: "Dixie Chicks", a group originally consisting of sisters Martie and Emily Erwin (b. August 16, 1972, violin/banjo/dobro/mandolin, and other instruments), plus Natalie Maines (b. Oct. 14, 1974), and guitarist Robin Lynn Macy. Erwin and Martie often played music on the streets of Dallas, TX before forming the band. Subsequently, Martie entered the National Fiddle Championships, and came in 3rd place. On May 1, 1999, Emily married country singer Charlie Robison. Martie is currently (2005) single (divorced).
1946     Yoshiaki Masuo, Guitar, b. Tokyo, Japan
1926     Hidehiko "Sleepy" Matsumoto, soprano-alto-tenor sax/flute, b. Tamashimacho, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. d. Feb 29, 2000. Studied Clarinet in school. His older brother played flute in Hiroshima Phil. Symphony. "Sleepy' says he got into the music business "in order to earn bread" He has appeared in a half dozen Japanese Films as an Actor - not as a musician. U.N. Forces stationed in Japan nicknamed him "Sleepy" because of his appearance.
1974     Shane McAnally, C&W vocals, b. Mineral Wells, TX, USA.
1935     Sam Moore, vocals. b. Miami, FL, USA. Member group: Sam and Dave ( Dave Prater Jr., b. 1937 in Ocilla, Georgia, d. april 9th, 1988)
1960     Bob Mould, guitar/vocals, b. Malone, NY, USA. Member trio: 'Husker Du',a "punk" trio consisting of guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton and drummer Grant Hart. Their melding of pop and punk influences inspired many UK, US and European bands.
1959     Michael Mossman, Trumpet, b. Philadelphia, PA, USA.
1951     Billy Novick, clarinet/alto & soprano saxes, b.Long Island, NY, USA. Billy's musical interests range from playing traditional Irish folk music (on the pennywhistle), New Orleans Jazz (on clarinet and soprano sax), straight-ahead jazz, swing (on alto and soprano saxophones), and acoustic folk music (on clarinet and saxophone). In 1991, he was not only the music director, but also arranger and performer for Dave Van Ronk's Jug Band interpretation of Tchaikovsky's "Peter and the Wolf". He has also recorded with his own Jazz band, 'Shades of Swing'.
1948     Rick Parfitt, rock guitar/vocals, b. Woking, Surrey, England. né: Richard Harrison, Member: Status Quo -"The Wanderer".
1936     Melvin Rhyne, organist.
1946     Daryl Runswick, Bass/electric bass/guitar/percussion/arranger, b. England, UK
1955     Jane Siberry, Singer/songwriter, b. Toronto, ON, Canada.
1956     Dave Vanian (Letts), vocals. b. England. né: David Letts
1922     Jimmy Watson, Trumpet/cornet/arranger/Vocals, b. Scotland, UK
   Notable Events on this date include:
1971.    Gene Vincent, vocals, died in Newhall, CA, USA. Age: 36.
1972.    Billy Williams, vocals, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 61. (b. 1910,Waco,TX, USA) Member: 'The Charioteers'
1974.    Pink Anderson, guitar, died in Spartanburg, SC, USA. Age: 74
1981.    Eddie Piper, drums, died in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Age: 60. Member groups: "Red Caps", "4 Tunes"
1981.    Barbara Mandrell won the Country Music Association's 'Entertainer of the Year' (2nd year in a row.)
1985.    "Blind John" Davis, piano, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 71
1989.    Bandleader/pianist Carmen Cavallaro died.
1989.    "Franco" (né: L'Okanga L'Anjou N'Pene Luambo Luanzo Makiadi), guitar/leader, died in Belgium, Brussels. Age: 51. "Franco" (b. Nov. 6, 1938, Sona-Bata, Zaire) has been called "The sorcerer of the guitar", "the Congo Colossus", "the Wizard of the Guitar" and "Le Grande Maitre". For 30 years, he led Africa's most influential band while producing almost 150 albums, -many of which are still best sellers, and most of which topped the charts on their release. His orchestra, formed in June 1956 was originally called "OK", and later became "Franco and TP OK Jazz". Their debut recording was entitled (in French) "On Entre OK on sort KO" ("Enter OK, leave KO'd"). The tune was composed by Franco and later became the bands motto.
1997.    John Denver died (near) Monterey, CA, USA when the plane he was flying crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Age: 53. Seven months earlier, due to his history of Alcoholism, the Federal Aviation Administration had refused to issue him a pilot's license.
20021989.    Ray Coniff, trombone, arranger, died in Escondido, California, USA.
   Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1944   "Trolley Song, The ", - Pied Pipers
1959   "In The Mood ", - Ernie Fields
1959   "Danny Boy ", - Conway Twitty
1963   "It's All Right ", - Impressions
1963   "Maria Elena ", - Los Indios Tabajaras
1968   "Those Were The Days ", - Mary Hopkin voc.
1968   "Elenore ", - Turtles
1974   "Everlasting Love ", - Carl Carlton
1974   "My Melody Of Love ", - Bobby Vinton
1985   "Seperate Lives ", - Phil Collins
1985   "Who's Zoomin' Who ", - Aretha Franklin
1991   "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday ", - Boyz II Men
1991   "That's What Love Is For ", - Amy Grant