BIRTHDAYS
1914     Leo Addeo, Leader, d. May 4, 1979
1952     Chris Amoo, Singer/Songwriter, b. Liverpool, England. Member group: The Real Thing, 1976 single "You To Me Are Everything" charted UK No.1. Their other hits were "Can't Get By Without You", and "Can You Feel The Force". "The Real Thing" consisted of brothers Eddie and Chris Amoo and Dave Smith.
1948     Marcia Barrett, vocals, b. St. Catherine, Jamaica. Member group: Boney M, 1978 single "Rivers Of Babylon" charted UK No.1.
1897     Dorsey Murdock Dixon, C&W vocals/guitar, b. Darlington, SC, USA. d. April 1968. Member: "Dixon Brothers", consisting of Dorsey and his younger brother Howard Dixon (b. June 19, 1903, Darlington, SC, USA, d. March 24, 1951) At age 12, Dorsey left school in the fourth grade and began working in a textile mill. Just two years later, he began learning the guitar, and, soon after, the violin. Later, his younger brother Howard was also playing the guitar, and the brothers formed a fiddle-guitar duet that played at local functions. (The family was now living in Rockingham.) Curiously, Dorsey didn't write lyrics to his first song, "The School House Fire", until he was 32 years old. (The song was based on a 1923 Cleveland, SC tragedy in which 76 children died.) His brother Howard set the words to the tune of "Life's Railway To Heaven". After realising his talent for composition, Dorsey went on to create songs that spoke of the feelings of a hard-working, God-fearing Southern millhand, - which is just what he and Howard were.
1958     Thomas Dolby, b. Cairo, Egypt (grew up in England), née: Thomas Morgan Robertson. Member group: Camera Club,
1953     Garrison Fewell, Jazz guitar, b. Charlottesville, VA, USA. (raised in Philadelphia, PA). Since 1977, Fewell has been a Professor of Guitar at Boston’s Berklee College of Music
1931     Dusan "Dusko" Goykovich, Trumpet/flugelhorn/composer/arranger, b. Jajce, Yugoslavia
1924     John Graas, French Horn, b. Dubuque, IA, USA. d. April 13, 1962, Van Nuys, CA, USA.
1942     Billy Harrison, rock guitar, b. Belfast Ireland. Member group: Them, 1965 single "Here Comes The Night" charted UK No.2.
1946     Justin Hayward, Guitar/vocals. b. Swindon, Wiltshire, England. Member group: The Moody Blues.
1945     Colin Hodgkinson, Bass/elec.-bass/guitar/vocals,, b. Peterborough, England. Member group: 'Whitesnake', 1987 single "Here I Go Again" charted US No.1 and UK No.9.
1908     Allan Jones, Vocals/Actor, b. Old Forge, Pennsylvania, USA, d. June 27, 1992, New York, NY, USA. (lung cancer), Father of singer Jack Jones. Did you know that after his Hollywood singing career ended, Allan became a practicing dentist?
1926     William E. "Bill" Justis Jr., Saxophone/vocals
1939     Chris Karan, drums, percussion, b: Melbourne, Australia. Played with Dudley Moore and others.
1962     Chris Thomas King, See entry this date below for "Chris Thomas".
1975     Shaznay Lewis, vocals, b. Islington, North London (Half-Jamaican, half-Barbadian parentage). Member group: All Saints, 1998 single "Never Ever" charted UK No.1. Shaznay wrote many of 'All Saints' biggest hits, winning an "Ivor Novello Songwriting Award" for their number one single, 'Pure Shores'. She sold 10 million albums with the All Saints band, but she had kept a low profile since their split in 2001.
1922     Jimmy Liggins, R&B guitar, b. New Orleans, LA, USA. Jimmy was the brother of Joe Liggins, who achieved fame with his group "The Honey Drippers". Early in his career, Jimmy formed his own group called "Jimmy Liggins & His Drops Of Joy", a name he patterned from his brother's "Honey Drippers".
19??     Abb Locke, Tenor sax, b. Chicago, IL, USA. (played with Otis Rush and Albert Collins among others.)
1940     James "Pee Wee" Madison, guitar. He recorded and toured with Muddy Waters and L.C. "Good Rockin" Robinson.
1974     Natalie Maines, C&W singer/songwriter, b. Lubbock, TX, USA. Member group: Dixie Chicks, 1999 single "There's Your UK No.26 Trouble", 2000 single "Cowboy Take Me Away", also charted well
1946     Dan McCafferty, rock vocals, b. Dunfermline, Scotland. Member group: Nazareth
1899     William "Red" McKenzie, Vocals/"Hot Comb"/Kazoo/leader, b. St.Louis, MO, USA, d. Feb. 7, 1948, New York, NY. USA.
1938     Melba Montgomery, C&W Singer-Songwriter/Guitar/Fiddle, b. Iron City, TN, USA.
1925     Jan Morks, Jazz Clarinet, soprano and tenor sax, drums, b. The Hague, Netherlands, d. Sept. 4, 1984
1922     Alan T. Nash, trumpet/flugelhorn/vocals, b: Melbourne-Vic, Australia. brother: Wally Nash. Played with: Tom Davidson; Benny Featherstone; Jim Gussey's ABC Dance Band; Clarrie Gange; Charlie Lees; Neville Maddison; Wally Nash; Al Vincer
1957     Kenny Neal, Harmonica/Guitar/bass guitar, b. Baton Rouge, LA, USA. Kenny is the son of the (Louisiana Swamp-Blues) harpist Raful Neal (who gave Buddy Guy his first gig). At age 13, Kenny was already playing in his father`s band. A 17, he became bassist for Buddy Guy. Kenny first achieved national fame with his Kingsnake Records recording of "Bio On The Bayou". It was later covered by Alligator label and re-named "Big News From Baton Rouge".
1930     Robert Parker, sax/vocals, b. Crescent City, LA, USA. During the mid-1960s, Parker's "Barefootin'" was one of the biggest hits to come out of New Orleans. Back in 1949, he played saxophone during sessions with the legendary pianist 'Professor Longhair'. In 1959, he had an excellent solo release for 'Ron' with "All Night Long". Then in 1966, his vocal talents were recognized when "Barefootin'" was released on the Nola label. "Tip Toe," charted the next year.
1943     Fritz Pauer, Piano, b. Vienna, Austria
1959     A. J. Pero, drums, b. New York (Staten Island), NY, USA. Member group: 'Twisted Sister'
1940     Cliff Richard, guitar/vocals, b. Lucknow, India. né: Harry Webb . NOTES: This Cliff Richard is not to be confused with the Cliff Richards the comic book artist. This Cliff Richards was a founding member of the group "The Drifters", -NOT to be confused with the American group of the same name. This Cliff's group later changed their name to 'Cliff Richard and the Drifters' and then 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows'.
1926     Kenny Roberts, C&W Singer-Songwriter/Yodeler/Guitar/Bass/Harmonica, b. Lenoir City, TN, USA. né: George Samuel Kingsbury.
1907     Jewell "Babe" Stovall, Southern Blues Acoustic and steel guitar, b. Tylertown, MI, USA, d. 1974 Stovall was an important figure in the blues and folk music heritage and street music tradition of New Orleans, Louisiana, where he spent most of his life. From his childhood and a hard life on a plantation, he had gone on to first playing at weekend parties and country breakdowns, and then to a 1950s recording career, and appearances on both US coasts at such venues as the Ash Grove, the Ice House, Gerdes Folk City and the Gaslight.
1963     Chris Thomas, Blues/hip-hop vocals/electric guitar/organ synthesizer, b. Baton Rouge, LA, USA. (aka: Chris Thomas King. He added the surname of 'King' honoring Albert King, one of his main influences.) His father, Tabby Thomas, had his own club in Baton Rouge, "Tabby’s Blues Box", and was a well known Blues performer. Chris grew up in that club, meeting other musicians, and later playing with them.
1926     James Son Thomas, blues guitarist and singer, b. Eden, MS, USA. né: James Son Thomas. He was taught to play the guitar by his uncle and his grandfather. However, Son didn't start playing seriously until he was in his fifties. In between that time, one of the ways he made a living was by digging graves. Son once told an interviewer "I worked as a gravedigger with a man who only had one arm. He was so good at it that he could beat me diggin, just with that one arm." It is little known but, in addition to his guitar playing, Son was also a good self-taught sculpter, using clay from the Mississippi River.
1961     Mike Tramp, heavy metal rock vocals, b. Copenhagen, Denmark. né: Michael Trempenau .
1978     Usher, vocals, b. Chattanooga, TN, USA. né: Usher Raymond. His 1998 single, "Nice and Slow" charted US No.1, and his other 1998 single "You Make We Wanna" charted UK No.1.
1955     Pierre Vaiana, tenor & soprano saxes
1953     Kazumi Watanabe, Guitar, b. Tokyo,Japan
1965     Karyn White, singer/songwriter, b. Los Angeles, CA, USA. Her 1991 single "Romantic" charted US No..1 and UK No.23. Karyn's father played trumpet and her mother was a church choir director.
1889     Spencer Williams, Pianist/Composer. b. New Orleans, LA, USA, d. July 14, 1965, New York, NY, USA. Among the many Jazz standards he composed are "Tishomingo Blues," "Everybody Loves My Baby," "Basin Street Blues," "I Ain't Got Nobody," "Mahogany Hall Stomp," "Royal Garden Blues," "Shim-Me-Sha-Wobble," "I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None of My Jelly Roll," and "Fireworks". In 1925, he was in Paris, France, writing for the American ex-patriate Josephine Baker and her La Revue Negre show, returning to the USA in 1928. 1936, found him in England, often working with Benny Carter, and he then spent the early 1950s in Sweden. In 1957, he returned to New York City where he died 8 years later.
1935     La Monte Young, sax/composer, b. Bern, ID, USA. In the 1950s, La Monte Young was playing Jazz saxophone in Los Angeles, CA, with Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, Billy Higgins, and Don Cherry, among others. Interestingly, while studying the sax at 'Los Angeles City College', he came out ahead of Eric Dolphy in auditions for the school's Jazz band. After his graduate composition studies at the University of California at Berkeley, he moved to New York City, and has lived there ever since. In the early 1960s, La Monte Young collaborated with visual artist Marian Zazeela using electronically generated sustained tones to create "sound and light" environments. In 1970, Young, Marian Zazeela, and Terry Riley began studies with the north Indian vocal master Pandit Pran Nath, becoming his disciples in the process. For over 35 years, Young has pioneered the concept of extended time durations in contemporary music. He has also played a central role in the development of 'Just Intonation' use in 20th-century music along with the growth of the Minimalist style. ( He is usually listed as one of the "big four" minimalists along with Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and Terry Riley, despite having little in common with either Glass or Reich. )
   Notable Events on this date include:
1930.    The audience sat spellbound while famed Broadway singer Ethel Merman held a high C for sixteen bars singing "I Got Rhythm" during her Broadway debut in composer George Gershwin's show 'Girl Crazy'.
1930.    Henry S. Creamer, afro-amer songwriter, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 51
1939.    Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) was organized this date to compete with ASCAP
1945.    Pha Terrell, vocals, died in Los angeles, CA, USA. Age: 35. Best recalled for his work with 'Andy Kirk and his 12 Clouds of Joy Orch.'
1955.    Bob King, vocals, died in Chicago, IL, USA Member groups: 'Soul Stirrers', "Bells Of Joy"
1959.    Alphonse Trent, piano, leader, died
1969.    William Mckinney, drums, died in Cynthiana, KY, USA. Age: 74. Worked with the: 'Cotton Pickers'
1977.    Crooner/actor "Bing" Crosby dies of a heart attack in Madrid, Spain. age: 74
1983.    Sarah Ogan Gunning, singer, died. Age: 73 (at a family songfest in Kentucky). Sarah was born into a singing family (15 children) where her mother passed along ballads, hymns, love songs, and stories, and where her father taught them all to sing spirituals. Her Aunt Molly Jackson and uncle Jim Garland were also singers. But her single biggest influence was the fact that both her father and her first husband were working coal miners and both were involved in the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) union. Sarah Ogan Gunning’s repertoire, all sung a cappella, included well-known mountain tunes, spirituals, and original songs. For the UMW, she wrote such songs as "I am a Girl of Constant Sorrow" and "I Hate the Capitalist System". During the 1930s-'40s, she lived in New York city where she worked with such Folk singers as Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, and Pete Seeger. In the 1960s, she recorded her first album. and performed at New York's famed Carnegie Hall, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and the Newport Folk Festival.
1987.    Rev. W. Herbert Brewster, gospel songwriter, died in Memphis, TN, USA. Age: 90
1990.    Leonard Bernstein, conductor, composer, died in New York, NY, USA. (b. August 25, 1918 in Lawrence, MA, USA)
1992.    Laura Dukes, banjo, died in Memphis, TN, USA. Age: 85
1993.    Nick Buono, trumpet, trombone, died. (Best recalled for his work in the Harry James orchestra.)
   Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1930   "I Got Rhythmn". Gershwin tune from B'way show: Girl Crazy. Ethel Merman sang it.
1938   "Big Noise From Winnetka". recorded this date by Bob Crosby Orch.
1939   "I Never Felt This Way Before", Duke Ellington Orch. (recording date)
1943   "Boogie Woogie ", - Dorsey, Tommy
1943   "Put Your Arms Around Me, Honey ", - Dick Kuhn
1949   "Dreamer's Holiday, A ", - Perry Como
1957   "My Special Angel ", - Bobby Helms
1957   "Twelfth Of Never, The ", - Johnny Mathis
1957   "Jailhouse Rock ", - Elvis Presley
1967   "Please Love Me Forever ", - Bobby Vinton
1967   "Incense And Peppermints ", - Strawberry Alarm Clock
1972   "I'd Love You To Want Me ", - Lobo
1972   "I Am Woman ", - Helen Reddy
1978   "Sharing The Night Together ", - Dr. Hook
1978   "I Just Wanna Stop ", - Gino Vannelli
1989   "Poison ", - Alice Cooper
1989   "Back To Life ", - Soul II Soul