BIRTHDAYS
1898     Adele Astaire, actress/dancer/vocals. d.1981. née: Adele Austerlitz. Fred Astaire's sister. They worked mostly as a team in many London Stage shows. Later, when Adele married and retired from the stage, Fred carried on alone in Hollywood.
1923     Bob Bates, bass, b. Pocatelo, ID, USA. d. 1981
1944     Archie Bell, vocals, Member group: 'The Drells''. 1968 single "Tighten Up" charted US No.1.
1931     "Boxcar Willie" (né: Lecil Travis Martin), C&W Guitar/vocals, b. Sterratt, TX, USA
1929     Sam B.Charters, author/producer, b. Pittsburg, PA, MA, USA.
1922     Maria Hawkins Cole, vocals, b. Boston, MA, USA. (Mrs. Nat Cole)
1953     Robert Cray, guitar, b. Columbus, GA, MA, USA.
1908     Elmer E. Crumbley, trombone, b. King Fisher, OK, MA, USA. Worked with Victoria Spivey
1898     Mike Danzi, Banjo, b. New York, NY, USA d. 1986
1946     Greg Errico, drums, Member group: Sly & The Family Stone, 1971 single "'Family Affair".charted US No.1 (and in 1972 UK No.15 ).
1956     Essiet Essiet, Bass, b. Omaha, NE, USA.
1957     Gloria Estefan, vocals. née: Gloria Maria Fajardo. Member group: 'The Miami Sound Machine'
1949     Russ Field, Guitar, b. Nothumberland, England. Member group: 'Showaddywaddy', 1976 single "Under The Moon Of Love" charted UK No.1 (over 20 other UK top 40 singles.) In 1985, Russ leftthe band and currently (2003) promotes tourism in his native Nothumberland.
1942     Jerry Garcia, guitar, b. San Francisco, CA, USA. d. Aug. 9, 1995. Member: 'Grateful Dead'
1946     Barry Gibb, singer/songwriter/rhythm guitar/producer, Member: 'The Bee Gees', 1967 single, Massachusetts charted UK No.1, and 1978 single Night Fever charted UK & US No.1 , plus over 30 other UK top 40 singles & 9 US No.1's over 4 decades.
1950     Steve Goetzman, C&W drums, b. Louisville, KY, USA. Member: "Exile"
1933     Gene Harris, piano, b. Benton Harbor, MI, USA, d. Jan. 17, 2000, age 66
1955     Wayne Horvitz, piano, keyboards,organ, bass, drums, b. New York, NY, USA. Horvitz has played with his own group, 'Wayne Horvitz Gravitas Quartet', as well as with such other groups as Bobby Previte's 'Bump', 'Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet', 'Naked City', 'Pigpen', 'Zony Mash', 'Ponga', and 'Curlew'.
1941     Roy Head, vocals, b. Three Rivers, TX, USA. Member group: 'The Traits'. 1965 single "Treat Her Right" charted No. 2 on both Pop and R&B charts. Roy who is 'White' was a part of the mid-1960's "blue-eyed soul movement" that included groups such as the 'Righteous Brothers' and 'The Boxtops'.
1950     Peter Hewson, vocals. Member group: 'Chicory Tip', 1972 single "Son Of My Father" charted UK No.1. (some claim it was the first UK No.1 single to feature a synthesiser.).
1943     Bruce Johnstone, alto/soprano/baritone saxes/flute, clarinet
1932     Alex Kallao, piano, b. Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
1935     Harry Leahey, guitar, b. Plattsburgh, New York, USA, d. Aug. 12, 1990. In 1949, at the age of 13, Harry started playing guitar. He went on to study guitar with Johnny Smith and Dennis Sandole. He also studied theory and harmony at Newl York's 'Manhattan School of Music'. During his career, he worked with numerous jazz groups including Ira Sullivan, Eric Kloss, Gerry Mulligan, Jack Six, Mike Melillo's "In Free Association," Al Cohn, and his own trio which toured locally in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.
1904     Paul Mertz, Piano, b. Reading, PA, USA.
1917     Velma Middleton, singer/dancer, b. St. Louis, MO, USA. d. Feb. 10, 1961 Freetown, Sierra Leone. Sang with Louis Armstrong, Trummy Young, and Barney Bigard.
1898     Marilyn Miller, dancer/vocals, d. April 7, 1936, infection following sinus surgery. né: Mary Ellis Reynolds. One of the best female tap dancers of the 1920s, Marilyn began her career in vaudeville as part of the "The Five Columbians", -her family's vaudeville act, where she was billed as "Miss Sugarplum". Marilyn had arrived in New York City in 1914, - immediately began working on the New York stages. A talented dancer, gifted singer, and actress, she became a Ziegfeld protege (and sometime mistress)in 1918. She debuted in the 1918 edition of the Ziegfeld follies. The Dec. 21, 1920 musical Sally was meant as a Musical Comedy starring debut for the then 22 year old Miller. The show was one of the top five money-makers of the 1920s. She went on to appear in three Hollywood films - including the 1929 full technicolor and sound version of Sally (which was far less successful than the original Ziegfeld Broadway version in which she starred. Marilyn most certainly would have been in many more movies, except for her death at age 37 (infection after sinus operation). The 1949 film Look For The Silver Lining was a biopic of her life. It starred June Haver as Marilyn.
1925     Arthur Edward "Art" Pepper, saxes, b. Gardena, CA, USA d. June 15, 1982, Panorama City, CA, USA. (some sources show d. June 1, 1982)
1964     Dave O'Higgins, reeds, flute, arranger, b. Birmingham, England, UK. Self taught on the sax, although he did study both piano and drums at school. In 1983, after studying music at City University, he spent 3 years (touring and recording) as part of the 'Northern Youth Jazz Orchestra'. In 1986, he joined 'Mezzoforte', with whom he toured to Holland, Denmark Iceland, Germany, Switzerland, and also played at the North Sea Festival. He has toured to Japan with Salif Keita, to Cuba with Jim Mullen, and to South Africa and Namibia with South African musicians. In New York, he worked with Joe Locke, Joey Calderazzo, James Genus and Adam Nussbaum. Among the artists with whom he has worked are 'Sax Appeal', 'Modern Jazz Sextet', Cleo Laine/John Dankworth, 'Jim Mullen Quartet', 'The Gang of Three', Jason Rebello, 'Pizza Express', 'Itchy Fingers', and 'Roadside Picnic'. Among his many recordings are three with his own group. O'Higgins has worked with many other UK and USA musicians. During his career, he has won 6 awards, inlcuding Winner of the 1995 BT British Jazz Awards in the Tenor Sax and Rising Star categories.
1933     Al Perkins, guitar/producer (for Atco records), b. Brookhaven, MS, USA
1928     "Piano Slim" (né: Robert T. Smith), piano, b. La Grange, TX, USA
1942     Diane Ray, Rock vocals, Best recalled release: "Please Don't Talk To The Lifeguard".
1931     Willie Ruff, bass/french horn, b. Sheffield, AL, USA
1916     Mike Simpson, reeds/flute, b. Winters, TX, USA
1928     Edgar "Ed" Summerlin, tenor sax, composer, b. Marianna, FL, USA, d. October 10, 2006, Rhinebeck, NY, USA. . In 1952, the Eastman School of Music awarded him a Master's degree in music, and Ed subsequently studied composition under Gunther Schuller and Hall Overton. He then joined the faculty of the University of North Texas where he taught jazz composition, theory, and saxophone. In 1959, he cut his debut LP, "Liturgical Jazz, which included his "Requiem for Mary Jo," composed on the death of his nine-month-old daughter. Other liturgical Jazz compositions would follow including "Episcopal Evensong" and "Liturgy of the Holy Spirit". Early in the 1960s, Summerlin relocated to New York city, where he wrote and arranged music for Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter, and Dave Liebman, and also found time to perform with such stars as Don Ellis, Eric Dolphy, and Sheila Jordan. In 1969, Summerlin and altoist/jazz journalist Don Heckman co-led the "Improvisational Jazz Workshop", for the Ictus label LP, -a recording that would become a cult-classic. From 1971 to 1989 Summerlin taught at the City College of New York.(CCNY)
1936     Teri Thornton, vocals, b. Detroit, MI, USA, d. May 2, 2000, age 65
1933     Conway Twitty, C&W vocals/guitar, b.Friars Point, MS, USA, d. June 5, 1993. né: Harold Lloyd Jenkins
1907     Lawrence Walker, (Cajun) bandleader, b. (near) Duson, LA, USA, d. Aug 15, 1968 (heart attack). During the 1950s, Walker, the son of a prominent fiddler, was the reigning king of accordion players. In the early 1920s, sometime after the family had moved to Orange, Texas, Lawrence and his fiddler brother Elton, formed their first band and played Cajun and hillbilly songs. In 1929, they made their recording debut on the Bluebird label, playing "La Breakdown la Louisiane" and "La Vie Malheureuse" It is interesting to note that despite his huge success as a musician, he continued to earn his living as a Rice farmer in Texas. Unlike other Cajun performers of his day, Walker composed and mostly played his own original songs He didn't record again until the early 1950s (for George Khoury's label) when he again had success with such Cajun tunes as "Reno Waltz" and "Evangeline Waltz".
1910     Sammy Weiss, Drums, b. New York, NY, USA.  d. 1977
1940     Dave White singer/songwriter (Doo Wop/R&R). Member group: 'Danny and The Juniors'. né:Dave White Tricker
1957     Wolter Wierbos, trombone, voice, b. Holten, Netherlands.
         Notable Events on this date include:
1944.    Cecil Mack, Afro-American songwriter, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 60
1960.    "Aunt Molly" Jackson, C&W singer/songwriter, died in Kentucky, USA.
1976.    George W. Lee, bandleader, died in Memphis, TN, USA. Age: 83
1988.    Doug Finnell, piano, died in Dallas, TX, USA. Age: 82. Played with 'T-Bone' Walker
1994.    George Dixon, sax/trumpet/arranger, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 85. Played with Earl "Fatha" Hines.
1995.    U.S. Gov't issued a Louis Armstrong postage stamp.
1995.    Bob Talley, piano, died in Memphis, TN, USA. Age: 75
2001.    Jazz Saxophonist Sil Austin died at age 71 (prostate cancer). At age 12, be began to teach himself to play the Tenor Sax, and by age 16 appeared on the "Ted Mack Amateur Hour" radio show. A Mercury Records A&R man caught his performance and signed Sil to the label. During his long career, Austin performed all over Europe and Asia, usually traveling with his wife, the Rev. Vernice Austin.
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1910    Tickle Toes, Ada Jones voc., Tune: Spencer
1922    I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise, -Paul Whiteman and his Orch Tune: Gershwin
1925    Sweet Man, -Harry Reser's Syncopators
1929    Tho' You've Forgotten (voc: C.Gaylord), -Joe Rines and his Triadors
1930    If I Could Be With You, -Tom Gerun and his Orch. Tune: J.P.Johnson-H.Creamer
1930    Loving You The Way I Do (voc.s.l.), -Jacques Renard & his Orch. Tune: Blake-Scholl-Morrisey
1932    After 12 O'Clock, - Hoagy Carmichael and his Orch.
1932    Say It Isn't So (vps), -George Olsen and his Music.
1938    Heart and Soul, -Larry Clinton & his Orchestra.
1938    You're Lovely Madame, -Kay Kyser and his Orch., Robin and Rainger tune.
1950    Our Lady Of Fatima, -Hayes, Richard
1950    Harbor Lights, -Kaye, Sammy
1954    If I Give My Heart To You, -Day, Doris
1954    Hold My Hand, -Cornell, Don
1962    Green Onions, -Booker T. and The MG's
1962    Venus In Blue Jeans, -Clanton, Jimmy
1962    Sherry, -Four Seasons
1973    Half-Breed, -Cher
1973    Higher Ground, -Wonder, Stevie
1979    Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, -Jackson, Michael
1984    Lucky Star, -Madonna
1984    I Just Called To Say I Love You, -Wonder, Stevie
1990    Everybody Everybody, -Black Box
1990    Romeo, -Dino