BIRTHDAYS
1940    Jewel Akens, vocals, b. Houston, TX, USA. Jewel Akens is a "one-shot" artist who had a very popular song in 1965, "The Birds And The Bees" (Era label) remaining on the charts for twelve weeks and peaking at the number three position. His second release "Georgie Porgie", didn't sell nearly as well. A fine singer, Akens has toured regularly since 1965 and usually includes a tribute to his mentor, the late Sam Cooke, in his shows.
1955    Christine Albert, vocals, b. Rome, NY, USA. While still a teenager, she moved to Santa Fe, Texas, remaining there throughout the 1970's, a mainstay of the Santa Fe pop scene working as a member for perhaps a half dozen bands. One of these bands was Eliza Gilkyson's Turquoise Trail band, in which Christine was Eliza's backup singer. By 1982, she had moved to Austin, where she became a co-founder of the Austin Songwriters Group (1987). A fine vocalist, fortunately with a number recordings available.
1900    "Texas" Alexander, vocals, b. Jewett, TX, USA. His recordimg career began in 1927 with the Okeh label. The recordings were quite noteable. Unable to play any instrument, Alexander used a variety of accompanists, ranging from guitarists "Little Hat" Jones, Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang, to the string band Blues of 'The Mississipi Sheiks', and even 'King Oliver's New Orleans band'. His performing and recording career continued into the 1930s with sessions for Vocalion. In 1940, after killing his wife, he was sent to the state prison at Paris, TX. In 1945, after his release (5 years in jail for killing his wife!), he joined his cousin Lightnin' Hopkins in Houston, TX, for live shows and recording for the Freedom label with pianist 'Buster' Pickens. By 1954, he was back in the Brazos River bottomlands where he died a debilitated victim of the ravages of syphillis.
1916    William Alonzo "Cat" Anderson, trumpet, b. Greenville, SC, USA. d. April 29, 1981, Norwalk, CA, USA.
1956    Barry Andrews,Steam-powered calliope/organ, b. West Norwood, London, England. Member group: 'XTC', in 1979 joined Robert Fripp's 'The League Of Gentlemen'. 1982 single "Senses Working Overtime" charted UK No.10.
1921    Charles Bateman, piano, b. Youngstown, OH, USA.
1952    Gerry Beckley, vocals. In 1972 Member Grammy Award-winning group; 'America'
1940    Tony Bellamy, Guitar. Member group: 'The Tornados'
1883    Gus Cannon, banjo/jug/singer, b. Red Banks, MS, USA, d. 1979, age 96 (in poverty). Best recalled for his "Cannon's Jug Stompers" band, a trio that included Gus (Jug and banjo), Ashley Thompson (guitar), and Noah Lewis (vocals/harmonica). In April 23, 1995, the Beale Street Blues Society sponsored a day long "Mess Around", during which Gus Cannon was posthumously honored. All accounts report that he was still quite active up to his demise.
1927    Helen Carter, C&W vocals. b. Maces Springs, VA, USA. né: Helen Myrl Carter. Member: 'The Carter Family'
1888    Maurice Chevalier, vocals/actor. b. Paris, France, d. Jan. 1, 1972. né: Maurice Auguste Chevalier. This charismatic French actor is best remembered for his work in American Films. He introduced many songs including, "Mimi", "Louise", "You Brought A New Kind Of Love To Me", and so many more.
1915    Billy Daniels, vocals. d. 1988. song and dance man
1955    Furio DiCastri, bass, b. Milan, Italy.
1910    Shep Fields (and his Rippling Rhythm), Tenor Sax/clarinet/Leader, b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA, d. Feb. 23, 1981, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
1966    Ben Folds, vocals/piano, b. Winston-Salem, NC, USA. Member group: Ben Folds Five, 1997 single "Battle Of Who Could Care Less" charted UK No.26.
1954    Scott Hamilton, Tenor Sax, b. Providence, RI, USA. In 1970 (age 16), he was playing professonally. In 1976, he relocated to New York city, where he (in the late 1970s) played with Benny Goodman's group. While he has performed with such Jazz luminaries as Ruby Braff, Warren Vache, singer Rosemary Clooney, the Concord Jazz All-Stars, and George Wein's Newport Jazz Festival All-Stars, he has mostly performed as the leader of his own groups. He has recorded mostly for the Concord label, but did have a few sessions with both the "Famous Door" and the "Progressive" labels.
1914    Eddy Howard, singer/composer/leader, b. Woodland, CA, d. May 23, 1963, Palm Desert, CA, USA. Age: 49. Among his compositions are: "A Million Dreams Ago", "Careless", "If I Knew Then", "My Last Goodbye".
1919    Bill Jennings, guitar, b. Indianapolis, IN, USA. A peer of Billy Butler, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Jennings recorded R&B sides with Leo Parker and Bill Doggett, and also played with Louis Jordan.
1944    Booker T. Jones, R&R vocals. b. USA.
1931    George Jones, C&W vocals, b. Saratoga, TX, USA. né: George Glenn Jones. George celebrated his 63rd birthday in 1994, having triple bypass surgery, at Nasshville's Baptist Hospital.
1938    Gloria Jones, vocals, b. Long View, TX, USA. Member: 'The Blossoms'
1951    Jöelle Léandre, double bassist/composer/voice, b. Aix-en-Provence, France. She is one of the dominant figures of the new European music. She has written extensively for dance and theatre, working with Ballet dancer Merce Cunningham, and with composer John Cage (who composed especially for her - as have Scelsi, Fénelon, Jolas and Clémenti). She has played with such Classical music groups as 'Itinéraire', '2E2M' and Pierre Boulez’s 'Ensemble Intercontemporain'. In the world of Jazz, Léandre has played with such stars as Derek Beley, Anthony Braxton, Georges Lewis, Evan Parker, Ir&egrav;ne Schweizer, Steve Lacy, Fred Frith and John Zorn.
1893    Joe Loyacano, alto sax, trombone, tuba, bass, drums, b. New Orleans, LA, USA. d. Nov. 30, 1967, New Orleans, LA. USA. Age 74. né: Hook Loyacano. There were other Loyacanos all working in Jazz bands in both New Orleans and later in Chicago, - all in the same time frame - and often in the same bands. Among them Arnold Deacon Loyacano and Bud Loyacano -both on string bass (Arnold Deacon Loyacano also played piano); Bud Loyacano - string and brass bass; and both Freddie Loyacano, Steve Loyacono -banjo/guitar. (Some further little information on them can be seen in our ALBERT BRUNIES ENTRY.. Anyone with further information on the family relationships could use the "Comment" form at the top and bottom of this page to convey the information to us for posting.)
1956    Brian Lynch, trumpet, b. Urbana, IL, USA
1924    Ella Mae Morse, vocalist, b. Mansfield, TX, USA, d. Oct. 16, 1999, Bullhead City, AZ, USA. Age: 75. (Respiratory Failure). Best recalled for her work with Freddie Slack Orch. ("Cow Cow Boogie" - she was 17 at the time it was Capitol Records' first Million-seller - and other tunes.) Among her 10 "Gold" records was "House of Blue Lights", "Shoo Shoo Baby", "The Blacksmith Blues", and "No Love, No Nothin'". Morse was White, but listeners often thought she was Black because of her unique vocal style that blended a Jazz, R&B, 'Country', and Pop sound. She was born into a musical family. Her father was a drummer, and her mother was a pianist. After singing in her father's combo, she joined the Tommy Dorsey orchestra when she was only age 14. Dorsey's orchestra was then playing at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas, TX, and was looking for a girl singer. Her mother had told Dorsey that she was 19. When the school board sent Dorsey a a letter advising him that he was now responsible for her, Dorsey fired Morse. In 1942, she, and former Dorsey pianist Freddie Slack, recorded the hit "Cow Cow Boogie". Still, she worked mostly as a 'solo' artist thereafter. In 1957, she made her final recording (also for Capitol) with "Morse Code". Thereafter, she performed on and off until 1987 with the Ray McKinley Orchestra. Elvis Presley often praised her for teaching him how to sing.
1943    Maria Muldaur, Vocals/guitar/Kazoo/(Blues) Fiddle, b. New York, NY, USA. née: Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato.
1952    Neil Peart, Drums, b. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Member group: 'Rush'
1972    Gerard Presencer, trumpet/Flugelhorn/Piano/Composer, b. Watford, Hertfordshire, England, UK.
1923    Bryce Benno Rohde, piano/composer, b. Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
1955    Adam Rudolph, (hand) drummer, percussion, vocals, composer, b. Chicago, IL, USA
1923    Joseph "Joe" Shulman, bass, b. New York, NY, USA, d. August 2, 1957, New York, NY. USA. Joe died at only age 34. In that short time he played his bass with Joe Bushkin, vocalist Barbara Carroll (whom he married), Miles Davis, Peggy Lee, Glenn Miller, Django Reinhardt, Buddy Rich, Claude Thornhill, and Lester Young.
1919    Myrtle A. Forcey-Southall, Singer/Dancer, b. Washington, USA, d. Aug. 9, 2002, Washington, USA, (Stroke) (aka: Myrtle Wilson; aka: Joyce Jackson) During her long career, she worked with Duke Ellington, Earl Bostic, Paul Williams and Leo Parker Ella Fitzgerald, and The Ink Spots. She recorded R&B for Mercury Records.
1967    Jon Stewart, guitar, b. London, England. Member group: Sleeper, 1996 single "Sale Of The Century" charted UK No.10. 'Sleeper' members are - Louise Wener - Vocals/guitar (co-founder with Jon Stewart. She was born July 30. 1968, Ilford, England), Jon Stewart - Guitar (co-founder -born this date), Andy Maclure - Drums (born April 10, 1968), and Diid Osman (bassist -left the band in 1996). Louis Wener and Stewart met when they were both students at Manchester (UK) University. They played together in some small local groups, but after graduating, they returned to London, where they formed the indie band "Sleeper". Their 1993 release "Alice in Vain" quickly charted No. 1 on Britain's Indie charts. Sleeper have become well known for their own songs, composed mainly by Louise Wener.
1968    Kenny Thomas, guitar/vocals, b. UK. 1991 single "Thinking About Your Love" charted UK No.4.
1948    Steve Turre, Trombone/shells, b. Omaha, NE, USA. Trombonist Steve Turre's second instruments are shells, --yes, large conch shells with minimal modifications to turn them into musical instruments. Their sound is at once hollow, yet full, and unearthy,-even haunting. He first played them publicly with Roland Kirk's band in the 1970s, and later beautiful heard in his album "Sanctified Shells" (the other trombonist on the CD is Aaron J. "AJ" Johnson). It is all the more surprising when one considers that we are listening to men whose feet are deeply rooted in the heart of the jazz scene of the 1970s and '80s. The music on the CD ranges all the way from a raga, "Beautiful India", to a funky "Gumbo", and the sizzling Afro-Cuban "Macho"
1944    Barry White, singer-songwriter, b. Galveston, Texas, USA, d. July 4 2003. Son of Melvin White and Sadie Carter. His father never lived at home, and, when he was six months old, his mother moved to the Black neighborhood of Watts, in Los Angeles. At age eight, he began singing in the local Baptist church choir, soon becaoming the organist and assistant director. At just age 11, he made his recording debut playing piano on Jesse Belvin's 1956 R&B hit "Goodnight My Love". By age 16, White had fathered two children, quit school and served four months in prison for stealing automobile tires. In 1960 - while still in prison - he heard Elvis Presley's number one hit "It's Now Or Never", and decided to make Music his career. Upon his release from jail, he sang bass in the group 'Upfronts'. Regretfully, their six singles flopped. During the 1960s, he found work as a sideman, songwriter and arranger for small Californian record labels. In 1963, he worked on the arrangement of Bob and Earl's "The Harlem Shuffle". In 1967, working with Gene Page, he twice scored (as both writer and producer) for Felice Taylor, whose single "I Feel Love Comin' On" reached number 11 in the British pop charts. During this time, under the name Lee Barry, he recorded unsuccessfully. He, his first wife Mary, and their four children, often relied on Welfare checks for their survival. 1972 was his big breakthrough. He appeared with the female trio 'Love Unlimited' on their single "Walking In The Rain (With The One I Love)". Arranger Gene Page's lavish orchestration, White's deep bass baritone voice, and footsteps and rain sound effects, all helped propel the record to No. 6 in the rhythm and blues charts, and to No. 16 in the American pop charts. In 1973, he emerged as a solo artist scoring a big hit with "I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby". He also first visited England in 1973, and later recalled that "the English were my first international fans, and that is something I won't forget. England was incredible." During 1972-73, he scored three number one hits In Britain. In 1974, he married Love Unlimited's Glodean James. Between 1973 and 1977, White issued two albums a year, both under his own name and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra. By 1976, the formula had become stale, and his success faded. Between 1983 and 1987, he issued no new music, though in 1990 he had an r&b number one hit, participating on Quincy Jones's The Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite). In his autobiography, 'Love Unlimited' (2000), White said "I see a world of beauty and perfection. And I strive through my music to spread that vision. To help make this planet we call home a better, more desirable place for us to love one another, to procreate, and to keep our spirits renewed." White's trademark sound was singing intimate odes over billowing orchestral cushions and Latin-tinged rhythms. His bedroom baritone and huge girth led to the nickname "the walrus of love". He was certainly one of the era's greatest, if most unlikely, sex symbols.
1966    Sebastian Whittaker, drums, b. Houston, TX, USA. Member: 'Sebastian Whittaker & The Creators'
1944    Colin Young, vocals. Member group: The Foundations, 1967 single "Baby Now That I've Found You" charted UK No.1, and No. 11 in the USA. Original members of this British "Soul" band included Clem Curtis - Vocals -b. Trinidad, Alan Warner - Guitars/Vocals -b. London, UK, Peter Macbeth - Bass, Tony Gomez - Keyboards -b. Sri Lanka, Tim Harris - Drums, Mike Elliot - Sax, Pat Burke - Sax/Flute, and Eric Allendale - Trombone. Elliot, Burke and Allendale were all b. West Indies. Subsequently others joined including Colin Young - Vocals/Guitars (replaced Curtis in 1968), Steve Bingham - Bass/Vocals (1970), Gary Moberly - Keyboards (1999), and Steve Dixon - Drums (1999).
         Notable Events on this date include:
1926.    Edmund Thornton Jenkins, reeds, composer, leader,died (b. April 9, 1894, Charleston, SC, USA)
1949.    Harry Thacker Burleigh, (gospel) vocals/arranger, died in Stamford, CT, USA. Age: 83
1955.    Frank Stokes, guitar, died in Memphis, TN, USA. Age: 67
1957.    Louis Mitchell, drums, leader, died
1958.    Rod Brasfield, C&W comedy, died. Age 48. (b. Smithville, Mississippi, August 22, 1910. Tag: 'The Hohenwald Flash' (from the name of a town southwest of Nashville, TN. Brasfield also did comedy routines with singer-comedienne June Carter)
1962.    Abbey "Chinee" Foster, drums, died in New Orleans, LA, USA. Age: 60. ( some sources say d. Sept. 19)
1966.    The Beatles received a gold record for their hit recording of "Yellow Submarine".
1988.    Charlie Palmieri, piano, keyboards, organ, percussion, composer, teacher, died in New York NY, USA
1992.    Charles "Buddy" Barnes, piano, died in New York (Manhattan), NY, USA. Age: 52. Worked with Mabel Mercer
1992.    Jimmie Nabbie, vocals, died in Atlanta, GA, USA. Age: 72. Member: 'The Four Tunes'
1995.    Lawrence Bernard "Larry" Gales, bass, died Age: 59 (b. March 25, 1936)
2000.    Saxophonist Stanley Turrentine died at age 66 after suffering a stroke. His big hit "Sugar" established him in the popular mainstream and influenced musicians in many other genres.
2003.    Johnny Cash, singer/guitarist, died in Baptist Hospital, Nashville, TN, USA. Age 71.
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1924    I Don't Know Why, -Henry Halstead and his Orch.
1924    Patsy, -Paul Specht and his Orch.
1924    That's Georgia, -Gene Rodemich's orch. Tune: Lttle; Gillespie; Shay
1924    Worryin' Blues, -Gene Rodemich's orch. Tune: Kahn; Spitalny; Gordon
1925    Pickanniny Blues, -Ethel Waters and her Ebony 4.
1928    I'm Watching The Clock, -King Oliver dixie syncopators.
1932    As You Desire Me (voc. p.s.), -Bennie Krueger and his Orch.
1933    Kelseys Hot Nuts, -Williams Washboard Band.
1934    Solitude, -Duke Ellington and his Orch. Tune: De Lange; Mills; Ellington
1934    Moon Glow, -Duke Ellington and his Orch.
1935    Red Velvet, -Joe Venuti and his Orch.
1935    Black Satin, -Joe Venuti and his Orch.
1938    I Have Eyes (voc. M.Tilton), -Benny Goodman and his Orch.
1938    You're A Sweet Little Headache, -Benny Goodman and his Orch.
1939    Funeral March of a Marionette, -Columbia Salon orch. (Raymond Scott tune/leader)
1939    Little Things That Mean So Much, -Teddy Wilson and his Orch.
1939    Gold Mine In Your Heart, -Gene Autry voc. Tune: Autry; Marvin; Fred Rose
1940    A Shanty in Old Shanty Town, - recorded by Johnny Long Orch.
1941    Eli, Eli, -Tommy Dorsey and his Orch.
1941    None But The Lonely Heart, -Tommy Eorsey and his Orch.
1941    I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire, -Tucker, Tommy
1945    My Guy's Come Back, - Benny Goodman and his Orch.
1950    Smooth Sailing, - Arnett Cobb and his Orch. Tune: Cobb
1953    Rags To Riches, - Bennett, Tony
1960    So Sad (To Watch A Good Love Go Bad), - Everly Brothers
1964    Do Wah Diddy Diddy, - Manfred Mann
1970    Lola, - Kinks
1981    Private Eyes, - Hall and Oates
1981    I've Done Everything For You, - Springfield, Rick
1987    Little Lies, - Fleetwood Mac