BIRTHDAYS
1929    Jack Allan, (Dixieland) Clarinet, b. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, d. Feb. 2, 1995 Member: 'Jack Allan's Katzenjammers'. CAUTION: Do not confuse with classical composer (Sir) Jack Allan Westrup, born July 26, 1904, died April 21, 1975. Age: 70
1975    Mandy Barnett, singer/actress, b. Crossville, TN, USA.
1945    Francois Biensan, Trumpet, b. Bordeaux, France
1914    Jim Boyd, singer/songwriter, b. Fannin County, TX, USA. Member: 'The Cowboy Ramblers', a band that played Western Swing, with a C&W flavor. Over the years, the Cowboy Ramblers cut some 229 sides for RCA Victor.
1951    Norton Buffalo, harmonica, b. Oakland, CA, USA. Buffalo was born into a musical family. His father also played the harmonica, and his mother was a Jazz singer. Buffalo's great uncle worked as a film composer for MGM for many years, and won an Academy Award for his contribution to the music of "The Wizard of Oz". Buffalo has played on over 100 albums by artists as diverse as Olivia Newton-John, Bonnie Raitt (he did the harmonica solo on "Runaway"), Johnny Cash, The Doobie Brothers (including the Grammy Award-winning "Minute By Minute"), Kenny Loggins, The Marshall Tucker Band, David Grisman, Juice Newton, Laurie Lewis, and Elvin Bishop, to name just a few.
1950    Paul Burgess, drums, b. Manchester, England. Member: '10CC', 1975 single "I'm Not In Love" charted US No.2 and UK No.1
1953    Keni Burke, vocals, b. Chicago, IL, USA. Member: 'The 5 Stairsteps'
1889    David Parker "Dad" Carter, (Southern Gospel) vocals, b. Milltown, KY, USA. (raised in Clay County, Texas) Member: "The Chuck Wagon Gang", which was originally called the Carter Quartet, and was comprised of four members of the Carter family (no relation to the Carter Family), with "Dad" (David Parker Carter) singing tenor, his son Jim (born Ernest) singing bass and playing guitar, while daughter Rose (born Rosa Lola), and his daughter Effie sang soprano and alto. They first performed on Lubbock, Texas radio station KFYO, and soon began earning $15 per week. The following year, the Carters moved to WBAP where they were billed as the "Chuck Wagon Gang", and sang a variety of secular and sometimes sacred songs. IT was the start of a long successful career, one that saw many changes in the group make-up.
1957    Clifton. J. Chenier, (zydeco) alto sax/accordion, b. Port Arthur, TX, USA.
1930    Tommy Collins, singer/songwriter. b.Bethany, OK, USA, d. March 14, 2000, Ashland City, TN, USA. Age 69 né: Leonard Raymond Sipes
1971    A. J. Croce, Piano/composer, b. Bryn Mawr, PA, USA.
1953    Jim Diamond, singer/songwriter, b. Glasgow, Scotland.
1962    Luis Enrique, vocals, b. (Managua ?), Nicaragua.
1947    Peter Hope Evans, vocals/harmonica, b. Great Britain. (Possible born Sept. 29). Member group: 'Medicine Head', 1973 single "One And One Is One" charted UK No.3.
1900    Joseph Falcon, Cajun vocals, b. Rayne, LA, USA. Did you know that Falcon, and wife Cleoma Breaux, made the first Cajun recording in 1928?
1913    Vivian Fine, composer (Classical), b. Chicago, IL, USA, d. March 2000, Age. 86.
1913    Billy Fisher (within Bud Fisher Orch.), sax/arranger, b. New York, NY, USA, d. April 24, 1972, Greenwich, CT, USA
1942    Eddie 'Little Buster' Forehand, (blind) guitarist/vocals. b. Hereford, North Carolina, USA.
1953    Jeff Ganz, bass, b. Washington, DC, USA.
1931    John Gilmore, Tenor Sax (occasionally bass clarinet drums, percussion, vocals), b. Summit, MS, USA. (raised in Chicago, IL), d. August 20, 1995 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. During 1948-1952, while serving in the United States Air Force , he took up the tenor saxophone. After his Service discharge, he pursued a musical career, playing briefly with pianist Earl Hines before encountering Sun Ra in 1953. For the next four decades, Gilmore recorded and performed almost exclusively with Sun Ra. and is best-known today for his long tenure as a member of Sun Ra's Arkestra.
1935    Bent Jaedig, flute/tenor sax, b. Copenhagen, Denmark, d. June 9, 2004
1938    Ben E. King, nee: Benjamin Earl Nelson. member: 'The Drifters'
1966    Matt King, singer/songwriter, b. North Carolina, USA.
1955    Kenny Kirkland, Piano, keyboards, b. New York, NY, USA. d. Nov. 12, 1998, age 43
1946    Kenneth Knudsen, composer, piano, bass guitar, keyboards, percussion, b. Copenhagen, Denmark. Knudsen is a self-taught musician, who has worked with such diverse groups as Secret Oyster, Coronaria Dans, ANIMA, Entrance, Bombay Hotel and Heart To Heart Trio. Included among the men with whom he has worked are Svend Asmussen, Miles Davis, Shubidua and the Indian violinist L. Subramaniam. His list of compositions includes music for ballet, film, TV productions and jingles, as well as works for string quartet, solo guitar, solo cello, cello and piano, and choir.
1968    Sean Levert, vocals, b. Cleveland, OH, USA. Member: 'Levert', consisting of Gerald Levert, Sean Levert, and Marc Gordon. Singing classic R&B ballads, they have four gold albums and five #1 hit singles. Gerald and Sean Levert grew up vocalizing together, due greatly to the inspiration of their father Eddie Levert Sr., the lead singer with the legendary 'O'Jays.' While still in their mid-teens, Sean and Gerald began singing with their friend Marc Gordon.
1950    Laurie Lewis, C&W vocals, b. Long Beach, CA, USA.
1954    Evan Lurie, piano/organ, b. Worcester, MA, USA. In 1978, Evan and his brother John Lurie (alto sax/composer, b. Dec. 14, 1952, Worcester, MA, USA) formed a tongue in cheek "fake jazz" combo they called 'The Lounge Lizards'. The public's acceptance of their mix of 'new wave', 'punk rock' and jazz has kept the group going for 20 years. Lurie and Evan remain the only constant members of the group. Former members include Arto Lindsay, Marc Ribot, Anton Fier, and others. Both Evan and John have composed music for films.
1940    Rod Mason, Trumpet/Leader, b. Plymouth, England
1933    "Country" Johnny Mathis, (Country/Gospel) Singer-Songwriter/Guitar b. Maude, TX, USA. né: John Wesley Mathis. CAUTION: Do NOT confuse with the more famous 'Pop' singer, Johnny Mathis.
1929    Morris Nanton, piano, b. Perth Amboy, NJ, USA.
1941    Mike Osborne, Alto Sax/clarinet, b. Hereford, England d. Sept. 19, 2007
1937    Eugene "Texas" Ray, harmonica, b. Omaha, TX, USA.
1924    Rosetta Reitz, Label owner (Rosetta Records), b. Utica, NY, USA
1947    Ronnie Reno, vocals. member: The Reno Brothers
1960    Jennifer Rush, vocals, b. New York (Queens), NY, USA. né: Heidi Stern. Her 1985 single "The Power Of Love" charted UK No.1. (One of the longest-running chart-toppers in U.K. history.) Her father was an opera singer, and her mother was a pianist.
1952    David Lynn Schnaufer, dulcimer, b. Hearne, TX, USA.
1942    Frank Scott, producer, b. London, England, UK. (for Roots & Rhythm, and Advent)
1946    Helen Shapiro, vocals, b. Bethnal Green, London, England, 1961 single "Walking Back To Happiness" charted UK No.1.
1940    "Sirone", Bass, b. Atlanta, GA, USA. né: Norris Jones. He is perhaps best recalled as a member of the "Revolutionary Trio", a group that was a favorite of avant-garde jazz fans in the 1970s, and which included (besides Sirone) Frank Clayton (drums, later replaced by Cooper), Jerome Cooper (drums, b. 1946, Chicago, IL, USA), and Leroy Jenkins (violin, b. 1932, Chicago, IL, USA).
1910    Houston Stackhouse, guitar, b. Wesson, MS, USA.
1935    Koko Taylor, vocals, b. Memphis, TN, USA. née: Cora Walton
1952    Andy Ward, drums, b. London, England. Member groups: Marillion (1983), Camel (1971-'82), Mark Hewins' FF, Skaboosh! (1987-88), Going Going (1990), Caravan Of Dreams (1991-94), and Mirage (1994). Among the recent Bands with which he has worked are: Bevis Frond, Yukio Yung, and Steve Adams Band
1938    Ray Warleigh, Alto-soprano sax/flute, b. Sydney, Australia
1941    William "Jitterbug" Webb, guitar, b. San Antonio, TX, USA, d. Nov 1, 1997 in San Antonio, TX, USA. His mother played (gospel) piano, and some down-home Blues. Webb has told interviewers that one of his earliest memories was, at age six, listening to his mother playing 78s by the classic Blues artist Peetie Wheatstraw. When he was just age nine, his mother encouraged the young "Jitterbug" to take trumpet and guitar lessons, and by age 13, he was already gigging.
1927    Lamar Wright Jr., Trumpet, b. Kansas City, MO, USA d. 1983
1967    Moon Unit Zappa, rock vocals, b. New York, NY, USA. She is Frank Zappa's daughter. At age 15 (1982), she recorded a vocal improvisation on her father's song "Valley Girl", bringing her first fame.
1924     Mel Zelnick, drums, b. New York, NY, USA, d. Feb. 21, 2008, Mayer, AZ, USA (heart attack) Age: 83. Among the Stars with whom Mel has played are Benny Goodman (his first 'fame'), Marion McPartland, Stan Getz, Les Elgart, Boyd Raeburn, "Chubby" Jackson, Pete Rugolo, Peggy Lee and Nat "King" Cole. In the 1940s and '50s, he worked as a Jazz musician, staff drummer in New York radio stations, and also worked in the the Paramount Theater Orchestra (NYC). In the '60s and '70s, he was a music store owner. In the '80s, Mel was the district manager for Slingerland Drums. And add to all this, he was Clare Willey's drummer for 20 years.

          Notable Events on this date include:
1598.    Thomas Morley, a composer of madrigal songs, was issued the first patent to print songbooks.
1912.    W.C. Handy's "Memphis Blues" published this day.
1938.    Con Conrad, composer, died in Van Nuys, California, USA (b. June 18, 1891, New York, NY, USA )
1963.    Charlie Lincoln, guitar, died in Cairo, GA, USA. Age: 63
1964.    Nacio Herb Brown, composer, died in San Francisco, California, USA
1966.    Lucky Millinder, bandleader, died in New York (Harlem), NY, USA. Age: 66
1968.    Dewey Phillips, DJ, died in Millington, TN, USA. Age: 42
1973.    Mantan Moreland, vocals/actor, died in Hollywood, CA, USA. Age: 72
1975.    Norman Green, guitar, died in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Age: 68
CAUTION: Do not confuse with
--- "Guitar Slim" (b. Dec. 10, 1926 in Greenwood, MS, USA, d. Feb. 7, 1959, New York, NY, USA.)
--- Norman Green, Bluegrass guitarist
1989.    Johnny Harrington, bass, died in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Age: 75
1991.    Miles Davis, trumpet, died in Santa Monica, CA, USA. Age: 65
1993.    Fraser Macpherson, tenor sax, died in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Age: 65
1995.    Allen Johnson, vocals, died in Pittsburg, PA, USA. Age: 55. Member: 'The Marcels'