Happy Birthday this week to:
Jul 10
1900 ● Mitchell Parish → Pop music lyricist and collaborator with Duke Ellington and numerous other top composers for multiple hits from the 20s to 50s, known best for penning the lyrics to Hoagy Carmichael‘s music for the American pop classic “Stardust,” one of the most recorded songs in history (originally “Star Dust,” 1927), died from natural causes on 3/31/1993, age 92
1933 ● Jumpin’ Gene Simmons → One hit wonder rockabilly singer and songwriter with the novelty song “Haunted House” (#11, 1964), Kiss frontman Gene Simmons (born Chiam Witz) took the name as a tribute to the singer, died after a long illness on 8/29/2006, age 73
1936 ● Johnny Griffith → Piano and keyboard session musician, member of The Funk Brothers, Motown Record‘s house band which provided nearly all instrumentation behind every Motown hit, died from a heart attack on 11/10/2002, age 66
1939 ● Mavis Staples → Lead vocalist for four-sister R&B/soul-gospel act The Staple Singers, “I’ll Take You There” (#1, 1972)
1941 ● Ian Whitcomb → One hit wonder Brit singer/songwriter, “You Turn Me On” (#8, 1965), author of pre-rock history book After The Ball
1942 ● Ronnie James Dio (Ronald Padavona) → Heavy metal vocalist and songwriter, frontman for Rainbow, “Since You’ve Been Gone” (#57, 1979) and “Stone Cold” (Mainstream Rock #1, 1982), Black Sabbath (1979-82), “Turn Up The Night” (Mainstream Rock #24, 1982), founded heavy metal quintet Dio, “Rainbow In The Dark” (Mainstream Rock #14, 1983), died from stomach cancer on 5/16/2010, age 67
1943 ● Jerry Miller → Guitarist for 60s San Francisco folk-roots-psych rock Moby Grape, “Omaha” (#88, 1967)
1944 ● John “Beaky” Dymond → Rhythm guitar for Brit 60s pop-rock two hit wonder quintet Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, “The Legend Of Xanadu” (UK #1, 1968), left in 1989 but rejoined the band on the oldies circuit in 2013
1947 ● Arlo Guthrie → Folk/rock singer/songwriter with three notable songs, the comic-monologue-song “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” (1967), “Coming Into Los Angeles” from the Woodstock festival and movie, and “The City Of New Orleans” (#18, 1972), son of folk legend Woody Guthrie
1948 ● John Whitehead → With Gene McFadden, one-half the soul music songwriting duo for Philadelphia International Records, co-wrote “Back Stabbers” for The O’Jays (#3, R&B #1, 1972) and other hits, including the disco smash “Ain’t’ No Stopping Us Now” (#13, R&B #1, 1979) for their own album McFadden & Whitehead (1979), died from in an unsolved but apparently mistaken-identity murder outside his home on 5/11/2004, age 55
1949 ● Dave Smalley → Founding member and lead vocals for Cleveland garage rock quartet The Choir, “It’s Cold Outside” (#68, 1967), then co-founded power pop The Raspberries, “Go All The Way” (#5, 1972)
1950 ● Greg Kihn → Pop/rock singer, songwriter and bandleader, Greg Kihn Band, “Jeopardy” (#2, 1983)
1953 ● Richard Gordon “Rik” Emmett → Lead guitar and vocals for Canadian power rock trio Triumph (“All The Way,” Mainstream Rock #2, 1983), left the band in 1988 to pursue a moderately successful solo career, rejoined in 2008, contributes to Guitar Player magazine and teaches music business at Humber College in Toronto
1954 ● Neil Tennant → Vocals for synth-pop dance Pet Shop Boys, “West End Girls” (#1, 1986)
1958 ● Béla Anton Leoš Fleck → Innovative jazz-bluegrass (“blu-bop”) banjo player, first with New Grass Revival, “Callin’ Baton Rouge” (Country #37, 1989) then as bandleader for Grammy-winning progressive folk-bluegrass Béla Fleck And The Flecktones, “The Sinister Minister” (Best Pop Instrumental, 1997), session work and tours with Asleep At The Wheel, Dave Matthews Band, Phish and others
1959 ● Sandy West (Pesavento) → Drummer, singer, songwriter and founding member of teenage all-girl hard rock group The Runaways, “Cherry Bomb” (1976), died from cancer on 10/21/2006, age 47
1960 ● Martyn P. Casey → Keyboards for alt rock Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, “Where The Wild Roses Grow” (Australia #2, UK #11, 1995)
1962 ● Christopher “Play” Martin → With Christopher “Kid” Reid, one half of the positive-attitude hip hop musical duo Kid ‘N Play, “Ain’t Gonna Hurt Nobody” (#51, Rap #1, 1991), the duo branched into acting with film appearances and their own short-lived TV program
1964 ● Graham Lambert → Guitarist for Brit psych-alt rock Inspiral Carpets, “Two Worlds Collide” (Modern Rock #8, 1992)
1965 ● Peter DiStefano → Guitarist for alt rock/post-punk Jane’s Addiction, “Been Caught Stealing” (Mainstream Rock #29, 1990), then co-founded hard art-rock Porno For Pyros, “Pets” (Mainstream Rock #25, 1993), solo
1970 ● Gary LeVox → Vocals for country-pop Rascal Flatts, “Here Come Goodbye” (#11, Country #1, 2009)
1970 ● Jason Orange → Vocals for teen pop quintet Take That, “Back For Good” (#7, UK #1, 1995) and seven other UK #1 hits including “Patience” (UK #1, 2006)
1974 ● Imelda May (Imelda Clabby Higham) → Irish-born jazz-pop and neo-burlesque singer and guitarist, “Mayhem” (Ireland #24, 2010), plus sessions and backing vocals for Jeff Beck, Elvis Costello, Elton John and others
1976 ● Elijah Blue Allman → Guitarist, vocalist and songwriting for industrial/nu metal Deadsy, “The Elements” (1997), also worked with Orgy, Sugar Ray, Korn and others, son of Cher and Gregg Allman, currently a contemporary artist in L.A.
1980 ● Jessica Simpson → Tabloid-fodder film and reality TV actress, 90s dance-pop and 00s contemporary country-pop singer, “Irresistible” (#15, 2001), featured on MTV’s Newlyweds show with her husband and 98 Degrees member Nick Lachey
Jul 11
1929 ● Danny Flores → Rock ‘n’ roll saxophonist and songwriter, wrote the Latin-flavored instrumental classic “Tequila” (#1, R&B #1, 1958) for one hit wonder The Champs, left the band in the early 60s and recorded sporadically until his death from pneumonia on 9/19/2006, age 77
1931 ● Tab Hunter (Arthur Kelm Gelien) → Actor in more than 40 movies and one hit wonder teen idol singer, “Young Love” (#1, 1957)
1931 ● Thurston Harris → One hit wonder rock ‘n’ roll singer “Little Bitty Pretty One” (#6, R&B #2, 1957), the song also charted with versions by Frankie Lymon and The Jackson 5, died from a heart attack on 4/14/1990, age 58
1932 ● Roquel “Billy” Davis → Detroit R&B singer in an early version of The Four Tops and songwriter with several hits recorded by others, including “Lonely Teardrops” by Jackie Wilson (#7, R&B #1, 1959), produced “Rescue Me” for Fontella Bass (#4, R&B #1, 1965) among other hits, turned to advertising and produced the jingles “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony),” “”Things Go Better With Coke” and other jingles for Coca-Cola, died of natural causes on 9/2/2004, age 72
1938 ● Terry Garthwaite → With collaborator Toni Brown, co-frontwoman, guitar and vocals in folk-rock Joy Of Cooking, “Brownsville” (#66, 1971), solo
1946 ● John Lawton → Vocals for German prog rock and early heavy metal cult band Lucifer’s Friend, joined Brit prog rock Uriah Heep in 1976 as lead singer but returned to Lucifer’s Friend and other bands starting in 1980
1947 ● Jeff Hanna → Guitar and vocals for country-folk-bluegrass-rock The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, “Mr. Bojangles” (#9, 1971)
1947 ● Winston “John” Holt → Jamaican singer and prolific songwriter with ska and rocksteady vocal quartet The Paragons, wrote “The Tide Is High” (1969), which became a US and UK #1 for Blondie in 1980, died from colon cancer on 10/19/2014, age 67
1950 ● Patricia Eva “Bonnie” Pointer → Vocals for R&B/soul-pop-disco-dance sister act The Pointer Sisters, “Slow Hand” (#2, 1981)
1953 ● Peter Brown → Electronic, disco, funk and dance-pop singer, songwriter and producer with seven charting hits between 1977 and 1982, including disco-funk “Dance With Me” (#88, R&B #5, 1977), co-wrote “Material Girl” for Madonna (#2, 1985), left the industry in the late 80s due to hearing loss
1953 ● Benjamin DeFranco → Vocals for teen bubblegum-pop sibling act The DeFranco Family, “Heartbeat-It’s A Lovebeat” (#3, 1973)
1957 ● Peter Murphy → Vocals for seminal goth-rock Bauhaus, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” (1979), co-founded alt goth Dali’s Car, then solo, “Cuts You Up” (Mainstream Rock #10, 1990)
1959 ● Suzanne Vega → Folk-pop singer/songwriter and guitarist, “Luka” (#3, 1987)
1959 ● Richie Sambora → Guitarist for pop-metal superstars Bon Jovi, “Living On A Prayer” (#1, 1987)
1961 ● Adrian York → Piano for New Wave swing/pop Roman Holliday, “Don’t Try To Stop It” (#68, UK #14, 1983)
1965 ● Scott Shriner → Bass and vocals for post-grunge alt pop-rock Weezer, “Beverly Hills” (#10, 2005)
1966 ● Melanie Susan Appleby → Singer and actress, with older sister Kim in R&B/dance-pop duo Mel & Kim, “Respectable” (Dance/Club #1, 1986), died from pneumonia during cancer treatments on 6/18/1990, age 23
1969 ● Al Sobrante (John Kiffmeyer) → Drummer for California punk rock Sweet Children, left the band in 1990 during its transition to post-grunge alt rock/punk revival Green Day, “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” (#2, 2004)
1975 ● Samer El Nahhal → Bassist for Finnish heavy metal monster-masked Lordi, winners of 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with “Hard Rock Hallelujah”
1975 ● Rick McMurray → Founding member, drummer and backing vocals for Irish neo-punk/pop-rock Ash, “Goldfinger” (UK #5, 1996)
1975 ● Lil’ Kim (Kimberly Denise Jones) → Hip hop actress, model and rapper, member of rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A., “Player’s Anthem” (#13, Rap #2, 1995), solo, “Not Tonight” (#6, Rap #2, 1997)
1978 ● Kathleen Edwards → Critically-acclaimed Canadian-born light country and roots rock singer and songwriter, “The Cheapest Key” (2008), toured with Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones
Jul 12
1895 ● Oscar Hammerstein II → Stage, film and TV music lyricist/librettist with over 800 titles, many of which are included in the Great American Songbook, collaborator with Richard Rogers on some of the best-known songs in popular music, died from stomach cancer on 8/23/1960, age 65
1928 ● Barbara Russell Cowsill → Matriarch and vocals for family pop band The Cowsills, “The Rain, The Park And Other Things” (#2, 1967) and theme song from Broadway musical Hair, (#2, 1969), inspiration for the TV show The Partridge Family, died from emphysema on 1/31/1985, age 56
1939 ● Kenny Dino (Kenneth J. Diono) → One hit wonder pop singer, “Your Ma Said You Cried In Your Sleep Last Night” (#24, 1961), died from a heart attack while driving on Interstate 95 in Florida on 12/10/2009, age 70
1942 ● Swamp Dogg (Jerry Williams, Jr.) → Self-proclaimed “musical genius” rock & soul songwriter, producer, soul artist, “Mama’s Baby, Daddy’s Maybe” (R&B #33, 1970)
1943 ● Christine McVie → Vocals and songwriter for Chicken Shack, then huge pop-rock Fleetwood Mac, “Go Your Own Way” (#10, 1977), solo
1946 ● Jeff Christie → Frontman, lead vocals, bassist and chief songwriter for one hit wonder Brit light pop-rock Christie, “Yellow River” (#23, UK #1, 1970), continued to tour on the oldies circuit with various lineups through the 10s
1946 ● Peter Pye → Rhythm guitarist for one hit wonder English beat/pop-rock The Honeycombs, “Have I The Right?” (#5, 1964)
1947 ● Wilko Johnson (John Wilkinson) → Lead guitar for Brit pub-rock Dr. Feelgood, “Milk And Alcohol” (UK #9, 1979), then founding member of blues-rock Solid Senders
1948 ● Walter Egan → One hit wonder singer, songwriter and guitarist, “Magnet And Steel” (#8, 1978), now a high school teacher
1949 ● Malcolm Jones → Bassist for one hit wonder pop-rock Blues Image, “Ride Captain Ride” (#4, 1970), then Scottish Celtic folk-rock Runrig, “An Ubhal As Airde (The Highest Apple)” (UK #18, 1995)
1950 ● Eric “The Fox” Carr (Paul Caravello) → Drummer for campy hard/glam-rock Kiss, “Detroit Rock City” (#7, 1976), died from cancer on 11/24/1991, age 41
1952 ● Phil Kramer → Bass guitar for Iron Butterfly, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” (#30, 1970), presumed a suicide when his body and wrecked car were discovered in a Malibu canyon four years after he disappeared on 2/12/1995, age 42
1952 ● Liz Mitchell → West Indian vocalist for R&B/disco Euro-dance Boney M, “Rivers Of Babylon” (#30, UK #1, 1978)
1953 ● Bobby Alessi → With identical twin brother Billy, vocals in one hit wonder pop-rock duo Alessi Brothers, “Oh, Lori” (UK #8, 1977)
1953 ● Billy Alessi → With identical twin brother Bobby, vocals in one hit wonder pop-rock duo Alessi Brothers, “Oh, Lori” (UK #8, 1977)
1956 ● Sandra Faye “Sandi” Patty → Often referred to as “The Voice”, Grammy-winning contemporary Christian music (CCM) and new age singer and pianist
1959 ● Ray Gillen → Journeyman rock vocalist for hard rock Black Sabbath, all-star project Phenomena II, blues-rock Badlands, “Dreams In The Dark” (Mainstream Rock #39, 1989), Tariff, and Sun Red Sun, died from AIDS on 12/1/1993, age 34
1962 ● Dan Murphy → Guitarist for garage rock superstar group Soul Asylum, “Runaway Train” (#5, 1993)
1964 ● Tim Gane → Guitar and keyboards for experimental/electronic pop-rock Stereolab, “Ping Pong” (UK #45, 1994)
1967 ● John Petrucci → Virtuoso metal/”shredder” guitarist, songwriter and occasional singer, founding member and producer for progressive metal Dream Theater, “Pull Me Under” (Mainstream Rock #10, 1992), included in GuitarOne magazine’s Top 10 greatest guitar shredders of all time
1972 ● Brett A. Reed → Original drummer in punk rock revival Rancid, “Time Bomb” (Modern Rock #8, 1995), left in 2010 to concentrate on side project psychobilly Devils Brigade
1976 ● Tracie Spencer → Teen pop singer, “In This House” (#3, 1990) and “It’s All About You (Not About Me)” (#18, 1999)
1984 ● Gareth Gates → Brit teen pop singer, TV’s Pop Idol runner up in 2002, “Unchained Melody” (#1, 2002)
Jul 13
1915 ● Paul “Hucklebuck” Williams → Saxophonist, composer and 40s bandleader with the first big R&B hit, “The Hucklebuck” (R&B #1, 1949) among eight other R&B Top 20 singles, became a member of the Atlantic Records house band and music director of James Brown‘s backing band in the 60s, opened a music booking business in the late 60s, died of natural causes on 9/14/2002, age 87
1923 ● Norma Zimmer → The last and best-known “Champagne Lady” from the Lawrence Welk Show and a Christian music singer on radio and TV and in various groups from the 50s through the 70s, including with Billy Graham, died on 5/10/2011, age 87
1935 ● Pete Escovedo → Mexican-American jazz and fusion percussionist with Latin-rock Santana, “Black Magic Woman” (#4, 1970), solo and leader of Latin big band Azteca
1942 ● Stephen Bladd → Drummer for boogie-blues-rock ‘n roll bar band J. Geils Band, “Centerfold” (#1, 1982)
1942 ● Thomas R. “Tom” King → Founder, frontman, songwriter and lead guitarist for garage/horn rock The Outsiders, “Time Won’t Let Me” (#5, 1966), producer and manager, died from heart failure on 4/23/2011, age 68
1942 ● James Joseph “Roger” McGuinn III → Twelve-string Rickenbacker jingle-jangle guitarist, songwriter, singer and founding member of seminal folk-country-rock The Byrds, “Mr. Tambourine Man” (#1, 1965), McGuinn-Clark & Hillman, “Don’t You Write Her Off” (#33, 1979), solo
1942 ● Jay Uzzell → With brothers James and Moses and cousin George Wooten, vocals for R&B/doo wop The Corsairs, “Smoky Places” (#12, 1962)
1946 ● Richard Anthony “Cheech” Marin → Mexican-American comedian, TV actor (Nash Bridges, 1996-2001), Disney voice artist and one half the stoner comedy team Cheech & Chong (album Big Bambu, #2, 1972), released two albums of bilingual children’s music, My Name Is Cheech, The School Bus Driver (1992) and Coast To Coast (1997)
1954 ● Thelma Louise Mandrell → Country-pop bassist and singer, played in sister Barbara Mandrell‘s band, The D-Rights, then solo, “Save Me” (Country #5, 1985)
1955 ● Mark “The Animal” Mendoza → Bassist for proto-punk The Dictators, joined heavy metal Twisted Sister in 1978, “We’re Not Gonna Take It” (#21, 1983)
1958 ● Rafael “Danny” Gayol → Drummer for roots rock and adult pop BoDeans, “Closer To Free” (#16, 1993)
1961 ● Lawrence Donegan → Bassist for Scottish jangle-pop-rock The Bluebells, “Young At Heart” (UK #1, 1983), then Brit pop-rock Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, “Lost Weekend” (UK #17, 1985), author and golf journalist
1966 ● Gerald Levert → Vocals and frontman for R&B/smooth soul trio LeVert, “Casanova” (#5, R&B #1, 1987), son of O’Jays vocalist Eddie Levert, died of a heart attack on 11/10/2006, age 40
1969 ● Mark “Barney” Greenway → Extreme metal singer for punk/grindcore Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror and Benediction
1974 ● Deborah Cox → Canadian R&B singer/songwriter, “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here” (#2, 1998)
Jul 14
1912 ● Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Guthrie → Legendary and highly influential American music giant, folk singer and songwriter, “This Land Is Your Land” (1940) and hundreds of others, died from complications of Huntington’s disease on 10/3/1967, age 55
1926 ● Lowman Pauling → Guitarist, singer and songwriter for gospel, jump blues and doo wop fusion quintet The “5” Royales, “Tears Of Joy” (R&B #9, 1957), co-wrote “Dedicated To The One I Love” (#81, 1961) which was covered by The Shirelles (#3, 1961) and The Mamas & The Papas (#2, 1967), also wrote or co-wrote hits for James Brown, Ray Charles and others, died while at work as a janitor in a Brooklyn, NY synagogue on 12/26/1973, age 47
1932 ● Franklin Delano “Del” Reeves → Country music singer and songwriter with 25 Country Top 40 hits in the 60s and 80s, including “Girl On The Billboard” (Country #1, 1965), moved into music and artist management and discovered Billy Ray Cyrus in the 90s, continued to perform until just prior to his death from emphysema on New Year’s Day 2007, age 74
1938 ● Bob Scholl → Lead vocals for R&B/doo wop one hit wonder quintet The Mello-Kings, “Tonite, Tonite” (#77, 1957), died in a boating accident on 8/27/1975, age 37
1939 ● Vince Taylor (Brian Maurice Holden) → Early and flamboyant Brit rock ‘n’ roll singer with The Playboys and solo, career cut short by drug and alcohol abuse and erratic behavior, served as the inspiration for David Bowie‘s Ziggy Stardust character and the Golden Earring song “Just Like Vince Taylor,” died from cancer on 8/28/1991, age 52
1945 ● Jim Gordon → Top session drummer in the 60s and 70s, co-wrote “Layla” (#10, 1972) with Eric Clapton, worked with The Byrds, The Everly Brothers, The Monkees, Steely Dan, Frank Zappa and others, diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic serving a prison sentence since 1984 for murdering his mother
1948 ● Tommy Mottola → CEO of Sony Music Entertainment and Columbia Records, mentored Hall & Oates, John (Cougar) Mellencamp, Diana Ross, Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Lopez, among others, ex-husband of dance-pop diva Mariah Carey
1952 ● Chris Cross (Christopher St. John) → Bass and synthesizer for New Wave electro-synth-pop pioneers Ultravox, “Vienna” (UK #2, 1980) and 15 other UK Top 40 singles
1952 ● Bob Casale, Jr. → Guitarist and keyboardist for quirky 80s pop-rock Devo, “Whip It” (#14, 1980), left in the mid-80s for a career in music and TV sound engineering and production, worked with Police guitarist ‘Andy Summers and others, rejoined Devo bandmates in Mutato Muzika, died of heart failure on 2/17/2014, age 61
1965 ● Igor Khoroshev → Keyboardist replacing Rick Wakeman in archetypal, pioneer progressive rock band Yes, “Roundabout” (#13, 1971), solo
1966 ● Tanya Donelly → Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and guitarist, co-founder of alt rock Throwing Muses, “Dizzy” (Modern Rock #8, 1989), guitar and vocals for alt rock The Breeders, “Cannonball” (#44, 1993) and alt pop-rock Belly, “Feed The Tree” (#1, Modern Rock, 1993), solo
1966 ● Ellen Reid → Keyboards and backing vocals for Canadian alt pop-rock Crash Test Dummies, “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” (#4, 1993)
1971 ● Nick McCabe → Lead guitar for neo-psych-pop The Verve, “Bittersweet Symphony” (#12, 1998), session work, now founder of The Black Ships
1975 ● Taboo (Jaime Luis Gómez ) → Rapper and singer with Black Eyed Peas, “Don’t Phunk With My Heart” (#3, 2005)
1975 ● Tameka “Tiny” Cottle-Harris → Vocals for female R&B/dance-pop quartet Xscape, “Understanding” (#8, 1993)
1987 ● Dan Reynolds → Frontman for Las Vegas-based indie pop-rock Imagine Dragons (“Radioactive,” #3, Rock #1, 2012)
Jul 15
1905 ● Dorothy Fields → Prolific, Oscar-winning stage and screen librettist/lyricist, wrote over 400 Broadway, age 68 tunes, first woman elected to Songwriters Hall of Fame, long-time collaborator with Jimmy McHugh, died of a stroke on 3/28/1974, age 68
1913 ● Lloyd Estel “Cowboy” Copas → Country music singer in the 40s and 50s with nine Country Top 10 songs and a lone crossover hit, “Alabam” (#63, Country #1, 1960), otherwise known for being killed in the same plane crash that took country star Patsy Cline‘s life on 3/5/1963, age 49
1936 ● Hidle Brown “H.B.” Barnum → Child actor turned novelty song singer (as “Pee Wee” Barnum or just “Dudley”), pianist and songwriter for doo wop The Robins (“Quarter To Twelve”, 19578) and instrumental pop solo artist (“Lost Love,” #35, 1961), later produced records for Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, The Supremes and others, and scored TV specials and advertising jingles
1939 ● Tommy Dee → With collaborator Carol Kay, wrote and performed the pop-rock tribute to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, “Three Stars” (#11, 1959)
1944 ● Mildred “Millie” Jackson → R&B/soul singer “If Loving You Is Wrong I Don’t Want To Be Right” (1975)
1945 ● Peter Lewis → Lead guitar for 60s San Francisco folk-roots-psych rock Moby Grape, “Omaha” (#88, 1967)
1946 ● Linda Ronstadt → Lead vocals for folk-pop Stone Poneys, “Different Drum” (#13, 1967), then prolific and multi-genre, Grammy-winning country-pop-rock solo career, “You’re No Good” (#1, 1975), duet with Aaron Neville, “Don’t Know Much” (#2, 1989) and 17 other Top 40 hits
1947 ● Ian McCredie → Guitarist for Scot bubblegum pop-rock Middle Of The Road, “Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep” (UK #1, 1971)
1947 ● Peter Banks (Peter William Brockbanks) → Original lead guitarist for prog rock pioneers Yes (1968-70), pushed out and co-founded prog-rock Flash, “Small Beginnings” (#29, 1972), went solo and performed with various bands and Yes offshoots and tribute bands until his death from heart failure on 3/7/2013, age 65
1947 ● Roger Kynard “Roky” Erickson → Singer, songwriter, guitarist, founding member of pioneering psych-rock 13th Floor Elevators (“You’re Gonna Miss Me,” #55, 1966) and early casualty of LSD and other hallucinogens, committed to a mental institution after the band broke up in 1969, returned to recording as a solo artist in the 90s
1948 ● Thomas Delmar “Artimus” Pyle → Drummer for raunchy Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Sweet Home Alabama” (#8, 1974), solo and sessions
1949 ● Trevor Horn → Bassist, songwriter and co-founder of New Wave synth-pop The Buggles, “Video Killed The Radio Star” (#40, 1979), producer, lead vocals and bassist for Yes, then full producer for such diverse acts as Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner and others
1951 ● Gregory “Cool Ruler” Isaacs → Jamaican superstar reggae singer with a languid, suave and sexy delivery that became known as “lovers rock,” recorded over 70 studio albums of material in his 30-year career, including Night Nurse (Reggae Albums #16, 2002) and many self-penned hit songs, died from lung cancer after years of drug abuse on 10/25/2010, age 59
1952 ● David Pack → Co-founder, guitarist principal songwriter and lead singer for pop-rock Ambrosia (“Biggest Part Of Me,” #3, 1980), also produced albums for multiple rock and pop artists (Phil Collins, Linda Ronstadt, Steve Vai and others) plus various concerts and events, including Bill Clinton‘s presidential inaugurations in 1993 and 1997, continues to tour and perform with Ambrosia and others into the 10s
1952 ● Jeff Carlisli → Founding member and guitarist for Southern arena rockers .38 Special, “Hold On Loosely” (Mainstream Rock #3, 1981)
1952 ● Johnny Thunders (John Genzale, Jr.) → Hard-living guitarist and vocalist for influential glam-rock/proto-punk New York Dolls (“Personality Crisis,” 1973), also fronted Brit punk The Heartbreakers and released several solo albums, died under suspicious circumstances but of a suspected methadone overdose on 4/23/1991, age 38
1953 ● Alicia Bridges → One hit wonder disco diva, “I Love The Night Life (Disco ‘Round)” (#5, 1978)
1956 ● Marky Ramone (Marc Bell) → Drummer for seminal punk-rockers The Ramones, “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker” (#81, 1977)
1956 ● Joe “Satch” Satriani → Guitar virtuoso, instructor and mentor, solo artist, brief bandmember of Mick Jagger‘s band (1988) and Deep Purple (1984), sessions, currently lead guitarist with blues-funk-rock supergroup Chickenfoot
1956 ● Ian Curtis → Singer, lyricist, guitarist and often frontman for post-punk/synth-pop Joy Division, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (Dance/Club #42, 1980), hung himself at home after succumbing to depression and epilepsy on 5/18/1980, age 23
1966 ● Jason John Bonham → Rock drummer and son of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, performed with Zeppelin members individually and as a band on numerous occasions following his father death in 1980, toured and recorded with Paul Rodgers, UFO, Joe Bonamassa, Foreigner and others
1970 ● Chi Ling Dai Cheng → Bassist for Grammy-winning alt heavy metal Deftones, “Change (In The House Of Flies)” (Mainstream Rock #9, 2000)
1973 ● John Dolmayan → Drummer for Grammy-winning, Armenian-American hard rock/alt metal System Of A Down, “Aerials” (Mainstream Rock #1, 2002)
1977 ● Ray Toro → Lead guitar for 00s alt rock/emo band My Chemical Romance, “Welcome To The Black Parade” (#9, 2006)
1983 ● Buju Banton (Mark Anthony Myrie) → Jamaican dancehall reggae singer and Rastafarian, “Champion” (Dance #15, 1995)
Jul 16
1925 ● Callen Radcliffe “Cal” Tjader, Jr. → Highly successful, Grammy-winning non-Latino Latin jazz drummer, vibraphonist and bandleader with eight charting albums in the 60s and 70s, including Soul Sauce (#52, R&B #8, 1965), credited with the early development of Latin rock and acid jazz, died of a heart attack while on tour in the Philippines on 5/5/1982, age 56
1927 ● Mindy Carson → Pre-rock ‘n’ roll traditional pop vocalist, often in duets with Guy Mitchell but with several charting songs of her own, including “Wake The Town And Tell The People” (#13, 1955), stopped recording and moved to Broadway musicals in the 60s
1939 ● Denise LaSalle (Ora Denise Allen) → Current reigning “Queen of the Blues,” urban contemporary blues singer and songwriter with several self-written hits, including “Trapped By A Thing Called Love” (#13, R&B #1, 1971) and “Now Run And Tell That” (#46, R&B #3, 1972), still performs on the blues festival circuit into the 10s
1940 ● Tony Jackson → Bass and vocals for Merseybeat band The Searchers, “Needles And Pins” (#13, 1963), died from a variety of ailments related to long-term alcohol abuse on 8/18/2003, age 63
1942 ● Desmond Dekker (Dacres) → Influential and first Jamaican ska/reggae star, singer and frontman for The Aces, “The Israelites” (#8, 1968), died of a heart attack on 5/25/2006, age 63
1944 ● Thomas Boggs → Drummer for short-lived blue-eyed soul The Box Tops (“The Letter,” #1, 1967), left the industry in the early 70s for a long career as a restaurateur, died of cancer on 5/5/2008, age 63
1949 ● Ray Major → Guitarist for early Brit glam-rockers Mott The Hoople, “All The Young Dudes” (#37, 1972), which became Mott in 1974 and British Lions in 1976
1952 ● Stewart Copeland → Drummer for Brit prog/avant garde rock Curved Air, “Back Street Luv” (UK #4, 1974), then co-founded post-punk New Wave pop-rock The Police, “Every Breath You Take” (#1, 1983), solo under the pseudonym Klark Kent, collaborations and session work, classical music and film score composer
1961 ● Mark McEntee → Founder, co-frontman and guitarist for Aussie power pop Divinyls, “I Touch Myself” (#4, 1991)
1964 ● Polly Hancock → Guitar and vocals for Brit indie-folk-pop Popinjays, “Vote Elvis” (Modern Rock #17, 1988)
1971 ● Edward Joel Kowalczyk → Lead vocals for alt rock Live, “Lightning Crashes” (Modern Rock #5, 1995), solo
1978 ● TJ (Tito Joseph Jackson) → With brothers Tariano Adaryll “Taj” and Taryll Adren Jackson, vocals in R&B/urban soul trio 3T, “Anything” (#15, 1995), sons of Tito and nephews of Michael Jackson
