Happy Birthday this week to:
September 04
1930 ● Jordan “Jerry” Ragovoy → Songwriter and record producer, co-wrote “Time Is On My Side” (The Rolling Stones, #6, 1964), “Piece Of My Heart” (Big Brother & The Holding Company, #12, 1968) and dozens of other songs for various artists in different genres, mostly in the 60s and 70s, died from a stroke on 7/13/2011, age 80
1940 ● Sonny Charles (Charles Hemphill) → R&B/soul singer and frontman for 60s-70s blue-eyed soul Checkmates Ltd. (“Black Pearl,” #13, R&B #8, 1969), left in 1973 for a solo career (“Put It In A Magazine,” #40, R&B #2, 1983), joined the Steve Miller Band (“Abracadabra,” #1, 1982) in 2008
1942 ● Merald “Bubba” Knight, Jr. → Brother of Gladys Knight, vocals and de facto leader and manager of R&B/soul-pop Gladys Knight & The Pips, “Midnight Train To Georgia” (#1, 1973)
1944 ● Gene Parsons → Drummer for seminal folk-country-rock The Byrds, “Mr. Tambourine Man” (#1, 1965), then country-rock Flying Burrito Brothers, solo
1945 ● Danny Gatton → Grammy-nominated virtuoso rockabilly-rooted session guitarist who blended country, jazz, pop and rock to create a distinctive style, frontman for country-rock the Fat Boys, Rolling Stone magazine’s #63 greatest guitarist of all time, died from an unexplained, self-inflicted gunshot wound in his garage on 10/4/1994, age 49
1946 ● Greg Elmore → Drummer for psychedelic folk-rock Quicksilver Messenger Service, “Fresh Air” (#49, 1970)
1946 ● Gary Duncan (Gary Ray Grubb) → Lead guitar for psychedelic folk-rock Quicksilver Messenger Service, “Fresh Air” (#49, 1970), formed and fronted Quicksilver in the 80s and rejoined QMS in the 00s
1950 ● Ronald LaPread → Bass and vocals for Grammy-winning Motown R&B/soul-funk Commodores, “Three Times A Lady” (#1, 1978)
1951 ● Martin Chambers → Drummer for post-punk New Wave hard pop-rock The Pretenders, “Back On The Chain Gang” (#5, 1982)
1960 ● Kim Thayil → Guitarist for seminal grunge-rock group Soundgarden, “Black Hole Sun” (Mainstream Rock #1,1994)
1969 ● Sasha (Alexander Coe) → Welsh electronic dance-pop/house music producer and DJ, “Be As One” (UK #17, 1996), remixed tracks for Madonna and The Chemical Brothers, among others
1970 ● Igor Cavalera → Original drummer in Brazilian heavy metal/thrash metal Sepultura, “Roots Bloody Roots” (UK #19, 1996)
1971 ● Ty Longley → Guitarist and songwriter for hard rock/heavy metal Great White, “Once Bitten Twice Shy” (#5, 1989), died along with 100 fans in a Rhode Island night club fire in 2/20/2003, age 31
1972 ● Guto Pryce → Bassist for Welsh electro-psych rock Super Furry Animals, “Northern Lites” (UK #11, 1999)
1974 ● Carmit Bachar → Vocals for burlesque dance-pop girl troupe The Pussycat Dolls, “Don’t Cha” (#2, 2005)
1975 ● Mark Ronson → Brit music producer, DJ, guitarist, co-founder of Allido Records and frontman for Business Intl., “International Affair” (Rhythmic Top 40 #21, 2003), produced albums for Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse and others
1977 ● Ian Grushka → Founding member and bassist for pop-punk New Found Glory, “My Friends Over You” (Alt Rock #5, 2002)
1980 ● Dan Miller → Vocals for pre-fab teen idol boy-band O-Town, “All Or Nothing” (#3, 2001)
1981 ● Beyoncé Giselle Knowles → Lead vocals for R&B/dance-pop girl group Destiny’s Child, “Say My Name” (#1, 2000), then 14 Grammy-winning solo career, “Crazy In Love” (#1, 2003), actress and fashion designer
September 05
1912 ● John Cage → Avant-garde artist, experimental music composer and pioneer of numerous non-standard techniques that pushed at the edge of rational forms of musical expression, created electroacoustic music and explored composition derived from Zen Buddhism, professor of music at Ohio Wesleyan University from the late 50s until his death on 8/12/1992, age 79
1936 ● Willie Woods → Guitarist and backing vocalist for R&B/pop-soul Junior Walker & The All Stars, “Shotgun” (#4, 1965) and eleven other Top 40 hits, died of lung cancer on 5/27/1960
1939 ● John Stewart → Singer, songwriter and guitarist for definitive folk-pop The Kingston Trio, “Tom Dooley” (#1, 1958) and nine other Top 40 hits, solo, “Gold” (#5, 1979), wrote “Daydream Believer” for The Monkees (#1, 1967), died from a brain aneurism on 1/19/2008, age 68
1941 ● Joe Long (Joseph LaBracio) → Classically-trained bassist best known for playing electric bass guitar for Top 40 pop vocals group The Four Seasons (“Let’s Hang On!,” #3, 1965) between 1965 and the mid-70s when he left to form his own rock and jazz bands
1943 ● Joe “Speedo” Frasier → Lead singer and only black member of racially-integrated R&B/doo wop The Impalas, “Sorry” (I Ran All The Way Home)” (#2, 1959)
1945 ● Al Stewart → Scottish soft rock singer, songwriter and guitarist, “Year Of The Cat” (#8, 1977)
1946 ● Loudon Wainwright III → Folk singer/songwriter, “Dead Skunk” (#16, 1973), won Grammy Award in 2009 for the Best Traditional Folk Album, father of neo-folk singers Rufus and Martha Wainwright
1946 ● Freddie Mercury (Farrokh Bulsara) → Founder and frontman for camp rock/mock-opera/hard pop Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody” (#9, 1976) and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (#1, 1980), solo, producer, died from complications of AIDS on 11/24/1991, age 45
1946 ● Dean Ford (Thomas McAleese) → Founding member and lead vocals for Scottish pop-rock The Marmalade, “Reflections Of My Life” (#10, 1970)
1947 ● Melvyn Desmond “Mel” Collins → Brit saxophonist, flutist and session musician, played the sax solo on The Rolling Stones‘ “Miss You” (#1, 1978), also worked with King Crimson, Camel, The Alan Parsons Project, Eric Clapton, Bad Company, Dire Straits, Tears For Fears and many others
1947 ● George Allen “Buddy” Miles, Jr. → Funk-rock drummer in Wilson Pickett‘s band, then Electric Flag with Mike Bloomfield, then Band of Gypsys with Jimi Hendrix, then frontman for the Buddy Miles Express, then solo, “Them Changes” (#62, 1971), then sessions and touring with Santana, Phish and others, died of congestive heart disease on 2/26/2008, age 60
1949 ● Dave “Clem” Clempson → Lead guitarist for blues-rock power trio Bakerloo, left in 1969 to join jazz-blues-rock fusion Colosseum, in 1971 succeeded Peter Frampton in blues-rock Humble Pie, “Hot “N’ Nasty” (#52, 1972),sessions and film score work
1954 ● Sal Solo (Christopher Scott Stephens) → Lead vocals for synth-pop new romantic Classix Nouveaux, “Is It A Dream” (UK #11, 1982), then solo career with Christian music
1964 ● Kevin Saunderson → DJ, mixer and producer for Detroit electro-techno/dance-pop duo Inner City, “Big Fun” (Dance-Club #1, 1984)
1966 ● Terry Ellis → Vocals for Grammy-winning female club-dance group En Vogue, “Hold On” (#2, 1990)
1967 ● Arnel Pineda → Filipino-American pop-rock vocalist, co-founded and worked with several local and Southeast Asian bands with regional success, recruited to arena rock Journey in 2007, sang lead vocals on several albums and singles, including the power ballad “After All These Years” (Hot Adult #9, 2008)
1968 ● Brad Wilk → Drummer for Grammy-winning punk/hip hop/thrash metal Rage Against The Machine, “Guerrilla Radio” (Modern Rock #6, 1999) and alt metal Audioslave, “Doesn’t Remind Me” (Mainstream Rock #2, 2005)
1969 ● Dweezil Zappa → Rock guitarist, bandleader, producer, radio/TV host, MTV VJ, movie actor, sessions, son of art rock legend Frank Zappa
1970 ● Steve “Fuzz” Kmak → Former bassist for Chicago-based heavy metal Disturbed, “Another Way To Die” (Mainstream Rock #1, 2010)
1980 ● Kevin Simm → Singer for teen dance-pop Liberty X, “Just A Little” (UK #1, 2002)
September 06
1889 ● Louis Silvers → Film score composer with over 250 credits and an Academy Award for Best Original Score for One Night Of Love (1935), also wrote the pop standard “April Showers” (1921), died of a heart ailment on 3/26/1954, age 64
1925 ● Mathis James “Jimmy” Reed → Electric blues pioneering guitarist and songwriter, “Big Boss Man” (#78, R&B #13, 1961), influenced Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones and many others, died following an epileptic seizure on 8/29/1976, age 50
1938 ● Henry Diltz → Folk musician and photographer, played with the Modern Folk Quartet in the early 60s, did session work with The Monkees and took numerous publicity shots for them and other bands, became the official photographer at Woodstock and has provided the cover shots to over 75 rock albums, co-founded the Morrison Hotel Galleries of rock art and photography in New York and L.A.
1939 ● David Allan Coe → Outlaw country and country-rock singer/songwriter, “Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile” (Country #2, 1984)
1940 ● Jackie Trent (Yvonne Burgess) → English singer, songwriter and actress, “Where Are You Now (My Love)” (UK #1, 1965), with husband Tony Hatch co-wrote songs for Petula Clark (“Don’t Sleep In The Subway,” #5, 1967), Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, Dean Martin and others, died after a long illness on 3/21/2015, age 74
1942 ● Dave Bargeron → Trombone and tuba for jazz-rock/pop-rock fusion band Blood, Sweat & Tears, “Spinning Wheel” (#2, 1969), has played with the Gil Evans Orchestra since 1972
1943 ● Roger Waters → Founding member, bass, vocals and principal songwriter of space rock Pink Floyd, “Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)” (#1, 1979), left in 1985 for solo career, “What God Wants, Pt. 1” (Mainstream Rock #4, 1992), rejoined the band in 2005 for a one-off concert in London
1947 ● Sylvester James → R&B/soul-disco singer and drag queen performer, “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” (#36, UK #8, 1978), died from complications of AIDS on 12/16/1988, age 41
1948 ● Claydes Charles Smith → Co-founder and lead guitarist of jazz-fusion then R&B/funk Kool & The Gang, “Jungle Boogie” (#4, 1973), died after a long illness on 6/20/2006, age 57
1954 ● Stella Barker → Rhythm guitar for Brit all female ska/pop-rock The Belle Stars, “Sign Of The Times” (UK #3, 1983) and “Iko Iko” (#14, 1989)
1958 ● Buster Bloodvessel (Douglas Trendle) → Silly stage antic performing, bald and outsized frontman and lead vocalist for ska revival Bad Manners, “Can Can” (UK #3, 1981)
1961 ● Colin Ferguson → Bassist for Scottish synth-pop New Romantic quartet H2O, “Dream To Sleep” (UK #17, 1983)
1961 ● Scott Travis → Drummer with speed metal Racer X, joined influential “New Wave” heavy metal band Judas Priest, “A Touch Of Evil” (Mainstream Rock #29, 1990) in 1989
1961 ● Pal Waaktaar (Gamst) → Guitarist and songwriter for Norwegian synth-pop A-Ha, “Take On Me” (#1, 1985), the first band from Norway to score a #1 hit in the UK and US
1965 ● Trevor Bickers → Lead guitarist for Brit indie psych-rock The House Of Love, “Shine On” (, 1990)
1967 ● Macy Gray (Natalie Renee McIntyre) → Grammy-winning R&B/neo-soul vocalist, “I Try” (#5, 2000)
1967 ● William DuVal → Singer, guitarist and songwriter for hard rock Madfly, which morphed into Comes With The Fall, joined alterna-metal/hard rock Alice In Chains in 2006, “Check My Brain” (Rock #1, 2009)
1969 ● Cecelia “Ce Ce” Peniston → Dance-pop/disco diva, “Finally” (#5, 1991)
1969 ● Paddy Bloom (Patrick Seacor) → Drummer for dance-glam-rock Scissor Sisters, “Filthy Gorgeous” (Dance/Club #1, 2005)
1970 ● April “Cheyne” Coates → Australian singer in dance-pop duo Madison Avenue, “Don’t Call Me Baby” (Dance/Club #1, 2000)
1970 ● Dean Fertita → Multi-instrumentalist lead singer for indie rock The Waxwings from 1997 to 2005, then power pop The Raconteurs (“Steady, As She Goes,” #54, Alt Rock #1, 2006), stoner metal Queens Of The Stone Age, “No One Knows” (#51, Mainstream Rock #5, 2002) and supergroup The Dead Weather, issued a debut solo album in 2009
1971 ● Dolores O’Riordan → Lead vocals for Irish jangle/dream pop-rock The Cranberries, “Linger” (#8, 1993)
1973 ● Anika Noni Rose → Tony Award-winning American singer and actress in the motion picture roman à clef musical Dreamgirls (2006)
1974 ● Nina Persson → Vocals for Swedish pop-rock The Cardigans, “Lovefool” (#1, 1996)
1978 ● Foxy Brown (Inga Marchand) → Member of overhyped hip hop music group The Firm, then solo rapper, “Hot Spot” (Rap #23, 1999)
1980 ● Kerry Katona → Vocals for Brit dance-pop vocal trio Atomic Kitten, “Whole Again” (UK #1, 2000), left the group in 2001 for a career as a TV host
September 07
1920 ● Al Caiola → Session musician, conductor and arranger, film and TV theme song composer, “Bonanza” (#19, 1961), career includes numerous easy listening instrumental albums in the 60s, 70s and 80s
1921 ● Arthur Ferrante → Julliard-trained pianist and, with Louis Teicher, one half of the easy listening piano duo Ferrante & Teicher, known for their instrumental renditions of classical pieces, movie themes and show tunes, including “Tonight” (#10, AC #2, 1961) and “Midnight Cowboy” (#8, AC #2, 1969), died from natural causes on 9/19/2009, age 87
1926 ● Ronnie Gilbert → Singer, social activist and founding member and contralto vocals for left-leaning, influential, successful folk-pop The Weavers, collaborated on multiple albums and projects with Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie and other folk luminaries as well as mentoring younger folk musicians, participated in music festivals up to her death from natural causes on 6/6/2015, age 88
1930 ● Theodore Walter “Sonny” Rollins → Grammy-winning jazz tenor saxophonist, session musician and bandleader, “St. Thomas” (1956) and others are now considered jazz standards
1934 ● Little Milton (James Milton Campbell, Jr.) → Electric blues and R&B/soul guitarist and singer, “We’re Gonna Make It” (#25, R&B #1, 1965), died following a stroke on 8/4/2005, age 70
1934 ● Dan Ingram → Witty, satirical, irreverent and legendary New York radio disc jockey, first in the 60s with WABC-AM, the country’s premiere Top 40 station and the most successful ever in that format, left to join WCBS Radio after WABC switched to talk radio in 1982, continued with CBS stations and other radio projects through the 00s
1935 ● Ronnie Dove → Early pop-rock and adult contemporary singer, frontman for The Belltones, solo, “A Little Bit Of Heaven” (#16, 1965), revived his career with several Country Top 100 hits in the 70s and 80s
1936 ● Buddy Holly (Charles Hardin Holley) → Rock ‘n’ roll immortal, singer/songwriter, guitarist and bandleader with The Crickets, “That’ll Be The Day” (#1, 1957), died along with Ritchie Valens and J. R. “The Big Bopper” Richardson in an Iowa plane crash on the night of 2/3/1959, age 22
1946 ● Alfa Anderson → Lead vocals for top R&B/disco band Chic, “Le Freak” (#1, 1978)
1949 ● Gloria Gaynor (Fowles) → Top-tier, Grammy-winning R&B/disco diva, “I Will Survive” (#1, 1979), later small part TV and Broadway actress
1950 ● Mark “Moogy” Klingman → Songwriter, producer, musician, bandleader and co-writer of Bette Midler‘s signature song “(You Got To Have) Friends” (#40, 1973), producer of her third album Songs For The New Depression (#27, 1976) and two rare “supergroup” albums, Summit Meeting (1969) and Music From Free Creek (1970) featuring Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Linda Ronstadt and others, co-founder of prog/pop-rock Todd Rundgren’s Utopia (“Set Me Free,” #27, 1980), and frequent sideman with Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Gov’t Mule and others, died from bladder cancer on 11/15/2011, age 61
1951 ● Chrissie Hynde → Vocals, guitar and frontwoman for post-punk New Wave hard pop-rock The Pretenders, “Back On The Chain Gang” (#5, 1982)
1953 ● Benmont Tench → Keyboards for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, “Free Fallin'” (#7, 1989), session work with Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Roy Orbison, U2 and others
1956 ● Diane Warren → Prolific rock/pop songwriter with three Grammys, five ASCAP Songwriter of the Year awards, two BMI Songwriter of the Year awards and over 80 Top 40 hits by artists such as Aerosmith, Aretha Franklin, Jefferson Starship and Tina Turner, among the over 800 songs she has published are “Solitaire” by Laura Branigan (#7, 1983), “If I Could Turn Back Time” by Cher (#3, AC #1, 1989), “Because You Loved Me” by Céline Dion (#1, 1996) and “There You’ll Be” by Faith Hill (#10, Country #11, 2001)
1957 ● Jermainne Stewart → R&B/soul-pop backing vocalist for Shalamar, Tavares and others, then solo, “We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off” (#5, 1986), died of cancer on 3/17/1997, age 39
1957 ● Margot Chapman → Singer in one hit wonder folk-pop Starland Vocal Band, “Afternoon Delight” (1976)
1958 ● Hamilton Lee → Drummer in Brit New Wave synth-pop Furniture, “Brilliant Mind” (UK #21, 1986)
1960 ● Brad Houser → Bassist for folk-pop Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians, “What I Am” (# , 1989)
1961 ● Gary Lee “LeRoi” Moore → Saxophonist and founding member of pop-funk-rock jam band Dave Matthews Band, “Don’t Drink The Water” (#4, 1998), died following an accident on his Virginia farm on 9/19/2008, age 47
1963 ● Eazy-E (Eric Wright) → Provocative rapper in seminal hip hop/gangsta rap group N.W.A., “Express Yourself” (#37, Rap #2, 1989), solo, “Real Muthaphuckkin G’s” (#42, Rap #7, 1994), died from complications of AIDS on 3/26/1995, age 31
1966 ● Chris Acland → Drummer for alt pop/shoegazing band Lush, “Sweetness & Light” (Modern Rock #4, 1990), committed suicide by hanging on 9/7/1996, his 30th birthday
1967 ● David Guetta → French house and electronic music DJ, “When Love Takes Over” (Dance/Club #1, 2009), producer, including The Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” (#1, 2009)
1970 ● Chad Sexton → Drummer in alt-rock reggae-rap-metal 311, “All Mixed Up” (Modern Rock #4, 1996)
1986 ● Spectacular Blue Smith → Singer with Miami-based R&B/hip-hop sibling quartet Pretty Ricky, “Grind With Me” (#7, 2005)
September 08
1897 ● James Charles “Jimmie” Rodgers → Often called the “man who started it all”, very early country star and yodeler, original inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame, influenced Merle Haggard, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Van Morrison and others, died from tuberculosis on 5/26/1933, age 45
1925 ● Peter Sellers → Comedy actor in many films, notably The Pink Panther series (first 1963) and Dr. Strangelove (1964), novelty/comedy spoken word singer, “A Hard Day’s Night” (UK #14, 1965), died of a heart attack on 7/24/1980, age 54
1932 ● Patsy Cline (Virginia Patterson Hensley) → Country super-diva and first country singer to crossover to pop, “I Fall To Pieces” (1961), died in a place crash on 3/5/1963, age 30
1934 ● Bill Parsons → Country-pop singer and songwriter known (or not known) for not singing the hit single “The All American Boy” (#2, 1959) which was mistakenly credited to him and not to co-writer, musical collaborator and actual singer Bobby Bare under the pseudonym Orville Lunsford, cut two more singles without success and retired from the music industry
1941 ● Donald “Dante” Drowty → Singer and de facto frontman for one hit wonder pop group Dante & The Evergreens, “Alley Oop” (#15, 1960), later wrote and produced songs for Herb Alpert, The Isley Brothers and others
1942 ● Brian Cole → Bassist for light pop-rock vocal group The Association, “Along Comes Mary” (#7, 1966), died of heroin overdose on 8/2/1972, age 29
1942 ● Sal Valentino (Salvatore Spampinato) → Co-founder, frontman and lead singer in influential but underrated 60s folk-, psych- and country-rock The Beau Brummels, “Laugh, Laugh” (#15, 1964)
1945 ● Michael William “Kelly” Groucutt → Bass and vocals for pop-rock Electric Light Orchestra, “Don’t Bring Me Down” (#4, 1979) and 26 other Top 40 hits, died from a heart attack on 2/19/2009, age 63
1945 ● Ron “Pigpen” McKernan → Founding member, keyboards and occasional vocals for rock’s longest, strangest trip Grateful Dead, “Turn On Your Love Light” (1969), died from liver failure due to alcohol abuse on 3/8/1973, age 27
1945 ● Cathy Jean Giordano → Lead singer for early 60s one hit wonder blue-eyed soul/doo wop studio-only group Cathy Jean & The Roomates, “Please Love Me Forever” (#12, 1961), left the industry to raise a family and resurfaced in the 80s as a Long Island, NY radio disc jockey and singer
1946 ● George Tickner → Former member of 60s San Francisco psych-rock Frumious Bandersnatch, then co-founded, played rhythm guitar and co-wrote several early songs for hard rock/arena rock Journey, left to attend Stanford Medical School but remained active in Journey side projects into the 00s
1946 ● Dean Daughtry → Keyboards for soft rock Classics IV, “Spooky” (#3, 1968), morphed into Southern rock Atlanta Rhythm Section, “So Into You” (#7, 1977)
1947 ● Benjamin Orr (Orzechowski) → Co-founder, occasional lead vocals and bassist for hugely successful synth-pop-rock The Cars, “Shake It Up” (#4, 1982), died from pancreatic cancer on 10/3/2000, age 53
1958 ● David Lewis → Vocals for 80s urban contemporary soul Atlantic Starr, “Always” (#1, 1987), now a Christian minister
1960 ● David “Shuffle” Steele → Bassist for multi-racial ska revivalist The English Beat, “Hand’s Off…She’s Mine” (#22, UK #9, 1983), later co-founded synth-pop Fine Young Cannibals, “She Drives Me Crazy” (#1, 1989)
1960 ● Aimee Mann → Bassist, guitarist, singer and songwriter, first with one hit wonder post-New Wave pop-rock ‘Til Tuesday, “Voices Carry” (#8, 1985), then largely unsuccessful solo career except for “Save Me” from the film Magnolia (1999)
1969 ● Andie Rathbone → Former car salesman and third and last drummer for post-Brit-pop hard rock Mansun, “Wide Open Space” (Modern Rock #25, 1997) and Blondie tribute band Into The Bleach, now a drum teacher
1970 ● Neko Case → American singer-songwriter, vocalist, solo artist with nine albums (including two US Indie Rock #1’s) and founding member of Canadian indie rock/power pop The New Pornographers (2000 LP Miss Romantic is ranked 24th best indie album of all time by Blender magazine)
1975 ● Richard Hughes → Drummer in piano-driven pop/rock Keane, “Somewhere Only We Know” (Adult Top 40 #11, 2004)
1979 ● Pink (Alecia Beth Moore) → Teen dance-pop singer, songwriter and guitarist, “Get The Party Started” (#4, 2001)
1980 ● Slim Thug (Stayve Jerome Thomas) → Rapper, “I Run” (Rhythmic Top 40 #30, 2009), contributed to tracks by Beyoncé (“Check On It”, #1, 2006), Gwen Stefani, LeToya Luckett and others, solo
1987 ● Wiz Khalifa (Cameron Jibril Thomaz) → Rapper, songwriter and actor, Billboard magazine Top New Artist of 2012 and Grammy-nominee for “Black And Yellow” (#1, R&B #6, Rap #1, 2010),
September 09
1926 ● Jacob “Jake” Carey → Founding member and bass vocals for sophisticated group harmony R&B/doo wop The Flamingos, “I Only Have Eyes For You”, (#11, R&B #3, 1959)
1940 ● Joe Negroni → Founding member and baritone vocals for R&B/doo wop Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, “Why Do Fools Fall In Love” (#6, 1956), died from a cerebral hemorrhage on 9/5/1978, age 37
1941 ● Otis Redding → The “King of Soul,” highly-influential and talented Southern soul vocalist, Stax Records artist and rising crossover star, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” (#1, 1968), died in a plane crash on 12/10/1967, age 26
1941 ● Duffy Power (Raymond Leslie Howard) → 60s Britpop singer and guitarist in the style of Billy Fury and Georgie Fame but with far less appeal, turned to a career as a talented but commercially unsuccessful blues rock musician, recorded and toured intermittently up to his death on 2/19/2014, age 72
1942 ● Luther Simmons, Jr. → Founding member and vocals for R&B/romantic soul The Main Ingredient, “Everybody Plays The Fool” (#3, 1972)
1942 ● Inez Foxx → With brother Charlie, one half of the one hit wonder R&B/soul duo Inez & Charlie Foxx, “Mockingbird” (#7, 1963)
1945 ● Dee Dee Sharp (Dione LaRue) → Early black female teen idol R&B/soul singer, “Mashed Potato Time” (#2, 1962)
1945 ● Doug Ingle → Founding member, keyboards, vocals and primary songwriter for psych-rock Iron Butterfly, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” (#30, 1970)
1945 ● Andrea Simpson → With partner Lois Wilkinson, one half of the British Invasion pop-rock girl duo The Caravelles, “You Don’t Have To Be A Baby To Cry” (#3, 1963)
1946 ● Trevor Oakes → Guitarist for Brit rock ‘n’ roll revival Showaddywaddy, “Under The Moon Of Love” (UK #1, 1976) and over 20 other UK Top 40 singles
1946 ● Bruce Palmer → Original bassist Buffalo Springfield, “For What It’s Worth” (#7, 1967), died after suffering a heart attack on 10/1/2004, age 58
1947 ● Wilton Frederick “Freddy” Weller → Session guitarist, then lead guitar for hard-edged rock ‘n’ roll Paul Revere & The Raiders, “Just Like Me” (#11, 1965), songwriter who worked with and co-wrote hits for and with Reba McEntire, Joe South, Tommy James and others
1948 ● Pamela Des Barres (Miller) → Rock groupie, singer, author and magazine writer known for her numerous sexual partners including Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page and Grams Parsons and her memoir I’m With The Band (1987), performed with Frank Zappa-sponsored musical group The GTOs and had small parts in several films, TV shows and commercials, once married to Michael Des Barres, lead singer in hard rock Detective
1950 ● John McFee → Guitarist for California soul-pop-rock The Doobie Brothers, “Listen To The Music” (#11, 1972), then co-founded country-rock Southern Pacific, “New Shade Of Blue” (Country #2, 1988)
1952 ● David Allan Stewart → Guitarist, songwriter and producer, one half of groundbreaking synth-pop duo Eurythmics, “Sweet Dreams” (Are Made Of This)” (#1, 1983), then solo and multiple collaborations, co-writing and side projects
1967 ● Chris Caffery → Guitarist, singer and songwriter for heavy metal Savatage (“Edge Of Thorns”, Mainstream Rock #26, 1993) and prog metal Trans Siberian Orchestra, plus several solo albums
1970 ● Andre “Krazy Drazyz” Weston → One half of hip hop streaming nonsense lyrics duo Das EFX, “Straight From The Sewer” (Rap #3, 1993)
1975 ● Michael Bublé → Canadian jazz-pop, swing , big band and adult contemporary crooner, “Haven’t Met You Yet” (#23, 2009)
1977 ● Stuart Price → British electronic musician, songwriter, producer and remixer, bassist for electro-dance-pop trio Zoot Woman, producer for Madonna, Missy Elliott, The Killers, Gwen Stefani, Seal and others
September 10
1898 ● Waldo Lonsbury Semon → Chemist and inventor of the synthetic polymer compound polyvinyl chloride (PVC), commonly known as vinyl, the substance used in hundreds of millions of music records since the 1940s, died from natural causes on 5/26/1999, age 100
1925 ● Roy Brown → Pioneering R&B/gospel and rock ‘n’ roll singer and songwriter, wrote and recorded the oft-covered “Good Rockin’ Tonight” (R&B #13, 1947) and other rock standards, died of a heart attack on 5/25/1981, age 55
1939 ● Cynthia Lennon (Powell) → First wife of John Lennon, mother of his son, Julian Lennon, and author of two memoirs on their troubled union, married on 8/23/1962 and divorced on 11/8/1968 after John took up with Yoko Ono, died from cancer on 4/1/2015, age 75
1940 ● Roy Ayers → Jazz-funk-soul (and proto-rap) vibraphonist, composer and bandleader, Roy Ayers Ubiquity, “Move To Groove” (1972)
1942 ● Danny Hutton → Co-founder and one of three lead vocalists for top-tier pop-rock Three Dog Night, “Joy To The World” (#1, 1971) and ten other Top 10 hits between 1969 and 1974
1945 ● Jose Feliciano → Latino folk-pop singer, songwriter and guitarist, covered The Doors‘ “Light My Fire” (#3, 1968), won seven Grammys over a 40 year recording career
1949 ● Barriemore Barlow → Drums and percussion for long-lived Brit folk-rock Jethro Tull, “Living In The Past” (#11, 1973), session work and producer
1950 ● Don Powell → Drummer for Brit glam-metal Slade, “Run Runaway” (#20, 1984)
1950 ● Joe Perry → Guitarist for Grammy-winning, venerable hard rockers Aerosmith, “Dream On” (#6, 1976), “Angel” (#3, 1988), “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” (#1, 1998), “Baby, Please Don’t Go” (Mainstream Rock #7, 2004), solo and bandleader
1951 ● Peter Tolson → Guitarist for raunchy R&B/blues-rock British Invasion band The Pretty Things, “Don’t Bring Me Down” (UK #10, 1964)
1955 ● Lee Patrick “Pat” Mastelotto → Drums and percussion for 80s atmospheric pop-rock quartet Mr. Mister, “Kyrie” (#1, 1985)
1956 ● Johnnie Fingers (Moylett) → Founding member and pianist for Irish pop-punk Boomtown Rats, “I Don’t Like Mondays” (#73, 1979) and “Rat Trap” (UK #1, 1979), the first rock song by an Irish band to reach #1 in the UK
1957 ● Siobhan Fahey → Vocals for hugely successful Brit synth-dance-pop girl group Bananarama, covered “Venus” (#1, 1986), then for R&B/synth-pop duo Shakespear’s Sister, “Stay” (#4, 1992)
1957 ● Carol Decker → Vocals for New Wave pop-rock T’Pau, “Heart And Soul” (#4, 1987)
1960 ● David Lowery → Singer, songwriter, guitarist and frontman for eclectic alt rock pop-ska-punk-folk fusion Camper Van Beethoven, “Take The Skinheads Bowling” (1985), later founded and fronted roots rock Cracker, “I Hate My Generation” (Mainstream Rock #24, 1996)
1966 ● Robin Goodridge → Drummer for alt-rock Bush, “Glycerine” (Mainstream #4, 1995)
1966 ● Miles Zuniga → Guitars, vocals and songwriting for alt rock/power pop Fastball, “Out Of My Head” (#20, Adult Top 40 #3, 1999)
1968 ● Big Daddy Kane (Antonio Hardy) → Early and influential sophisticated rapper, first with East Coast rap consortium Juice Crew, then solo, “Smooth Operator” (Rap #1, 1989)
1980 ● Mikey Way → Bass guitar in 00s alt rock/emo band My Chemical Romance, “Welcome To The Black Parade” (#9, 2006)
1984 ● Cameron Matthew Followill → Lead guitar for Southern blues-indie rock Kings Of Leon, “Sex On Fire” (Modern Rock #1, 2008)
1985 ● Matthew Johnson → Vocals in teen pop boy band One True Voice, “Sacred Trust / After You’re Gone” (UK #2, 2002)
