Happy Birthday this week to:
October 23
1930 ● Wilson “Boozoo” Chavis → Accordion maestro and one of the principal architects of the modern Zydeco sound, the music created by French-speaking Louisiana Creoles, refused to play publicly following his single, the first Zydeco hit “Paper In My Shoe” (1954) but returned in 1984 to tour and record until just prior to his death from complications of a heart attack on 5/5/2001, age 70
1939 ● Charlie Foxx → With sister Inez, one half of the one hit wonder R&B/soul duo Inez & Charlie Foxx, “Mockingbird” (#7, 1963), died from leukemia on 9/18/1998, age 58
1940 ● Eleanor Louise “Ellie” Greenwich → Brill Building pop music songwriter, singer and producer, wrote or co-wrote multiple hit songs (often with Phil Spector or husband Jeff Barry), including “Be My Baby” for The Ronettes (#2, 1963), “Chapel Of Love” for The Dixie Cups (#1, 1964) and “Hanky Panky” for Tommy James & The Shondells (#1, 1966), died of a heart attack on 8/26/2009, age 68
1943 ● Barbara Ann Hawkins → With sister Rosa Lee Hawkins and cousin Joan Marie Johnson, vocals in 60s R&B/pop girl-group The Dixie Cups, “Chapel Of Love” (#1, 1964)
1947 ● Greg Ridley → Co-founder and bassist for blues-rock Spooky Tooth, left in 1969 to co-found Humble Pie, “30 Days In The Hole” (1972) and “Hot ‘N’ Nasty” (#52, 1972), left music in 1975 but returned for Humble Pie reunions after 2001, died of pneumonia on 11/19/2003, age 56
1949 ● Michael “Würzel” Burston → Guitarist for early punk-metal Motörhead, “Ace Of Spades” (UK #15, 1980), left the band for solo career, died from heart disease on 7/9/2011, age 61
1953 ● Pauline Black → Vocals in New Wave 2 Tone ska revival The Selecter, “On My Radio” (UK #8, 1979)
1956 ● Dwight Yoakam → Grammy-winning, pioneering roots-country singer, songwriter and guitarist, “Streets Of Bakersfield” (Country #1, 1988) and 13 other Country Top 10 hits
1957 ● Kelly Marie (Jacqueline McKinnon) → Scottish R&B/disco-pop vocalist, “Feels Like I’m In Love” (UK #1, 1980)
1959 ● Alfred Matthew “Weird Al” Yankovic → Grammy-winning comedian, multi-instrumentalist and song parodist, “Eat It” (#12, 1984) parodying Michael Jackson‘s “Beat It” and “White & Nerdy” (#9, 2006) parodying “Ridin'” by Chamillionaire
1964 ● Roberto Trujillo → Bassist in thrash metal Suicidal Tendencies, “I’ll Hate You Better” (Mainstream Rock #34, 1993) and side project funk-metal Infectious Grooves, joined Ozzy Osbournes band in 1994 and Metallica in 2003
1966 ● David Thomas → Vocals in a cappella gospel Take 6, “I L-O-V-E U” (R&B #19, 1990)
1972 ● Richard McNamara → Guitarist in Brit-pop rockers Embrace, “Gravity” (Modern Rock #36, UK #7, 2004)
1986 ● Miguel (Miguel Jontel Pimentel) → R&B/pop soul singer and guitarist with seven R&B Top 10 hits as a solo or featured artist, including “Adorn” (#17, R&B #1, 2012)
October 24
1911 ● Sonny Terry (Saunders Terrell) → Blues and folk harmonica player, developed the “whoopin'” style, session man for Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and others, Broadway and TV actor, died of natural causes on 3/11/1986, age 74
1930 ● The Big Bopper (Jiles Perry “J.P.” Richardson, Jr.) → Booming-voiced early rock ‘n’ roll DJ, singer and bandleader, “Chantilly Lace” (#6, 1958), died along with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens in an Iowa plane crash on the night of 2/3/1959, age 28
1936 ● Bill Wyman (William George Perks) → Three-decade bassist for megastar hard rock The Rolling Stones, “Brown Sugar” (#1, 1971), issued solo albums in the 70s, co-founded supergroup Willie And The Poor Boys in the 80s, quit The Stones and now fronts The Rhythm Kings featuring Albert Lee and Peter Frampton
1936 ● Jimmy “Fast Fingers” Dawkins → Blues guitarist and mellow-voiced singer known as a pioneer of the aggressive, percussive “West Side” Chicago blues style, recorded and toured with Otis Rush, Andrew “Big Voice” Odom and others, his debut album Fast Fingers (1969) won the Grand Prix du Disque de Jazz from the Hot Club of France in 1971 as the year’s top album, died of undisclosed causes on 4/10/2013, age 76
1937 ● Santo Farina → Steel guitarist in Italian-American one hit wonder brother duo Santo & Johnny, pop-rock guitar instrumental “Sleepwalk” (#1, 1959)
1942 ● Donald W. Gant → Singer, songwriter and record producer, one half of pop-rock duo The Neon Philharmonic, “Morning Girl” (#17, 1969), produced albums for Jimmy Buffett, Lefty Frizzell and others, died following a serious boating accident on 3/15/1987, age 44
1944 ● Bettye Swann (Betty Jean Champion) → One hit wonder R&B/Southern soul singer, “Make Me Yours” (#21, R&B #1, 1967), now a retired teacher
1944 ● Ted Templeman → Singer, guitarist and vocal arranger in folk-sunshine-pop Harper’s Bizarre, “Feelin’ Groovy” (#13, 1967), then record producer for Van Morrison, Little Feat, The Doobie Brothers, Van Halen and others
1946 ● Jerry Edmonton (Gerald McCrohan) → Drummer in Canadian-American hard rock, proto-metal Steppenwolf, “Born To Be Wild” (#2, 1968), died in a car accident on 11/29/1993, age 47
1947 ● Robert Edgar Broughton → Singer, guitarist and frontman for Brit blues then prog-rock Edgar Broughton Band, “Apache Dropout” (UK #33, 1970)
1948 ● Barry Ryan (Sapherson) → Singer with identical twin brother in pop Paul & Barry Ryan, “Don’t Bring Me Your Heartaches” (1965), solo, “Eloise” (UK #1, 1968), currently a professional photographer
1948 ● Paul Ryan (Sapherson) → Singer and songwriter with identical twin brother in pop vocal duo Paul & Barry Ryan, “Don’t Bring Me Your Heartaches” (1965), wrote his brother’s solo hit, “Eloise” (UK #1, 1968), left the industry and managed a chain of hairdressing salons until his death from lung cancer on 11/29/1992, age 44
1948 ● Terence Dale “Buffin” Griffin → Drummer in early Brit glam-rockers Mott The Hoople, “All The Young Dudes” (#37, 1972), producer for The Cult, Hanoi Rocks, Nirvana and others, including BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel
1949 ● Perry Lee “Tiny” Tavares → Cape Verdean-American singer with his four brothers in R&B/funk-disco Tavares, “Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel” (#15, 1976), continued to tour into the 10s
1962 ● Debbie Googe → Bassist for art-prog-rock, “shoe-gazing” pioneers My Bloody Valentine, “Only Shallow” (Modern Rock #27, 1992)
1969 ● Rob Green → Drummer in blue-eyed soul revival and trad rock Toploader, “Dancing In The Moonlight” (UK #7, 2000)
1970 ● Alonza Bevan → Bassist for post-Britpop psych/mystic rock Kula Shaker, “Hush” (Mainstream Rock #19, 1997)
1970 ● Edward Daniel “Eds” Chesters → Drummer for indie rock The Bluetones, “Slight Return” (UK #2, 1996)
1978 ● Sabrina Washington → Lead vocals in “UK urban” R&B/dance-pop trio Mis-Teeq, “One Night Stand” (Dance/Club #4, 2004), solo and TV actress
1979 ● Ben Gillies → Co-founder and drummer for Aussie alt-grunge-rock Silverchair, “Tomorrow” (Modern Rock #1, 1994)
1980 ● Monica (Arnold) → R&B/urban contemporary singer, “Before You Walk Out Of My Life” (#7, R&B #1, 1995) and seven other Top 10 hits
1983 ● Adrienne Bailon → Hip hop soul and R&B/dance-teen-pop 3LW (aka 3 Little Women), “No More (Baby I’ma Do Right)” (#23, 2001) and Disney pre-fab dance-pop Cheetah Girls, “Strut” (#53, 2006), TV host and film actress
1986 ● Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham) → Canadian R&B/hip hop vocalist, “Find Your Love” (#5, 2010) and six other Top 40 hits, TV actor
October 25
1912 ● Minnie Pearl (Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon) → Country music singer and comedian with more than 50 years at the Grand Ole Opry and 22 years on the seminal country music TV variety program Hee Haw, known for her signature price-tagged straw hat and folksy mountain demeanor, scored one Country Top 10 hit (“Giddyup Go – Answer,” Country #10, 1966) but influenced countless younger female artists, died following a massive stroke on 3/4/1996, age 83
1924 ● Earl Palmer → R&B, rock and pop session drummer who played on thousands of songs by Fats Domino, Little Richard, The Monkees and others, on scores of albums by Duane Eddy, Taj Mahal, Tim Buckley and others, and on dozens of film scores (Hud, How To Stuff A Wild Bikini and others) and TV theme songs (77 Sunset Strip, Green Acres, The Partridge Family and others), one of the first session musicians elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2000), died following a long illness on 9/19/2008, age 78
1937 ● Jeanne Black → Country music TV variety show singer and Las Vegas nightclub act, brushed fame as a one hit wonder country-pop singer, “He’ll Have To Stay” (#4, Country #6, R&B #11, 1960), the answer song to Jim Reeve‘s “He’ll Have To Go” (#2, Country #1, 1960), died peacefully on 10/23/2014, age 76
1941 ● Helen Reddy → Aussie TV actress and light pop/adult contemporary singer with eleven Top 20 hits in the 70s including the Grammy-winning “I Am Woman” (#1, 1971)
1943 ● Roy Lynes → Keyboards and backing vocals for Brit psych-boogie rock Status Quo, “Pictures Of Matchstick Men” (#12, 1968), continues to perform with tribute bands Quo Vadis and Statoz Quo
1944 ● Jon Anderson (John Roy Anderson) → Keyboards, songwriter, lead vocals and founding member of archetypal, pioneer progressive rock band Yes (“Roundabout,” #13, 1971) and various off-shoots and side projects through the 00s, plus solo work (“Cage Of Freedom,” Mainstream Rock #17, 1984) and collaborations
1944 ● Taffy Nivert Danoff → Vocals in one hit wonder light pop-rock Starland Vocal Band, “Afternoon Delight” (#1, 1976)
1946 ● John Hall → Drummer for Brit reggae-pop The Equals, “Baby Come Back” (#32, 1968)
1947 ● Glenn Tipton → Lead guitarist for popular and influential “New Wave” heavy metal band Judas Priest, “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'” (#67, Mainstream Rock #4, 1982) plus the 2009 Grammy-winning album Dissident Aggressor
1950 ● Chris Norman → Lead vocals and rhythm guitar for glam-pop-rock Smokie, “Living Next Door To Alice” (#25, UK #3, 1977), left in 1982 for solo career, “Midnight Lady” (Germany #1, 1986)
1951 ● Richard Lloyd → Guitar and vocals for early and influential punk-rock Television, “Marquee Moon” (1977), solo, producer and guitar teacher
1955 ● Matthias Jabs → Guitarist in German hard rock/metal Scorpions, “Rock You Like A Hurricane” (#25, 1984), still with the band in 2010
1957 ● Robbie McIntosh → Session guitarist and bandleader, played in The Pretenders (“Back On The Chain Gang,” #5, 1983) from 1982 to 1987 and Paul McCartney‘s Wings in the 90s
1960 ● Christina Amphlett → Vocals for Aussie power pop Divinyls, “I Touch Myself” (#4, 1991), co-wrote “Science Fiction” (AUS #13, 1982), included in 2001 as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time by the Australian Performing Right Association (APRA), died after a long fight with breast cancer on 4/21/2013, age 52
1961 ● Chad Smith → Drummer in funk-rock Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Californication” (Modern Rock #1, 2000)
1961 ● Pat Sharp (Patrick Sharpin) → Brit TV host and radio DJ (BBC Radio 1, Capital FM, Radio Mercury)
1963 ● John Leven → Bassist for Swedish hard rock/glam-metal Europe, “The Final Countdown” (#8, 1986)
1965 ● Nick Thorpe → Bassist for Brit teen-pop blue-eyed soul Curiosity Killed The Cat, “Down To Earth” (UK #3, 1986)
1968 ● Speech (Todd Thomas) → Vocals and MC for African-centric, progressive hip hop/funk-soul-blues Arrested Development, “Mr. Wendal” (#6, 1992), solo
1970 ● Lloyd Edward “Ed” Robertson → Guitarist for Canadian alt-rock Barenaked Ladies, “One Week” (#1, 1998)
1981 ● Jerome Isaac “Romeo” then “Young Rome” Jones → Rapper, singer for L.A. pre-teen R&B/pop-rap Immature, “Never Lie” (#5, 1994), then name change to Imx, “Stay The Night” (#23, 1999), actor
1984 ● Katy Perry (Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson) → Contemporary dance-club/pop-rock singer and songwriter, “I Kissed A Girl” (#1, 2008), TV and voice actress
1985 ● Ciara Princess Harris → The “First Lady of Crunk & B,” contemporary R&B/soul-pop dancer and vocalist, “Goodies” (#1, 2004), actress and fashion model
October 26
1911 ● Mahalia Jackson → The “Queen of Gospel,” vastly influential gospel superstar singer, “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands” (#69, 1958), three-time Grammy winner, civil rights activist and philanthropist, died from heart failure on 1/27/1972, age 60
1913 ● Charlie Barnet → Jazz saxophonist, composer and leader of a early racially-integrated band, noted for penning more than twenty-five Billboard chart hits in the Swing era between 1939 and 1946, including “Cherokee,” “Redskin Rhumba” and “Skyliner,” married 11 times, the final one lasting 33 years, died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease and pneumonia on 9/4/1991, age 77
1929 ● Neal Matthews → Vocals in country-gospel-pop backing quartet The Jordanaires, recorded with Elvis Presley (1957-1972), Patsy Cline, Tom Jones, Merle Haggard and others, died of a heart attack on 4/21/2000, age 70
1936 ● Alvin Wayne “Al” Casey → Piano and guitar with early rocker Duane Eddy‘s Rebels, wrote Eddy‘s early hit “Ramrod” (#27, R&B #17, 1958) and co-wrote “Forty Miles Of Bad Road” (#9, 1959), issued several mostly instrumental solo albums in the 60s and scored three minor chart singles, including ” Surfin’ Hootenanny” (#48, 1963), turned to session work as a member of the acclaimed Wrecking Crew group of L.A. studio musicians and recorded with numerous top artists, owned a Los Angeles music store for 20 years, retired in 1993 and died on 9/17/2006, age 69
1944 ● Alan Henderson → Bassist for Irish garage-rock, proto-punk Them, “Gloria” (#71, 1966)
1944 ● Michael Piano → Singer in light folk sunshine-pop, two hit wonder vocal trio The Sandpipers, “Guantanamera” (#9, 1966) and “Come Saturday Morning” (#17, 1970)
1946 ● Keith Hopwood → Guitarist in British Invasion pop-rock Herman’s Hermits, “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” (#1. 1965)
1951 ● Maggie Roche → Singer/songwriter in critically-acclaimed but commercially-marginal female folk-pop harmony vocal sister trio The Roches, backed Paul Simon, solo
1951 ● William “Bootsy” Collins → R&B/funk bassist, singer and songwriter, with James Brown band in the 60s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the 70s, frontman for Bootsy’s Rubber Band, “Bootzilla” (R&B #1, 1978)
1952 ● David Was (David Weiss) → Lyricist, keyboardist and co-frontman for eclectic R&B and rock fusion Was (Not Was), “Walk The Dinosaur” (#7, 1989), producer, music journalist and theme song composer
1953 ● Keith Strickland → Guitars, keyboards and occasional drums for New Wave alt-dance-rock The B-52’s, “Love Shack” (#3, 1989)
1962 ● Steve Wren → Drummer for New Wave synth-pop-soul Then Jerico, “The Motive” (UK #18, 1987)
1963 ● Natalie Merchant → Lead vocals and songwriting for folk-pop 10,000 Maniacs, “These Are Days” (Alt-Rock #1, 1992), left in 1993 for solo career, “Carnival” (#10, 1995)
1965 ● Judge Jules (Julius O’Riordan) → UK dance music remixer, producer and radio DJ, first with pirate radio Kiss FM and since 1987 with BBC Radio 1 in various time slots
1967 ● Keith Urban → New Zealand-born Nashville contemporary country-pop crossover guitarist, songwriter and three-time Grammy winner, “Sweet Thing” (#30, Country #1, 2008)
1978 ● Mark Barry → Vocals for short-lived teen pop-rock trio BBMak, “Back Here” (#13, 2000), now a personal fitness trainer
1981 ● Guy Sebastian → Australian adult contemporary/soul-pop singer/songwriter, winner of the first Australian Idol series, “Angels Brought Me Here” (Australian #1, 2003)
1986 ● Schoolboy Q (Quincy Matthew Hanley) → Hip hop singer and recording artist, originally with self-anointed supergroup Black Hippy, since 2009 solo singer with the debut hit album Oxymoron (#1, Rap #1, R&B #1, CAN #1, 2014) and the single “Studio” (#38, Rap #5, R&B #10, 2014)
October 27
1924 ● Bonnie Lou (Mary Joan Okum) → Pioneering country-pop, rockabilly and early rock ‘n’ roll singer and later TV show host with several crossover hits and the early rocker “Daddy O” (#14, 1955), dubbed “Queen” of the country music Midwestern Hayride program on NBC-TV through the early 70s, died in her sleep on 12/8/2015, age 91
1924 ● Gary Chester (Cesario Gurciullo) → Top-rated session drummer from doo wop to rock and pop, co-author of two instruction books on drumming, worked with the Coasters, The Monkees, Dionne Warwick, Country Joe McDonald, Van Morrison and many others on hundreds of albums and thousands of songs, died 8/17/1987, age 62
1933 ● Floyd Cramer → Country-pop/easy listening “Nashville sound” pianist with the unique “slip-note” style, issued several hit singles (including “Last Date,” #2, 1960) and albums of instrumental covers, worked as a session musician with Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers and others, died of lung cancer on 12/31/1997, age 64
1942 ● Melvin Lee Greenwood → Country-pop singer and songwriter, “God Bless The USA” (Country #7, 1984) re-released in October 2001 (#16, Country #16, 2001) and 18 other Country Top 10 singles plus a Grammy Award
1945 ● Dick Dodd (Joseph Richard Dodd, Jr.) → Original cast member of The Mickey Mouse Club beginning in 1955, formed instrumental surf rock The Bel-Airs and played drums on the regional hit “Mr. Moto” (1961), joined garage/proto-punk The Standells in 1964 as drummer and sang lead vocals on “Dirty Water” (#11, 1966), toured with the group occasionally until dying of cancer on 11/29/2013, age 68
1945 ● Mark Ryan → Bass guitarist for early 70s lineup of psych-rock Quicksilver Messenger Service (“Fresh Air,” #49, 1970), later in funk-rock Bodacious D.F. with ex-Jefferson Airplane singer Marty Balin
1948 ● Byron Allred → Keyboards in blues-rock then psych-rock then pop-rock Steve Miller Band, “The Joker” (#1, 1973)
1949 ● Clifford Antone → Club owner, record label executive and one of the architects of the Austin, TX blues music scene, founded Antone’s blues club in 1975 and featured blues artists such as B. B. King, Fats Domino, Stevie Ray Vaughan and others, chief executive of independent label Antone’s Records and university lecturer, died from unspecified causes on 5/23/2006, age 56
1949 ● Gary Tallent → Bassist in Bruce Springsteen‘s E Street Band, producer, sessions, record company executive
1951 ● Kenneth “K.K.” Downing, Jr. → Lead guitarist for popular and influential “New Wave” heavy metal band Judas Priest, “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'” (#67, Mainstream Rock #4, 1982) plus the 2009 Grammy-winning album Dissident Aggressor
1953 ● Peter Dodd → Guitarist with New Wave synth-pop Thompson Twins, “Hold Me Now” (#3, 1983)
1956 ● Hazell Dean (Poole) → Brit dance-pop singer and H-NRG artist, “Searchin’ (I Gotta Find A Man)” (Dance/Club #8, 1983) and two other Dance/Club Top 20 hits
1958 ● Simon LeBon → Lead singer and lyricist for New Wave pop-rock Duran Duran, “Hungry Like The Wolf” (#3, 1982), still recording in 2011
1967 ● Scott Weiland → Founding member and lead vocals for alt hard rock Stone Temple Pilots, “Interstate Love Song” (#18, 1994), died in his sleep after years of drug abuse on 12/3/2015, age 48
1984 ● Kelly Osbourne → Reality TV actress, socialite and teen-pop-rock singer, “Papa Don’t Preach” (Mainstream Rock #25, UK #3, 2002), daughter of metal superstar Ozzy and manager-wife Sharon Osbourne, fashion designer, TV judge and host
October 28
1927 ● Cleo Laine (Clementine Dinah Campbell) → Grammy-winning, highly-regarded jazz-pop scat vocalist in husband Johnny Dankworth‘s Big Band and as a solo performer, “You’ll Answer To Me” (UK #5, 1961), stage actress
1936 ● Charlie Daniels → Country and Southern rock legend, bandleader, guitarist and fiddler, “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” (#3, 1979) with albums and singles in six decades from 1961
1937 ● Graham Bond → Early and important but underappreciated Brit R&B/blues-rock musician, first with Blues Incorporated, fronted the Graham Bond Organization with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a London tube train on 5/8/1974, age 36
1939 ● Jim Post → Singer and songwriter with his wife Cathy Conn in one hit wonder folk-pop duo Friend & Lover with the inspirational pop hit “Reach Out Of The Darkness” (#10, 1968), they disbanded and divorced after failing to find a follow-up hit, continued to write and perform folk music in the Chicago area into the 10s
1940 ● Jay Proctor → Founder and frontman for integrated Philly soul-pop Jay & The Techniques, “Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie” (#6, R&B #8, 1967), plus two other Top 40 hits in the 60s and two disco singles in the 70s
1941 ● Curtis Lee → Early pop-rock ‘n’ roll one hit wonder singer, “Pretty Little Angel Eyes” (#7, 1961)
1941 ● Hank Marvin (Brian Robson Rankin) → Guitarist with instrumental pop-rock The Shadows, “Apache” (Worldwide #1, 1960)
1942 ● Raymond Steinberg → Baritone for blue-eyed soul/doo wop The Reflections (“(Just Like) Romeo And Juliet,” #6, 1964)
1945 ● Wayne Fontana (Glyn Geoffrey Ellis) → Frontman for British Invasion pop-rock band The Mindbenders, “Game Of Love” (#1, 1965), then solo, “Pamela Pamela” (UK #11, 1967), still performing on the oldies circuit
1947 ● George Glover → Keyboards and backing vocals for Brit blues-rock Climax Blues Band, “Couldn’t Get It Right” (#3, 1977)
1948 ● Telma Louise Hopkins → TV sitcom actress and former light-pop backing vocalist in Tony Orlando & Dawn, “Knock Three Times” (#1, 1971) and nine other Top 20 hits
1953 ● Desmond Child (John Charles Barrett) → Grammy-winning songwriter and producer with 70 Top 40 singles, frontman for Desmond Child & Rouge, “Our Love Is Insane” (#50, 1979), then wrote and produced for Kiss, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Joan Jett, Cher, Michael Bolton, Hilary Duff, Kelly Clarkson and others
1957 ● Stephen Morris → Drummer for post-punk Joy Division, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (Dance/Club #42, UK #13, 1980), then New Wave electro-dance-pop New Order, “Blue Monday” (Dance/Club #5, 1983) and The Other Two, “Selfish” (Dance/Club #6, 1993)
1958 ● William Reid → Guitarist, composer and lead singer for Scottish alt-pop-rock Jesus And Mary Chain, “Sometimes Always” (Modern Rock #4, 1994)
1959 ● Neville Henry → Saxophone in New Wave pop-rock Blow Monkeys, “Digging Your Scene” (#14, 1986)
1963 ● Eros Ramazzotti → Hugely-successful Italian pop singer and songwriter with over 70 million albums sold worldwide in a 30-year career but few in the US, recorded duets with Cher, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Ricky Martin and others
1969 ● Benjamin Chase “Ben” Harper → Multi-instrumentalist singer and songwriter with an unusual and effective mix of blues, folk-rock, funky soul and pop that garnered three Grammys, including Best Traditional Soul Gospel album in 2005, and several charting singles (“Steal My Kisses,” #15, 2000)
1972 ● Brad Paisley → Country and Southern rock crossover singer, songwriter and guitarist, charted 18 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and 25 on the Hot Country Songs list, 16 of which reached Country #1 with a record 10 consecutive singles in the top spot, including “Remind Me” (#17, Country #1, 2011)
October 29
1922 ● Neal Hefti → Jazz composer/arranger who wrote charts for Earl Hines, Count Basie and others and played trumpet with Woody Herman‘s First Herd, but best known for penning TV’s “Batman Theme” (#35, 1966) and the title song and soundtrack to The Odd Couple (1968), died of throat cancer on 10/11/2008, age 85
1937 ● Sonny Osborne → With his older brother, Bobby, one half of the influential bluegrass act The Osborne Brothers, “Rocky Top” (Country #33, 1967), the song was voted the official state song of Tennessee and one of two the brothers recorded, the other being “My Old Kentucky Home” (Country #69, 1970)
1944 ● Denny Laine (Brian F. A. Hines) → First lead guitarist and vocals for The Moody Blues, “Go Now” (#10, 1965), left to join Ginger Baker’s Air Force and then Paul McCartney‘s Wings, “Band On The Run” (#1, 1974), solo since the early 80s
1944 ● Robbie Van Leeuwen → Guitar and backing vocals in Dutch one hit wonder pop-rock Shocking Blue, “Venus” (#1, 1970)
1945 ● Melba Moore (Beatrice Melba Smith) → R&B/soul-disco singer, “Love’s Comin’ At Ya” (Dance/Club #2, 1982), Tony Award-winning Broadway stage actress
1945 ● Mick Gallagher → Brit organist, bandmember and session musician, with blues-rock The Animals and psych-pop Skip Bifferty in the 60s, proto-punk Ian Dury And The Blockheads and punk-rock The Clashh in the 70s and 80s, worked with Paul McCartney, Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox, currently tours with The Blockheads and John Steele‘s The Animals And Friends
1946 ● Peter Green (Greenbaum) → Blues-rock guitarist and songwriter, replaced Eric Clapton in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers in 1966, co-founded Fleetwood Mac in 1967 as a blues-rock band, wrote “Oh Well” (#55, UK #2, 1969) and other early hits, left in 1970 and suffered psychiatric problems through the 70s, returned to limited collaborations and sessions in the 80s , ranked #38 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time
1948 ● Ricky Lee “Ricochet” Reynolds → Guitarist for Southern raunch-rock Black Oak Arkansas, “Jim Dandy To The Rescue” (Top 30, 1973), continued with the band into the 00s
1949 ● David Paton → Scottish bassist, singer and songwriter with soft pop-rock Pilot, wrote “Magic” (#1, 1974), solo and session work
1954 ● Stephen Luscombe → Multi-instrumentalist in New Wave synth-pop duo Blancmange, “Don’t Tell Me” (UK #8, 1984)
1955 ● Kevin Dubrow → Co-founder and lead singer in heavy metal/pop-metal Quiet Riot (“Bang Your Head (Metal Health),” #31, 1984), died from a cocaine overdose on 11/25/2007, age 52
1955 ● Roger O’Donnell → Session keyboardist with New Wave synth-pop Thompson Twin, Berlin and The Psychedelic Furs, in 1987 joined post-punk art-glam-goth rock The Cure, “Love Song” (#2, 1989) and over 20 other UK Top 40 singles, solo
1961 ● Steven Randall “Little Randy” Jackson → Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and youngest member of R&B/pop-soul brother act The Jackson 5, co-wrote “Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)” (#6, 1979)
1962 ● Einar Orn Benediktsson → Vocals for Icelandic alt pop-rock The Sugarcubes, “Hit” (Modern Rock #1, 1991)
1965 ● Peter Timmins → Drummer in Canadian alt-art-country-blues-rock Cowboy Junkies, “Sweet Jane” (Modern Rock #5, 1989)
1969 ● Doug “S.A.” Martinez → Lead vocals and turntables for hip hop/reggae/punk rock fusion band 311, “Love Song” (#59, Modern Rock #1, 200$)
1969 ● Roni Size (Ryan Owen Granville Williams) → Brit record producer and DJ, founder and frontman for hip hop drum and bass act Reprazent, Mercury Music Prize-winning album New Forms (1997)
1970 ● Toby Smith → Keyboards in Grammy-winning Brit acid jazz-funk-pop Jamiroquai, “Canned Heat” (Dance #1, 1999), currently manager and producer for indie pop The Hoosiers, “Worried About Ray” (UK #5, 2007)
1984 ● Chris Baio → Bassist for indie Afro-pop/rock Vampire Weekend, “Cousins” (Alt Rock #18, 2009)
