BIRTHDAYS Sam Cooke (1931) soul singer/songwriter/pianist/guitarist [“You Send Me”/”Twistin’ the Night Away”] (died 1964) age 33 – justifiable homicide Addie “Micki” Harris (1940) The Shirelles singer (died 1982) age 42 – heart attack Steve Perry (1949) Journey lead singer/songwriter and solo singer/songwriter [“Oh Sherrie”] Nigel Pegrum (1949) The Small Faces drummer J.P. Pennington (1949) Exile… Continue reading January 22 Music History Report

BIRTHDAYS Wolfman Jack [born Robert Smith] (1938) disc jockey (died 1995) age 57 – heart attack Richie Havens (1941) folk singer/songwriter/guitarist [“Here Comes the Sun”] (died 2013) age 72 – heart attack Plácido Domingo [born José Domingo] tenor opera singer/conductor Mac Davis (1942) singer/songwriter/guitarist [“Baby, Don’t Get Hooked on Me”], also actor (died 2020) age… Continue reading January 21 Music History Report

BIRTHDAYS Lead Belly [born Huddie Ledbetter] (1888) blues singer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter [“Midnight Special”/”Goodnight Irene”] (died 1949) age 60 – motor neuron disease Ottis “Slim” Whitman Jr. (1923) country singer/guitarist/songwriter [“Indian Love Call”] (died 2013) age 90 – heart failure Ron Townson (1933) The 5th Dimension singer/co-founder (died 2001) age 68 – renal failure William Powell Jr. (1942)… Continue reading January 20 Music History Report

BIRTHDAYS Phil Everly (1939) The Everly Brothers singer/guitarist/songwriter/co-founder (died 2014) age 74 – lung disease Michael Crawford [born Michael Smith] (1942) singer, also actor Janis Joplin (1943) Big Brother and the Holding Company, Kozmic Blues Band, Full Tilt Boogie Band and solo singer/songwriter (died 1970) age 27 – heroin overdose Laurie London (1944) singer [“He’s… Continue reading January 19 Music History Report

BIRTHDAYS Bobby Goldsboro (1941) singer/songwriter/guitarist [“Honey”/”Watching Scotty Grow”/”Little Things”] David Ruffin [born Davis Ruffin] (1941) The Temptations lead singer/co-founder and solo singer/drummer (died 1991) age 50 – accidental overdose Brett Hudson (1953) The Hudson Brothers singer/songwriter/co-founder Mark Collie (1956) country singer/guitarist/songwriter Tom Bailey (1956) Thompson Twins lead singer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/co-founder [“Hold Me Now”/”Doctor! Doctor!”/”Lies”] Jonathan “JDevil” Davis… Continue reading January 18 Music History Report

BIRTHDAYS Eartha Kitt [born Eartha Keith] (1927) singer [“C’est Si Bon”/”Santa Baby”], also actress (died 2008) age 81 – colon cancer Chris Montez [born Ezekiel Montanez ] (1943) singer/songwriter/guitarist [“Let’s Dance”] William “Poogie” Hart (1945) The Delfonics lead singer/co-founder [current] [“La-La (Means I Love You)”/”Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)”] (died 2022) age 77… Continue reading January 17 Music History Report

BIRTHDAYS Ethel Merman (1908) singer [“Everything’s Coming Up Roses”/”There’s No Business Like Show Business”], also actress (died 1984) age 76 – brain cancer Marilyn Horne (1934) operatic mezzo-soprano singer Bob Bogle (1937) The Ventures lead guitarist/bassist/songwriter/co-founder [“Walk Don’t Run”/”Hawaii Five-O”] (died 2009) age 75 – non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma Ramon “Ray” Phillips (1939) The Nashville Teens singer/co-founder… Continue reading January 16 Music History Report

BIRTHDAYS Gene Krupa (1909) jazz and big band drummer/composer/bandleader (died 1973) age 64 – leukemia and heart failure Edward “Sonny” Bivins Jr. (1936) The Manhattans baritone singer/co-founder [“Kiss and Say Goodbye”] (died 2014) age 78 – natural causes Captain Beefheart [born Don Vliet] (1941) The Magic Band singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist (died 2010) age 69 – multiple sclerosis… Continue reading January 15 Music History Report

BIRTHDAYS Clarence Carter (1936) blues and soul singer/guitarist [“Strokin’”/”Patches”/”Slip Away”] Billie Jo Spears (1937) country singer (died 2011) age 74 – cancer Jack Jones (1938) singer [“Love Boat”], also actor Joseph “T Bone” Burnett III (1948) guitarist/songwriter Tim Harris (1948) The Foundations drummer/co-founder [“Build Me Up Buttercup”] (died 2007) age 59 – unknown Lamar Williams… Continue reading January 14 Music History Report

BIRTHDAYS Woodward “Tex” Ritter (1905) country singer/actor [“High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)”/”The Wayward Wind”] (died 1974) age 68 – heart attack Ray Price (1926) country singer/guitarist/songwriter [“For the Good Times”/”Make the World Go Away”] (died 2013) age 87 – pancreatic cancer Ruth Brown (1928) R&B singer (died 2006) age 78 – heart attack and… Continue reading January 12 Music History Report