BIRTHDAYS
Orvon “Gene” Autry (1907) singer/songwriter/guitarist [“Back in the Saddle Again”/”Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”], also actor (died 1998) age 91 – lymphoma
Franny Beecher (1921) Bill Haley & His Comets lead guitarist/co-founder (died 2014) age 92 – natural causes
Jerry Lee Lewis [“The Killer”] (1935) singer/pianist/songwriter (died 2022) age 87 – natural causes
Tommy Boyce (1939) Boyce and Hart singer [“I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight”] and songwriter [“Come a Little Bit Closer”/”I’m Not Your Steppin’ Stone”/”Last Train to Clarksville”/”Hurt So Bad”/”Scooby-Doo, Where are You”] (died 1994) age 55 – suicide
Jean-Luc Ponty (1942) violinist/composer
Manuel Fernández (1943) Los Bravos organist/co-founder (died 1967) age 23 – suicide
Mike Post [born Leland Postil] (1944) composer [“The Rockford Files”/”The Theme From ‘Hill Street Blues'”/”Theme From ‘Magnum P.I.'”]
Ian Wallace (1946) King Crimson drummer (died 2007) age 60 – esophageal cancer
Mark Farner (1948) Grand Funk Railroad lead singer/lead guitarist/songwriter/co-founder
Mike Pinera (1948) Blues Image lead guitarist/songwriter/co-founder [“Ride Captain Ride”] and Iron Butterfly guitarist
Al Pitrelli (1962) Asia, Megadeth, and Alice Cooper guitarist and Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist [current]
Les Claypool (1963) Primus lead singer/bassist/songwriter/co-founder [“Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver”]
Iain Baker [born Richard Baker] (1965) Jesus Jones keyboardist/songwriter/co-founder [“Right Here, Right Now”]
Alex Skolnick (1968) Testament lead guitarist/co-founder
Brad Smith (1968) Blind Melon bassist/co-founder [“No Rain”]
Halsey [born Ashley Frangipane] (1994) singer/songwriter/guitarist [“Closer” with The Chainsmokers]
DEATHS
Sylvia Robinson [born Sylvia Vanderpool] (2011) Mickey & Silvia singer/co-founder [“Love is Strange”] [also known as the “Mother of Hip-Hop” for founding Sugarhill Records] (born 1935) age 76 – congestive heart failure
Otis Rush Jr. (2018) blues guitarist/singer/songwriter (born 1934) age 84 – stroke complications
Helen Reddy (2020) singer/guitarist/pianist [“I Am Woman”/”Delta Dawn”/”Angie Baby”] (born 1941) age 78 – unknown causes
Mac Davis (1942) singer/songwriter/guitarist [“Baby, Don’t Get Hooked on Me”], also actor (died 2020) age 78 – heart surgery complications
CHARTS
In 1958, It’s All in the Game” by Tommy Edwards hits No. 1 – 6 weeks (only No. 1 single)
In 1973, “We’re an American Band” by Grand Funk Railroad hits No. 1 – 1 week (first of two No. 1 singles)
In 1984, “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince and the Revolution hits No. 1 – 2 weeks (first of five No,. 1 singles; it gave Prince the No. 1 positions on the singles and album charts and at the box office for “Purple Rain” at the same time – a feat that only occurred once before – by The Beatles with “A Hard Day’s Night” – 20 years earlier)
In 1990, “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection” by Nelson hits No. 1 – 1 week (only No. 1 single; third generation of Nelsons to top the singles chart, following grandfather Ozzie Nelson [“And Then Some”] and father Ricky Nelson [“Poor Little Fool”/”Travelin’ Man”])
In 2007, “Stronger” by Kanye West hits No. 1 – 1 week (third of four No. 1 singles)
In 2012, “One More Night” by Maroon 5 hits No. 1 – 9 weeks (third of four No. 1 singles)
In 2018, “Girls Like You” by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B hits No. 1 – 7 weeks (fourth of four No. 1 singles for Maroon 5; third and final No. 1 single for Cardi B)
NEW RELEASES
(Albums)
In 1977, Columbia Records releases the fifth studio album from Billy Joel, “The Stranger”; Billboard 200: 2; 10 million copies U.S.; Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year; Grammy Hall of Fame (2008); Rolling Stone 500: 70; “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” “Just the Way You Are,” “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant,” “Only the Good Die Young”
In 1980, De-Lite Records releases the 12th studio album from Kool and the Gang, “Celebrate!”; Billboard 200: 10; 1 million copies U.S.; “Celebration,” “Jones vs. Jones,” “Love Festival”
In 1992, Atlantic Records releases the debut album from Stone Temple Pilots, “Core”; Billboard 200: 3; 8 million copies U.S.; “Dead & Bloated,” “Sex Type Thing,” “Wicked Garden,” “Creep,” “Plush,” “Where the River Goes”
In 1992, Columbia Records releases the second studio album from Alice in Chains, “Dirt”; Billboard 200: 6; 4 million copies U.S.; “Would”,” “Them Bones,” “Angry Chair,” “Rooster,” “Down in a Hole”
In 1998, Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings releases the third studio album from Jay-Z, “Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life”; Billboard 200: 1 (5 weeks); 5 million copies U.S.; “Can I Get A…,” “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” “Jigga What, Jigga Who”
(Singles)
1969, “Take a Letter Maria,: R.B. Greaves
1969, “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” Crosby, Stills & Nash
1969, “Okie From Muskogee,” Merle Haggard
1975, “Island Girl,” Elton John
1980, “Lady, Kenny Rogers
1983, “Uptown Girl,” Billy Joel
2003, “Stacy’s Mom,” Fountains of Wayne
COMINGS/GOINGS
In 1967, drummer Mickey Hart joins The Grateful Dead.
NOTEWORTHY
In 1975, R&B singer Jackie Wilson is performing “Lonely Teardrops” at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, N.J., when he collapses from having a heart attack and hits his head on the stage. He falls into a coma from which he never emerges, eventually dying in 1983.
The Journalism Gypsy 