BIRTHDAYS
1943     Charles Ables, bass/guitar, b. Mississippi, USA, d. Oct. 8, 2001, Washington, D.C., USA. Ables was a long time (20 year) associate of singer/pianist Shirley Horn (b. May 1, 1934, Washington, D.C., USA, d. Oct. 20, 2005, Cheverly, MD, USA. Age: 71.). Her regular trio usually included Charles Ables, and drummer Steve Willliams (b. 1957, Rochester, NY, USA). At times, Ables switched to guitar, and someone else (maybe: Tyler Mitchell, b. Oct. 7, 1958) would play bass. Occasionally altoist Gary Bartz played with the trio.
1959     Pedro Aznar, vocal/percussion
1929     Danny Barcelona, Drums, b. Honolulu, HI, USA.
1959     Alan Barnes, Reeds, b. Altnincham, England.
1942     Madeline Bell, vocals, b. UK. Member: Blue Mink. 1970 single "Melting Pot" hit No.3 in the UK.
1915     Emmett Berry, Trumpet, b. Macon, GA, USA.
1942     Madeline Bell, vocals, b. Newark, NJ, USA.
1918     Artie Blake, guitar, piano, b. Weymouth, Massachusetts, USA, d. 1993, Weymouth, Massachusetts, USA. Artie led his own trio, and also played with Joe Leighton's orchestra based in Norfolk, VA, USA (a territorial band). At times, other members of the Leighton band included Robert Neil Hallowell, b. 1914, died January 14, 1975 Age 59, and Al Solito (who also led his own band)
1910     Nat Brandwynne, Leader
1973     Shannon Brown, C&W vocals.
1919     Jim Chapin, drums
1945     Dino Danelli, rock vocals, b. Jersey City, NJ, USA. member: 'The Young Rascals'
1940     Johnny Darrell, C&W vocals/guitar, b. Hopewell, AL, USA. né: Eddie Rae White. Never a major C&W star, but he and his producer, Bob Montgomery, had a talent for picking songs that would become big hits for others. Darrell's debut single was "Green Green Grass of Home".
1971     Dalvin DeGrate, R&B vocals. b. Hampton, VA, USA (reared in Charlotte, NC, USA). Member: Jodeci, 1995 single "Freak 'N' You" hit No.17 on UK charts. By age nine, he was playing the drums, touring and recording with his father's gospel group, the DeGrate Delegation. (His father was Pastor DeGrate.) The group 'Jodeci', like many R&B acts, met one another and honed their vocal skills in church.
1925     Gloria DeHaven, Actress/vocals
1965     Rob Dickinson, vocals. Member: Catherine Wheel
1935     Cleveland Duncan, vocals
1910     Champion Jack Dupree, piano, b. New Orleans, LA, USA.
1949     Marc Edwards, (free jazz) drums/percussion, b. New York, NY, USA.
1947     David Essex, R&R vocals/actor. b. Plaistow, London, England, UK. né: David Albert Cook. David is a gypsy and a past president of the Romany Union of Great Britain. In 1974, he recorded the hit song "Rock On" (he nominated for a Grammy). 15 years later, it was remade by singer/actor Michael Damien, formerly of "The Young and the Restless". Essex starred as Jesus in the original London cast of "Godspell".
1946     Keith Ferguson, bass vocals, b. Houston, TX, USA. Member: 'Fabulous Thunderbirds'
1946     Sally Flynn, vocals, b. Ontario, OR, USA. née: Sally Hart. In 1968, together with BYU classmate Sandi Griffiths, Sally joined the Lawrence Welk TV Show, as part of the Sandi & Sally act ...which became one of the most popular musical acts in the show's long history. She married Welk guitarist and country singer Clay Hart, and in 1972, Sally left the Welk show to pursue a solo career. She has numerous TV appearances, commercials, and even hosted a cooking and home show with her husband Clay. They also co-owned a keepsack business for awhile. The couple currently (2004) live in Cocoa Beach, FL, USA.
1963     Yuval Gabay, Rock guitar/vocals. Member group: Soul Coughing.
1961     Martin Gore, Member group: DePeche Mode
1971     Chad Gracey, rock guitar. Member group: Live.
1957     Dennis Greaves, guitar/vocals. b. UK. Member group: Nine Below Zero, (a UK R&B group.)
1973     Fran Healy, vocals/guitar, Member group: Travis. The 1999 album "The Man Who", hit No.1 in the UK.
1898     Clarence Holiday, guitar, b. Baltimore, MD, NY, d. 1937. Famed singer Billie Holiday's father.
1946     Khan Jamal, Vibes, b. Jacksonville, FL, USA.
1981     Steve Jocz,drums, b. Hasbro, Ontario, Canada. aka: Stevo 32. Member of the Canadian pop-punk band 'Sum 41'
1930     Richie Kamuca, Tenor sax, b. Philadelphia, PA, USA. d. July 22, 1977, Los Angeles, CA, USA. né: Richard Kamuca.
1964     Tim Kellett, keyboards/trumpet. Member group: Simply Red. 1986 single "Holding Back The Years", hit No.1 in the USA, and No.2 in the UK.
1971     Alison Krauss, Bluegrass vocals/Fiddle, b. Champaign, IL, USA. Member group: Alison Krauss and Union Station. Another one of those incredible careers. This lovely lady was studying Classical violin at age 5, and improvising 'hot' bluegrass 'licks'. At age 8, she was appearing in various Talent Contests locally. At age 10, she had her own band. At age 12 (1983), she won the Illinois State Fiddle Championship and the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America called her "the Most Promising Fiddler in the Midwest". In 1985, (age 14), she made her recording debut playing on an album (Different Strokes) made by her brother Viktor, Jim Hoiles, and Bruce Weiss. (independent Fiddle Tunes label) Later that year, Rounder Records signed her. In 1987, -with Union Station as her backup band - her own debut record "Too Late to Cry" won positive reviews. The next year, this same group won the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America's National Band Championship contest. In 1989, the Krauss and Union Station release of Two Highways was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Recording. While that album didn't win the award, her next album, 1990's "I've Got That Old Feeling" did. There followed many other recordings, but her 1995, "Now That I've Found You: A Collection", made Krauss a national star. The album reached not only reached number two on the country charts, but (remarkably) went into the pop Top Ten, selling over a million copies. Her status as bluegrass' leading light in the '90s was confirmed.
1897     Kay Kyser, bandleader, b. Rocky Mount, NC, USA, d. July 23, 1985, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Age: 79. né: James King Kern Kyser. (Some sources claim June 18, 1906 as his date of birth, but the 1897 date seems to jibe better with the years he spent at school.)
1934     Steve Lacy, Soprano Sax, b. New York, NY. USA. d. June 4, 2004. né: Steven Lackritz
1928     William "Bill" Lee, Bass, b. Snow Hill, AL, USA, Played with John Lee Hooker, and is the father of filmmaker Spike Lee. During the 1940s and '50s, Bill was a prolific sessions bassist in the Chicago studios, and from 1959 on, has worked in New York city. He has scored at least one of his son's films, and was the founder of the New York Bass Violin Choir Lee was a classmate of Martin Luther King at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. During his career, Bill played with such artists as 'Duke' Ellington, Max Roach, Jo Jones, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Billy Strayhorn and folk artist Odetta.
1934     Tony Lee, Piano, b. London, England, d. March 9, 2004 (Cancer). né: Anthony Leedham Lee. Led his own band for a while, and also worked with Tommy Whittle and Phil Seamen.
1923     Claude Luter, Clarinet/Leader, b. Paris, France. d. October 6, 2006, Poissy (Paris suburb), France. Age: 83. Luter was one of the most visible New Orleans-style musician in the Paris post World War II scene. He began playing in the cellars of Parisian jazz clubs. In 1948, he played with Louis Armstrong at the Nice Jazz festival. In 1949, his band played with Sidney Bechet when Bechet came to Paris. Luter's band accompanied Bechet for several years, and Bechet-Luter records became hits. In the 1960's '50s, Luter toured to the USA, to South America and into the USSR Luter also played with various other musicians like Mezz Mezzrow, Barney Bigard and Albert Nicholas. He led various revivalist bands until 2005.
1946     Andy Mackay, saxophone/woodwinds. b. London, England, UK. Member group: 'Roxy Music'
1964     Nick Menza, Rock drums, Member group: Megadeth. The 1992 album 'Countdown To Extinction' hit No.2 in the USA.
1902     "Curly Barefoot" Miller, piano, b. New Orleans, LA, USA. Recorded by Topcat Records.
1918     Eva Overstake, C&W vocals, b. Decatur, IL, USA. Member: "The Three Little Maids"
1928     Donald P. Paladino, Trumpet, b. Buffalo, NY, USA. d. March 23, 1959, (cancerous brain tumor) Age: 30. In 1942, Johnny Long, whose orchestra was then filling an engagement at 'Shea's Buffalo Theater', discovered Paladino among some school boy trumpeters. The youngster began a coast-to-coast theater tour with Long's band. Later he returned to Buffalo (NY) and the Statler Hotel. During his short career, Paladino had played for Les Brown, musical director for the Bob Hope show, and for the Harry James, Artie Shaw, and Stan Kenton bands.
The Big Bands Database thanks Ms Kristen Kirk, Don Paladino's niece, for this information.
1945     Leonard Pakula, vibes/arranger, b. Philadelphia, PA, USA. (with Philadelphia.Int'l.Records.)
1919     Paul Rice, C&W vocals/guitar, b. Gainesville, GA, USA. Member: "The Rice Brothers", a duo of Paul and Hoke Rice (b. January 8, 1909, (near Gainesville), Hall County, GA, USA). Their father was a preacher and cobbler who repaired soles during the week and saved souls on Sundays. But, the Rice brothers inherited their musical talent from their mother, who played five-string banjo, fiddle and piano.
1958     Loren Schoenberg, Leader/tenor sax, Currently (2006) active in the New York City area.
1952     Janis Siegel, vocals, b. New York, NY, USA. Best recalled for her work with the wonderful choral group "Manhattan Transfer", founded by Alan Paul (b. Nov. 23, 1949, Newark, New Jersey, USA., Janis Siegel (July 23, 1952, New York (Brooklyn), New York, USA), Laurel Massé (Dec. 29, 1951, Holland, Michigan, USA), and Tim Hauser. (b. Dec. 12, 1941, Troy, New York, USA) Their 1977 release "Chanson D'amour" hit No.1 in the UK (and more or less flopped in USA)
1965     "Slash", Rock guitar, b.Stoke-on-Trent, England. né: Saul Hudson. As an original member of the group 'Guns `N Roses', he refused to remain in the new version of G `N R, without the original members, and walking away from one the most successful Rock bands, he formed his own 'Slash's Snakepit'. On Aug. 22, 2003, he signed a record deal with RCA Records for his new group called 'AKA Velvet Revolver' (Slash, Dave Kushner, Matt Sorum, Scott Weiland, Duff McKagan.) (The original members of G 'n' R were Axl Rose (vocals. né: William Bailey, b. Feb. 6 1962, Lafeyette, IN, USA.) Slash (guitar. né: Saul Hudson, July 23, 1965, Stoke-on-Trent, England), and Izzy Stradlin (guitar. né: Jeffrey Isbell, b. April 8, 1962, Lafayette, IN, USA.)
1940     Gary Stites, vocals, b. UK.
1946     Percy L. Strother, vocals/guitar/harmonica, b. Vicksburg, MS, USA.
1947     L(akshiminarayana) Subramaniam, electric violin/violin, b. Madras, India. Subramaniam is a product of a musical family, -his father was a master Indian violinist, and his mother played the Indian vina. While still in India, he abandoned a career in medicine, and formed a violin trio with his two brothers In 1974, he toured America and Europe with Ravi Shankar and ex-Beatle George Harrison. In 1978, he cut his first fusion album in Copenhagen (Garland), and wrote material for Stu Goldberg and Larry Coryell. In the late 1970s, he settled in the Los Angeles area where he earned a doctorate in Western music at the California Institute of the Arts, and where he also taught South Indian music. In the 1980s, he led a group with Larry Coryell, George Duke, and Tom Scott and recorded several LPs for Milestone (including an interesting LP with with famed violinist Stephane Grappelli) Subramaniam has also written works for classical orchestras including a Violin Concerto with a score that included South Indian instruments and structures. In 1999, he recorded for the Erato Detour label, 'Global Fusion'.
1936     Emmett Sullivan, C&W, b. St. Stephens, AL, USA. d. April 10, 1993. né: Emmett Austin Sullivan. member: Sullivan Family
1950     Blair Thornton, guitar, Member group: 'Bachman-Turner Overdrive'
1901     Dock Walsh, Folk vocals, d. 1967. (Doctor Cable Walsh) member: Carolina Tar Heels.
1943     Tony Joe White, C&W singer/songwriter/guitar, b. Oak Grove, LA, USA. Composed "Steamy Windows" a UK No.13 single for Tina Turner.
1938     Annette Williams, vocals, b. Beeville, TX, USA. Member: 'The Blossoms'. Twin sisters.
1938     Nannette Williams, vocals, b. Beeville, TX, USA. Member: 'The Blossoms'
         Notable Events on this date include:
1931.    Jimmy Harrison, trombone, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 31. Worked with Bessie Smith
1960.    Prince Robinson, tenor sax, died in New York, NY, USA. Age: 58. Played with Lucky Millinder (1942-43) also Louis Armstrong (1940-42) Roy Eldridge (1938-40) and others.
1966.    Frank Sinatra's release of "Strangers in the Night" was the his first #1 LP since 1960.
1970.    Leith Stevens, composer, leader, piano died in Hollywood, California, USA, (b. Sept. 13, 1909, Mount Moriah, Missouri, USA)
1980.    Gary Cooke, guitar, died in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Age: 24. Worked with Sister Sledge
1987.    Art Jarrett, vocalist, leader, died in Los Angeles, CA, USA ( pneumonia ) (né: Arthur L. Jarrett, Jr.. b. July 20, 1907 New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA.)
1993.    "Big" Smokey Smothers, guitar, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 64
1993.    Preacher Stephens, vocals/tuba, died in Louisville, KY, USA. Age: 69. Worked with Johnny Wicks
1995.    Floyd Mcdaniel, guitar, died in Chicago, IL, USA. Age: 80
         Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
1923   "Oklahoma Indian Jazz", - The Benson Orch. of Chicago.
1923   "Bahama", - Art Kahn Orch.
1923   "A Kiss In The Dark", - Carl Fenton Orch.
1924   "Tell Me You Forgive Me", - Jack Shilkret Orch.
1926   "Play Gypsies, Dance Gypsies", - Carl Fenton Orch.
1926   "It's A Wonderful World", - Ernie Golden Orch.
1930   "In Memory of You", - Anglo-Persians Orch. (see Whittall
1931   "I Love Louisa", - Smith Ballew Orch and vocal.
1935   "I Wished On The Moon", - Lanny Ross vocal release.
1940   "Ferryboat Serenade", - Kay Kyser Orch.
1940   "Prince of Wails", - Bud Freeman and his Famous Chicagoans.
1940   "At The Jazz Band Ball", - Bud Freeman and his Famous Chicagoans.
1941   "Call It Anything, It's Love", - Will Bradley Orch.
194   1"Basin Street Boogie", - Will Bradley and His 6 Texas Hotdogs.
1942   "I Had The Craziest Dream", - Harry James Orch.
1942   "Where The Mountains Meet The Sky", - Horace Heidt Orch,. With Carmen McRae vocal.
1966   "Sunny", - Hebb, Bobby
1966   "Strangers In The Night", Frank Sinatra vocal (hit No. 1 on the Charts.)
1966   "Summer In The City", - The Lovin' Spoonful
1977   "Don't Stop", - Fleetwood Mac
1983   "Puttin' On The Ritz", - Taco
1988   "I'll Always Love You", - Taylor Dayne
1988   "Sweet Child O' Mine", - Guns N' Roses
1988   "Perfect World", - Lewis, Huey & The News
1988   "When It's Love", - Van Halen