BIRTHDAYS
1896     Billy Austin, songwriter, b. Denver, CO, USA.
1953     Phil Alvin, vocals/guitar, b. Downey, CA, USA. Member group: 'The Blasters'
1970     "Betty Boo", vocals, b. Kensington, London, England. née: Alison Clarkson. This half-Malaysian, half-Scottish singer was originally called 'Betty Boop', after the comic strip heroine. She became 'Betty Boo' when lawyers representing the "Betty Boop" trademark objected to her use of the name.
1935     Ronnie Boykins, Bass/tuba/sousaphone/vocal/viola/dutar, b. Chicago, IL, USA. d. April 20, 1980. (Some sources give Dec. 17, 1935 for birthdate.) (Note: The dutar is a two string pear-shaped long-necked lute from western China, played by the Uighur and Uzbek people of Xinjiang Province, as accompaniment to their singing and dancing.)
1941     Peter Brotzmann, Tenor Sax/clarinet/taragato, , b. Remscheid, Germany. (NOTE: The taragato is a soprano- sax shaped reed instrument.)
1916     George "Red" Callendar, Bass/Tuba, b. Haynesville, VA, USA. d. March 8, 1992 (some sources say b. 1918, and d. May 8)
1925     Jean Chapel, (C&W) singer-songwriter, b. Neon, KY, USA.
1909     Dave Clark, promoter/songwriter, b. Jackson, TN, USA.
1947     Kiki Dee, vocals. b. Bradford, Yorkshire, England. née: Pauline Matthews. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", "Amoureuse", "(You Don't Know) How Glad I Am", "Star"
1915     Benny De Weille, Clarinet/bandleader, b. Lubeck, Germany, d. Dec. 17, 1977.
1937     Douglas Flint Dillard, C&W Banjo/Guitar/Vocals, b. East St. Louis, Illinois, USA. Member group: 'The Dillards'. Formed 1962 with original members: Doug Dillard, Rodney Dillard (Rodney Adean Dillard, Guitar, Dobro, Vocals, b. May 18, 1942, East St. Louis, Illinois, USA), Mitch Jayne (Mitchell Jayne Dean, Bass, Vocals, b.July 5, 1930, Hammond, Indiana, USA), and Dean Webb (Roy Dean Webb, Mandolin, Vocals b. March 28, 1937, Independence, Missouri, USA)
1964     'Skip' Ewing, C&W singer-songwriter, b. Redlands, CA, USA. né: Donald Ralph Ewing
1944     Dave Gilmour, Guitar/vocals, b. Cambridge, England. Member group: 'Pink Floyd'
1938     (Prof. Dr.) Dieter Glawischnig, piano/keyboards/trombone/conductor, b. Hamburg, Germany.
1947     Eric Kamau Gravatt, drums. Among the musicians with whom Gravatt has played are Sonny Fortune, Joe Zawinul, Woody Shawn McCoy Tyner, Miroslav Vitous, Wayne Shorter, Sam Rivers, Airto Moreria, Weather Report, Dom Um Romao, and others.
1926     Alan Greenspan, Sax/bass Clar/flute, Alan attended Juilliard School of Music in NYC. Joined Henry Jerome Orch., in early 1940s, remaining with the band for about a year.. Leonard Garment was the band's manager. After leaving the Jerome orch., Alan went on to graduate Summa Cum Laude from New York University's School of Economics. He got his Master's Degree in Economics from NYU in 1949, and later received his Doctorate in Economics from Columbia University. Later, band manager Leonard Garment became President Richard Nixon's Law Partner, and it was Leonard who recommended his friend Alan Greenspan to Nixon. Nixon nominated Greenspan to be the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Curiously, Nixon was forced to resign before Greenspan's nomination was approved. When President Gerald Ford took over, he could have withdrawn Greenspan's name from the nomination, but didn't, and the two became close friends. Greenspan is now known the world over as an economist, and former chairperson: U.S. Federal Reserve Board, - he retired Feb. 2006, and his place was taken by Dr. Ben Bernanke.
1945     Hugh Birch Grundy, drums, b. Winchester, England. Member group: 'The Zombies'
1909     Floyd "Salty" Holmes, Guitar/Harmonica/Jug, b. Glasgow, KY, USA. Member: "The Prarie Ramblers," formed 1930’s with original members: "Salty" Holmes, "Chick" Hurt ( Charles Hurt, Mandolin, Mandola, Tenor Banjo, b. Willowshade, Kentucky, USA), Jack Taylor ( Guitar, b. Summershade, Kentucky, USA) and "Tex" Atchison ( Shelby David Atchison, Fiddle, Vocals, b. Rosine, Kentucky, USA)
1929     Percy Jackson Jr., vocals, b. St. Louis, MO, USA.
1934     Bob January, Leader/Reeds, b. York, PA, USA, d. Oct. 27, 2006, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. (pneumonia and diabetes related problems)
1953     Larry Jones, drums, b. Chicago, IL, USA.
1942     Robin Kenyatta, Alto Sax, b. Monck's Corner, SC, USA. d. Oct. 26, 2004, Lausanne, Switzerland.
1893     Walter "Furry" Lewis, guitar/vocals, b. Greenwood, MI, USA. d. Sept. 14, 1981, Memphis, TN, USA. Sadly, "Furry" lost a leg while 'hitching' a ride on a freight train. In Chicago, IL, 1927, he recorded for the first time (Vocalion label), along with guitarist Landers Walters and mandolin player Charles Johnson. He seems to have dropped from sight until 1959, when Vocalion released his first Album, after his his "discovery" by Sam Charters. 1963 found him appearing at some Folk festivals with Gus Cannon and Willie Borum, both fellow veterans of the 1920's and 30's Memphis scene,. Starting in 1968, he produced six albums over an eighteen month period. In 1972, a trio called 'The Alabama State Troupers' released the live album "Road Show". In 1975, Furry was seen in the film 'W.W and the Dixie Dance Kings', starring Burt Reynolds. In 1976, singer Joni Mitchell met Furry, and soon afterwards recorded the song 'Furry Sings the Blues'. "Furry" was 88 when he died in 1981.
1913     Ella Logan, Actress/Vocals, b. Glasgow, Scotland, d. May 1, 1969, Burlingame, CA. (Cancer) née: Ina Allan. She Married Fred Finkelhoff in 1951 and Divorced him in 1956. C'est La Guerre!
1918     Howard McGhee, Trumpet, b. Tulsa, OK, USA. d. July 17, 1987, New York, NY, USA. .
1941     Palle Mikkelborg, Trumpet, b. Copenhagen, Denmark
1943     Dom Minasi, guitar, b. New York, NY, USA.
1925     "Wes" Montgomery, Jazz Guitar, b. Indianapolis, IN, USA. d. June 15, 1968. né: John Leslie Montgomery. (some sources say b. 1923)
1939     Jerry Naylor, vocals, b. Stephenville, TX, USA. Member group: 'The Crickets'
1942     Flora Purim, Vocal, b. Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
1936     Sylvia Robinson, vocals, b. NJ, USA. Member group: 'Mickey and Sylvia'.
1934     Bill Root, Tenor-baritone sax/flute, b. Philadelphia, PA, USA.
1922     Carl Sauceman, (Bluegrass) vocals/Guitar/Bass, b. Green County, Tennessee, USA. né: James Carl Sauceman. Member: 'The Sauceman Brothers'. Carl Sauceman, working with his brother John Paul ("J.P." 1926-1984), were among the early Bluegrass music pioneers.
1934     "Red" Simpson, (C&W) Singer-Songwriter/Guitar/Fiddle/Piano, b. Higley, AZ, USA. né: Joseph Cecil Simpson
1914     Thurmon Ruth, vocals, b. Pomaria, SC, USA. Member: 'Selah Jubilee Singers'
1948     Stephen Schwartz, composer
1940     Charles Tolliver, Trumpet, b. Jacksonville, FL, USA. (some sources say b. 1942)
1936     Sylvia Vanderpool, vocals, b. New York, NY, USA. . Member: 'Mickey & Sylvia'
1938     Lovelace Watkins, vocals, b. New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
1905     Bob Wills, Fiddle/Vocal/Leader, b. (near) Kosse, TX, USA. d. May 13, 1975, Fort Worth, TX, USA. né: James Robert Wills. His first fame was as part of the "Light Crust Doughboys" (The Original 'Western Swing' band).
1944     Mary Wilson, vocals, b. Greenville, MS, USA. Member group: 'The Supremes'

  Notable Events occuring this date include:
1808.    America's first college orchestra founded, - at Harvard University (Cambridge, MA.)
1913.    A San Francisco newspaper used the word "jazz"; perhaps for the first time in print.
1980.    Bobby Jones, tenor sax, died in Munich, Germany. Age: 51
1987.    Eddie Durham, trombone/guitar/arranger, died in New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA. Age: 80
1988.    Mattie Johnson, vocals (with 'The Stars Of Faith'), died in Washington, DC, USA.
1994.    Moses Rascoe, guitar, died in Lebanon, PA, USA. Age: 76
1995.    Delroy Wilson, vocals, died in Kingston, Jamaica. Age: 46

  Songs Recorded/Released this date include:
     1941"The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise", Les Hite Orch. recorded (Bluebird Rec.)as instrumental. 10 years later, Les Paul and Mary Ford added lyric and it became one of their biggest hits.
     1942   "Blues In The Night", Cab Calloway Orch.
     1942   "Deep In The Heart Of Texas", Horace Heidt Orch.
     1961   "Asia Minor", Kokomo
     1962    "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues", Frank Sinatra'a last recording for Capitol Records. with Skip Martin's orch..
     1965   "Red Roses For A Blue Lady", Vic Dana
     1965   "Shotgun", Walker, Jr. & The All Stars
     1965   "Stop! In The Name Of Love", Supremes
     1971   "What Is Life", George Harrison
     1971   "What's Going On", Marvin Gaye
     1976   "Let Your Love Flow", Bellamy Brothers
     1976   "Disco Lady", Johnnie Taylor
     1982   "Freeze-Frame", J. Geils
     1993   "I Have Nothing", Whitney Houston
     1993   "I'm So Into You", SWV
     1993   "Love Is", Vanessa Williams
     1993   "Cat's In The Cradle", Ugly Kid Joe