Music History

Actress and singer Connie Stevens was born in Brooklyn, New York. In 1960, she had the hit "Sixteen Reasons", which reached No. 3.

David Cortez Clowney was born in Detroit, Michigan, later becoming known as Dave “Baby” Cortez.

Musician and founding member of the rock 'n' roll group Sha Na Na was born.

R&B and pop singer and actress Ketty Lester, best known for the 1962 hit "Love Letters", was born in Hope, Arkansas.

American blues musician Robert Johnson died at the age of 27, probably poisoned near Greenwood, Mississippi. His recordings from 1936–1937 influenced generations of musicians.

Singer and songwriter Ernie Maresca, the writer of several hits by Dion, was born in the Bronx, New York.

Country and pop singer, songwriter and producer Kenny Rogers was born in Houston, Texas. His best-known song “The Gambler” was released when he was 40 years old.

Lyricist and producer Roger Greenaway was born in Fishponds, Bristol, Gloucestershire. He was a member of David & Jonathan and The Kestrels and became known for his songwriting partnership with Roger Cook on songs including “My Baby Loves Lovin'”, “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress”, “Gasoline Alley Bred”, “You've Got Your Troubles”, “Melting Pot”, “Good Morning Freedom”, “Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart” and “I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)”, which originally originated as a Coca-Cola advertising slogan.

American multi-instrumentalist and singer David Freiberg was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He became known as a bassist and member of Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.

Mason Williams was born in Abilene, Texas. In addition to working as a comedy writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and Saturday Night Live, he also worked as a guitarist and composer.

English drummer Brian John Duffy, known as Jet Black, was born in Ilford, England. He was one of the founding members of The Stranglers, who achieved major mainstream success, including with the 1982 single “Golden Brown”.

Teen idol Jimmy Clanton was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He became known for the swamp pop and R&B hits “Just a Dream” from 1958 and “Venus in Blue Jeans” from 1962.

Blues guitarist Earl Wade was born.

American blues, rock, and folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist Nick Gravenites was born. He was known for his work with Electric Flag, Janis Joplin, and Mike Bloomfield. He wrote several songs for Joplin, including “Work Me, Lord,” and produced the hit “One Toke Over the Line” for Brewer & Shipley and the album “Right Place, Wrong Time” for Otis Rush, for which he was nominated for a Grammy.

American rock 'n' roll and rockabilly singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota. He became famous for songs including “Twenty Flight Rock,” “C’mon Everybody” and “Summertime Blues,” which reached No. 8 in the US in 1958; in 1960, “Three Steps To Heaven” reached No. 1 in Britain. He experimented with multitrack recording, distortion and overdubbing as early as his first singles and played guitar, piano, bass and drums. He died on April 17, 1960, at the age of 21 in a car accident while touring in Britain; songwriter Sharon Sheeley and singer Gene Vincent were also in the car and survived the crash.

American country singer and guitarist Johnny Duncan was born in Dublin, Texas. During his career he released 14 studio albums and had more than 30 charting singles, three of which reached No. 1.

At the age of 16, Judy Garland recorded “Over the Rainbow” on the MGM soundstage in Beverly Hills for the film The Wizard of Oz. The recording was made on October 7, 1938, and became the basis for the later film version; the commercial studio recording for Decca was not made until 1939.

Bill Monroe made his Grand Ole Opry debut.

Jean King, an American singer with The Blossoms, is born. The group was produced by Phil Spector. She also sang with Ray Charles’s backing group the Raelettes and worked as a backing vocalist with other well-known artists.

Jimmie Nicol, the English drummer best known for temporarily replacing Ringo Starr during The Beatles’ 1964 world tour, was born in London.

Frankie Ford, the American rock 'n' roll and R&B singer best known for the hit “Sea Cruise,” was born in Gretna, Louisiana.

American soul singer, songwriter, producer and arranger William Nelson “Sonny” Sanders was born in Chicago, Illinois. In 1957, he founded The Satintones, the first vocal group to sign with Motown Records.

Americký R&B a popový zpěvák Rolan Webster Holden se narodil v Seattlu ve Washingtonu. Proslavil se hitem „Love You So“ z roku 1960.

Phil Balsley, baritone singer with The Statler Brothers, was born in Staunton, Virginia.

Billy Henderson, a founding member and vocalist of the American rhythm and blues vocal group The Spinners, was born in Detroit, Michigan.

Rockabilly guitarist Ronnie Dawson was born in Dallas, Texas. He made a name for himself on the local scene in the 1950s and 1960s and gained wider attention during the rockabilly revival of the 1990s.

The musical film The Wizard of Oz premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood after several changes of directors, scripts and cast. The film helped make Judy Garland's song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” famous.

English-Australian drummer Snowy Fleet, a member of The Easybeats, was born in Liverpool.

The film The Wizard of Oz premiered in New York. Judy Garland became famous through the film, notably for the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.

Rock'n'roll singer Johnny Preston was born in Port Arthur, Texas. He was best known for his hit “Running Bear.”

American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and producer Maxine Brown was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. She became known for the hits “All in My Mind” and “Funny.”

English drummer, singer, songwriter and music producer Peter Edward “Ginger” Baker was born in Lewisham, South London, England. He became famous as co-founder of the rock group Cream, which had the UK number 11 single “I Feel Free” in 1966. He was also a member of Graham Bond Organisation, Blind Faith and Ginger Baker’s Airforce and became known for working with world music musicians, particularly for incorporating African influences. He also worked with Gary Moore, Hawkwind and Public Image Ltd.

The Dick Jurgens Orchestra recorded “Day Dreams Come True at Night”.

Orrin Tucker recorded the song “Oh, Johnny, Oh, Johnny, Oh!”.

Country singer Harold Reid of The Statler Brothers was born in Staunton, Virginia. He co-wrote many of the group's hits, including “Bed of Rose's” and “Do You Know You Are My Sunshine”.

American doo-wop singer Fred Milano was born in the Bronx, New York. He became best known as a member of the vocal trio Dion and the Belmonts.

Doo-wop singer Fred Milano of The Belmonts was born in New York City. The group's name was inspired by Belmont Avenue in the Bronx, where he grew up.

The radio program “Arch Oboler's Plays” was first presented by NBC Symphony.

Opera tenor Allan Jones recorded the song “I'm Falling in Love with Someone”.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, he was a singer and member of Gladys Knight & the Pips. He joined the group in 1959 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside the group in 1996.

John Peel, British radio DJ, journalist and television presenter, was born John Robert Parker Ravenscroft. He was the longest-serving presenter on BBC Radio 1 and one of the most influential British DJs. He was among the first presenters to play psychedelic and progressive rock on British radio and was known for supporting artists from many genres including pop, reggae, indie rock, alternative rock, punk, hardcore punk, breakcore, grindcore, death metal, British hip hop and dance music. Peel died of a heart attack in Cusco, Peru, on October 25, 2004, at the age of 65.

Frank Sinatra recorded "All or Nothing at All" with the Harry James Orchestra, one of his first major hits.

Jerry Allison, drummer of American rock and roll band The Crickets, was born in Hillsboro, Texas. He co-wrote Buddy Holly's hits "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue". The group had the U.S. No. 1 single "That'll Be the Day" in 1957 and the British No. 1 single "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" in 1959.

Bobby Purify, whose real name was Ben Moore, the singer of the American R&B duo James & Bobby Purify, was born. In 1976, the duo had the American hit “I'm Your Puppet” at number six and the British hit at number 12.

One half of the R&B vocal duo James & Bobby Purify was born in Tallahassee, Florida.

American singer and songwriter John Stewart was born in San Diego. He became known as a member of The Kingston Trio and as the writer of The Monkees' hit “Daydream Believer,” which reached number one on the chart.

David Allan Coe, an American country singer and songwriter, was born.