Events in 1946
- John York Foley, bassist and guitarist known for his work with The Byrds, was born in White Plains, New York.
- American bassist Walter Powers III, who later played with The Velvet Underground, was born.
- Greg Leskiw, guitarist for The Guess Who, was born in Manitoba, Canada.
- British jazz and rock guitarist and composer Allan Holdsworth was born in Bradford, England. His work influenced, among others, Eddie Van Halen, Frank Zappa, Tom Morello and Joe Satriani.
- John Parry, trombonist with The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, was born.
- Mick Clarke, bassist and singer of The Rubettes, was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England.
- Michal Prokop was born. He became a singer and member of the band Framus Five.
- The bassist from Sly and the Family Stone was born in Beaumont, Texas.
- American composer, singer and lyricist Jimmy Webb was born.
- Gordon Fleet, drummer for The Easybeats, was born in Merseyside, England.
- Ralf Hütter, German musician, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer and co-founder of the electronic group Kraftwerk, was born in Krefeld, Germany. Kraftwerk are regarded as pioneers of electronic music, with major albums including “Autobahn”, “Trans-Europe Express”, “The Man-Machine” and “Computer World”. Their music combined electronic sounds with pop melodies, sparse arrangements and repetitive rhythms.
- Rock singer Jim Sohns of The Shadows Of Knight was born in Chicago, Illinois. The group was known for their popular 1966 cover version of “Gloria” by Them.
- English drummer Keith Moon was born in Wembley, London. After playing with the local group Beachcombers, he joined The Who in 1964 before their first single. With the group, he had the hit “My Generation” and more than 20 other Top 40 hits, as well as the US hit “I Can See For Miles” and the rock operas “Tommy” and “Quadrophenia”. He became famous for his wild lifestyle and died on September 7, 1978 after overdosing on Heminevrin, a drug intended to alleviate alcohol dependence.
- American singer and songwriter Valerie Simpson, one half of the songwriting and singing duo Ashford & Simpson, was born in New York. Together with Nick Ashford, she wrote songs including “Ain't No Mountain High Enough”, “You're All I Need To Get By”, “Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing” and “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)”.
- John Victory, a studio guitarist, was born.
- He was born in Douglas on the Isle of Man. He became known as a singer, songwriter and producer with the Bee Gees, which he founded with his brothers Robin and Maurice Gibb.