Events in 1951
- Andrew Gold, the American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer best known for hits such as “Lonely Boy” and “Thank You for Being a Friend,” was born on August 2, 1951, in Burbank, California.
- Joe Lynn Turner, the American singer known for his work with Rainbow and Deep Purple, was born on August 2, 1951, in Hackensack, New Jersey.
- Johnny Graham, multi-instrumentalist with Earth, Wind & Fire, was born in Louisville, Kentucky.
- Roy Flowers, drummer with Sweet Sensation, was born in Kingston, Jamaica.
- Samantha Sang, born Cheryl Lau Sang, was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Northern Irish drummer Les Binks was born. He is best known as the drummer of Judas Priest from 1977 to 1979.
- Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Dan Fogelberg was born in Peoria, Illinois.
- Rock drummer Ric Parnell was born. He became known for his work with Atomic Rooster and for playing Mick Shrimpton in the film This Is Spinal Tap.
- Jazz and soul singer Bobby Caldwell was born.
- Nat King Cole recorded the original mono version of the song “Unforgettable” at Capitol Recording Studio in Hollywood. He re-recorded it in stereo in 1961, and this version was used in 1991 for an electronic duet with his daughter Natalie Cole.
- John Rees, bassist with Men at Work, was born.
- English musician and songwriter John Deacon was born in Oadby, Leicester, England. He became famous as the bassist of the rock group Queen. He was the last member to join the group and also its youngest member; he was only 19 when he joined. He wrote a number of Queen’s hit singles, including “You're My Best Friend”, “Spread Your Wings”, “I Want to Break Free” and the group’s best-selling single in the US, “Another One Bites the Dust”.
- English rock bassist and singer Glenn Hughes was born in Cannock, Staffordshire. He became known for his work with the bands Trapeze and Deep Purple and also briefly as the singer of Black Sabbath.
- American rock singer Jimi Jamison was born in Durant, Mississippi. He became famous as the frontman of Survivor, Target and Cobra. With Survivor, he had the 1982 US and UK number-one single “Eye of the Tiger” and was also the voice and co-writer of the title song for the “Baywatch” TV series.
- Mark Hudson, a founding member of the sibling musical group The Hudson Brothers, was born in Portland, Oregon. He also co-wrote several songs for Aerosmith, including the 1993 hit “Livin' On The Edge”.
- Danny Joe Brown, singer, multi-instrumentalist and lead vocalist of Molly Hatchet, was born in Jacksonville, Florida.
- Michael Derosier, Canadian drummer and former member of the American rock band Heart, was born.
- James Warren, bassist, singer, guitarist and keyboardist of British group The Korgis, was born. The group had the 1980 hit “Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime”, which reached number five in the UK and number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- English singer and songwriter Robert “Rob” Halford was born in Sutton Coldfield, England. He became known as frontman and lead singer of heavy metal band Judas Priest and also performed with the projects Fight, 2wo and Halford.
- Kevin Kavanaugh, a member of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, was born. The band released the album “Hearts Of Stone” in 1978 and later more than ten other albums.
- American musician and songwriter David “Dave” Hlubek was born in Jacksonville, Florida. He was a founding member and lead guitarist of the rock band Molly Hatchet.
- American drummer and session musician Dennis Davis was born. He became best known for his work with David Bowie, with whom he recorded ten albums, including seven consecutive studio albums from Bowie’s classic mid-to-late 1970s period, and contributed to a number of hit singles including “Fame”. He also recorded with Stevie Wonder and Iggy Pop.
- Wayne Osmond, singer, guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist, was born in Ogden, Utah. He became famous as a member of the American family music group The Osmonds, which had the US No. 1 single “One Bad Apple” in 1971, the 1974 hit “Crazy Horses”, and the UK No. 1 single “Love Me for a Reason” in the same year. The Osmonds sold more than 75 million records worldwide.
- Dana Rosemary Scallon, born Rosemary Brown, was born in London, England. In 1970, she won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland with “All Kinds of Everything”, which reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart.
- English violinist and keyboardist Mik Kaminski was born in Harrogate. He became best known as a member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra.
- Frank Sinatra performed in Las Vegas for the first time, appearing at the Desert Inn hotel and casino. By 1959, he had become one of the city's major attractions with the Rat Pack.
- Martin Chambers, drummer and founding member of the rock band The Pretenders, was born in Hereford, England. The group had the UK number-one single “Brass in Pocket” in 1980 and the US number-five single “Back on the Chain Gang” in 1983.
- American drummer and percussionist Jamie Oldaker was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He played on Eric Clapton's album 461 Ocean Boulevard, among many other recordings.
- An American-British musician was born in Akron, Ohio, best known as a founding member, lead singer, and frontwoman of the band The Pretenders. In 1980, The Pretenders had a UK No. 1 single with “Brass in Pocket,” and Hynde also released solo recordings.
- Canadian musician Brian Greenway, a longtime member of the rock band April Wine, was born.
- Sting, born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, was born in Wallsend, Northumberland, England. He got his nickname from a yellow-and-black striped sweater that made him resemble a bee. Before The Police became famous, he worked as a teacher. With The Police, he had, among other successes, the British and U.S. No. 1 hit “Every Breath You Take,” and during his career he won 16 Grammy Awards both as a member of The Police and as a solo musician.
- Irish singer, songwriter, actor, and political activist Bob Geldof was born in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin. He became famous as frontman of The Boomtown Rats with the hit “I Don't Like Mondays” and as the driving force behind Band Aid and the Live Aid and Live 8 concerts.
- Gavin Sutherland, bassist and vocalist of the Scottish folk-rock duo The Sutherland Brothers, was born in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
- American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist Kevin Cronin, lead singer of REO Speedwagon, was born in Evanston, Illinois.
- American singer, songwriter, and guitarist John Mellencamp, also known as John Cougar and John Cougar Mellencamp, was born in Seymour, Indiana. He was born with spina bifida and underwent experimental surgery as a child at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis that saved his life. In 1982, he had the US No. 1 hit “Jack and Diane” and the album American Fool.
- American guitarist Keith Grimes, who worked with singer Eva Cassidy, was born on October 10, 1951. After her death, Eva Cassidy became known for three albums that reached number one on the UK chart: Songbird, Imagine and American Tune.
- Singer, songwriter and music producer Jean-Jacques Goldman was born in France. Following Johnny Hallyday's death in 2017, he became France's highest-earning living pop-rock artist. In 1997, he received a Grammy Award for Album of the Year as a co-writer of three songs on Céline Dion's album Falling into You.
- American guitarist, singer, and songwriter Donnie Dacus is born. He played with Chicago and worked with artists including Billy Joel, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Neil Young, and John Lennon.