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.