Dr. Rock's Blog & Roll

Happy Birthday this week to:

Apr 18
1924 ● Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown → Electric blues guitarist, "Okie Dokie Stomp" (1954)
1939 ● Glen D. Hardin → The Crickets
1941 ● Mike Vickers → Manfred Mann, film score composer
1946 ● Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence → Quicksilver Messenger Service, Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane
1946 ● Lonnie Baker → Sha Na Na
1958 ● Les Pattinson → Echo & The Bunnymen
1970 ● Greg Eklund → Everclear

Apr 19
1928 ● Alexis Korner → Blues Incorporated, Rocket 88
1934 ● Dickie Goodman → Buchanan & Goodman
1942 ● Alan Price → The Animals
1943 ● Eve Graham (Evelyn Mae Beatson) → New Seekers
1946 ● Tim Curry → Singer, actor, Rocky Horror Picture Show
1947 ● Mark Volman → Turtles, Flo and Eddie, Mothers of Invention
1956 ● Rod Morgenstein → Winger

Apr 20
1929 ● Bob Braun → Pop-rock, "Till Death Do Us Part" (1962)
1939 ● Johnny Tillotson → Pop-rock, "Poetry In Motion" (1961)
1945 ● Jimmy Winston → Small Faces
1948 ● Craig Frost → Grand Funk Railroad, Silver Bullet Band
1951 ● Luther Vandross → R&B/soul producer, singer, "Stop To Love" (1986)

Apr 21
1939 ● Ernie Maresca → "Shout Shout (Knock Yourself Out)" (1962)
1947 ● Iggy Pop (James Osterberg) → The Stooges
1947 ● John Weider → The Animals, solo
1948 ● Paul Davis → Pop-rock, "I Go Crazy" (1977)
1959 ● Michael Timmins → Cowboy Junkies
1959 ● Robert Smith → Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Cure
1963 ● Johnny McElhone → Texas

Apr 22
1922 ● Charles Mingus → Jazz bassist, composer
1936 ● Glen Campbell → Country star, "Wichita Lineman" (1968)
1937 ● Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche → Producer, arranger, songwriter "The Lonely Surfer" (1963)
1950 ● Peter Frampton → Humble Pie, Frampton's Camel, solo
1951 ● Paul Carrack → Squeeze, Ace, Roxy Music, Mike + The Mechanics
1955 ● Arthur Baker → Hip-hop producer
1966 ● Kimberley Dahme → Boston, producer
1969 ● Craig Loman → Bros
1979 ● Daniel Johns → Silverchair

Apr 23
1936 ● Roy Orbison → "(Oh) Pretty Woman" (1964)
1939 ● Ray Peterson → Pop-rock, "Tell Laura I Love Her" (1960)
1944 ● Sandra Dee (Alexandra Zuck) → Actress, singer, wife of Bobby Darin
1952 ● Narada Michael Walden → Mahavishnu Orchestra, solo, songwriter
1960 ● Steve Clark → Def Leppard
1964 ● Gen (Simon Matthews) → Jesus Jones
1969 ● Stan Frazier → Sugar Ray

Apr 24
1933 ● Freddie Scott → R&B/soul singer, "Are You Lonely For Me" (1966)
1940 ● George Tomsco → Tex-Mex guitar, The Fireballs, "Torquay" (1960)
1942 ● Barbra Streisand → Stage, film, pop vocalist
1945 ● Doug Clifford → Creedence Clearwater Revival
1945 ● Robert Knight → R&B/soul singer, "Everlasting Love" (1965)
1947 ● Glenn Cornick → Jethro Tull, Wild Turkey, Paris
1947 ● Hubert Ann Kelly → Hues Corporation, "Rock The Boat" (1974)
1954 ● Jack Blades → Night Ranger, Damn Yankees
1955 ● Gary Cambra → Tubes
1957 ● David J. (Haskins) → Love & Rockets
1958 ● Boris Williams → The Cure
1963 ● Billy Gould → Faith No More
1967 ● Patty Schemel → Hole
1968 ● Aaron Comess → Spin Doctors
1982 ● Kelly Clarkson → American Idol, "Since U Been Gone" (2005)

Labels: folk artist, pop artist, pop-rock artist, R and B artist, rock artist, soul artist, This Week's Birthdays

Happy Birthday this week to:

Apr 11
1943 ● Tony Victor → The Classics
1956 ● Neville Staples → Fun Boy 3
1958 ● Stuart Adamson → Big Country
1965 ● Nigel Pulsford → Bush
1966 ● Lisa Stansfield → "All Around The World" (1989)
1970 ● Delroy Pearson → 5 Star
1970 ● Dylan Keefe → Marcy Playground

Apr 12
1930 ● Carole Lindsay → Kaye Sisters
1933 ● Tiny Tim (Herbert Khaury) → "Tiptoe Through The Tulips" (1968)
1940 ● Herbie Hancock → Jazz fusion, "Chameleon" (1973)
1944 ● John Kay → Steppenwolf
1950 ● David Cassidy → Actor, singer, The Partridge Family
1951 ● Alexander Briley → Village People
1956 ● Herbert Grönemeyer → Actor, German rocker
1957 ● Vince Gill → Pure Prairie League, country star
1958 ● Will Sergeant → Echo & The Bunnymen
1962 ● Art Alexakis → Everclear
1964 ● Amy Ray → Indigo Girls
1970 ● Nicholas Lofton Hexum → 311

Apr 13
1934 ● Horace Kay → The Tams
1936 ● Richard Timothy "Rashad" Feild → The Springfields, spiritual teacher
1940 ● Lester Chambers → Chambers Brothers
1944 ● Brian Pendleton → Pretty Things
1944 ● John William "Jack" Casady → Jefferson Airplane/Starship, Hot Tuna
1945 ● Lowell George → Little Feat, solo
1946 ● Al Green (Albert Greene)→ Southern R&B, "Call Me" (1973)
1946 ● Roy Loney → Flamin' Groovies, solo
1951 ● Max Weinberg → E Street Band, Max Weinberg 7
1951 ● Robert Peabo Bryson → R&B duets, "Tonight I Celebrate My Love" (1983)
1954 ● Jimmy Destri → Blondie
1955 ● Louis Johnson → Brothers Johnson
1957 ● Wayne Lewis → Atlantic Starr
1959 ● Kim McAuliffe → Painted Lady, Girlschool
1966 ● Marc Ford → Black Crowes, solo
1972 ● Aaron Lewis → Staind
1975 ● Lou Bega (David Lubega) → Latino, "Mambo No. 5" (1999)

Apr 14
1935 ● Loretta Lynn (Webb) → Country star, "Coal Miner's Daughter" (1970)
1945 ● Ritchie Blackmore → Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmore's Night
1946 ● Patrick Fairley (Fairlie) → Marmalade
1962 ● Joey Pesce → ’Til Tuesday
1969 ● Martyn Le Noble → Porno For Pyros
1974 ● DaBrat (Shawta Harris) → Urban rapper

Apr 15
1894 ● Bessie Smith → The "Empress of the Blues"
1933 ● Roy Clark → Country star, "Thank You God And Greyhound" (1970)
1939 ● Marty Wilde (Reginald Leonard Smith) → Early Brit rocker, "Bad Boy" (1959), father of Kim
1944 ● Dave Edmunds → Roots-rocker, "I Hear You Knock'" (1970)
1947 ● Stuart "Wooly" Wolstenholme → Barclay James Harvest
1966 ● Graeme Clark → Wet Wet Wet, "Love Is All Around" (1994)
1966 ● Samantha Fox → "Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)" (1987)
1968 ● Ed O’Brien → Radiohead


Apr 16
1924 ● Henry Mancini → Composer, conductor, "Moon River" (1961)
1929 ● Roy Hamilton → 50s R&B-pop, "Unchained Melody" (1954)
1930 ● Herbie Mann (Herbert Jay Solomon) → Jazz-pop flautist, "Hijack" (1975)
1935 ● Stanley Robert "Bobby" Vinton → Pop-rock crooner, "Blue Velvet" (1963)
1939 ● Dusty Springfield (Mary Isabel O'Brien) → Pop-soul diva, "Son Of A Preacher Man" (1969)
1943 ● "Lonesome" Dave Peverett → Savoy Brown, Foghat
1945 ● Stefan Grossman → Folk-blues guitar, The Fugs, solo
1947 ● Gerry Rafferty → Stealers Wheel, solo, "Baker Street" (1978)
1947 ● Lee "The Bear" Kerslake → Uriah Heep, Blizzard of Ozz
1963 ● Jimmy Osmond → The Osmonds
1963 ● Nick Berry → Brit actor, singer, "Every Loser Wins" (1986)
1964 ● David Pirner → Soul Asylum, solo

Apr 17
1934 ● Don Kirshner → Band manager, music publisher, concert promoter
1936 ● Alexander "Pete" Graves → The Moonglows, "Sincerely" (1954)
1940 ● Billy Fury (Ronald Wycherley) → Early Brit rocker, "Halfway To Paradise"" (1961)
1942 ● Shelly Buchansky → Vito & The Salutations
1943 ● Roy Estrada → Captain Beefheart, Mothers of Invention, Little Feat
1948 ● Jan Hammer → Jazz-rock fusion, "Miami Vice Theme" (1985)
1954 ● Michael Sembello → Producer, composer, "Maniac" (1983)
1955 ● Pete Shelley (McNeish) → Buzzcocks, solo
1957 ● Afrika Bambaataa (Kevin Donovan) → Hip-hop artist, spiritual leader
1964 ● Maynard James Keenan → Tool, A Perfect Circle
1967 ● Liz Phair → Indie pop-rocker, "Supernova" (1994)
1974 ● Victoria "Posh Spice" Adams → Spice Girls

Labels: birthdays, blues-rock artist, country-rock artist, folk-rock artist, pop-rock artist, R and B artist, rock artist, Rock birthdays, This Week's Birthdays

Happy Birthday this week to:

Apr 04
1915 ● Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield) → Blues giant, "Baby Please Don't Go" (1960)
1936 ● Margo Sylvia → Tune Weavers
1941 ● Major Lance → Chicago soul, "The Monkey Time" (1963)
1946 ● Dave Hill → Slade
1948 ● Berry Oakley → Allman Brothers Band
1948 ● Pick Withers → Dire Straits
1951 ● Graeme Kelling → Deacon Blue
1951 ● Peter Haycock → Climax Blues Band
1952 ● Gary Moore → Skid Row, Thin Lizzy
1962 ● Craig Adams → The Cult
1964 ● Kid (Christopher Reid) → Kid 'N Play
1966 ● Mike Starr → Alice In Chains
1972 ● Jill Scott → R&B/soul, "A Long Walk" (2001)
1972 ● Magnus Sveningsson → The Cardigans
1973 ● Kelly Price → R&B/soul
1974 ● Andre Dalyrimple → Soul For Real, "Candy Rain" (1995)

Apr 05
1928 ● Tony Williams → The Platters
1939 ● Ronnie White → The Miracles
1941 ● Dave Swarbrick → Fairport Convention
1942 ● Allan Clarke → The Hollies
1944 ● Crispian St. Peters (Robin Peter Smith) → "The Pied Piper" (1966)
1944 ● Nicholas Caldwell → The Whispers, "And The Beat Goes On" (1980)
1950 ● Agnetha "Anna" Faltskog-Ulvaeus → ABBA
1951 ● Everett Morton → English Beat
1966 ● Mike McCready → Pearl Jam
1968 ● Paula Cole → "Where Have All The Cowboys Gone" (1996)

Apr 06
1927 ● Merle Haggard → "Mama Tried" (1968)
1944 ● John Stax → The Pretty Things
1945 ● Bob Marley → Reggae giant, "I Shot The Sheriff" (1973)
1947 ● Tony Connor → Hot Chocolate
1951 ● Ralph Cooper → Air Supply
1953 ● Christopher Franke → Tangerine Dream

Apr 07
1908 ● Percy Faith → "The Theme From A Summer Place" (1960)
1915 ● Billie Holiday (Eleanor Fagan Gough) → Jazz-blues singer
1920 ● Ravi Shankar → Sitarist, father of Norah Jones
1922 ● Ramon "Mongo" Santamaria → Latin-jazz bandleader, "Afro Blue" (1959)
1935 ● Bobby Bare → Country, "Four Strong Winds" (1964)
1937 ● Charlie Thomas → The Five Crowns, The Drifters
1938 ● Freddie Hubbard → Jazz trumpeteer
1938 ● Spencer Dryden → Jefferson Airplane, New Riders of the Purple Sage
1943 ● Mick Abrahams → Jethro Tull, Bloodwyn Pig
1946 ● Bill Kreutzmann → Grateful Dead
1947 ● Patricia Bennett → The Chiffons
1949 ● John Oates → Hall & Oates
1951 ● Bruce Gary → The Knack, "My Sharona" (1979)
1951 ● Janis Ian (Janis Eddy Fink) → "At Seventeen" (1975)

Apr 08
1941 ● J.J. Jackson (Jerome Louis Jackson) → R&B/soul, "But It's Alright" (1966)
1942 ● Roger "Chappo" Chapman → Family, Streetwalkers
1947 ● Steve Howe → Yes, Asia
1948 ● Phil Wright → Sons And Lovers, Paper Lace
1962 ● Izzy Stradlin (Jeffrey Isbell) → Guns N’ Roses
1963 ● Julian Lennon → "Too Late For Goodbyes" (1984)
1964 ● Biz Markie (Marcel Theo Hall) → Rapper, "Just A Friend" (1989)
1975 ● Anouk Teeuwe → Dutch pop-rock, "Nobody's Wife" (1997)

Apr 09
1932 ● Carl Perkins → King of Rockabilly, "Blue Suede Shoes" (1955)
1943 ● Terry Knight → DJ, producer, Grand Funk Railroad
1944 ● Emil Stucchio → The Classics, "Till Then" (1963)
1944 ● Gene Parsons → Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, solo
1948 ● David Allen "Chico" Ryan → Sha Na Na
1969 ● Kevin Martin → Candlebox
1987 ● Jesse McCartney → Dream Street, solo

Apr 10
1932 ● Nathaniel "Nate" Nelson → Flamingos, "I Only Have Eyes For You" (1959)
1936 ● Bobbie Smith → Spinners, "I'll Be Around" (1972)
1947 ● Bunny Wailer (Neville O'Reilly Livingston) → The Wailers
1948 ● Fred Smith → Blondie, Television
1950 ● "Lonesome Dave" Peverett → Foghat, Savoy Brown
1957 ● Steve Gustafson → 10,000 Maniacs
1959 ● Babyface (Kenneth Edmonds) → R&B, "It's No Crime" (1989)
1959 ● Brian Setzer → Stray Cats, Brian Setzer Orchestra
1970 ● Kenny Lattimore → R&B singer, "For You" (1997)
1970 ● Mike Mushok → Staind
1980 ● Bryce Soderberg → Lifehouse, "You And Me" (2005)
1984 ● Mandy Moore → Teen pop, "I Wanna Be With You" (2000)

Labels: birthdays, folk artist, folk-rock artist, pop artist, pop-rock artist, R and B artist, rock artist, Rock birthdays, soul artist, This Week's Birthdays

Happy Birthday this week to:

Mar 28
1945 ● Charles "Chuck" Portz → The Turtles, "Happy Together" (1967)
1948 ● John Evans → Jethro Tull
1948 ● Milan Williams → Commodores, "Three Times A Lady" (1978)
1955 ● Reba McEntire → Country singer, TV actress
1967 ● James Atkin → EMF, "Unbelievable" (1990)
1986 ● Lady Gaga (Stefani Germanotta) → Electronic dance-pop, "Just Dance" (2008)

Mar 29
1930 ● Donny Conn (Donald Claps) → Playmates, "Beep Beep" (1958)
1943 ● Chad Allan (Allan Kowbel) → Guess Who
1943 ● Vangelis (Evangelos O. Papathanassiou) → Composer, "Chariots Of Fire" (1982)
1947 ● Bobby Kimball (Robert Toteaux) → Toto
1959 ● Perry Farrell (Bernstein) → Jane’s Addiction
1967 ● John Popper → Blues Traveler

Mar 30
1941 ● Graeme Edge → Moody Blues
1943 ● John "Jay" Traynor → Jay & The Americans
1943 ● Kenny Forssi → Love
1945 ● Eric Clapton (Eric Patrick Clapp) → Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, solo
1948 ● Jim "Dandy" Mangrum → Black Oak Arkansas
1950 ● Dave Ball → Procol Harum
1962 ● MC Hammer (Stanley Kirk Burrell) → Rap star, "U Can't Touch This" (1990)
1964 ● Tracy Chapman → Singer/songwriter, "Fast Car" (1988)
1968 ● Celine Dion → Pop singer, "Because You Loved Me" (1995)
1979 ● Norah Jones (Geethali N. J. Shankar) → Acoustic pop, "Come Away With Me" (2002)

Mar 31
1934 ● Shirley Jones → Partridge Family
1935 ● Herb Alpert → Tijauna Brass, A&M Records executive
1944 ● Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Ralphs → Mott The Hoople, Bad Company, solo
1944 ● Rod Allen (Rodney Bainbridge) → The Fortunes, "You've Got Your Troubles" (1965)
1946 ● G. Allan Nichol → The Turtles, "Happy Together" (1967)
1947 ● Al Goodman → The Moments, Ray, Goodman & Brown
1947 ● Jon Poulos → The Buckinghams, "Kind Of A Drag" (1967)
1948 ● Thijs Van Leer → Focus
1953 ● Sean Hopper → Huey Lewis & The News
1954 ● Tony Brock → The Babys, "Everytime I Think Of You" (1978)
1955 ● Angus Young → AC/DC
1958 ● Pat McGlynn → Bay City Rollers
1959 ● Robert Holmes → Til Tuesday, "Voices Carry" (1985)

Apr 01
1934 ● Jim Ed Brown → The Browns, "The Three Bells" (1959), solo
1939 ● Rudolph Isley → Isley Brothers
1942 ● Alan Blakely → The Tremeloes, "Silence Is Golden" (1967)
1942 ● Phil Margo → The Tokens, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (1962)
1945 ● John Barbata → The Turtles, Jefferson Airplane
1946 ● Ronald Frederick "Ronnie" Lane → Faces/Small Faces, solo
1948 ● Jimmy Cliff (James Chambers) → Reggae superstar, "The Harder They Come" (1972)
1954 ● Jeff Porcaro → Toto
1961 ● Mark White → ABC, The Spin Doctors
1961 ● Susan Boyle → "I Dreamed A Dream" (2009)
1986 ● Hillary Scott → Lady Antebellum, "I Run To You" (2009)

Apr 02
1939 ● Marvin Gaye (Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr.) → R&B/soul pioneer
1942 ● Leon Russell (Claude Russell Bridges) → Songwriter, sessions, solo, "Tight Rope" (1972)
1942 ● Phil "Parrot" Castrodale → The Reflections, "(Just Like) Romeo & Juliet" (1964)
1943 ● Glen Dale (Richard Garforth) → The Fortunes, "You've Got Your Troubles" (1965)
1943 ● Larry Coryell → Jazz-rock pioneer, The Eleventh House, solo
1946 ● Kurt Winter → The Guess Who
1947 ● Emmylou Harris → Songwriter, country star, collaborator, solo, "Sweet Dreams" (1976)
1952 ● Dave Bronze → Procol Harum
1952 ● Leon Wilkerson → Lynyrd Skynyrd
1953 ● David Robinson → Lynyrd Skynyrd
1961 ● Keren Jane Woodward → Bananarama
1967 ● Greg Camp → Smash Mouth

Apr 03
1922 ● Doris Day (Doris Von Kappelhoff) → Actress, singer, "Que Sera Sera (Whatever Will Be)" (1956)
1928 ● Don Gibson → Country-pop, songwriter, "I Can't Stop Loving You" (1957)
1936 ● Jimmy McGriff → Soul-jazz organist, "The Worm" (1969)
1938 ● Jeff Barry → Brill Building songwriter, producer, wrote "Leader Of The Pack"
1941 ● Jan Berry (William J.) → Jan & Dean, "Surf City" (1963)
1942 ● Billy Joe Royal → Country-rock, "Down In The Boondocks" (1965)
1942 ● Wayne Newton → Pop-rock solo act, "Danke Schoen" (1963), Vegas showman
1943 ● Joe Vann (Joseph Canzano) → The Duprees, "You Belong To Me" (1962)
1943 ● Richard Manuel → The Band
1944 ● Barry Pritchard (Fortunes) → The Fortunes, "You've Got Your Troubles" (1965)
1944 ● Tony Orlando (Michael Anthony Orlando Casavitis) → AM pop star, leader of Dawn, "Knock Three Times" (1971)
1946 ● Dee Murray → Elton John band
1949 ● Richard Thompson → Fairport Convention, solo, duo with wife Linda
1951 ● Mel Schacher → ? And The Mysterians, Grand Funk Railroad
1955 ● Mick Mars (Bob Alan Deal) → Motley Crüe
1956 ● Judie Tzuke (Judith Myers) → UK pop, "Stay With Me Till Dawn" (1979)
1961 ● Eddie Murphy → Actor/singer
1968 ● Sebastian Bach (Bierk) → Skid Row
1985 ● Leona Lewis → Contemporary R&B, "Bleeding Love" (2007)

Labels: pop artist, pop-rock artist, prog rock artist, R and B artist, rock artist, soul artist, This Week's Birthdays

Happy Birthday this week to:

Mar 14
1931 ● Phil Phillips (John Phillip Baptiste) → R&B singer, "Sea Of Love" (1959)
1933 ● Quincy Jones → Bandleader, producer, songwriter
1943 ● Jim Pons → Turtles, Mothers Of Invention
1945 ● Walter Parazaider → Chicago
1969 ● Michael Bland → Session drummer, Prince, Soul Asylum
1970 ● Kristian Bush → Sugarland
1983 ● Jordan Taylor Hanson → Hanson

Mar 15
1912 ● Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins → Blues guitarist, "Mojo Hand" (1960)
1932 ● Arif Mardin → Atlantic Records producer
1940 ● Phil Lesh → Grateful Dead
1941 ● Mike Love → Beach Boys
1942 ● Jerry Jeff Walker (Ronald Clyde Crosby) → C&W singer, "Mr. Bojangles" (1968)
1944 ● David Costell → Gary Lewis & The Playboys
1944 ● Sly Stone (Sylvester Stewart) → Sly & The Family Stone
1946 ● Howard Scott → War
1947 ● Ry Cooder → Country-folk-blues-rock guitarist, Rising Sons, sessions, solo
1953 ● Preston Hubbard→ Roomful Of Blues, Fabulous Thunderbirds
1955 ● Etterlene "Bunny" DeBarge → DeBarge
1955 ● Dee Snider → Twisted Sister, solo
1962 ● Steve Coy → Dead Or Alive
1962 ● Terence Trent D’Arby (Howard) → "Wishing Well" (1988)
1963 ● Brett Michaels → Poison
1964 ● Rockwell (Kenneth Gordy) → "Somebody's Watching Me" (1984)
1968 ● Mark McGrath → Sugar Ray
1972 ● Mark Hoppus → Blink-182
1975 ● will.i.am (William James Adams, Jr.) → Black Eyed Peas
1977 ● DJ Joseph Hahn → Linkin Park

Mar 16
1948 ● Michael Bruce → Alice Cooper band, solo
1954 ● Nancy Wilson → Heart
1959 ● Flavor Flav (William Jonathan Drayton, Jr.) → Public Enemy
1963 ● Stuart Kerr → Texas

Mar 17
1919 ● Nat "King" Cole (Nathaniel Coles) → "Unforgettable" (1954)
1937 ● Adam Wade → R&B/pop vocalist, "Take Good Care Of Her" (1961)
1939 ● Clarence Collins → Little Anthony & The Imperials
1940 ● Vito Picone→ The Elegants, "Little Star" (1958)
1941 ● Paul Lorin Kantner → Jefferson Airplane/Starship, KBC Band, solo
1944 ● John B. Sebastian → Lovin' Spoonful
1946 ● Harold Brown → War
1948 ● Fran Byrne → Ace
1951 ● Scott Gorham → Thin Lizzy
1959 ● Mike Lindup → Level 42
1967 ● Billy Corgan → Smashing Pumpkins
1972 ● Melissa Auf der Maur → Hole, Smashing Pumpkins, solo

Mar 18
1938 ● Charley Pride → Country star, "I'd Rather Love You" (1971)
1941 ● Wilson Pickett → "In The Midnight Hour" (1968)
1947 ● Brian James "B.J." Wilson → The Paramounts, Procul Harum
1950 ● John Hartman → Doobie Brothers
1959 ● Irene Cara (Irene T. Escalera) → "Flashdance…What A Feelin'" (1983)
1963 ● Jeff LeBar → Cinderella
1963 ● Vanessa Williams → R&B/pop vocalist, "Save The Best For Last" (1991)
1966 ● Jerry Cantrell → Alice In Chains
1967 ● Robert Harrison → Cotton Mather
1970 ● Queen Latifah (Dana Elaine Owens) → Rapper, "U.N.I.T.Y." (1993)
1974 ● Stuart Zender → Jamiroquai
1977 ● Devin Lima → LFO

Mar 19
1942 ● Robin Luke → Early rock 'n roller, "Susie Darlin'" (1958)
1946 ● Paul Atkinson → The Zombies
1946 ● Ruth Pointer → Pointer Sisters
1951 ● Derek Longmuir → Bay City Rollers
1953 ● Ricky Wilson → The B-52's

Mar 20
1937 ● Jerry Reed (Jerry Reed Hubbard) → Actor, country singer/guitarist, solo, sessions
1950 ● Carl Palmer → Atomic Rooster, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Asia
1951 ● Jimmie Vaughan → Fabulous Thunderbirds, solo (Stevie Ray's brother)
1961 ● Slim Jim Phantom (James McDowell) → Stray Cats
1976 ● Chester Bennington → Linkin Park

Labels: Alternative rock artists, birthdays, blues artist, blues-rock artist, pop artist, pop-rock artist, R and B artist, rock artist, Rock birthdays, This Week's Birthdays

In the five short years following his discharge from the Army in March 1960, Elvis Presley went on a tear (click here for Dr. Rock's Top 25 Elvis songs). He recorded and released 13 albums, eight of which were soundtracks to films he starred in. And every one of those albums charted in the Top 10. Few other recording artists or groups have ever – or will ever – equal that prolific output.

Girl Happy was released on March 1, 1965 and was the sixth straight Elvis soundtrack album after Girls! Girls! Girls! from November 1962. Both Girl Happy the movie and its counterpart soundtrack were an obvious attempt to cash in on the beach party movie craze of the mid-60s (remember Frankie and Annette in the classic Beach Blanket Bingo?). As it turned out, neither was particularly memorable. The album featured only one single - “Do The Clam” peaked at #21 - but it did reach #8 for a short period in mid-1965.

Girl Happy is available as a CD on Amazon (click here), but not on iTunes.

Labels: album of the day, Beach Blanket Bingo, beach movie, Elvis Presley, pop-rock album, pop-rock artist, soundtrack

Happy Birthday this week to:

Feb 28
1939 ● John Fahey → Folk guitarist (Rolling Stone #35), Takoma Records owner
1940 ● Joe South (Souter) → Singer/songwriter, "Games People Play" (1968)
1940 ● Marty Sanders → Jay & The Americans
1942 ● Brian Jones → Rolling Stones
1943 ● Barbara Acklin → Pop-soul vocalist, "Love Makes A Woman" (1968)
1952 ● Eddie "Kingfish" Manion → Asbury Jukes, Seeger Sessions Band
1957 ● Cindy Wilson → B-52's
1957 ● Ian Stanley → Tears For Fears
1957 ● Phil Gould → Level 42
1967 ● Marcus Lillington → Breathe, "Hands To Heaven" (1988)
1969 ● Pat Monahan → Train, solo

Feb 29
1904 ● Jimmy Dorsey → Swing era Big Band leader
1940 ● Gretchen Christopher → The Fleetwoods, "Come Softly To Me" (1959)
1976 ● Ja Rule (Jeffrey Atkins) → Rapper, "Put It On Me" (2000)

Mar 01
1927 ● Harry Belafonte (Belafonete) → "Banana Boat Song" (1956)
1934 ● Jim Edward Brown → The Browns
1939 ● Warren Davis → The Monotones, "(Who Wrote) The Book Of Love" (1958)
1942 ● Jerry Fisher → Blood, Sweat & Tears
1944 ● Mike D'Abo → Manfred Mann, solo
1944 ● Roger Daltrey → The Who, solo
1946 ● Tony Ashton → Ashton, Gardner & Dyke
1947 ● Burning Spear (Winston Rodney) → Reggae artist, Rastafarian preacher
1958 ● Nik Kershaw → "Wouldn't It Be Good" (1983)

Mar 02
1938 ● Lawrence Payton → The Four Tops
1942 ● Lou Reed (Lewis Allen Rabinowitz) → Velvet Underground, solo
1943 ● George Benson → Jazz/R&B guitarist, "Breezin'" (1976)
1948 ● Rory Gallagher → Blues-rock guitarist
1950 ● Karen Carpenter → The Carpenters
1955 ● Dale Bozzio (Consalvi) → Missing Persons
1955 ● Jay Osmond → The Osmonds
1956 ● John Cowsill → The Cowsills
1956 ● Mark Evans → AC/DC
1962 ● Jon Bon Jovi (John Fancis Bongiovi) → Bon Jovi, solo
1977 ● Chris Martin → Coldplay

Mar 03
1923 ● Arthel L. "Doc" Watson → Folk/country/bluegrass guitarist
1928 ● Dave Dudley (Pedruska) → "Six Days On The Road" (1963)
1938 ● Willie Chambers → Chambers Brothers, "Time Has Come Today" (1968)
1942 ● Mike Pender (Prendergast) → The Searchers
1944 ● Jance Garfat → Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show
1947 ● Derek "Blue" Weaver → The Strawbs, Mott the Hoople, Bee Gees, sessions
1947 ● Jennifer Warnes → "Right Time Of The Night" (1977)
1950 ● Re Styles → The Tubes
1953 ● Ricky Helton Wilson → B-52's
1953 ● Robyn Hitchcock → The Soft Boys, solo
1966 ● Tone-Loc (Anthony T. Smith) → Rapper, "Wild Thing" (1989)
1969 ● John Bigham → Fishbone
1977 ● Ronan Keating → Boyzone

Mar 04
1932 ● Miriam Makeba → South African folk-pop singer
1944 ● Bobby Womack → "It's All Over Now" (1974)
1946 ● Red Stripe (David Gittens) → Flying Pickets, "Only You" (1983)
1948 ● Chris Squire → Yes
1948 ● Shakin' Stevens (Michael Barrett) → "This Ole House" (1981)
1951 ● Chris Rea → "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" (1978)
1953 ● Emilio Estefan, Jr. → Miami Sound Machine
1955 ● Boon Gould → Level 42
1963 ● Jason Newsted → Metallica
1966 ● Patrick Hannan → The Sundays
1967 ● Evan Dando → Lemonheads
1971 ● Fergal Lawlor → The Cranberries

Mar 05
1933 ● Tommy Tucker (Robert Higginbotham) → "High-Heeled Sneakers" (1964)
1947 ● Eddie Hodges → "I'm Gonna Knock On Your Door" (1961)
1948 ● Eddy Grant → "Electric Avenue" (1983)
1952 ● Alan Clark → Dire Straits
1956 ● Teena Marie (Mary Christine Brockert) → "Lovergirl" (1984)
1958 ● Andy Gibb → Bee Gees
1962 ● Craig & Charlie Reid → The Proclaimers
1970 ● John Frusciante → Red Hot Chili Peppers

Mar 06
1893 ● Walter "Furry" Lewis → Blues guitarist/singer
1937 ● Doug Dillard → The Dillards
1944 ● Mary Wilson → The Supremes, solo
1945 ● Hugh Grundy → Zombies
1946 ● David Gilmour → Pink Floyd
1947 ● Kiki Dee (Pauline Matthews) → "I've Got The Music In Me" (1974)
1977 ● Bubba Sparxxx (Warren Mathis) → Rapper, "Ugly" (2001)

Labels: birthdays, blues artist, blues-rock artist, folk artist, pop artists, pop-rock artist, R and B artist, rock artist, Rock birthdays, soul artist, This Week's Birthdays

Happy Birthday this week to:

Feb 14
1931 ● Phyllis McGuire → McGuire Sisters
1937 ● Samuel Gene "Magic Sam" Maghett → Chicago blues, "Feelin' Good (We're Gonna Boogie)" (1963)
1943 ● Eric Andersen → Greenwich Village folk, "Thirsty Boots" (1966)
1945 ● Vic Briggs → The Animals
1946 ● Doug Simril → Boz Scaggs Band
1947 ● Tim Buckley → Folk-rock singer/songwriter
1950 ● Roger Fisher → Heart, Alias
1951 ● Kenny Hyslop → The Skids, Simple Minds
1972 ● Rob Thomas → Matchbox Twenty, solo

Feb 15
1941 ● Brian Holland → Motown songwriter (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
1944 ● Denny Zager → Zager & Evans, "In The Year 2525" (1969)
1944 ● Michael Charles "Mick" Avory → Kinks
1945 ● John Helliwell → Supertramp
1947 ● David Brown → Allman Brothers Band, Santana
1951 ● Melissa Manchester → "Midnight Blue" (1975)
1959 ● Alistair "Ali" Campbell → UB40
1960 ● Mikey Craig → Culture Club
1976 ● Brandon Boyd → Incubus

Feb 16
1916 ● Bill Doggett → "Honky Tonk" (1956)
1927 ● Bobby Lewis → "Tossin' And Turnin'" (1961)
1935 ● Sonny Bono (Salvatore Phillip Bono) → Sonny & Cher, "I Got You Babe" (1965)
1949 ● Lyn Paul → New Seekers, "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" (1971)
1956 ● James Ingram → "I Don't Have The Heart" (1990)
1958 ● Ice-T (Tracy Morrow) → "I'm Your Pusher" (1988)
1961 ● Andy Taylor → Duran Duran
1962 ● Tony Kylie → Blow Monkeys

Feb 17
1902 ● Orvill "Hoppy" Jones → The Ink Spots
1922 ● Tommy Edwards → "It's All In The Game" (1958)
1939 ● John Leyton → UK teen idol, "Johnny Remember Me" (1961)
1941 ● Gene Pitney → "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance" (1962)
1947 ● Dodie Stevens (Geraldine Ann Pasquale) → "Pink Shoe Laces" (1959)
1950 ● Rickey Medlocke → Blackfoot, Lynyrd Skynyrd
1966 ● Melissa Brooke-Bellard → Voice Of The Beehive
1972 ● Billie Joe Armstrong → Green Day

Feb 18
1933 ● Yoko Ono (Lennon) →
1941 ● Herman Santiago → Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
1941 ● Irma Thomas → "Ruler Of My Heart" (1963)
1947 ● Dennis De Young → Styx, solo
1948 ● Keith Knudsen → Doobie Brothers
1952 ● Judy Kay "Juice" Newton → "Angel Of The Morning" (1981)
1953 ● Derek Pellicci → Little River Band
1953 ● Robbie Bachman → Bachman-Turner Overdrive
1954 ● John Travolta → Saturday Night Fever, Grease
1965 ● Dr. Dre (Andre Romell Young) → "Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang" (1993)

Feb 19
1936 ● Bob Engemann → The Lettermen
1940 ● William "Smokey" Robinson → The Miracles, solo, songwriter, producer
1942 ● Lenny Citrin → Vito & The Salutations
1943 ● Lou Christie (Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco) → "Lightnin' Strikes" (1965)
1948 ● Tony Iommi → Black Sabbath
1949 ● Eddie Hardin → Spencer Davis Group
1956 ● Dave Wakeling → General Public, English Beat, solo
1957 ● Falco (Johann Hölzel) → "Rock Me Amadeus" (1986)
1960 ● Prince Markie Dee (Mark Morales) → Fat Boys
1960 ● William "Holly" Johnson → Frankie Goes To Hollywood
1963 ● Seal (Seal Henry Samuel) → "Kiss From A Rose" (1996)

Feb 20
1898 ● Jimmy Yancey → Boogie-woogie pianist (Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, 1986)
1925 ● Robert Altman → Film producer/director, co-wrote "Theme From M.A.S.H."
1937 ● David Ackles → "Candy Man" (1970)
1937 ● Nancy Wilson → "How Glad I Am" (1964)
1940 ● Barbara Ellis → Fleetwoods
1941 ● Buffy Sainte-Marie → "Universal Soldier" (1964)
1944 ● Lew Soloff → Blood, Sweat & Tears, sessions
1945 ● Alan Hull → Lindisfarne
1946 ● John "Jerome" Geils, Jr. → J. Geils Band
1950 ● Walter Becker → Steely Dan
1954 ● Jon Brant → Cheap Trick
1963 ● Ian Brown → Stone Roses
1975 ● Brian Littrell → Backstreet Boys
1985 ● Julia Volkova → t.A.T.u.
1988 ● Rihanna (Robyn Rihanna Fenty) → "Pon De Replay" (2005)

Labels: birthdays, blues artist, blues-rock artist, country-rock artist, folk artist, folk-rock artist, pop-rock artist, R and B artist, rock artist, Rock birthdays, soul artist, This Week's Birthdays

Carole King (click here for Dr. Rock’s playlist) had already established her credentials as a top-notch pop music songwriter by the time her second solo album, Tapestry was released on this date in 1971. As a member of the acclaimed Brill Building team of song crafters, King’s work (most often in collaboration with future husband Gerry Goffin) had been covered by numerous top acts throughout the 60s and early 70s, including the Beatles (“Chains”), the Monkees (“Pleasant Valley Sunday”), Little Eva (“The Locomotion”), the Shirelles (“Will You Love Me Tomorrow”), the Chiffons (“One Fine Day”) and Aretha Franklin (“[You Make Me Feel] Like A Natural Woman”).

Tapestry came at the beginning of the singer/songwriter boom in the early 70s and ultimately proved to be one of the seminal releases of the genre. Well-crafted, minimally-produced, warm, resonant and introspective, it ruled the US Pop charts for 15 weeks and included the #1 singles “It’s Too Late” and “I Feel The Earth Move.” In its day it was the longest charting album by a female performer and (rightly so) is one of the highest selling pop albums of all time.

Tapestry is available for purchase as a CD or download as mp3 files on Amazon (click here) or as iPod downloads at iTunes (click here).

Labels: album of the day, Brill Building, Carole King, pop-rock album, pop-rock artist

Happy Birthday this week to:

Feb 07
1934 ● King Curtis (Curtis Ousley) → "Memphis Soul Stew" (1967)
1943 ● Harvey Hersh (Hershkowitz) → Quotations
1946 ● Sammy Johns → "Chevy Van" (1975)
1948 ● Jimmy Greenspoon → Three Dog Night
1949 ● Alan Lancaster → Status Quo
1959 ● Brian Travers → UB40
1960 ● Steve Bronski → Bronski Beat
1962 ● David Bryan → Bon Jovi
1962 ● Garth Brooks → "Friends In Low Places" (1990)

Feb 08
1899 ● Alonzo "Lonnie" Johnson → Blues guitarist
1931 ● James (Byron) Dean → Actor
1941 ● Tom Rush → Folk singer/songwriter
1943 ● Creed Bratton (William Charles Schneider) → The Grass Roots
1946 ● Adolpho "Fito" de la Parra → Canned Heat
1946 ● Paul Wheatbread → Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
1948 ● Danny Wayland "Dan" Seals → England Dan & John Ford Coley, solo
1961 ● Sam Llanas → BoDeans
1961 ● Vince Neil (Wharton) → Motley Crue
1971 ● Will Turpin → Collective Soul
1977 ● David Michael "Phoenix" Farrell → Linkin Park

Feb 09
1939 ● Barry Mann (Iberman) → Songwriter
1940 ● Bruce Bennett → The Shadows
1942 ● Carole King (Klein) → "I Feel The Earth Move" (1971)
1942 ● Mark Mathis→ The Newbeats
1943 ● Barbara Lewis → "Baby I'm Yours" (1965)
1947 ● Earle R. "Joe" Ely → Flatlanders, solo
1951 ● Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas → Kool & The Gang
1955 ● Jimmy Pursey → Sham 69
1960 ● William "Holly" Johnson → Frankie Goes to Hollywood
1963 ● Travis Tritt → "Foolish Pride" (1994)

Feb 10
1933 ● Don Wilson → The Ventures
1939 ● Roberta Flack → "Killing Me Softly With His Song" (1973)
1940 ● Jimmy Merchant → Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
1943 ● Ralph Stuart "Ral" Donner → "You Don't Know What You've Got" (1961)
1949 ● Nigel Olsson→ Plastic Penny, Elton John Band, solo
1962 ● Robbie Neville→ Neville Brothers (next generation)

Feb 11
1914 ● Josh White → Folk-blues guitarist
1935 ● Gene Vincent (Vincent Eugene Craddock) → "Be-Bop-A-Lula" (1956)
1939 ● Gerry Goffin → Songwriter, lyricist, solo artist
1940 ● Bobby "Boris" Pickett → "Monster Mash" (1962)
1941 ● Earl Lewis → The Flamingos, The Channels
1941 ● Sergio Mendes → Brasil '66
1947 ● Derek Shulman → Gentle Giant, record executive
1953 ● Alan Rubin → SNL Band, Blues Brothers Band
1962 ● Sheryl Crow→ "All I Wanna Do" (1994)
1974 ● D'Angelo (Michael Archer) → "Untitled (How Does it Feel)" (2000)
1977 ● Mike Shinoda → Linkin Park
1979 ● Brandy (Norwood) → "Sittin' Up In My Room" (1995)
1981 ● Kelendria Trene "Kelly" Rowland → Destiny's Child

Feb 12
1867 ● Len Spencer → Early American recording star ("A Hot Time In The Old Town" - 1897)
1935 ● Gene McDaniels → "A Tower of Strength" (1961)
1939 ● Ray Manzerak → The Doors
1946 ● Joe Schermie → Three Dog Night
1949 ● Stanley "Goober" Knight → Black Oak Arkansas
1950 ● Steve Hackett → Genesis, solo
1951 ● Gil Moore → Triumph
1952 ● Michael McDonald → Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers, solo
1959 ● Omar Hakim → Weather Report
1959 ● Per Gessle → Roxette
1968 ● Chynna Phillips → Wilson Phillips
1970 ● Jim Creeggan → Barenaked Ladies

Feb 13
1919 ● Ernest Jennings "Tennessee Ernie" Ford → "Sixteen Tons" (1955)
1925 ● Gene Ames → Ames Brothers
1930 ● Dorothy McGuire → McGuire Sisters
1942 ● Peter Tork (Thorkelston) → The Monkees
1944 ● Anthony "Reebop" Kwaku Baah → Traffic, sessions
1945 ● King Floyd → "Groove Me" (1970)
1945 ● Roy Dyke → Ashton, Gardner & Dyke
1950 ● Peter Gabriel → Genesis, solo
1952 ● Edward John Gagliardi → Foreigner, The Spys
1956 ● Peter Hook → New Order, Joy Division
1957 ● Tony Butler → Big Country, sessions
1961 ● Henry Rollins (Henry Lawrence Garfield) → Black Flag, MTV host, producer
1961 ● Les Warner → The Cult
1966 ● Frederick Brandon "Freedom" Williams → C+C Music Factory
1971 ● Sonia (Evans) → "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" (1989)
1974 ● Robbie Williams → Take That, solo

Labels: birthdays, country-rock artist, folk artist, folk-rock artist, pop artist, pop groups, pop-rock artist, R and B artist, rock artist, Rock birthdays, This Week's Birthdays

Buddy Holly (age 22), Ritchie Valens (just 17) and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson (28) were killed 51(!) years ago tonight when their chartered plane crashed into a corn field during a snowstorm outside Clear Lake, Iowa. They were headed from one show to the next in a multi-act, “barnstorming” tour of the Midwest - a typical schedule for pop artists in those days.

Don McLean’s 1971 folk-pop opus, “American Pie,” (click here for download or purchase) forever immortalized the event, which erased two early rock ‘n’ roll stars (Holly and Richardson) and a promising young talent (Valens had just released “Donna” and “La Bamba” and was the first Hispanic rock star of any note).

Click here for my playlist of 15 top Buddy Holly tracks for download from iTunes. On Amazon, a reasonably priced, basic collection of his Greatest Hits is also available, as are single, DRM-free mp3 downloads further down on that page (click here).

Labels: American Pie, Buddy Holly, Don McLean, J.R. Richardson, pop artist, pop-rock artist, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper

Happy Birthday this week to:

Jan 24
1936 ● Doug Kershaw → Country fiddler, "Louisiana Man" (1961)
1939 ● Ray Stevens (Harold Ray Ragsdale) → "Everything Is Beautiful" (1970)
1941 ● Aaron Neville → Neville Brothers
1941 ● Neil Diamond → "The Jewish Elvis"
1947 ● Warren Zevon → "Werewolves Of London" (1978)
1949 ● John Belushi → Blues Brothers
1953 ● Matthew Wilder (Weiner) → "Break My Stride" (1983)
1958 ● Julian Miles "Jools" Holland → Squeeze

Jan 25
1938 ● Etta James (Jamesetta Hawkins) → "Tell Mama" (1967)
1950 ● Michael Cotton → The Tubes
1954 ● Richard Finch → KC & The Sunshine Band
1956 ● Andy Cox → English Beat, Fine Young Cannibals
1958 ● Gary Tibbs → Roxy Music, Vibrators
1962 ● Peter Coyle → Lotus Eaters
1963 ● Carl Fysh → Brother Beyond
1971 ● China Kantner → Daughter of Grace Slick and Paul Kantner
1981 ● Alicia Keys (Alicia Auguello Cook) → "Fallin'" (2001)

Jan 26
1934 ● Huey "Piano" Smith → "Rockin' Pneumonia" (1957)
1945 ● Ashley "Tyger" Hutchings → Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span
1946 ● Deon Jackson → "Love Makes The World Go 'Round" (1966)
1948 ● Laurence Gordon "Corky" Laing → Mountain, West Bruce & Laing
1949 ● Derek Holt → Climax Blues Band
1951 ● Andy Hummell → Big Star
1951 ● David Briggs → Little River Band
1953 ● Lucinda Williams → "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road" (1998)
1957 ● Edward Van Halen → Van Halen
1958 ● Anita Baker → "Sweet Love" (1986)
1958 ● Norman Hassan → UB40
1963 ● Andrew Ridgeley → Wham!
1963 ● Jazzie B. (Trevor Beresford Romeo) → Soul II Soul
1966 ● Pim Jones → Hipsway
1970 ● Kirk Franklin → Contemporary gospel
1972 ● Ya Kid K (Manuela Barbara Kamosi Moaso Djogi) → Technotronic

Jan 27
1918 ● Elmore James → Blues slide guitarist/songwriter
1919 ● David Seville (Rosdom Sipan "Ross" Bagdasarian) → Creator of Alvin & The Chipmunks
1930 ● Bobby "Blue" Bland (Robert Calvin Bland) → "Stormy Monday Blues" (1962)
1931 ● Rudy Mauger → The Crew Cuts
1944 ● Kevin Coyne → "Marlene" (1973)
1945 ● Nick Mason → Pink Floyd
1946 ● Kim Gardner → Ashton, Gardner & Dyke
1947 ● Nedra Talley → Ronettes
1951 ● Brian Downey → Thin Lizzy
1951 ● Seth Justman → J. Geils Band
1955 ● Richard Young → Kentucky Headhunters
1961 ● Gillian Gilbert → New Order
1961 ● Margo Timmins → Cowboy Junkies
1961 ● Martin Degville → Sigue Sigue Sputnik
1964 ● Miguel John "Migi" Drummond → Curiosity Killed The Cat
1968 ● Mike Patton → Faith No More
1970 ● Mark Trojanowski → Sister Hazel

Jan 28
1929 ● Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk → "Stranger On The Shore" (1962)
1936 ● Jack Scott (Giovanni Dominico Scafone, Jr.) → "Burning Bridges" (1960)
1943 ● Dick Taylor → Rolling Stones, The Pretty Things
1944 ● Brian "Chambers" Keenan → Chambers Brothers, Manfred Mann
1946 ● Rick Allen → Box Tops
1959 ● Dave Sharp → The Alarm
1962 ● Leslie "Sam" Phillips → "Holding On To The Earth" (1989)
1963 ● Dan Spitz → Anthrax
1968 ● DJ Muggs (Lawrence Muggerud) → Cypress Hill
1968 ● Rakim (William Michael Griffin, Jr.) → Rapper
1968 ● Sarah McLachlan → "Adia" (1998)
1977 ● Joey Fatone → *NSYNC
1977 ● Raphael "Tweety" Brown → Next
1980 ● Nick Carter → Backstreet Boys

Jan 29
1933 ● Alexandre "Sacha" Distel → "The Good Life" (1965)
1943 ● Kenneth "Tony" Blackburn → "So Much Love" (1969)
1947 ● David Byron (David Garrick) → Uriah Heep, solo
1952 ● Tommy Ramone (Tom Erdelyl) → The Ramones
1953 ● Louie Perez → Los Lobos, Latin Playboys
1959 ● Johnny Spampinato → NRBQ
1961 ● Eddie Jackson → Queensryche
1962 ● Marcus Vere → Living In A Box
1964 ● Roddy Frame → Aztec Camera
1981 ● Jonny Lang (Jon Gordon Langseth, Jr.) → Blues guitarist

Jan 30
1928 ● Ruth Brown (Ruth Alston Weston) → "Teardrops In My Eyes" (1950)
1941 ● Joe Terranova → Danny & The Juniors, "At The Hop" (1958)
1942 ● Marty Balin (Martyn Jere Buchwald) → Jefferson Airplane/Starship, solo
1947 ● Steve Marriott → Small Faces, Humble Pie, solo
1951 ● Marv Ross → Quarterflash
1951 ● Phil Collins → Genesis, solo
1952 ● Steve Bartek → Strawberry Alarm Clock, Oingo Boingo
1959 ● Jody Watley → Shalamar, solo ("The Queen of Cool")

Labels: birthdays, blues artist, blues-rock artist, pop artists, pop birthdays, pop-rock artist, power pop group, R and B artist, rock artists, Rock birthdays, This Week's Birthdays

Happy Birthday this week to:

Jan 10
1912 ● Woodrow Wilson "Buddy" Johnson → R&B pianist/songwriter/bandleader
1917 ● Jerry Wexler → Atlantic Records executive/producer
1927 ● Johnny Ray → "Cry" (1951)
1935 ● Ronnie "Mr. Dynamo" Hawkins → The Hawks, "Forty Days" (1959)
1939 ● Scott McKenzie (Philip Blondheim) → "San Francisco" (1967)
1943 ● Jim Croce → "Time in a Bottle" (1973)
1945 ● Rod Stewart → Jeff Beck Group, Small Faces, solo
1946 ● Aynsley Dunbar → John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Jefferson Starship
1946 ● Bob Lang → The Mindbenders
1946 ● Neal Smith → Alice Cooper band
1948 ● Cyril Neville → Neville Brothers
1948 ● Donald Fagen → Steely Dan
1953 ● Pat Benatar (Patricia Andrzejewski) → "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" (1979)
1955 ● Michael Schenker → Scorpions, UFO
1956 ● Shawn Colvin → "New Folk" singer/songwriter
1959 ● Curt Kirkwood → Meat Puppets
1964 ● Brad Roberts → Crash Test Dummies
1965 ● Nathan Moore → Brother Beyond
1973 ● Aerle Taree → Arrested Development
1979 ● Chris Smith → Kriss Kross

Jan 11
1895 ● Laurens Hammond → Hammond organ inventor
1924 ● Slim Harpo (James Moore) → "Rainin' In My Heart" (1961)
1942 ● Clarence Clemons → E Street Band, solo "You're A Friend Of Mine" (1985)
1943 ● Tony Kaye → Yes
1946 ● Naomi Judd → Country singer
1949 ● Frederick "Denny" Greene → Sha Na Na
1958 ● Vicki Peterson → Bangles
1968 ● Tom Dumont → No Doubt
1971 ● Mary J Blige →
1971 ● Tom Rowlands → Chemical Brothers

Jan 12
1904 ● Mississippi Fred McDowell → Blues performer
1930 ● Glenn Yarbrough → Limeliters, solo
1936 ● Charlie Gracie (Charles Graci) → "Butterfly" (1957)
1939 ● William Lee Golden → Oak Ridge Boys
1941 ● Long John Baldry → UK blues singer
1945 ● Maggie Bell → Stone The Crows, solo
1946 ● Cynthia Robinson → Sly & The Family Stone
1951 ● Chris Bell → Big Star
1954 ● Felipe Rose → Village People
1959 ● Per Gessle → Roxette
1960 ● Charlie Gillingham → Counting Crows
1965 ● Mark Moore → Starlight Express
1966 ● Rob Zombie (Robert Cummings) → White Zombie
1968 ● Raekwon (Corey Woods) → Wu-Tang Clan
1974 ● Melanie Chisholm → Spice Girls "Sporty Spice"

Jan 13
1930 ● Bobby Lester → Moonglows
1948 ● John Lees → Barclay James Harvest
1954 ● Trevor Rabin → Yes, solo, sessions
1955 ● Fred White → Earth, Wind & Fire
1961 ● Graham "Suggs" McPherson → Madness
1970 ● Zach de la Rocha → Rage Against The Machine

Jan 14
1936 ● Clarence Carter → "Slip Away" (1968)
1938 ● Alain Toussaint → New Orleans R&B songwriter/performer/producer
1938 ● John Allan "Jack" Jones → "Wives And Lovers" (1963)
1948 ● Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett → Producer, session guitarist, solo artist
1948 ● Tim Harris → Foundations
1959 ● Chas Smash (Cathal Smyth aka Carl Smyth) → Madness
1959 ● Geoff Tate → Queensryche
1961 ● Mike Tramp → White Lion
1962 ● Patricia Morrison → Sisters of Mercy
1965 ● Slick Rick (Richard Walters) → Rapper
1967 ● Steve Bowman → Counting Crows
1968 ● LL Cool J (James Todd Smith) → Hip-hop artist
1969 ● Dave Grohl → Nirvana, Foo Fighters
1981 ● Pitbull (Armando Christian Perez) → Southern rap (crunk) artist
1982 ● Caleb Followill → Kings Of Leon

Jan 15
1909 ● Gene Krupa → Jazz drummer
1930 ● Earl Hooker → Blues singer/guitarist
1941 ● Captain Beefheart (Don van Vliet) →
1942 ● Edward Bivins → The Manhattans
1945 ● Joan Johnson → Dixie Cups
1947 ● Pete Waterman → Record producer
1948 ● Ronnie Van Zant → Lynyrd Skynyrd
1951 ● Martha Davis → The Motels
1952 ● Melvyn Gale → Electric Light Orchestra
1953 ● Boris Blank → Yello
1959 ● Pete Trenavas → Marillion
1967 ● Lisa Velez → Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam

Jan 16
1937 ● Bob Bogle → The Ventures
1939 ● Ray Phillips → Nashville Teens
1942 ● Barbara Lynn (Ozen) → "You'll Lose A Good Thing" (1962)
1942 ● William Francis → Dr. Hook & The Medecine Show
1944 ● Jim Stafford → "Spiders & Snakes" (1974)
1944 ● Ronnie Milsap → "Any Day Now" (1982)
1948 ● John Carpenter → Film producer/director, composer
1950 ● Damo Suzuki → Can, solo
1959 ● Sade (Helen Folasade Adu) → "Smooth Operator" (1984)
1962 ● Paul Webb → Talk Talk
1966 ● Maxine Jones → En Vogue

Labels: birthdays, country-rock artist, folk-rock artist, pop artist, pop-rock artist, R and B artist, rock artist, Rock birthdays, This Week's Birthdays

Two years and many moons before David Bowie stepped onto the world stage with his 1969 single “Space Oddity,” he released his eponymous debut album on Deram/Decca records on January 5, 1967. Long out of print as a vinyl record and available now in several expanded CDs (with multiple early Bowie bonus tracks), the album’s nothing like the David Bowie (aka “The Chameleon”) we came to know and love starting with “Space Oddity.” David Bowie is a mixed bag of vaudevillian stage songs (“Uncle Arthur”), tuba-based marching tunes (“Rubber Band”), slightly twisted MOR pop-rock tunes (“Love You Till Tuesday”), and a few memorable mid-60s psych-pop ditties (“Maid Of Bond Street”).

You needn’t listen carefully at all to hear Ziggy Stardust, Major Tom, Thin White Duke and other 70s/80s Bowie characters waiting for their time to come on David Bowie. If you’re a Bowie diehard, this album should be in your collection. If you’re just a casual Bowie fan, it’s worth a close listen.

For Dr. Rock's D.B. Top 25 playlist, click here. David Bowie is on Amazon (click here) as an expanded CD and on iTunes (click here) as individual downloads playable on iPods or mp3 players.

Labels: album of the day, David Bowie, pop psychedelia, pop-rock artist, rock artist

Happy Birthday this week to:

Jan 03
1926 ● George Martin → Beatles (and others) producer
1941 ● Van Dyke Parks → Singer, sessionman, lyricist (co-wrote "Heroes And Villains")
1945 ● Philip Goodhand-Tait → UK singer/songwriter
1945 ● Stephen Arthur Stills → Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills & Nash, solo
1946 ● John Paul Jones → Led Zeppelin

Jan 04
1944 ● Volker Hemback → Tangerine Dream
1946 ● Arthur Conley → "Sweet Soul Music" (1967)
1956 ● Bernard Sumner (Albrecht, Dicken) → Joy Division, New Order
1957 ● Patty Loveless (Patricia Lee Ramey) → "Chains" (1990)
1960 ● Michael Stipe → R.E.M.
1962 ● Martin Macaloon → Prefab Sprout
1962 ● Robin Guthrie → Cocteau Twins
1965 ● Beth Gibbons → Portishead
1965 ● David Glasper → Breathe
1966 ● Deana Carter → "Did I Shave My Legs For This?" (1995)
1967 ● Benjamine Darvill → Crash Test Dummies

Jan 05
1923 ● Sam Phillips → Founder of Sun Records
1940 ● George Malone → Monotones
1949 ● George Brown → Kool & The Gang
1950 ● Chris Stein → Blondie
1951 ● Biff Byford → Saxon
1964 ● Grant Young → Soul Asylum
1966 ● Kate Schellenbach → Luscious Jackson
1969 ● Marilyn Manson (Brian Warner) → "The Beautiful People" (1996)

Jan 06
1924 ● Earl Scruggs → Foggy Mountain Boys, solo
1929 ● Wilbert Harrison → Canned Heat
1937 ● Doris Troy → "Just One Look" (1963)
1944 ● Van McCoy → "The Hustle" (1975)
1946 ● Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett → Pink Floyd, solo
1947 ● Sandy Denny → Fairport Convention, solo
1951 ● Kim Wilson → Fabulous Thunderbirds
1953 ● Malcolm Young → AC/DC
1959 ● Kathie Sledge → Sister Sledge
1959 ● Neil Simpson → Climax Blues Band
1964 ● Mark O'Toole → Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Jan 07
1936 ● Eldee Young → Ramsey Lewis Trio
1937 ● Paul Revere (Dick) → Paul Revere & The Raiders
1938 ● Rory Storm → The Hurricanes
1939 ● Lefty Baker (Eustace Britchforth) → Spanky & Our Gang
1941 ● Jim West → Innocents, Gee Whiz
1942 ● Danny Williams→ "White On White" (1964)
1943 ● Leona Williams → Helton Family Band (Loretta Lynn)
1944 ● Mike McGrear → Scaffold
1945 ● Dave Cousins → The Strawbs
1946 ● Andy Brown → The Fortunes
1946 ● Jann Wenner → Rolling Stone magazine founder, editor
1948 ● Kenny Loggins → Loggins & Messina, solo
1959 ● Kathy Valentine → The Go-Go's

Jan 08
1931 ● Bill Graham (Wolfgang Grajonca) → Rock promoter
1935 ● Elvis Presley →
1937 ● Shirley Bassey → "Goldfinger" (1994)
1940 ● Jerome Anthony Gourdune → Little Anthony & The Imperials
1943 ● Lee Jackson → The Nice
1943 ● Marcus Hutson → The Whispers
1946 ● Robbie Krieger → The Doors, solo
1947 ● David Bowie (David Robert Jones) →
1947 ● Terry Sylvester → The Hollies
1948 ● Paul King → Mungo Jerry, Skeleton Krew
1955 ● Mike Reno → Loverboy
1957 ● Dr. Rock → Chief Musicologist, DrRock.com
1959 ● Paul Hester → Crowded House
1964 ● Peter "Ped" Gill → Frankie Goes To Hollywood
1968 ● R. Kelly (Robert Sylvester Kelly) → "Bump N' Grind" (1994)
1969 ● Jeff Abercrombie → Fuel
1975 ● Sean Paul (Henriques) → "Hot Gal Today" (1999)

Jan 09
1915 ● Les Paul → Guitar virtuoso, desginer
1941 ● Joan Baez →
1943 ● Dick Yount → Harper's Bizarre
1943 ● Kenneth Kelly → The Manhattans
1944 ● Jimmy Page → Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin
1944 ● Scott Engel → Walker Brothers
1948 ● Bill Cowsill → Cowsills
1948 ● Cassie LaRue Gaines → Lynyrd Skynyrd
1948 ● Paul King → Mungo Jerry
1950 ● David Johansen → New York Dolls, solo
1950 ● Steve McRay → .38 Special
1951 ● Crystal Gayle (Brenda Gail Webb) →
1963 ● Eric Erlandson → Hole
1967 ● Carl Bell → Fuel
1967 ● Dave Matthews → Dave Matthews Band
1967 ● Steve Harwell → Smash Mouth
1978 ● A.J. McLean → Backstreet Boys

Labels: birthdays, blues-rock artist, Crosby Stills and Nash, folk artist, Led Zeppelin, pink floyd, pop-rock artist, rock artist, Rock birthdays, Stephen Stills, The Beatles, This Week's Birthdays

Happy Birthday this week to:

Dec 27
1931 ● William "Scotty" Moore → Elvis Presley guitarist
1940 ● Pete Brown → Co-lyricist for Cream
1941 ● Leslie Maguire → Gerry & The Pacemakers
1941 ● Mike Pinder → Moody Blues
1943 ● Peter Sinfield → King Crimson
1944 ● Michael Leslie "Mick" Jones → Foreigner
1944 ● Tracy Nelson → Mother Earth, solo
1948 ● Larry Byrom → Steppenwolf
1950 ● Terry Bozzio → Missing Persons
1952 ● David Knopfler → Dire Straits
1952 ● Karla Bonoff → Singer, songwriter "Someone To Lay Down Beside Me"
1972 ● Matt Slocum → Sixpence None The Richer

Dec 28
1903 ● Earl "Fatha" Hines → Jazz pianist
1915 ● Roebuck "Pops" Staples → Staple Singers
1932 ● Dorsey Burnette → Rockabilly singer
1938 ● Charles Neville → Joey Dee & The Starlighters, Neville Brothers
1943 ● Charles "Chas" Hodges → Chas & Dave
1946 ● Edgar Winter → Edgar Winter Group
1947 ● Dick Diamonde → The Easybeats
1950 ● Alex Chilton → Box Tops
1954 ● Rosie Vela → "Magic Smile" (1986)
1958 ● Mike McGuire → Shenandoah
1960 ● Mart Roe → Diamond Rio
1978 ● John Legend (Stephens) → Neo-soul singer/pianist/songwriter

Dec 29
1935 ● Virgil Johnson → Velvets
1941 ● Ray Thomas → Moody Blues
1942 ● Rick Danko → The Band
1942 ● Jerry Summers → The Dovells
1946 ● Marianne Faithfull → "As Tears Go By"
1947 ● Cozy Powell → Rainbow, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath
1948 ● Charlie Spinosa → John Fred & His Playboy Band
1951 ● Yvonne Elliman → "If I Can't Have You" (1977)
1961 ● Jim Reid → The Jesus And Mary Chain
1968 ● Glen Phillips → Toad The Wet Sprocket

Dec 30
1928 ● Bo Diddley (Elias Otha Bates McDaniel) →
1931 ● Skeeter Davis (Mary Frances Penick) → "The End Of The World" (1963)
1934 ● Del Shannon (Charles Westover) → "Runaway" (1961)
1937 ● John Hartford (Harford) → Singer, songwrite, "Gentle On My Mind" (1967)
1939 ● Felix Pappalardi → Mountain
1942 ● Michael Nesmith → The Monkees
1943 ● John Denver →
1945 ● Davy Jones → The Monkees
1946 ● Patti Smith →
1947 ● Jeff Lynne → Electric Light Orchestra, The Move, Traveling Wilburys
1956 ● Suzy Bogguss → Country singer, "Drive South" (1992)
1959 ● Tracey Ullman → Singer "They Don't Know" (1983), comedienne
1969 ● Jay Kay → Jamiroquai
1978 ● Tyrese Darnell Gibson → R&B singer

Dec 31
1930 ● Odetta Holmes → Folk-blues, folk revival
1942 ● Andy Summers → The Police
1943 ● Pete Quaife → Kinks
1947 ● Burton Cummings → The Guess Who
1948 ● Donna Summer (Donna Adriene Gaines) →
1951 ● George Thorogood → The Destroyers
1951 ● Tom Hamilton → Aerosmith
1960 ● Paul Westerberg → The Replacements
1961 ● Scott Taylor → Then Jericho
1963 ● Scott Ian → Anthrax
1972 ● Joe McIntyre → New Kids On The Block

Jan 01
1942 ● Country Joe McDonald → Country Joe & The Fish
1950 ● Morgan Fisher → Mott The Hoople
1950 ● Steve Ripley → Tractors
1958 ● Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Saddler) → The Furious Five

Jan 02
1936 ● Roger Miller → "King Of The Road" (1965)
1949 ● Michael George "Chick" Churchill → Ten Years After
1954 ● Glen Goins → Parliament, Funkadelic
1975 ● Doug Robb → Hoobastank
1981 ● Little Drummer Boy (Kelton Kessee) → Immature

Labels: birthdays, blues artist, blues-rock artist, country-rock artist, folk artist, folk-rock artist, pop artists, pop birthdays, pop-rock artist, rock artist, Rock birthdays, This Week's Birthdays