Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

January 19, 1939 Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers is born in Chicago, Illinois, the younger brother of future bandmate Don.

January 16, 1939 Ray Phillips (of The Nashville Teens) is born in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, South Wales.

January 12, 1939 William Lee Golden of The Oak Ridge Boys is born in Brewton, Alabama.

January 10, 1939 Actor Sal Mineo is born in New York City. His music connection is on the operatic stage, where he played in NBC Opera Theatre's 1954 production of Richard Strauss' Salome and directed Gian Carlo Menotti's The Medium in 1972.

January 10, 1939 Scott McKenzie ("San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)") is born Philip Wallach Blondheim in Jacksonville, Florida, but is raised in North Carolina.

January 7, 1939 Lefty Baker (guitarist, vocalist for Spanky & Our Gang) is born Eustace Britchforth in Roanoke, Virginia.

December 22, 1938 Country singer-songwriter Red Steagall is born Russell Steagall in Gainesville, Texas. He discovers Reba McEntire in 1975.

December 18, 1938 Chas Chandler (bassist for The Animals, Jimi Hendrix Experience) is born Bryan James Chandler in Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

December 12, 1938 Connie Francis is born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in Newark, New Jersey. A huge star in the late '50s and early '60s, she becomes the first woman to top the Hot 100 as a solo artist when "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" hits #1 in 1960. In 2025 she returns to the zeitgeist when her 1962 B-side ""Pretty Little Baby" goes viral on TikTok.

December 5, 1938 Singer-songwriter J.J. Cale, a forerunner of the Tulsa Sound, is born John Weldon Cale in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

December 1, 1938 Rock 'n roll drummer Sandy Nelson is born in Santa Monica, California. Aside from being a session drummer on such tunes as the Teddy Bears' "To Know Him Is To Love Him," he releases a string of Top 40 instrumental hits, including "Teen Beat" at #4 in 1959.

November 26, 1938 Ray Brown (of The Four Freshmen) is born.

November 19, 1938 Hank Medress (of The Tokens) is born in Brooklyn, New York.

November 17, 1938 Gordon Lightfoot is born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He breaks through in America with his 1970 song "If You Could Read My Mind," inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage.

November 16, 1938 Troy Seals (guitarist for James Brown) is born in Bighill, Kentucky. Also a country songwriter, his compositions will be recorded by Elvis Presley, Conway Twitty, and Randy Travis. He is the older brother of Jim Seals of the soft-rock duo Seals & Crofts.

November 11, 1938 Roger Lavern (keyboardist for The Tornados) is born in Kidderminster, England.

November 7, 1938 Soul singer Dee Clark, known for the 1961 hit "Raindrops," is born in Blytheville, Arkansas.

November 6, 1938 PJ Proby is born James Marcus Smith in Houston, Texas.

November 4, 1938 R&B singer Harry Elston (of Friends Of Distinction) is born in Dallas, Texas.

November 2, 1938 Jay Black (lead singer of Jay & the Americans) is born David Blatt in New York City, where he'll grow up in the Boro Park neighborhood of Brooklyn.

November 1, 1938 Jazz saxophonist Mike Burney (of Wizzard) is born in Great Barr, Birmingham, England.

October 18, 1938 R&B singer Ronnie Bright (of The Coasters) is born in New York.

October 16, 1938 Rock singer/songwriter Nico is born Christa Päffgen in Cologne, Germany.

October 15, 1938 R&B singer Marv Johnson is born in Detroit, Michigan. His song "Come to Me" was the first record on the Tamla label, which would later become Motown.

October 14, 1938 Country singer Melba Montgomery is born Iron City, Tennessee, but would be raised in Florence, Alabama. Known for her duets with George Jones and her 1974 solo hit, "No Charge."

October 5, 1938 Doo-wop/rock singer Carlo Mastrangelo (of Dion & The Belmonts and Pulse) is born in the Bronx, New York.

October 5, 1938 Country singer Johnny Duncan is born in Dublin, Texas. Known for the '70s hits "Thinkin' of a Rendezvous" and "It Couldn't Have Been Any Better," among others.

October 3, 1938 Rockabilly singer Eddie Cochran is born in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

September 28, 1938 Ben E. King, who does time in The Drifters before scoring a solo hit with "Stand By Me, is born in Henderson, North Carolina.

September 12, 1938 Soul/gospel singer Judy Clay is born Judith Grace Guions in St. Pauls, North Carolina.