Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

March 30, 1930 Rolf Harris ("Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport") is born in Perth, Australia.

March 22, 1930 Composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim is born in New York City. He wins an Academy Award for Best Original Song for Madonna's "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)," written for the 1990 film Dick Tracy.

March 21, 1930 Chicago blues pianist Otis Spann is born in Mississippi.

March 19, 1930 Jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman is born in Fort Worth, Texas. Date of birth sometimes listed as March 9.

March 1, 1930 Trombone player Benny Powell is born in New Orleans.

February 13, 1930 Dorothy McGuire of The McGuire Sisters is born in Middletown, Ohio.

February 5, 1930 Jazz trumpeter Don Goldie is born Donald Elliott Goldfield in Newark, New Jersey. His father, Harry "Goldie" Goldfield, was also a trumpet player who worked with Paul Whiteman.

January 27, 1930 Bobby "Blue" Bland is born Robert Calvin Brooks in Barretville, Tennessee.

January 15, 1930 Blues guitarist Earl Hooker is born in Quitman County, Mississippi.

January 12, 1930 Glenn Yarbrough of the folk group The Limeliters is born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

January 7, 1930 Country musician Jack Greene, known for the 1966 hit "There Goes My Everything," is born in Maryville, Tennessee.

January 2, 1930 Pop singer Julius La Rosa - known for '50s hits like "Anywhere I Wander" and "Eh Cumpari" - is born in Brooklyn, New York.

December 25, 1929 Billy Horton of The Silhouettes is born in Hickory, North Carolina.

December 25, 1929 R&B singer Chris Kenner, who writes and sings the original version of "Land Of 1000 Dances," is born in Kenner, Louisiana (yes, his last name and birthplace are both Kenner).

December 23, 1929 Jazz singer/trumpeter Chet Baker is born Chesney Henry Baker Jr. in Yale, Oklahoma. He hits his stride in the '50s when he joins the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and releases his signature hit "My Funny Valentine."

November 15, 1929 Soul singer Joe Hinton is born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Known for the 1964 hit "Funny How Time Slips Away," written by Willie Nelson.

November 11, 1929 R&B singer LaVern Baker is born Delores LaVern Baker in Chicago, Illinois. Known for '50s and '60s hits like "Tweedlee Dee," "Jim Dandy," and "I Cried a Tear."

October 26, 1929 Neal Matthews Jr. (of The Jordanaires, backing vocalists for Elvis Presley) is born in Nashville, Tennessee.

October 4, 1929 Country singer Leroy Van Dyke is born in Mora, Missouri. Known for the hits "The Auctioneer" (1956) and "Walk On By" (1961).

September 18, 1929 Jazz/pop singer Teddi King is born Theodora King in Boston, Massachusetts. Known for the mid-'50s singles "Mr. Wonderful," "Married I Can Always Get" and "Say It Isn't So."

September 17, 1929 Jazz saxophonist Sil Austin is born in Dunnellon, Florida. Known for his signature tune, "Danny Boy."

August 12, 1929 Country singer-songwriter Buck Owens is born Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. in Sherman, Texas.

August 6, 1929 Saxophonist Mike Elliott (of The Foundations) is born in Jamaica, West Indies.

August 3, 1929 Arthur Wood (keyboardist for The Climax Blues Band) is born.

July 30, 1929 Christine McGuire of The McGuire Sisters is born in Middletown, Ohio.

July 27, 1929 Harvey Fuqua of The Moonglows is born in Louisville, Kentucky.

July 21, 1929 Jazz singer Helen Merrill is born Jelena Ana Milčetić in New York City.

July 18, 1929 Shock rocker Screamin' Jay Hawkins is born Jalacy Hawkins in Cleveland, Ohio.

July 9, 1929 Bluegrass mandolinist Jesse McReynolds (of Jim & Jesse) is born in Carfax, Virginia.

July 9, 1929 Singer-songwriter Lee Hazlewood, known for his collaborations with Duane Eddy and Nancy Sinatra, is born Barton Lee Hazlewood in Mannford, Oklahoma.