Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

November 27, 1917 Howdy Doody host "Buffalo" Bob Smith is born Robert Emil Schmidt in Brooklyn, New York.

November 26, 1917 Nesuhi Ertegun, producer/executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International, is born in Istanbul, Turkey.

November 12, 1917 Traditional pop singer Jo Stafford is born in Coalinga, California.

October 21, 1917 Jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie is born John Birks Gillespie in Cheraw, South Carolina.

October 10, 1917 Jazz pianist/composer Thelonious Monk is born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Composed many jazz standards, including "Round Midnight," "Ruby, My Dear" and "Well, You Needn't," to name a few.

August 23, 1917 Country/Western swing musician Tex Williams is born Sollie Paul Williams in Ramsey, Illinois. Known for the 1947 novelty song "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)."

August 22, 1917 Bluesman John Lee Hooker is born in Coahoma County, Mississippi.

August 3, 1917 Jazz trumpeter Les Elgart is born in New Haven, Connecticut.

June 30, 1917 Lena Horne is born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York.

May 28, 1917 Papa John Creach (violinist of Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship) is born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

May 14, 1917 Norman Luboff, a film and TV composer who also recorded with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Doris Day, is born in Chicago, Illinois.

April 12, 1917 Helen Forrest (girl singer of the Swing Era for Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and Harry James), is born Helen Fogel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

April 7, 1917 Jazz percussionist Mongo Santamaria, known for composing the jazz standard "Afro Blue," is born Ramon Santamaria Rodriguez in Havana, Cuba.

April 2, 1917 Italian American singer Lou Monte is born in Manhattan, New York.

March 26, 1917 Funky soul singer Rufus Thomas, known for his recordings at Stax Records, is born in Mississippi.

March 12, 1917 Leonard Chess, co-founder of Chess Records, is born Lejzor Shmuel Czyż in Motal, Poland.

January 29, 1917 Singer/actor John Raitt, known for his roles in the stage musicals Carousel and Oklahoma!, among others, is born in Santa Ana, California.

January 22, 1917 Jazz reed player Albert "Pud" Brown is born in Wilmington, Delaware, but grows up in Shreveport, Louisiana.

January 21, 1917 Jazz pianist Billy Maxted is born in Racine, Wisconsin.

January 14, 1917 Jazz trumpeter Billy Butterfield is born in Middletown, Ohio. In 1940, he plays a legendary solo on Artie Shaw's hit rendition of "Stardust."

January 10, 1917 Jerry Wexler is born in New York City. As a producer and executive with Atlantic Records, he plays a key role in the success of Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin and Wilson Pickett.

December 15, 1916 Buddy Cole is born Edwin LeMar Cole in Irving, Illinois. The jazz pianist will accompany the likes of Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby.

December 11, 1916 Perez Prado, the "King of Mambo," is born in Matanzas, Cuba.

December 2, 1916 Tenor saxophonist Charlie Ventura is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

November 16, 1916 Herb Abramson, co-founder of Atlantic Records, is born in Brooklyn, New York.

November 10, 1916 Billy May - trumpeter, composer, and arranger - is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Arranged Frank Sinatra's acclaimed concept albums Come Fly with Me (1958), Come Dance with Me! (1959) and Come Swing with Me! (1961).

November 6, 1916 Ray Conniff, a trombonist and composer known for his '60s-era Ray Conniff Singers, is born in Attleboro, Massachusetts.

July 24, 1916 Big Band vocalist Bob Eberly is born in Mechanicville, New York.

May 26, 1916 Louis Thomas Hardin, aka Moondog, is born in Marysville, Kansas. Aside from forging a career as a musician, composer, and inventor, he becomes well-known as a street musician in New York City, where his cloak and Viking-style helmet earns him the nickname "the Viking of 6th Avenue."

May 14, 1916 Jazz saxophonist Skip Martin is born in Robinson, Illinois.