Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

December 10, 1914 Dorothy Lamour, actress and big band singer, is born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana. Starred with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in their series of Road To... movies.

December 8, 1914 Floyd Tillman, forerunner of western swing and honky tonk, is born in Ryan, Oklahoma, and grows up in Post, Texas.

October 17, 1914 Jazz musician John Clifford Mosley Jr., a trumpeter who also played the flugelhorn, the long horn and the flute, is born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. That's Mosley playing the flute during the intro of The Isley Brothers' 1971 cover of "Spill the Wine."

October 10, 1914 Singer/songwriter/pianist Ivory Joe Hunter is born in Kirbyville, Texas. Known for R&B hits like "I Lost My Mind" and "I Need You So," later recorded by Elvis Presley.

September 14, 1914 Music producer/songwriter Mae Axton is born in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Known as "The Queen Mother of Nashville," Axton co-wrote Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel."

September 7, 1914 Jazz composer/pianist Graeme Bell is born in Richmond, Victoria, Australia.

July 26, 1914 Erskine Hawkins, trumpeter and Big Band leader known for "Tuxedo Junction," is born in Birmingham, Alabama.

July 8, 1914 Swing era bandleader Billy Eckstine is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Known for his 1948 rendition of "I Apologize."

May 13, 1914 Country singer-songwriter Johnnie Wright (Johnnie and Jack), known for the 1965 hit "Hello Vietnam," is born in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

May 9, 1914 Country singer Hank Snow is born Clarence Eugene Snow is born in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, Canada.

April 4, 1914 Singer and actress Frances Langford is born Julia Frances Langford in Hernando, Florida.

March 30, 1914 Blues harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson is born John Lee Williamson in Jackson, Tennessee. An influential musician known for playing the harmonica as the lead instrument, he becomes an early victim of identity theft when another bluesman impersonates him and assumes his name. That musician, often referred to as Sonny Boy Williamson II, becomes more famous, known for writing blues standards like "Help Me" and "One Way Out."

March 19, 1914 Actress/singer Patricia Morison is born in New York City.

March 11, 1914 Art Todd is born in Baltimore, Maryland. Billed as Art and Dotty Todd, he forms a singing duo with wife Dotty in the '50s.

February 18, 1914 Country singer Pee Wee King, co-writer of "Tennessee Waltz," is born Julius Frank Anthony Kuczynski in Abrams, Wisconsin.

February 12, 1914 Saxophonist Tex Beneke, who solos on the Glenn Miller Orchestra's "In The Mood," is born in Fort Worth, Texas.

February 11, 1914 Matt Dennis is born in Seattle, Washington. Among many other tunes, he composes the pop standard "Everything Happens to Me," first recorded by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra featuring Frank Sinatra.

February 11, 1914 Bluesman Josh White is born in Greenville, South Carolina.

February 10, 1914 Renowned harmonica player Larry Adler is born in Baltimore, Maryland.

February 9, 1914 Ernest Tubb is born in Crisp, Texas.

December 25, 1913 Singer/actor Tony Martin is born Alvin Morris in San Francisco, California. A steady presence on the pop charts throughout the '40s and '50s, his biggest hits are 1940's "It's a Blue World" (#2) and 1949's "There's No Tomorrow" (#2).

December 1, 1913 Broadway performer Mary Martin, star of the original productions of The Sound of Music and South Pacific, is born in Weatherford, Texas.

October 26, 1913 Jazz saxophonist Charlie Barnet is born in New York City. Known for a hit rendition of "Cherokee" and the 1944 swing hit "Skyliner."

October 15, 1913 David Carroll - arranger, conductor and musical director (for Mercury Records) - is born in Taylorville, Illinois. Known for his hit versions of "Melody of Love" in the '50s.

October 1, 1913 Producer/composer Charles Randolph Grean is born. Wrote the popular 1950 novelty song "The Thing."

August 23, 1913 Bob Crosby, Dixieland bandleader and swing singer (of the Bob-Cats), is born in Spokane, Washington. He is one of seven siblings, one of them another famous entertainer: Bing Crosby.

July 15, 1913 Country singer Cowboy Copas is born Lloyd Estel Copas in Blue Creek, Ohio.

July 5, 1913 R&B singer and guitarist Smiley Lewis, known for the 1955 hit "I Hear You Knocking," is born Overton Amos Lemons in DeQuincy, Louisiana.

June 22, 1913 Pop singer Dotty Todd is born Doris Dabb in Elizabeth, New Jersey. She and her husband will form the '50s singing duo Art and Dotty Todd, known for the UK hits "Broken Wings" and "Chanson D'Amour."

May 16, 1913 Woody Herman, jazz clarinetist and saxophonist, is born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.