Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

March 2, 1900 Composer Kurt Weill is born in Dessau, Germany. Known for his collaborations with playwright Bertolt Brecht, including The Threepenny Opera and its famous ballad "Mack the Knife."

January 1, 1900 Bandleader Xavier Cugat is born with the impressive moniker Francisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deulofeu in Girona, Spain.

December 16, 1899 Noël Coward is born in the Teddington suburb of London, England.

November 22, 1899 Bandleader Hoagy Carmichael is born Howard Hoagland Carmichael in Bloomington, Indiana. Known for composing enduring standards like "Stardust," "Georgia On My Mind," "Heart and Soul," and "The Nearness of You."

April 29, 1899 Duke Ellington is born in Washington, D.C.

January 7, 1899 Composer and pianist Francis Poulenc is born in Paris, France.

December 20, 1898 Actress and singer Irene Dunne is born in Louisville, Kentucky. Known for her Academy Award-nominated performances in the '30s and '40s, including Cimarron, Theodora Goes Wild, The Awful Truth, Love Affair and I Remember Mama.

September 27, 1898 Broadway producer and composer Vincent Youmans is born in New York City.

September 26, 1898 Composer/pianist George Gershwin is born in Brooklyn, New York.

May 5, 1898 Blues musician Blind Willie McTell is born William Samuel McTier in Thomson, Georgia.

September 8, 1897 Jimmie Rodgers is born in Meridian, Mississippi. Known as "The Singing Brakeman" because of his early railroad job, he becomes one of the first country music stars.

December 6, 1896 Ira Gershwin is born in New York City. With his younger brother George, he writes music for many popular songs, including "Summertime."

August 15, 1896 Leon Theremin - inventor of the theremin, one of the first electronic instruments - is born in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

November 16, 1895 Composer Paul Hindemith is born in Hessen, Germany. Known for the 1938 opera Mathis der Maler (Matthias the Painter).

July 26, 1895 Gracie Allen, comedic radio and TV star with partner/husband George Burns, is born in San Francisco, California (though the specific date of her birth is disputed).

July 10, 1895 German composer Carl Orff, known for the 1937 cantata Carmina Burana, is born in Munich.

January 27, 1895 Composer Harry Ruby ("A Kiss to Build a Dream On") is born in New York City.

January 11, 1895 Laurens Hammond, inventor of the Hammond organ, is born in Evanston, Illinois.

December 19, 1894 Composer/conductor Paul Dessau is born in Hamburg, Germany.

April 15, 1894 Blues singer Bessie Smith is born in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

June 26, 1893 Country-blues musician Big Bill Broonzy is born Lee Conley Bradley in Lake Dick, Arkansas.

March 6, 1893 Country blues guitarist Furry Lewis is born Walter Lewis in Greenwood, Mississippi. He would earn his nickname from his childhood friends.

September 4, 1892 Composer Darius Milhaud is born in Marseilles, France. Taught jazz pianist Dave Brubeck at Mills College in Oakland, California.

April 19, 1892 French composer Germaine Tailleferre, the sole female member of the composers group Les Six, is born in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Val-de-Marne, France.

January 31, 1892 Singer and entertainer Eddie Cantor is born Edward Israel Iskowitz in New York City. He catches his break when he lands a contract with the popular theatrical revue Ziegfeld Follies.

February 21, 1891 Circus music composer Karl Lawrence King is born in Ohio.

March 28, 1890 Bandleader Paul Whiteman is born in Denver, Colorado.

July 29, 1887 Austro-Hungarian composer Sigmund Romberg is born Siegmund Rosenberg in Nagykanizsa, Hungary.

April 9, 1887 Classical composer Florence Beatrice Price is born in Little Rock, Arkansas.

February 7, 1887 Composer Eubie Blake is born in Baltimore, Maryland.