Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

April 5, 1966 Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready is born in Pensacola, Florida. One of his most notable songwriting contributions to the band is "Given To Fly" from 1998, a song that represents a period of renewal.

April 4, 1966 Mike Starr (bass guitarist for Alice in Chains) is born in Honolulu, Hawaii.

March 28, 1966 Cheryl James (aka Salt of Salt-N-Pepa) is born in Brooklyn, New York City. She meets her future rap partner, Sandra "Pepa" Denton, while working at a Sears call center. The pair, along with Deidra "DJ Spinderella" Roper, challenge the male-dominated hip-hop genre with outspoken lyrics that embrace female sexuality in "Let's Talk About Sex" and "None Of Your Business."

March 25, 1966 Blues rocker Jeff Healey is born in Toronto. Blinded by eye cancer when he's a year old, he plays guitar with the instrument flat on his lap, fretting it from above. With his Jeff Healey Band, he has a hit in 1988 with "Angel Eyes."

March 18, 1966 Alice In Chains songwriter-guitarist Jerry Cantrell is born in Tacoma, Washington. He keeps the band going after Layne Staley's 2002 death with new singer William DuVall. Cantrell also puts out a series of solo albums where he handles the vocals himself.

March 10, 1966 Edie Brickell ("What I Am") is born in Dallas, Texas. She marries Paul Simon in 1992.

March 4, 1966 Patrick Hannan (drummer for The Sundays) is born in the UK.

March 3, 1966 Rapper Tone-Loc is born Anthony Terrell Smith in Los Angeles, California.

February 13, 1966 Freedom Williams (of C+C Music Factory) is born Frederick Williams in Brooklyn, New York.

February 6, 1966 Rick Astley is born in Lancashire, England. He gets a big break when the producer Pete Waterman of Stock Aitken Waterman spots him singing at a showcase and offers him an office job, which leads to a record deal.

February 2, 1966 Robert DeLeo, who will form Stone Temple Pilots along with his brother Dean and lead singer Scott Weiland, is born in Montclair, New Jersey.

January 31, 1966 Al Doughty, bassist for the British alt rock band Jesus Jones, is born Alan Jaworski in Plymouth, Devon, England.

January 5, 1966 Kate Schellenbach (drummer for Luscious Jackson) is born in New York City, New York.

January 4, 1966 Deana Carter is born in Nashville. Her dad is country guitarist Fred Carter, Jr.

December 21, 1965 Gabby Glaser (guitarist, singer for Luscious Jackson) is born in New York.

December 5, 1965 The Goo Goo Dolls lead singer Johnny Rzeznik is born in Buffalo, New York. His band released their first album in 1987 but didn't catch on until 1995 when their song "Name" became a hit. Their most enduring song is "Iris," which surged in popularity in the 2020s thanks to TikTok.

November 30, 1965 Paul Wheeler (drummer for Icehouse) is born in Sydney, Australia.

November 29, 1965 Wallis Buchanan (didgeridoo player for Jamiroquai) is born.

November 27, 1965 Fiachna O'Braonian (guitarist, vocalist for Hothouse Flowers) is born in Dublin, Ireland.

November 24, 1965 Dawn Robinson (of En Vogue) is born in New London, Connecticut.

November 22, 1965 Sen Dog of Cypress Hill is born Senen Reyes in Pinar del Rio, Cuba.

November 20, 1965 Michael Diamond aka Mike D (of Beastie Boys) is born in New York City.

November 10, 1965 Marianne Faithfull gives birth to her first child, Nicholas, from artist John Dunbar.

November 4, 1965 Jeff Scott Soto (of Journey, Yngwie Malmsteen band) is born in Brooklyn, New York.

October 30, 1965 Gavin Rossdale (Bush frontman) is born in London, England.

October 29, 1965 Peter Timmins (drummer for Cowboy Junkies) is born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

October 14, 1965 R&B singer Karyn White is born in Los Angeles, California.

October 8, 1965 C.J. Ramone (bassist and occasional vocalist for The Ramones) is born Christopher Joseph Ward in Queens, New York City.

October 4, 1965 Leo Barnes (saxophonist/manager for Hothouse Flowers) is born in Dublin, Ireland, where he would grow up in an orphanage.

September 13, 1965 Ringo Starr becomes a dad for the first time when his son Zak Starkey is born. Zak becomes a drummer like his dad, performing and recording with Oasis, The Lightning Seeds, and most notably, The Who.