Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

March 11, 1961 Dead or Alive bass player Mike Percy is born.

March 11, 1961 Big Country guitarist Bruce Watson is born in Timmins, Ontario, Canada, but soon moves to Scotland with his family, where the group is formed.

February 26, 1961 John "Jon Jon" Foster (of The Bronski Beat) is born in Basildon, Essex, England.

February 16, 1961 Andy Taylor (guitarist for Duran Duran) is born in Cullercoats, Northumberland, England. He later joins supergroup The Power Station while Duran Duran are on hiatus. The success of his new venture persuades him to leave the band he helped form as a teenager.

February 13, 1961 Henry Rollins is born Henry Garfield in Washington, DC. A die-hard punk fan from an early age, he becomes Black Flag's lead singer in 1981. When that group dissolves in 1986, he launches the Rollins Band and builds a second career as a writer, spoken-word artist, and actor (catch him on Season 2 of Sons of Anarchy).

February 13, 1961 Les Warner (drummer for The Cult) is born in London, England.

February 8, 1961 Sam Llanas (vocalist, guitarist of The BoDeans) is born in Wisconsin.

February 8, 1961 Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil is born in Los Angeles. His distinctive vocals and commanding stage presence help them rise to the top of the hair metal mountain, but he has a tempestuous relationship with his bandmates. He leaves the group in 1992, returning in 1997.

January 29, 1961 Eddie Jackson (bassist for Queensryche) is born in Robstown, Texas.

January 27, 1961 Gillian Gilbert (New Order keyboardist) is born in Whalley Range, Manchester, England.

January 27, 1961 Margo Timmins (lead vocalist of Cowboy Junkies) is born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She is one of six children, including brothers Michael and Peter, who become her bandmates.

January 13, 1961 Suggs aka Graham McPherson (lead singer of Madness) is born in Hastings, Sussex, England.

December 5, 1960 Great White frontman Jack Russell is born in Montebello, California. The band rocks a shark motif and lands two Platinum albums, Once Bitten (1987) and Twice Shy (1989); the latter includes their hit cover of Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten, Twice Shy."

December 2, 1960 Rick Savage (bass guitarist for Def Leppard) is born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.

November 19, 1960 Matt Sorum (drummer for Guns N' Roses) is born in Orange County, California.

November 18, 1960 Kim Wilde is born Kim Smith to Vernon Girls vocalist Joyce Baker and '50s rock 'n roller Marty Wilde (real name Reginald Smith) in Chiswick, Middlesex, England.

October 27, 1960 Tina Turner gives birth to Ronald Renelle Turner, her second child, while touring in Los Angeles. The father, Ike Turner, is not present at the birth.

October 19, 1960 Jennifer Holliday is born in Houston, Texas.

October 16, 1960 Alt rock guitarist Bob Mould (of Husker Du and Sugar) is born in Malone, New York.

October 13, 1960 Anthrax lead singer Joey BellaDonna is born Joseph Bellardini in Oswego, New York. He joins the band in 1984 and sings on their classic albums Among the Living (1987) and State of Euphoria (1988), but over the next few years he butts heads with his bandmates and is fired in 1992. He returns to the lineup in 2005.

October 2, 1960 Pop singer/songwriter Robbie Nevil is born in Los Angeles, California. Known for the 1986 hit "C'est La Vie."

September 28, 1960 Jennifer Rush is born Heidi Stern in Queens, New York.

September 15, 1960 Mitch Dorge (drummer/percussionist for Crash Test Dummies) is born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

September 10, 1960 David Lowery (lead singer for Cracker) is born in San Antonio, Texas.

September 8, 1960 David Steele (bassist for Fine Young Cannibals) is born in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England.

September 8, 1960 Singer-songwriter Aimee Mann is born in Bon Air, Virginia. With her group 'Til Tuesday, she has a hit with "Voices Carry," and later embarks on a successful solo career.

September 6, 1960 Sam Cooke's daughter Tracy Samie is born.

September 4, 1960 Kim Thayil (lead guitarist for Soundgarden) is born in Seattle, Washington. He would be raised near Chicago in Park Forest, Illinois.

September 3, 1960 Perry Bamonte (keyboardist/guitarist for The Cure) is born in London, England.

August 31, 1960 Tony DeFranco (of The DeFranco Family) is born in Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada.