Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

May 29, 1955 Mike Porcaro, who will replace David Hungate as bassist for Toto, is born in Windsor, Connecticut.

May 22, 1955 Jerry Dammers (keyboardist for The Specials) is born in Ootacamund, Tamil Nadu, South India.

May 22, 1955 John Grimaldi (guitarist for Argent) is born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England.

May 21, 1955 Stan Lynch (original drummer for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

May 20, 1955 Steve George (keyboardist for Mr. Mister) is born in Phoenix, Arizona.

May 16, 1955 New wave singer-songwriter Hazel O'Connor is born in Coventry, England.

May 12, 1955 Kix Brooks (of Brooks & Dunn) is born Leon Eric Brooks in Shreveport, Louisiana.

May 11, 1955 Drummer Mark Herndon (of Alabama) is born in Springfield, Massachusetts.

May 11, 1955 Electronic musician Jonathan "J.J." Jeczalik (of The Art of Noise) is born in Banbury, England.

May 7, 1955 Buzzcocks guitarist Steve Diggle is born in Manchester, England. Starting with their groundbreaking indie EP Spiral Scratch, he's in every lineup of the pop-punk trailblazers, taking over on vocals after frontman Pete Shelley dies in 2018.

April 28, 1955 Eddie Jobson, violinist and synth player for Curved Air, Roxy Music, Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Jethro Tull and Yes, is born in Billingham, England.

April 25, 1955 David Sikes (bass player for Boston, Giuffria) is born near Cambridge, England, but will be raised in California.

April 17, 1955 Singer/guitarist Pete Shelley is born Peter McNeish in Leigh, Lancashire, England. In 1976 he forms the Buzzcocks, a pioneering band that melds pop and punk, influencing bands like The Smiths, Green Day, and even The Go-Go's.

April 13, 1955 Louis Johnson (bass guitarist for The Brothers Johnson) is born in Los Angeles. Also a session musician, he plays on Michael Jackson's Thriller and Off The Wall albums.

March 28, 1955 Reba McEntire is born in McAlester, Oklahoma. After a slow start in the '70s, she becomes one of the top country singers of the next three decades. "I was always afraid if I didn't use my gift, God would take it away from me and give it to somebody else," she says.

March 11, 1955 German punk rocker Nina Hagen is born in Berlin.

March 4, 1955 Boon Gould (of Level 42) is born in Shanklin, Isle of Wight, England.

March 2, 1955 Jay Osmond (of The Osmonds) is born in Ogden, Utah.

March 2, 1955 Dale Bozzio (vocalist for Missing Persons) is born Dale Frances Consalvi in Medford, Massachusetts.

February 23, 1955 Howard Jones is born in Southampton, England.

February 19, 1955 Jeff Daniels is born in Athens, Georgia. Best known as an actor, he also releases several albums as a musician.

January 23, 1955 Reggie Calloway (of the R&B duo Calloway) is born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

January 17, 1955 Steve Earle is born on a military base in Hampton, Virginia, but he's raised in Texas. In 1975 he moves to Nashville, where he has a number of near-misses as a songwriter and artist before releasing his debut album, the Americana landmark Guitar Town, in 1986.

January 12, 1955 NRBQ drummer Tommy Ardolino is born in Springfield, Massachusetts.

January 10, 1955 Rock guitarist Michael Schenker (of Scorpions and UFO) is born in West Germany.

January 8, 1955 Loverboy frontman Mike Reno is born Joseph Michael Rynoski in New Westminster, Canada.

December 25, 1954 Country singer Steve Wariner is born in Noblesville, Indiana. After touring in Dottie West's band as a teenager, he gets a record deal and reels off nine #1 Country hits in the '80s, including "You Can Dream of Me" and "All Roads Lead to You."

December 25, 1954 Robin Campbell (lead guitarist for UB40) is born in Birmingham, England.

December 11, 1954 Jermaine Jackson is born fourth in line (after Rebbie, Jackie and Tito) in the Jackson family clan in Gary, Indiana.

November 23, 1954 Singer-songwriter Bruce Hornsby is born in Williamsburg, Virginia. He has a string of hits in the late '80s, including "The Valley Road" and the chart-topper "The Way It Is." From 1990-1992 he tours with the Grateful Dead as a keyboard player.