Calendar Search Results: i he w
March 10, 1954 The Threepenny Opera opens at the Theater de Lys in New York's Greenwich Village. A revival of a German production from 1928, the standout scene is when the Street Singer does "Mack The Knife," a song about the murderous Macheath.More
February 27, 1954 Neal Schon is born on an Air Force base in Oklahoma. The guitarist does time in Santana before founding the groups Journey and Bad English.
February 26, 1954 Responding to the rising popularity of black music, the United States congress proposes a bill forbidding distribution of "obscene, lewd, lascivious, or filthy publication, picture, disc, transcription, or other article capable of producing sound." The bill fails.
February 18, 1954 John Travolta is born in Englewood, New Jersey.More
February 15, 1954 Big Joe Turner records one of the first rock songs, "Shake, Rattle And Roll," at Atlantic Records studios in New York.
February 10, 1954 The Glenn Miller Story, a biopic about the bandleader starring Jimmy Stewart, opens in theaters.
February 4, 1954 The Drifters record "Bells Of Saint Mary's," "White Christmas," "Honey Love," and "What'cha Gonna Do."
January 12, 1954 Felipe Rose (The Indian from The Village People) is born in New York City. An original member, he's with the group until 2017, when Victor Willis (the cop) assumes control and brings in a new lineup.
January 7, 1954 Muddy Waters records "Hoochie Coochie Man" at Chess Records in Chicago. It becomes a blues standard, with a feral energy that influences a new sound that's emerging: rock and roll.
January 2, 1954 Eddie Fisher's "Oh! My Pa-Pa" hits #1 in the US.
December 26, 1953 Steve Witherington (drummer for Ace) is born in Enfield, Middlesex, England.
December 18, 1953 Elliot Easton (lead guitarist for The Cars) is born Elliot Steinberg in Brooklyn, New York.
December 10, 1953 The first issue of Playboy magazine is published (Marilyn Monroe is on the cover). Over the next two decades, "playboy" shows up in several hit songs:
"Playboy" by Marvelettes (1962)
"He's Just A Playboy" by The Drifters (1964)
"Playboy" by Gene & Debbe (1968)
"International Playboy" by Wilson Pickett (1973)More
November 30, 1953 Guitarist Shuggie Otis is born Johnny Alexander Veliotes, Jr. in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of R&B pioneer Johnny Otis. Shuggie composes the 1977 crossover hit "Strawberry Letter 23" for The Brothers Johnson.
November 17, 1953 "Rags to Riches" by Tony Bennett is #1 on all three US Billboard charts (jukeboxes, sales, radio).
November 15, 1953 R&B singer Alexander O'Neal is born in Natchez, Mississippi. Known for '80s hits like "If You Were Here Tonight," "Criticize," and "Fake."
November 7, 1953 Pat Boone marries Shirley Lee Foley, the daughter of country singer Red Foley, in what will be a lifelong union. Boone and Foley are both 19 years old.
November 6, 1953 Frankie Laine's "Answer Me" is banned by the BBC, who claim the lyrics "Answer me, Lord above" are mocking Christian prayer. Also banned is Lee Lawrence's "Crying In The Chapel."
November 4, 1953 Van Stephenson (tenor vocalist for the country band BlackHawk) is born in Hamilton, Ohio, but relocates to Nashville, Tennessee, at age 10.
October 26, 1953 Keith Strickland of The B-52s is born in Athens, Georgia. He starts as the band's drummer but moves to guitar after Ricky Wilson dies of AIDS in 1985.
October 21, 1953 Charlotte Caffey (guitarist for the Go-Go's) is born in Santa Monica, California.
October 16, 1953 Rocker Tony Carey (keyboardist for The Rainbow) is born in Watsonville, California. Also known by the pseudonym Planet P Project.
October 7, 1953 Tico Torres (drummer for Bon Jovi) is born Hector Juan Samuel Torres in New York.
September 7, 1953 Benmont Tench, keyboard player for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, is born Benjamin Montmorency Tench III in Gainesville, Florida. In 1995 he helps out an up-and-coming Alanis Morissette by playing organ on six tracks from her album Jagged Little Pill (including "You Oughta Know") in exchange for dinner.
September 2, 1953 American composer John Zorn is born in New York City. As a child, he shows an eccentric fascination with sound and avant-garde music that prompts his parents to get him psychologically evaluated.
August 30, 1953 Horace Panter (bassist for The Specials and General Public) is born Stephen Graham Panter in Croydon, Surrey, England.
August 16, 1953 Singer James "J.T." Taylor is born in Laurens, South Carolina. He joins Kool & the Gang in 1979, leading them into a new era with hits like "Celebration" and "Cherish." He leaves for a solo career in 1988.
August 3, 1953 Ian Bairnson (guitarist for Pilot, The Alan Parsons Project) is born in Lerwick, Shetland Isles, Scotland.
August 2, 1953 Skeeter Davis, still a member of the Davis Sisters, breaks both her arms and legs in a car crash near Cincinnati, Ohio, a crash which also kills fellow Davis "sister" Betty Jack Davis.
July 15, 1953 Alicia Bridges is born in Lawndale, North Carolina. Known for the disco hit "I Love The Nightlife (Disco 'Round)."
©2026 Songfacts®, LLC