January 21, 1938 Lupine disc jockey Wolfman Jack is born Robert Weston Smith in Brooklyn, New York. In the 1960s he blasts rock 'n roll to the masses from a high-powered border blaster signal at XERF-AM in Mexico.
January 16, 1938 Clarinetist Benny Goodman, who many call an improvisational genius, breaks through cultural barriers to play the first-ever jazz concert at Carnegie Hall.More
January 14, 1938 Country singer Billie Jo Spears is born in Beaumont, Texas. Her first hit is "Mr. Walker It's All Over" in 1969.
January 14, 1938 Allen Toussaint is born in New Orleans, where he makes a mark as a piano player, producer and songwriter. He plays on "Lady Marmalade" and writes "Southern Nights."
January 7, 1938 Rory Storm (lead singer of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes) is born Alan Caldwell in Liverpool, England.
December 30, 1937 John Hartford - bluegrass, folk and country musician - is born John Harford in New York City, New York. On the advice of record producer Chet Atkins, he would add the 't' to his name.
December 25, 1937 O'Kelly Isley Jr., the eldest of The Isley Brothers, is born in Cincinnati, Ohio.
December 17, 1937 Art Neville, keyboard player with The Neville Brothers, is born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
November 30, 1937 Jimmy Bowen, producer of Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night," is born in Santa Rita, New Mexico. He starts his music career as a teen idol, singing the 1957 hit "I'm Stickin' With You."
November 24, 1937 The Andrews Sisters release "Bei Mir Bist Du Schön."
November 19, 1937 Geoff Goddard (keyboardist on The Tornados' "Telstar") is born in Reading, Berkshire, England. Wrote John Leyton's hit UK single "Johnny Remember Me" (1961).
November 6, 1937 Eugene Pitt (founding member of The Jive Five) is born in Brooklyn, New York.
November 2, 1937 R&B vocalist Earl "Speedoo" Carroll (of The Cadillacs, The Coasters) is born in New York City.
November 1, 1937 "Whispering" Bill Anderson is born in Columbia, South Carolina, but is raised in Georgia. The soft-spoken country singer is known for chart-topping hits of the '60s and '70s such as "I Get the Fever," "For Loving You," and "Sometimes."
October 24, 1937 Cole Porter is involved in a horrific accident. While riding his horse in Locust Valley, New York, the animal falls and rolls over onto him, crushing his legs. He will spend the rest of his life in constant pain.
October 16, 1937 Rock and Roll singer Emile Ford (of Emile Ford and the Checkmates) is born Michael Emile Telford Miller in Castries, Saint Lucia, West Indies. Known for the 1959 hit cover of "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?"
October 4, 1937 Doo-wopper Pirkle Lee Moses Jr. (lead singer of The El Dorados) is born in Chicago, Illinois. Known for the 1955 hit "At My Front Door."
September 26, 1937 Bessie Smith dies of severe injuries she sustained in a late-night car accident near Clarksdale, Mississippi, at age 43. The story goes that she was refused admission to a whites-only hospital, and she bled to death. In actuality, two ambulances showed up at the scene - one for the white hospital, one for the black hospital - and being in the Deep South during segregation, she was taken to the latter, where her arm was amputated before she died. Had she been taken to the white hospital, however, she would not have been treated.
September 10, 1937 Country singer Tommy Overstreet is born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He would be raised in Texas. His first hit was "Gwen (Congratulations)" in 1970.
August 28, 1937 Vocalist John Perkins (of The Crew-Cuts) is born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Known for the hit 1954 cover of The Chords' "Sh-Boom."
August 27, 1937 Phil Shulman (of Gentle Giant) is born in The Gorbals, Glasgow, Scotland.
August 18, 1937 The first FM (frequency modulation) radio station in the US, Boston's WGTR (later WAAF), is granted its construction permit by the FCC.
August 11, 1937 Shel Talmy, who produces the first Who album and much of the early Kinks output, is born in Chicago, Illinois.
July 12, 1937 Bill Cosby is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He makes the Music History Calendar for his 1967 hit "Little Ole Man."
July 10, 1937 Rockabilly singer Jumpin' Gene Simmons is born in Mississippi. He begins his music career at Sun Records as an opening act for Elvis Presley.
June 25, 1937 Eddie Floyd is born in Montgomery, Alabama, and will grow up in Detroit, Michigan. Known for writing and performing the 1966 hit "Knock On Wood."
June 22, 1937 Island Records founder Chris Blackwell is born in Westminster, London, England. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later declares him "the single person most responsible for turning the world on to reggae music."
June 4, 1937 Freddy Fender is born Baldemar Huerta in San Benito, Texas. He'll have a #1 hit in 1974 with "Before The Next Teardrop Falls."
May 9, 1937 Rock and roll singer-songwriter Sonny Curtis (of Buddy Holly's The Crickets) is born in Meadow, Texas.
May 4, 1937 Surf rocker Dick Burns (of The Hondells) is born in Buffalo, New York.
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