Calendar Search Results: i he w
September 30, 1935 The Gershwin musical Porgy and Bess opens at Boston's Colonial Theatre. While not commercially successful, a revival in 1942 will turn it into one of the longest-running musicals in history.
September 23, 1935 Les McCann is born in Lexington, Kentucky. The soul jazz musician will gain popularity with the 1961 anti-war song "Compared to What."
September 8, 1935 The Hoboken Four, featuring a 19-year-old Frank Sinatra, appear on NBC's popular radio program Major Bowes and His Original Amateur Hour. They sing the Mills Brothers song "Shine" and earn the most votes in the history of the show, with 40,000 people calling in.
September 7, 1935 Country/pop singer Ronnie Dove is born in Herndon, Virginia. Known for a popular cover of Wanda Jackson's "Right or Wrong."
August 30, 1935 "Papa" John Phillips, leader of The Mamas & The Papas, is born in Parris Island, South Carolina, raised in Alexandria, Virginia. He's the primary writer in the group, penning hits like "Monday, Monday" and "California Dreamin'." He also co-writes the Beach Boys hit "Kokomo."
August 29, 1935 Controversial singer and co-founder of the West Coast Pop Experimental Art Band Bob Markley is born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
June 12, 1935 Ella Fitzgerald records "Love And Kisses" and "I'll Chase The Blues Away."
May 27, 1935 Jazz composer/pianist Ramsey Lewis, who will have hit instrumental versions of "Hang On Sloopy" and "The In Crowd" with his Ramsey Lewis Trio, is born in Chicago, Illinois.
May 13, 1935 Pop songwriter Teddy Randazzo is born in Brooklyn, New York. Known for '60s hits "Pretty Blue Eyes," "Goin' Out Of My Head," and "Hurt So Bad," among others.
May 11, 1935 Kit Lambert, manager of The Who and co-founder of Track Records, is born Christopher Sebastian Lambert in Middlesex, England.
May 9, 1935 Nokie Edwards, guitarist for The Ventures, is born Nole Floyd Edwards in Lahoma, Oklahoma.
April 18, 1935 Record producer Paul Rothchild (The Doors, Janis Joplin) is born in Brooklyn, New York.
April 14, 1935 Loretta Lynn, a coal miner's daughter, is born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky. She overcomes poverty to become one of the most beloved and influential women in country music. "She blazed so many trails for all of us girls in country music," Miranda Lambert says.
March 31, 1935 Trumpet player Herb Alpert is born in Los Angeles, California. After defining the "Tijuana sound" on his 1962 song "The Lonely Bull," he becomes one of the top-selling album artists of the '60s, behind only Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Frank Sinatra. He's also a label boss, with A&M Records (his partnership with Jerry Moss) home to Cat Stevens, Styx, the Carpenters and many other top acts.
March 17, 1935 Pop singer/drummer Adam Wade is born Patrick Henry Wade in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Known for "Take Good Care Of Her" (1961), among other hits.
March 6, 1935 Sylvia Vanderpool of the duo Mickey & Sylvia is born in New York City. As Sylvia Robinson, she forms Sugarhill Records and assembles the Sugarhill Gang of "Rapper's Delight" fame.
February 17, 1935 Country singer Johnny Bush is born in Houston, Texas. He writes "Whiskey River," which becomes a signature tune for Willie Nelson.
February 16, 1935 Sonny Bono is born in Detroit. He finds success as a producer and record executive before marrying Cher, with whom he forms the duo Sonny & Cher. He is elected to Congress in California, where he serves until the time of his death.
February 5, 1935 Alex Harvey (of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band) is born in Glasgow, Scotland.
January 20, 1935 Country singer Buddy Blake Cunningham, known for the 1950s songs "Please Convince Me" and "Right Or Wrong," is born in Jackson, Mississippi.
January 10, 1935 Ronnie Hawkins, whose group The Hawks is a precursor to The Band, is born in Huntsville, Arkansas.
January 6, 1935 Nino Tempo is born Antonino LoTempio in Niagara Falls, New York. In 1963, he scores a #1 hit on the pop charts with "Deep Purple," a duet with his sister, April Stevens.
December 25, 1934 R&B singer McKinley Mitchell, known for the 1962 hit "The Town I Live In," is born in Jackson, Mississippi.
December 9, 1934 Bluesman Junior Wells is born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr. He is raised in West Memphis, Arkansas (where he may have also been born). He learns harmonica from his cousin, Junior Parker.
November 15, 1934 Gene Autry appears in his first film, In Old Santa Fe, becoming the first "singing cowboy" on the silver screen.
November 12, 1934 Charles Manson is born. Why is he on a music calendar? He wrote and recorded songs before he was imprisoned, including one called "Cease To Exist," which Dennis Wilson re-wrote for The Beach Boys as "Never Learn Not to Love."
October 8, 1934 Baritone singer Doc Green (of The Drifters) is born in Harlem, New York.
October 1, 1934 Songwriter Geoff Stephens of The New Vaudeville Band is born in New Southgate, North London.
September 21, 1934 Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen is born in Westmount, Quebec, Canada.
September 8, 1934 Country singer Bill Parsons is born in Crossville, Tennessee. Known for his association with Bobby Bare, who was the real voice on the 1959 hit "The All American Boy," which was mistakenly credited to co-writer Parsons.
©2026 Songfacts®, LLC