Calendar Search Results: i he w
August 16, 1922 Bandleader/pianist Ernie Freeman is born in Cleveland, Ohio. Also a session musician, he worked on hits like Dean Martin's "Everybody Loves Somebody" and Frank Sinatra's "That's Life."
August 11, 1922 Ron Grainer, composer of the "Doctor Who Theme," is born in Queensland, Australia.
July 22, 1922 Irving Berlin's mother dies, which results in him writing "All By Myself," "All Alone" and "What'll I Do?"
July 21, 1922 Jazz singer Kay Starr, known for the '50s chart-toppers "Wheel of Fortune" and "Rock And Roll Waltz," is born Katherine Laverne Starks on a reservation in Dougherty, Oklahoma.
June 29, 1922 Ralph Burns, pianist and composer who arranged the string orchestra for Ray Charles' "Come Rain or Come Shine" and "Georgia On My Mind," is born in Newton, Massachusetts.
June 10, 1922 Judy Garland is born Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. A few years later, her family moves to California and she becomes a child star, playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz when she's 17.
May 27, 1922 Actor and occasional singer Christopher Lee is born in Belgravia, Westminster, London. He's best known for his villainous roles in Dracula, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
April 5, 1922 Actress and singer Gale Storm, star of the '50s TV shows My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show, is born Josephine Owaissa Cottle in Bloomington, Texas.
April 3, 1922 Actress and singer Doris Day is born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff in Cincinnati, Ohio. She turns to singing when a car accident wrecks her dreams of becoming a professional dancer.More
January 26, 1922 Pianist/vocalist Page Cavanaugh is born in Cherokee, Kansas. He notches a number of hits in the 1940s, including "Walkin' My Baby Back Home," as part of The Page Cavanaugh Trio with guitarist Al Viola and bassist Lloyd Pratt.
December 28, 1921 Johnny Otis is born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes in Vallejo, California. A singer and songwriter in his own right, he also works as a talent scout and discovers several artists, including Etta James and "Hound Dog" singer Big Mama Thornton.
December 15, 1921 Alan Freed is born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. At the Cleveland radio station WJW, he becomes the first white disc jockey to play upbeat rhythm and blues records north of the Mason Dixon line. At the time, they are called "race" records, but Freed calls the music "rock and roll." Freed attracts a large following on WJW, and his late-night radio show, the Moondog Rock 'n' Roll Party, helps increase the popularity of rhythm and blues and makes Cleveland a trendsetter in Midwestern pop culture.
September 19, 1921 R&B singer Billy Ward (of The Dominoes) is born Robert L. Williams in Savannah, Georgia.
August 13, 1921 Bluesman Jimmy McCracklin is born in St. Louis, Missouri (or Helena, Arkansas, according to some sources). Known for the hits "The Walk" and "Just Got To Know."
August 8, 1921 Country singer Webb Pierce is born in West Monroe, Louisiana. Known for the popular 1955 cover "In the Jailhouse Now."
August 4, 1921 Jazz guitarist Herb Ellis is born in Farmersville, Texas. Along with drummer Buddy Rich, he was part of the backing band for comeback albums by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.
August 3, 1921 Broadway lyricist/composer Richard Adler (The Pajama Game) is born in New York City. With Frank Loesser, he writes Tony Bennett's "Rags To Riches."
August 2, 1921 Italian operatic tenor Enrico Caruso dies of peritonitis at age 48. Son Enrico Caruso Jr. attributes his father's downward health spiral to an onstage injury, having being struck by a falling pillar during a production of Samson and Delilah the year before.
July 24, 1921 Jazz pianist and composer Billy Taylor is born in Greenville, North Carolina. He penned the unofficial civil rights anthem "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" in 1963.
June 1, 1921 Nelson Riddle is born in Oradell, New Jersey. He'll become famous as the orchestrator and arranger behind countless hits for Capitol Records artists like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, and - decades later - Linda Ronstadt.
May 17, 1921 Bob Merrill, a prolific songwriter whose hits include "(How Much Is) That Doggie In The Window?" and "Mambo Italiano," is born in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
April 12, 1921 Chicago blues musician Shakey Jake Harris is born James D. Harris in Earle, Arkansas, but would be raised in Chicago, Illinois. A professional gambler, he borrows his nickname from the dice players' expression "shake 'em."
April 10, 1921 Actor and novelty singer Sheb Wooley is born in Erick, Oklahoma.
March 15, 1921 Doo-wop musician Les Cooper, known for the 1962 instrumental hit "Wiggle Wobble," is born in Norfolk, Virginia.
December 31, 1920 Actor Rex Allen, who has a country hit with "Don't Go Near the Indians" in 1962, is born near Willcox, Arizona.
December 14, 1920 Swing trumpeter Clark Terry is born in St. Louis, Missouri. One of the most recorded jazz musicians, he would play with the likes of Charlie Barnet, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Quincy Jones.
December 12, 1920 British music publisher Dick James is born Leon Isaac Vapnick in London. His high-profile clients include Elton John and The Beatles.
December 6, 1920 Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, composer of the standard "In Your Own Sweet Way," is born in Concord, California.
November 2, 1920 KDKA in Pittsburgh becomes the first commercially licensed radio station in the United States. They are not the first station on the air, but the first to get the broadcast license. With consumers unsure of the benefits of radio, the station announces results of the Harding-Cox presidential election, getting the news to those with a radio much faster than everyone who had to wait for the morning paper.
September 7, 1920 Guitarist Al Caiola, a frequent session musician in the '50s, is born in Jersey City, New Jersey.
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