April 12, 1917 Helen Forrest (girl singer of the Swing Era for Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and Harry James), is born Helen Fogel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
March 20, 1917 Vera Lynn is born Vera Welch in East Ham, Essex, England. She becomes one of England's top entertainers during World War II, a time when she becomes an emblem of wartime spirit and national pride thanks in part to her rendition of "We'll Meet Again."
February 26, 1917 The first ever jazz single, "Livery Stable Blues," is recorded by the Original Dixieland Jass Band in New York. It sells a million copies and launches jazz as a national phenomenon.
January 30, 1917 The Original Dixieland Jazz Band records "The Darktown Strutters' Ball."
January 14, 1917 Jazz trumpeter Billy Butterfield is born in Middletown, Ohio. In 1940, he plays a legendary solo on Artie Shaw's hit rendition of "Stardust."
January 10, 1917 Jerry Wexler is born in New York City. As a producer and executive with Atlantic Records, he plays a key role in the success of Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin and Wilson Pickett.
December 15, 1916 Buddy Cole is born Edwin LeMar Cole in Irving, Illinois. The jazz pianist will accompany the likes of Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby.
May 26, 1916 Louis Thomas Hardin, aka Moondog, is born in Marysville, Kansas. Aside from forging a career as a musician, composer, and inventor, he becomes well-known as a street musician in New York City, where his cloak and Viking-style helmet earns him the nickname "the Viking of 6th Avenue."
April 12, 1916 Composer and arranger Russ Garcia (The Benny Goodman Story (1956), The Complete Porgy and Bess (1956)) is born in Oakland, California.
March 24, 1916 After a German U-boat torpedoes the SS Sussex, a passenger ferry crossing the English Channel, Spanish composer Enrique Granados drowns while attempting to rescue his wife.
March 22, 1916 Bernard Weissman, the future George Wyle, is born in New York City. Among his compositions: the Gilligan's Island theme song.
January 3, 1916 Maxene Andrews of The Andrew Sisters is born in Mound, Minnesota, to a family that already includes older sister LaVerne and will welcome younger sister Patty in two years.
December 19, 1915 Charlie Ryan, who co-wrote and was the first to record the 1955 rockabilly hit "Hot Rod Lincoln," is born in Graceville, Minnesota.
December 14, 1915 Actor/dancer Dan Dailey is born in New York City. Known for his roles in There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), It's Always Fair Weather (1955) and Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956).
December 12, 1915 Frank Sinatra is born Francis Albert Sinatra in Hoboken, New Jersey.More
December 4, 1915 Jazz pianist Eddie Heywood, Jr. is born in Atlanta, Georgia.
November 30, 1915 Folk-blues singer Brownie McGhee is born Walter Brown McGhee in Knoxville, Tennessee. Known for his longtime collaboration with harmonica player Sonny Terry.
November 28, 1915 Jazz trumpeter Dick Vance is born in Mayfield, Kentucky, but will be raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He blows his horn for a number of prominent Big Bands, including Chick Webb's orchestra.
November 14, 1915 Pop singer Martha Tilton is born in Corpus Christi, Texas. Known for "And the Angels Sing" with Benny Goodman (1939).
August 24, 1915 Blues singer Wynonie Harris is born in Omaha, Nebraska. He'll land his first R&B chart-topper in 1945 with "Who Threw The Whiskey In The Well."
July 28, 1915 Accordionist Frankie Yankovic is born in Davis, West Virginia. No relation to fellow accordionist Weird Al Yankovic, though the parody master says his parents chose the instrument for him because "they figured there should be at least one more accordion-playing Yankovic in the world."
April 7, 1915 Billie Holiday is born Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More
March 28, 1915 Composer Jay Livingston is born in McDonald, Pennsylvania. He teams with lyricist Ray Evans to write a number of popular songs for films, including the Academy Award-winning "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" for The Man Who Knew Too Much.
February 12, 1915 Lorne Greene, a radio personality who becomes known for his role as Ben Cartwright on the long-running Western Bonanza, is born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
January 25, 1915 Folk singer Ewan MacColl is born James Henry Miller in London. In 1957 he takes an hour to write "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" for a play his mistress is appearing in and, 15 years later, it becomes a #1 hit for Roberta Flack.
December 28, 1914 Roebuck "Pops" Staples (The Staple Singers) is born on a cotton plantation near Winona, Mississippi.
December 2, 1914 Libretto writer Adolph Green is born in New York City. Along with his partner Betty Comden, he writes lyrics for a number of musicals, including On the Town, Bells Are Ringing and Singin' in the Rain.
October 17, 1914 Jazz musician John Clifford Mosley Jr., a trumpeter who also played the flugelhorn, the long horn and the flute, is born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. That's Mosley playing the flute during the intro of The Isley Brothers' 1971 cover of "Spill the Wine."
September 14, 1914 Music producer/songwriter Mae Axton is born in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Known as "The Queen Mother of Nashville," Axton co-wrote Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel."
March 30, 1914 Blues harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson is born John Lee Williamson in Jackson, Tennessee. An influential musician known for playing the harmonica as the lead instrument, he becomes an early victim of identity theft when another bluesman impersonates him and assumes his name. That musician, often referred to as Sonny Boy Williamson II, becomes more famous, known for writing blues standards like "Help Me" and "One Way Out."
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