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November 1, 1951 Ronald Bell, the musical director for Kool & the Gang who plays a variety of instruments in the group, is born in Youngstown, Ohio. He forms the band with his older brother, Robert "Kool" Bell.
October 26, 1951 Bass player Bootsy Collins is born William Earl Collins in Cincinnati, Ohio. He rises to prominence as a member of James Brown's backing band from 1969-1971, then joins Parliament-Funkadelic, where he writes songs with George Clinton and comes up with otherworldly bass grooves that forge the sound of funk.
October 7, 1951 John Mellencamp is born in Seymour, Indiana. He has Spina bifida, but survives thanks to an experimental surgery performed at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis.More
October 2, 1951 Sting is born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner in Wallsend, Northumberland, England. He earns his nickname when a fellow musician says he looks like a bee in his yellow-and-black striped sweater. He is working as a schoolteacher when his band The Police hit the big time.More
July 1, 1951 Victor Willis, original lead singer for The Village People, is born in Dallas, Texas. He leaves the group in the mid-'80s but returns in 2017 when he gains control of the name, replacing the existing members with a new lineup. Willis, who plays the policeman, is the only group member with co-writing credits on their songs, including "Y.M.C.A." and "Macho Man."
May 16, 1951 Jonathan Richman (frontman for The Modern Lovers) is born in Natick, Massachusetts.
November 22, 1950 Tina Weymouth (bass guitarist for Talking Heads) is born Martina Michele Weymouth in Coronado, California.
October 7, 1950 CBS debuts The Frank Sinatra Show, a variety program and the first TV show for the crooner. Though he has a five-year contract, the show only lasts two seasons.
August 8, 1950 Vocalist/guitarist Andy Fairweather Low (of Amen Corner) is born in Ystrad Mynach, Wales, United Kingdom. Also sang backing vocal's for The Who's Who Are You.
July 5, 1950 Michael Monarch (original lead guitarist for Steppenwolf) is born in Los Angeles, California.
May 13, 1950 Stevie Wonder is born Stevland Morris in Saginaw, Michigan.More
March 18, 1950 John Hartman (original drummer for The Doobie Brothers) is born in Falls Church, Virginia.
March 10, 1950 Ted McKenna (drummer for The Sensational Alex Harvey Band) is born in Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland.
February 26, 1950 Jonathan Cain (keyboardist, rhythm guitarist Journey) is born Jonathan Leonard Friga in Chicago, Illinois.
February 13, 1950 Peter Gabriel (original lead singer for Genesis) is born in Chobham, Surrey, England.
February 6, 1950 Natalie Cole is born in Los Angeles, California, to crooner Nat King Cole and former Duke Ellington Orchestra singer Maria Hawkins Cole.
January 23, 1950 Bill Cunningham (original bass guitarist/keyboardist for The Box Tops) is born in Memphis, Tennessee.
January 2, 1950 Sam Phillips opens the Memphis Recording Service, which he later renames Sun Studio. Among the artists to record there is Elvis Presley, who gets his start recording with Phillips.
December 23, 1949 Adrian Belew is born Robert Steven Belew in Covington, Kentucky. The guitarist plays with Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, King Crimson, Paul Simon, Nine Inch Nails, Primus, and William Shatner.
December 15, 1949 The Birdland jazz club, named after Charlie Parker, opens in New York City. It quickly becomes a hotspot, with Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and many other luminaries performing there until it closes in 1965.
November 13, 1949 Rocker Terry Reid is born in Huntingdon, England. Known for '60s songs like "Better By Far" and The Hollies' "A Man With No Expression," which he wrote with Graham Nash (later recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young as "Horses Through A Rainstorm").
July 14, 1949 Music executive Tommy Mottola is born in The Bronx, New York City. Before landing a 15-year gig as head of Sony Music, Mottola starts out as a talent manager helping acts like Hall & Oates and Carly Simon secure record deals. He's also known for marrying - and divorcing - Mariah Carey.
May 26, 1949 Hank Williams, Jr. is born Randall Hank Williams in Shreveport, Louisiana, to country legend Hank Williams and first wife, Audrey.
May 18, 1949 Keyboard player Rick Wakeman is born in London. After making his name as a session musician, he joins Yes in 1971.
May 9, 1949 Billy Joel is born in The Bronx, New York, raised in Hicksville on Long Island.More
November 3, 1948 Lulu is born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie in Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The singer finds international fame with the title songs to the films To Sir With Love and The Man With the Golden Gun.
September 20, 1948 The fraternal twin brothers Chuck and John Panozzo are born in Chicago. Along with James Young, Dennis DeYoung and John Curulewski, they form the band Styx, where they are the rhythm section, Chuck on bass and John on drums.
September 16, 1948 Ron Blair, original bassist for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, is born in San Diego, California. Blair has two stints with the band - from 1976 to 1982, and from 2002 until Petty's death in 2017.
September 3, 1948 Donald Brewer (drummer and co-lead singer for Grand Funk Railroad) is born in Flint, Michigan.
August 28, 1948 Danny Seraphine (original drummer for Chicago) is born in Chicago, Illinois.
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