July 2, 1939 Paul Williams (original lead singer for The Temptations) is born in Birmingham, Alabama.
May 7, 1939 Johnny Maestro (original lead singer for The Crests, Brooklyn Bridge) is born John Mastrangelo in New York City.
April 2, 1939 Marvin Gaye is born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr. in Washington, DC.More
February 4, 1939 Frank Sinatra marries Nancy Barbato at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Jersey City. They welcome three children - Nancy, Frank Jr., and Tina - before divorcing in 1951.
July 18, 1938 Ian Stewart, an original member of The Rolling Stones who becomes an unofficial member in 1963, is born in Pittenweem, Fife, Scotland.
January 25, 1938 Blues singer Etta James, known for the enduring ballad "At Last," is born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles, California.More
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
October 24, 1937 Surf rocker Santo Farina (of Santo & Johnny) is born in Brooklyn, New York.
June 23, 1937 Niki Sullivan (original guitarist for Buddy Holly's Crickets) is born in South Gate, California.
July 15, 1936 H. B. Barnum is born in Houston, Texas. A child star, he makes his foray into music as "Pee Wee Barnum" and later becomes a sought-after arranger for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and The Supremes.
June 14, 1936 Renaldo "Obie" Benson (bass vocalist of The Four Tops) is born in Detroit, Michigan.
October 12, 1935 Sam Moore is born Samuel Hicks in Miami, Florida. He takes the last name of his stepfather, Charlie Moore, and forms the duo Sam & Dave with Dave Prater. Their big hits are "Soul Man," "I Thank You" and "Hold On, I'm Comin'."
October 5, 1935 Country singer Margie Singleton is born Margaret Louis Ebey in Coushatta, Louisiana. Known for her 1964 duet with Faron Young, "Keeping Up With The Joneses."
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.
July 23, 1935 Cleveland Duncan (original tenor for The Penguins) is born in Los Angeles, California.
June 29, 1935 Leonard Lee (of Shirley & Lee) is born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
May 11, 1935 Kit Lambert, manager of The Who and co-founder of Track Records, is born Christopher Sebastian Lambert in Middlesex, England.
February 17, 1935 Country singer Johnny Bush is born in Houston, Texas. He writes "Whiskey River," which becomes a signature tune for Willie Nelson.
September 21, 1934 Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen is born in Westmount, Quebec, Canada.
March 4, 1934 Singer/actress Barbara McNair is born in Chicago, Illinois. She releases her debut single, "Till There Was You," in 1958 and goes on to tour with Nat King Cole.
October 2, 1933 David Somerville (original lead singer for The Diamonds) is born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
November 29, 1932 The Broadway musical The Gay Divorce, featuring Cole Porter's classic "Night And Day," premieres in New York. Two years later, it reaches the big screen as The Gay Divorcee, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
May 14, 1932 Record producer Bob Johnston, known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, and Simon & Garfunkel, is born in Hillsboro, Texas.
November 30, 1931 Teddy Wilburn (of the country duo The Wilburn Brothers) is born in Hardy, Arkansas. In addition to recording hit records, Teddy and brother Doyle start a music publishing company and sign an up-and-coming singer named Loretta Lynn.
August 16, 1931 Traditional Pop/Swing singer Eydie Gorme is born in The Bronx, New York.
March 15, 1931 D.J. Fontana (drummer for Elvis Presley) is born Dominic Joseph Fontana in Shreveport, Louisiana.
March 22, 1930 Composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim is born in New York City. He wins an Academy Award for Best Original Song for Madonna's "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)," written for the 1990 film Dick Tracy.
October 26, 1929 Neal Matthews Jr. (of The Jordanaires, backing vocalists for Elvis Presley) is born in Nashville, Tennessee.
August 6, 1928 Andy Warhol, who makes his mark on the music world as manager for the The Velvet Underground and designer of the Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers album cover, is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
January 13, 1927 Country singer-songwriter Liz Anderson is born in Roseau, Minnesota. Aside from her own hit "Mama Spank" (1964), she pens hits for other artists, including Merle Haggard ("(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers") and her own daughter, Lynn Anderson ("If I Kiss You (Will You Go Away)").
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