Calendar Search Results: ne hits
February 11, 1950 Red Foley's "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" hits #1 in America.
January 7, 1950 Gene Autry's "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," based on a children's book written in 1939, hits #1 on the Billboard singles chart.
October 1, 1949 "That Lucky Old Sun" by Frankie Laine hits #1 in America.
August 22, 1949 Country musician Sam Neely is born in Cuero, Texas. Known for a string of minor hits in the '70s, including the cover "I Fought the Law."
June 20, 1949 Lionel Richie is born in Tuskegee, Alabama. He becomes a member of the Commodores before finding fame as a solo artist.More
June 15, 1949 Russell Hitchcock, lead singer of Air Supply, is born in Melbourne, Australia. The group has a string of soft-rock hits in the early '80s that includes "The One That You Love" and "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All."
May 9, 1949 Billy Joel is born in The Bronx, New York, raised in Hicksville on Long Island.More
December 3, 1948 Ozzy Osbourne is born John Michael Osbourne in Birmingham, England. He forms the genre-defining heavy metal band Black Sabbath in 1968 but goes solo in 1979 when he's booted from the band. Remarkably, his solo career is even more successful, with a run of hits that includes "Crazy Train" and "Mama, I'm Coming Home."
February 1, 1948 Rick James is born James Ambrose Johnson Jr. in Buffalo, New York. After stints in a few different bands and a few different jails, he signs with Motown Records in 1977 and develops a funk sound that powers hits like "Super Freak" and "Give It To Me Baby."
November 1, 1947 Songwriter Jim Steinman is born in Hewlett, New York. His bold, ornate love songs become huge hits for Meat Loaf ("I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)"), Bonnie Tyler ("Total Eclipse Of The Heart") and Celine Dion ("It's All Coming Back to Me Now").
December 30, 1946 Punk rock icon Patti Smith is born in Chicago. Never all that popular (her big hit is a reworking of "Because The Night," written by Bruce Springsteen), she's one of the most influential singer-songwriter-poets of her time.More
September 2, 1946 Billy Preston is born in Houston, Texas. He is raised in Los Angeles, California. Aside from being a sought-after session musician for acts like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, the affable performer with the gap-toothed grin becomes a star in his own right with a number of funky hits throughout the '70s.More
May 4, 1946 Perry Como's "Prisoner Of Love" hits #1 in America.
November 10, 1945 Country singer Donna Fargo is born Yvonne Vaughan in Mount Airy, North Carolina. Known for "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA" and "Funny Face," both crossover pop hits in 1972.
September 9, 1945 R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp is born Dione LaRue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Known for early-'60s hits like "Mashed Potato Time" and "Slow Twistin" (the latter with Chubby Checker).
May 28, 1945 John Fogerty is born, but not on the bayou; the Creedence Clearwater Revival leader claims Berkeley, California as his birthplace.More
May 16, 1945 Nicky Chinn, who penned hits with songwriting partner Mike Chapman throughout the '60s and '70s, is born in London, England.
December 27, 1944 Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones is born in Portsmouth, England. Along with lead singer Lou Gramm, he's the primary songwriter in the band, whose hits include "Juke Box Hero" and "I Want to Know What Love Is."
December 11, 1944 Brenda Lee is born Brenda Mae Tarpley in Atlanta, Georgia. Her small stature and big voice inspire the nickname "Little Miss Dynamite," which she lives up to by blowing up the charts with rockabilly bops ("Sweet Nothin's"), pop ballads ("I'm Sorry"), and Christmas tunes ("Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree") throughout the '60s.
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November 25, 1944 "You Always Hurt the One You Love" by The Mills Brothers hits #1 in the US.
September 14, 1944 Singer/actress Joey Heatherton is born Davenie Johanna Heatherton in Rockville Centre, New York. Known for the 1972 hits "Gone" and "I'm Sorry."
April 27, 1944 Cuba Gooding Sr. (lead singer for The Main Ingredient) is born in New York City. Known for the early-'70s hits "Everybody Plays the Fool" and "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely." Of course, he also becomes the father to actor Cuba Gooding Jr.
August 10, 1943 Ronnie Spector, lead singer of The Ronettes, is born Veronica Bennett in New York City. They define the girl group sound of the '60s with hits like "Be My Baby" and "Walking in the Rain." Ronnie marries their producer, Phil Spector, in 1968, but it's a tumultuous relationship that ends in divorce in 1974.
June 17, 1943 Barry Manilow is born Barry Alan Pincus in Brooklyn, New York. Despite never wanting to be an entertainer, he becomes one of the best-selling artists in the world as a famous soft-rock balladeer.More
March 15, 1943 Sly Stone, leader of Sly & the Family Stone, is born Sylvester Stewart in Denton, Texas. The band bring smiles and break ground with hits like "Dance To The Music" and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)," but by the late '70s Stone becomes erratic and unreliable, plagued by drug addiction and mental health issues. He's offered various showcases to launch a comeback, including a Grammy tribute in 2006, but is never lucid enough to return to music.
October 15, 1942 Pop singer Chris Andrews is born in Romford, Essex, England. Aside from his own 1965 hit, "Yesterday Man," he penned a string of hits for Adam Faith ("The First Time," "We Are In Love") and Sandie Shaw (including "Girl Don't Come").
August 26, 1942 Singer Vic Dana is born in Buffalo, New York. Known for '60s hits like "Little Altar Boy," "I Will," and a popular cover of "Red Roses for a Blue Lady."
February 9, 1942 Carole King is born Carol Joan Klein in Manhattan, New York City. She meets husband and songwriting partner Gerry Goffin while attending Queens College.More
January 21, 1942 Edwin Starr is born Charles Edwin Hatcher in Nashville, Tennessee. He grows up in Cleveland but launches his career in Detroit, eventually joining Motown, where he has big hits with "Twenty-Five Miles" and "War."
January 11, 1942 Clarence Clemons, the saxophone player in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, is born in Virginia.More
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