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November 21, 1907 Songwriter, arranger Buck Ram is born Samuel Ram in Chicago, Illinois. Known for his work with The Platters, among other greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller. (You can also spot him under the pseudonyms Ande Rand, Lynn Paul and Jean Miles.)

November 10, 1907 Actress/singer Jane Froman is born in University City, Missouri. She would inspire the 1952 film With a Song in My Heart: The Jane Froman Story, starring Susan Hayward.

October 5, 1907 Pop cover singer Mrs. Miller is born Elva Ruby Connes in Joplin, Missouri. Known for her version of Petula Clark's "Downtown," one of many off-key song renditions Miller was both celebrated and criticized for.

March 20, 1906 Ozzie Nelson is born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He starts his career as a bandleader before starring with his family, including son Rick Nelson, in the long-running radio and television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

January 12, 1906 Country blues performer Mississippi Fred McDowell is born in Rossville, Tennessee. The Rolling Stones cover his "You Gotta Move" on their 1971 album, Sticky Fingers.

March 11, 1905 Songwriter Michael Carr is born Maurice Alfred Cohen. His credits include the Shadows hit "Kon-Tiki."

February 15, 1905 Harold Arlen is born Hyman Arluck in Buffalo, New York. A prolific composer, he writes "Over The Rainbow" with lyricist Yip Harburg.

April 27, 1904 Syd Nathan, King Records founder who signed James Brown, is born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

February 29, 1904 Jazz musician and bandleader Jimmy Dorsey is born in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, to a coal-mining family that includes older brother (and future bandleader) Tommy Dorsey.

September 15, 1903 Country singer Roy Acuff is born in Maynardville, Tennessee. Along with Fred Rose, he founded the Acuff-Rose music publishing company and signed Hank Williams and Roy Orbison, among others.

June 17, 1902 Composer Sammy Fain is born Samuel E. Feinberg in New York City. Known for classic songs like "Let A Smile Be Your Umbrella," "I'll Be Seeing You," and "That Old Feeling."

October 20, 1901 Film composer Frank Churchill is born in Rumford, Maine. Known for his work on Disney films, including memorable songs for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, like "Heigh-Ho."

September 28, 1901 Ed Sullivan is born in Harlem, New York City. Before hosting his long-running eponymous TV show that introduces The Beatles and Elvis Presley, among others, he'll work as a sportswriter for the New York Evening Graphic and theater columnist for the New York Daily News.

August 4, 1901 Jazz singer and trumpeter Louis Armstrong is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He becomes a formative figure in the world of jazz, popularizing solo improvisations and scat singing. His best-known song, "What A Wonderful World," is recorded in 1967 when he's 66.

March 2, 1900 Composer Kurt Weill is born in Dessau, Germany. Known for his collaborations with playwright Bertolt Brecht, including The Threepenny Opera and its famous ballad "Mack the Knife."

November 22, 1899 Bandleader Hoagy Carmichael is born Howard Hoagland Carmichael in Bloomington, Indiana. Known for composing enduring standards like "Stardust," "Georgia On My Mind," "Heart and Soul," and "The Nearness of You."

January 25, 1897 Blind Willie Johnson, known best for "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground," is born in Pendleton, Texas.More

December 6, 1896 Ira Gershwin is born in New York City. With his younger brother George, he writes music for many popular songs, including "Summertime."

April 8, 1896 Edgar Yipsel Harburg, known as "Yip," is born in New York City. He co-writes many popular songs, including "Over The Rainbow" and "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime."

January 27, 1895 Film producer, record executive and occasional lyricist Buddy DeSylva is born George Gard DeSylva in New York. He co-wrote the Al Jolson hit "April Showers."

April 15, 1894 Blues singer Bessie Smith is born in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

September 4, 1892 Composer Darius Milhaud is born in Marseilles, France. Taught jazz pianist Dave Brubeck at Mills College in Oakland, California.

July 30, 1892 John Philip Sousa, director of the President's Own Marine Band, conducts a farewell concert at the White House the day before his discharge from the Marine Corps. Sousa became famous for his "Washington Post" march a few years earlier and wanted to explore a civilian music career.

June 9, 1891 Cole Porter is born in Peru, Indiana. His classic songs include "It's De-Lovely," "Anything Goes" and "Begin The Beguine."

October 15, 1890 New Orleans police chief David Hennessy is gunned down in the first widely publicized Mafia murder in the USA. The event is memorialized in the song "The Hennessy Murder."

June 15, 1889 John Philip Sousa leads the Marine Corps Band in a performance of "The Washington Post" at an awards ceremony held by the eponymous newspaper. The march, written especially for the occasion, becomes a worldwide sensation and earns Sousa the title of March King. More

April 11, 1889 Jazz musician Nick LaRocca, composer of the jazz classic "Tiger Rag," is born Dominic James LaRocca in New Orleans, Louisiana.

January 27, 1885 Jerome Kern, a storied composer of Broadway musicals, is born in New York City. His songs include "The Way You Look Tonight" (from Swing Time), "Ol' Man River" (from Show Boat) and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" (from Roberta).

January 20, 1885 Folk and blues musician Leadbelly is born Huddie William Ledbetter in Mooringsport, Louisiana.

January 31, 1882 Peter Dawson, famed Australian bass-baritone who made popular recordings of "Advance Australia Fair," "Waltzing Matilda," and "Song Of Australia," is born in Adelaide, South Australia, to Scottish parents Thomas and Alison Dawson.