About maketodayrock.com: We celebrate musicians' birthdays, remember those we've lost, and highlight key moments in music such a release dates, chart peak dates, or anything else tied to a specific date. Pick any day from the menu in the top right. The front page shows recent obituaries.
April 14, 1969 ~ Martijn Lenoble, commonly known as bassist Martyn Lenoble, born in Vlaardingen, the Netherlands ~ Founding member of Porno For Pyros alongside Peter Distefano, Stephen Perkins and Perry Farrell. Has also worked with Thelonious Monster, the Too Free Stooges, Jane's Addiction, the Cult, David Gahan, Scott Weiland, Mark Lanegan, the Soulsavers, Daniel Lanois, Maria McKee, Sarah McLachlan, Layne Staley, Tom Morello, Josh Klinghoffer, Banyan, Keith Caputo, and Wildlights. Lenoble is married to actress Christina Applegate with whom he has one daughterApril 14, 1968 ~ Producer, singer, songwriter Alexandr Ksenofontov born in Lviv, Ukranian SSR ~ Lead singer of rock group the Tea Fan Club. Married to Ruslana, internationally known for winning the 2004 Eurovision Songfestival with Wild Dances, which they wrote together
April 14, 1968 ~ Christian rock singer, guitarist, bassist, songwriter Mark Stuart, full name Mark Alan Stuart, born in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA ~ Best known as lead singer for Christian rock band Audio Adrenaline from 1986 through 2007, present on some of the band's best known including the acclaimed albums Bloom, Worldwide and Until My Heart Caves In. Stuart has also served as producer for the likes of Jennifer Knapp, Fireflight, and Kids In The Way, as songwriter for TobyMac, Kutless, and MercyMe, and starred as Petrov in the rock opera Hero
April 14, 1967 ~ Drummer, percussionist, singer Barrett Martin born in Olympia, Washington, USA ~ Member of Skin Yard, present on the albums Inside The Eye and Start At The Top. Member of Screaming Trees, present on the acclaimed Sweet Oblivion album. Also noted for his work with Mad Season, Tuatara, and Walking Papers. Other notable credits include Seaweed, Luna, REM (Up), the Stone Temple Pilots, Mark Olson, the Twilight Singers, the Queens Of The Stone Age, Nando Reis, and CeDell DavisApril 14, 1967 ~ Pop drummer, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, singer Frode Unneland, full name Harald Frode Unneland, born in Bergen, Norway ~ Key figure on the Bergen music scene since the late 1980s. Noted for his associations with Pompel & the Pilts, Unge Frustrerte Menn, Chocolate Overdose, Savoy, and Evig Din For Altid. Has also guested on recordings by Ephemera, A-ha (Minor Earth Major Sky), Sondre Lerche, and Popium
April 14, 1967 ~ Jazz trombonist Steve Davis born in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA ~ Worked with Jackie McLean, Art Blakey, Chick Corea, Eric Alexander, Jim Rotondi, David Hazeltine, John Webber, Joe Farnsworth, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Golson, Hank Jones, Cecil Payne, Horace Silver, Cedar Walton, Harold Mabern, Larry Willis, Eddie Henderson, Roy Hargrove, Avishai Cohen, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Weiss, Jimmy Greene, and Steve Turre
April 14, 1964 ~ Fiddler Stuart Duncan born in Quantico, Virginia, USA ~ PLays fiddle, mandolin, guitar, banjo. Member of the Nashville Bluegrass Band since 1985. In-demand session musician. Has worked with George Strait, Dolly Parton, Guy Clark, Reba McEntire, Barbra Streisand, Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Diana Krall, Yo-Yo Ma, and Chris Thile
April 14, 1962 ~ Country singer George Jones releases She Thinks I Still Care, lifted off his Hits By George album ~ Written by Dickey Lee and Steve Duffy, the song would be first recorded by George Jones who took it to the top of Billboard Country charts, making it his third No.1 after White Lightning and Tender Years. Over the years, She Thinks I Still Care would be covered by well over a hundred artists including Eddy Arnold, Jerry Lee Lewis, Merle Haggard, Leon Russell, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Paycheck, yet the definitive version remains Jones' 1962 single, a record included in Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. In his memoir, Jones would look back on the success of his single: “For years after I recorded it, the song was my most requested, and it became what people in my business call a ‘career record,’ the song that firmly establishes your identity with the public”
April 14, 1962 ~ Guitarist, singer John Bell, full name John Farmer Bell, born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA ~ Lead singer, rhythm guitarist for rock, blues rock, jam band Widespread Panic for well over three decades since its inception in the late 1980s. Influenced by Southern rock, blues rock, progressive rock, funk and hard rock the band has been critically compared to the Grateful Dead and Phish and are especially known for their energetic live act. Acclaimed albums include Space Wrangler, Light Fuse Get Away, and Live In The Classic City
April 14, 1961 ~ R&B, soul singer Sam Cooke records Cupid at RCA Studios, Hollywood, California ~ Reportedly producers Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore had asked Sam Cooke to write a song for a girl they had seen on The Perry Como Show, but once they heard her sing they kept the song for Cooke. Released as a single, featuring Farewell My Darling on the B-side, would reach top 20 on both the Billboard R&B and Billboard Hot 100 charts. The UK release would give Cooke a British top 10
April 14, 1960 ~ Pop, rock & roll singer Billy Fury and vocal group the Four Jays record That's Love at Decca Studios, London, UK ~ Written by Billy Fury, produced by Jack Good. Paired with You Don't Know on the flip side, the single would be released the following May and reach top 20 on the UK pop charts
April 14, 1960 ~ Hard rock, melodic rock singer Danny Bowes, full name Daniel John Bowes, born in West Ham, UK ~ Member of Nuthin' Fancy. Member of Terraplane. Best known as lead singer of rock band Thunder, with whom he recorded over a dozen albums starting with Backstreet Symphony in 1990. They are best known for songs such as Love Walked In, Low Life In High Places, and the UK top 20 hit A Better Man
April 14, 1956 ~ Singer Elvis Presley records I Want You I Need You I Love You in RCA/Victor Studios, Nashville, Tennessee ~ Seeking a follow-up for the million-seller Heartbreak Hotel producer Steve Sholes had Elvis Presley flown in between shows. The hired airplane suffered engine trouble and when the crew finally arrived everybody would be stressed and neither Presley nor Sholes were particularly happy with either the material at hand or any of the takes. Sholes would splice two takes and release the single, featuring My Baby Left Me on the flip side, in May. It would become another million-seller
April 14, 1955 ~ Singer, pianist Fats Domino records Ain't That A Shame at Master Recorders, Hollywood, California ~ Written by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew. Released the next month, paired with La La on the flip side. Included on Domino's full-length debut Rock And Rollin' With Fats Domino album. Shame would gain fame after being covered by Pat Boone, after which Domino got the attention of the mainstream listenersApril 14, 1954 ~ Folk singer, songwriter Pierce Pettis born in Fort Payne, Alabama, USA ~ Staff writer at Polygram Publishing. First gained attention in 1979 when Joan Baez recorded his Song At The End Of The Movie. Pettis would go on to release several albums as a singer, starting with 1984's Moments. Artists who have recorded his songs include Dar Williams, Garth Brooks (You Move Me), Sara Groves, Randy Stonehill, and Pat Alger
April 14, 1952 ~ Bassist, guitarist Kenny Aaronson born in Brooklyn, New York, USA ~ Influenced by Motown bassist James Jamerson. Honed his skills through the 1970s working with Dust, Stories, and extensively with Rick Derringer. Would go on to work with Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve (Through The Fire), Brian Setzer, the Blue Öyster Cult, Billy Idol (Vital Idol), Joan Jett, Billy Squier, Graham Parker, Foghat, Tom Guerra, and the YardbirdsApril 14, 1951 ~ Cellist, conductor Julian Lloyd Webber born in London, UK ~ Son of composer William Lloyd Webber, brother of musical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Has worked with a wide variety of orchestras, conductors, instrumentalists, and pop and rock artists including Yehudi Menuhin, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Clifford Curzon, Murray Perahia, Stéphane Grappelli, Elton John, and Cleo Laine. Premiered the recordings of over four dozens works, including works for cello by composers such as Joaquín Rodrigo, James MacMillan, and Philip Glass
April 14, 1951 ~ Rock singer, guitarist, songwriter Pyotr Mamonov, full name Pyotr Nikolayevich Mamonov, born in Moscow, Soviet Union' ~ Influenced by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the Weather Report. One of Russia's most revered and eccentric figures, eventually achieving cult status. Frontman, founder of Zvuki Mu, active mostly from 1982 through 1990 and in various incarnations in later years. One of the few Russian musicians to achieve international recognition, mostly through his late 1980s association with Brian Eno. Has also ventured into acting in films as well as writing and producing a series of his own one-man theatrical performances ~ Mamonov passed away in 2021
April 14, 1949 ~ Drummer Dennis Bryon, full name Dennis Ronald Bryon, born in Neath, UK ~ Member of 1960s pop outfit Amen Corner, with whom he scored the UK top 10 hits Bend Me Shape Me, High In The Sky, (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice, and Hello Susie. Bryon is als closely associated with the Bee Gees, backing the Gibb brothers from 1974 through 1979 including on the albums Main Course, Children Of The World, and on several tracks of the soundtrack album Saturday Night Fever. Bryon also co-produced Robin Gibb's How Old Are You album released in 1983 ~ Bryon passed away in 2024
April 14, 1949 ~ Sonia Christina Shaw, commonly known as progressive rock, folk, acid folk singer Sonja Kristina, born in Brentwood, UK ~ Performed in the original London production of the rock musical Hair. Lead singer of 1970s progressive rock unit Curved Air, known for merging progressive rock, folk and fusion with classical influences and best known for the albums Air Conditioning, Second Album and Phantasmagoria. The single Back Street Luv would reach top 10 in the band's native UKApril 14, 1948 ~ Joseph Emmanuel Charlemagne, commonly known as folk singer, guitarist, songwriter Manno Charlemagne, born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti ~ Known for his politically themed folk chansons sung in French and Creole. Lived in exile twice, first during the 1980s and again from 1991 through 1994 during the country military junta rule. Charlemagne would serve as mayor of Port-au-Prince from the mid- to late 1990s ~ Charlemagne passed away in 2017
April 14, 1945 ~ Jazz drummer Eliot Zigmund born in New York, New York, USA ~ Revered session musician. Worked with Ron McClure, Steve Swallow, Art Lande, Mike Nock, Mel Martin, Vince Guaraldi, Bill Evans, Eddie Gomez, Bennie Wallace, Richard Beirach, Jim Hall, Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Fred Hersch, Red Mitchell, Don Friedman, Michel Petrucciani, Gary Peacock, Carl Barry, Keith Greko, Eijo Nakayama, Stefan Karlsson, Neil Sedaka, Dionne Warwick, and the Pointer Sisters
April 14, 1945 ~ Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore born in Weston Super Mare, UK ~ Hugely influential on later guitarists including Janick Gers, Randy Rhoads, Lita Ford, Brian May, Yngwie Malmsteen. Co-founding member of Deep Purple. Credited with coming up with the band name inspired by the song Deep Purple by Peter Derose, a favorite of his grandmother's. Noted especially for his guitar play Highway Star, Lazy and specifically Child In Time, all considered among rock's greatest guitar solos. Co-founded Rainbow, initially merging baroque influences with classic hard-rock and eventually moving towards a more pop-rock oriented sound
April 14, 1944 ~ Singer, guitarist Mike Brewer born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA ~ Formed Mastin & Brewer with singer Tom Mastin, the duo known to open for the likes of the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. When Mastin abruptly split, Brewer first recorded the single Need You with his brother Keith Brewer and subsequently teamed up with old pal Tom Shipley as Brewer & Shipley. The duo recorded half a dozen albums through the mid 1970s, most notably Tarkio produced by Nick Gravenites and featuring Mark Naftalin on piano and organ, with Jerry Garcia guesting on the track Oh Mommy. The album also contained the duo's sole major hit, One Toke Over The Line which reached No.10 Billboard Hot 100. Two other singles, Tarkio Road and Shake Off The Demon, also charted but failed to reach top 40. Brewer released his sole solo album, the Dan Fogelberg-produced Beauty Lies, in 1983 ~ Brewer passed away in 2024April 14, 1943 ~ Pianist Nikolai Petrov, full name Nikolai Arnoldovich petrov, born in Moscow, Russia ~ Son of cellist Arnold Ferkelman. Classically trained from an early age. Internationally renowned pianist. Has worked with conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Kirill Kondrashin, Gennnady Rozhdestvensky, Yevgeny Svetlanov, and Yuri Temirkanov ~ Petrov passed away in 2011