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 22, 1935 ~ Bassist Paul Chambers, full name Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers Jr, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA ~ Influenced by Charlie Parker, Ray Brown, George Duvivier. One of the most revered bass players of the hard bop era. About a dozen albums as a leader, present on over an estimated 100 more as a sideman. Closely associated with Miles Davis, appearing on albums such as Round About Midnight, Miles Ahead, Kind Of Blue, and Sketches Of Spain. Other notable collaborations include Bennie Green, Johnny Griffin (A Blowin' Session), Jackie McLean, Thelonious Monk (Brilliant Corners), Clifford Jordan, Benny Golson (New York Scene), Art Taylor, Abbey Lincoln, Milt Jackson (Bags' Opus), Wayne Shorter, Gil Evans, John Coltrane (Giant Steps), Freddie Hubbard (Open Sesame), King Curtis, Oliver Nelson (The Blues And The Abstract Truth), Elvin Jones, Hank Mobley, and Ike Quebec (Blue & Sentimental). Chambers is tributed in several songs, notably Five For Paul by Max Roach and Paul Chambers by Barenaked Ladies ~ Chambers passed away in 1969April 22, 1935 ~ R&B, doo-wop singer Willie C Jackson born ~ Member of the Spaniels. The band is known for Baby It's You and Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight, both of which reached top 10 Billboard R&B at the time of their release in the early 1950s. The latter remains popular to this day, frequently featured in films including American Graffiti, fondly remembered as one of the most endearing early doo-wop hits ~ Jackson passed away in 2015
April 22, 1935 ~ Drummer WS Holland born in Saltillo, Tennessee, USA ~ Played with Carl Perkins, including on Blue Suede Shoes. Played with Johnny Cash as a member of Cash's backing bands the Tennessee Three, the Great Eighties Eight, and as a member of the Johnny Cash Show Band. Also drummed on the The Million Dollar Quartet sessions, backing Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Perkins and Cash ~ Holland passed away in 2020April 22, 1930 ~ Soprano Elizabeth Spencer, full name Elizabeth Dickerson Spencer, passed away ~ Trained as pianist and violinist. Praised for the sterling operatic quality of her voice. Has performed in vaudeville and on Broadway. Best known for numerous recordings, totalling over 600, for Thomas Edison from the 1910s through the 1920s ~ Spencer was born in 1871
April 22, 1924 ~ Country singer, guitarist Bob Gallion born in Ashland, Kentucky, USA ~ Active since the 1940s, sessioning for the likes of Stoney Cooper & Wilma Lee Cooper. As a solo artist, Gallion has recorded from the 1950s through the early 1970s, racking up about half a dozen Billboard Country top 30 hits including his best known Wall To Wall Love which reached top 10. Well-known songs include You Take The Table And I'll Take The Chairs, Loving You (Was Worth This Broken Heart), One Way Street, Sweethearts Again, and Ain't Got Time For Nothin' ~ Gallion passed away in 1999
April 22, 1922 ~ Jazz, hard bop, bebop, post-bop, free-jazz, avant-garde bass virtuoso, pianist, songwriter Charles Mingus born in Nogales, Arizona, USA ~ Easily counted among the most important and influential jazz musicians, composers of all time, easily. Known for compositions such as Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, Hora Decubitus, and Epitaph. Has collaborated with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Dannie Richmond, and Herbie Hancock ~ Mingus passed away in 1979
April 22, 1921 ~ Cándido Camero Guerra, commonly known as conga, bongo player Candido, born in Havana, Cuba ~ Leader and sideman recording since the mid 1950s. Influential in many genres including Afro-Cuban jazz to disco. Especially notable in the disco genre is the 1979 album Dancing And Prancing on the Salsoul Records label, featuring a reworked version of the 1950s song Jingo. The song was originally done by Nigerian percussionist Babatunde Olatunji and has also been recorded by Serge Gainsbourg [as Marabout), James Last, Pierre Moerlen, Fatboy Slim, and notably Santana on their 1969 eponymous debut album Santana. Camero has worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Wynton Kelly, Bobby Sanabria, Benjamin Lapidus, Gene Ammons, Art Blakey, Ray Bryant, Kenny Burrell, Coleman Hawkins, Billy Taylor, Bennie Green, Don Elliott, Stan Kenton, the Lecuona Cuban Boys, Randy Weston, Sonny Rollins, Wynton Kelly, Grant Green, Illinois Jacquet, Gary McFarland, Wes Montgomery, the Tico All-Stars, Bobby Hutcherson, Elvin Jones, Ellen McIlwaine, Erroll Garner, Tito Puente, and Machito ~ Guerra passed away in 2020April 22, 1921 ~ Gospel singer, songwriter Eugene Smith born in Chicago, Illinois, USA ~ Influenced gospel singers such as Alex Bradford and reverend James Cleveland. Sang with the Roberta Martin Singers from its inception in until the group's disbandement after Roberta Martin's death in 1969. Sang lead on numerous of the group's songs including He's All I Need, Satisfied, I'm Too Close, Shine On Me, Marching To Zion, It's Gonna Rain, Come Lord Jesus, and Standing On The Promises ~ Smith passed away in 2009
April 22, 1921 ~ Singer Vivian Dandridge, full name Vivian Alferetta Dandridge, born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA ~ Member of the Dandridge Sisters alongside her sister Dorothy Dandridge and Etta Jones. The trio would headline the Cotton Club, appear in half a dozen films and score hits such as Undecided and If I Were Sure Of You, and some sides with Jimmie Lunceford including Minnie The Moocher Is Dead and You Ain't Nowhere. Following the trio's disbandement in 1940 Dandridge's sister Dorothy would be the most successful, appearing in films such as Carmen Jones and Porgy & Bess, with Vivian only performing in minor roles. Vivian also released a sole solo album, The Look Of Love, yet it remained mostly unnoticed ~ Dandridge passed away in 1991
April 22, 1920 ~ Benjamin Drootin, commonly known as jazz drummer Buzzy Drootin, born in Kyiv, Ukraine ~ Got his professional start in music in the early 1940s, touring with Ina Ray Hutton. Drootin would go on to back artists such as Al Donahue, Wingy Manone, and Eddie Condon. Other notable associations include Bobby Hackett, Sidney Bechet, Serge Chaloff, Ruby Braff (Hustlin' & Bustlin'), Herb Hall, Pee Wee Russell, Ralph Sutton, Anita O'Day, and Lee Konitz. Drootin would form the Drootin Brothers Jazz Band in the 1970s with his brother saxophonist, clarinetist Al Drootin and nephew pianist Sonny Drootin, among others. Drootin remained active into the 1980s ~ Drootin passed away in 2000
April 22, 1919 ~ Benjamin Joseph Jackson, commonly known as saxophonist Bull Moose Jackson, born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA ~ Popular dirty blues singer most successful in the late 1940s. Known for songs such as I Want A Bow Legged Woman, Big Ten Inch Record, I Love You (Yes I Do), and I Can't Go On Without You ~ Jackson passed away in 1989
April 22, 1909 ~ Herman Shertzer, commonly known as jazz saxophonist Hymie Shertzer, born in New York, New York, USA ~ Best known for his association with Benny Goodman including on the pivotal 1937 recording of Sing Sing Sing (With A Swing). Also worked with Tommy Dorsey, Bunny Berigan, Lionel Hampton, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Sy Oliver, Louis Armstrong, and Artie Shaw ~ Shertzer passed away in 1977
April 22, 1892 ~ Singer Walter Van Brunt, also known professionally as Walter Scanlan, born in New York, New York, USA ~ Vaudeville, Broadway, musical performer enjoying popularity through the 1920s. Perhaps best known for his 1914 Just Awearyn For You duet with soprano Elizabeth Spencer. Has also worked with Ada Jones, John Bieling, and the American Quartet ~ Van Brunt passed away in 1971
April 22, 1868 ~ Pianist, composer José Vianna da Motta born on São Tomé Island, Portugal ~ One of the last pupils of Franz Liszt. Accompanied violinists such as Pablo de Sarasate, Tivadar Nachéz, and Bernardo Moreira de Sá. Known as a fine interpreter of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as well as lesser-known composers such as Charles-Valentin Alkan. Also known as a renowned composer in his own right, writing pieces for piano, chamber music, orchestral and choral works ~ Da Motta passed away in 1948