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 25, 2026 ~ Jazz trombonist, saxophonist, singer Daniel Huck passed away ~ Worked with the Famous Melody Boys, Jean-Pierre Morel, the Jazzomaniacs, Gilbert Leroux, the Anachronic Jazz Band, Olivier Franc, Raymond Fonseque, Cat Anderson, Bill Coleman, Philippe Baudoin, Emmanuel Hussenot, the Hot Antic Jazz Band, Slapscat, Slim Gaillard, and Eddy Louiss ~ Huck was born in 1948
April 25, 2026 ~ Saxophonist, clarinetist Jesper Thilo passed away ~ Classically trained on the clarinet, yet persuaded by Arnved Meyer to switch to saxophone. Critically compared to Zoot Sims. Considered one of the premier European straight-ahead jazz musicians from 1970 onward. Has recorded about a dozen albums as a leader or co-leader, including the acclaimed Tribute To Frog, the Harry Sweets Edison collaboration Featuring Harry Edison, and A Little Bit Of Duke. Closely associated with Arnved Meyer, with whom he played for most of the 1960s, the DR Big Band, and Ernie Wilkins. As a sideman, Thilo has appeared on albums by the likes of Ben Webster (Plays Ballads), Oliver Nelson, Wild Bill Davison, Richard Boone, Miles Davis (Aurra), Roland Hanna (This Time It's Real), Finn Savery, Tommy Flanagan, Sigurd Barrett, Ib Glindemann, Cirkeline, Clark Terry, Randy Reinhardts, Niels Jørgen Steen, Ken Peplowski (Happy Together), Gunhild Carling, Ralph Sutton, and Scott Hamilton ~ Thilo was born in 1941
April 25, 2025 ~ Composer, pianist Richard Wernick passed away in Haverford, Pennsylvania, USA ~ Began his musical studies at age 11 on the piano, and would be introduced to Harvard University professor Irving Fine who took the teen under his wing. Wernick would go on to study with Harold Shapero, Arthur Berger, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and Seymour Lipkin. Wernick himself would later teach at SUNY Buffalo, the University of Chicago, and the University of Philadelphia. As a composer, Wernick is perhaps best known for Visions Of Terror And Wonder, which earned him a Pullitzer Prize for Music in 1977. Wernick has described his style as one that attempts to find common ground with an audience: “My expectation is that I'm not writing down to an audience, but I'm not trying to write above their heads. I'm not writing to an audience which is illiterate and I'm not writing to an audience which is technically educated in music, but I do write for an audience that I assume has experience in listening to music and is willing to at least meet me halfway. So I'll go halfway to meet them” ~ Wernick was born in 1934
April 25, 2023 ~ William Robert Emerson, commonly known as rock & roll, R&B singer, pianist Billy The Kid Emerson, passed away in Clearwater, Florida, USA ~ Best known for penning and first recording Red Hot, covered numerous times including by Bob Luman, Ronnie Hawkins, Brian Setzer and most notably in 1957 by Billy Lee Riley. Also known for first recording Every Woman I Know (Crazy About Automobiles), notably covered by Ry Cooder on the 1980 Borderline album. Emerson has worked with artists such as Earl Hooker, Lonnie Brooks, and Sonny Boy Williamson II. Songs written or co-written by Emerson have been recorded by Junior Wells, Willie Mabon, Wynonie Harris and by Buddy Guy ~ Emerson was born in 1925
April 25, 2023 ~ Harold George Bellanfanti Jr, commonly known as singer Harry Belafonte, passed away in New York, New York, USA ~ Influenced by Paul Robeson. Close friend and confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. Though he also sang blues, folk, pop, gospel and show tunes, Belafonte is dubbed “the King of Calypso” for his role in popularizing calypso. Critically acclaimed for the 1956 million-seller album Calypso, which spawned his biggest hit and signature song Day-O (Banana Boat Song), and his 1959 Belafonte At Carnegie Hall live album. Advocate for several political and humanitarian causes, including serving as the ACLU celebrity ambassador for juvenile justice issues. Starred in over two dozen films, notably Carmen Jones, Island In The Sun, and Odds Against Tomorrow ~ Bellanfanti was born in 1927
April 25, 2022 ~ Soul, R&B, pop saxophonist, flutist, percussionist Andrew Woolfolk, full name Andrew Paul Woolfolk II, passed away in Aurora, Colorado, USA ~ Best known as longtime member of Earth Wind & Fire. Also guested on albums by Deniece Williams (Song Bird), Stanley Turrentine (Tender Togetherness), Phil Collins (Dance Into The Light), Twennynine (Best Of Friends), Philip Bailey (The Wonders Of Love), Level 42 (Standing In The Light), Valerie Carter (Just A Stones Throw Away), and Tracie Spencer (Tracie Spencer) ~ Woolfolk was born in 1950
April 25, 2022 ~ Hendrikus Cornelis Jacoba Vrienten, commonly known as singer, bassist, songwriter, film composer Henny Vrienten, passed away in Diepenheim, the Netherlands ~ Rose to fame as co-lead singer of Doe Maar, joining the band in 1980. The band spearheaded a resurgence of Dutch pop music and is best known for songs such as Nederwiet, 32 Jaar (Sinds 1 Dag Of 2), Is Dit Alles, De Bom, Pa and 1 Nacht Alleen. After the band folded in 1984 Vrienten has recorded as a solo artist, duetted with Herman Brood (Als Je Wint), and composed for dozens of films (Left Luggage, Abeltje), as well as for TV (het Klokhuis, Sesamstraat) ~ Vrienten was born in 1948
April 25, 2022 ~ Country singer, songwriter Shane Yellowbird passed away in Calgary, Canada ~ Began singing while in speech therapy to treat his severe stuttering. Has released two albums before dying at age 42. His 2006 Life Is Calling My Name debut album would spawn the hits Pickup Truck and I Remember The Music, both of which would reach top 10 country in his native Canada. Bare Feet On The Blacktop, the lead single of his 2009 It's About Time sophomore album would also reach the top 10 ~ Yellowbird was born in 1979
April 25, 2022 ~ Susan Pesklevits, commonly known as pop, easy listening, country pop singer, songwriter Susan Jacks, passed away in Surrey, Canada ~ Rose to fame with the Poppy Family, a pop trio which also included Terry Jacks with whom she would be married from 1967 through 1973. The band is best known for their 1969 single Which Way You Going Billy, a top 10 hit across the globe including America and the UK. Following the band's disbandement in 1972, both Pesklevits and Jacks would record as solo artists, the pair on occasion guesting on eachother's solo outings. As a solo artist Pesklevits is best known for the singles You Don't Know What Love Is and I Thought Of You Again, both reaching the top 10 in her native Canada ~ Pesklevits was born in 1948
April 25, 2011 ~ Marion Elliott. commonly known as punk rock, downtempo singer, songwriter Poly Styrene, passed away in Sussex, UK ~ Fronted 1970s punk outfit X-Ray Spex, known for singles such as The Day The World Turned Day-glo, Identity and Germfree Adolescents. After the band disbanded she released a pop-jazzy solo debut album, 1980's Translucence, moving away from the loud punk guitars ~ Elliot was born in 1957
April 25, 2008 ~ Trumpeter, clarinetist Humphrey Lyttelton, full name Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton, passed away in London, UK ~ Pivotal figure in British jazz, first gaining attention in the mid 1950s with the crossover pop hit Bad Penny Blues. Would go on to become one of Britain's best known bandleaders, leading a variety of ensembles and helping launch the careers of numerous sidemen, notably Tony Coe and Alan Barnes. Lyttelton also recorded with visiting American jazz musicians including Al Casey, Buddy Tate, and Kenny Davern, and toured with Jimmy Rushing, Vic Dickenson, and Big Joe Turner. Lyttelton is also well known as a radio host, presenting the BBC Radio show The Best Of Jazz for some four decades, and as a cartoonist co-writing the Flook series in the Daily Mail ~ Lyttelton was born in 1921
April 25, 2007 ~ Carmelita Madriaga, commonly known as singer, songwriter Carmen Costa, passed away in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ~ At age 15, Madriaga moved to Rio de Janeiro where she found employ as a maid at the house of singer Francisco Alves. Alves encouraged her to sing and participate in radio contests. Soon she would team up with composer Henricão, with whom she recorded several hits including Onde Está O Dinheiro, Dance Mais Um Bocado, and Samba Meu Nego. In the early 1940s, Costa would enjoy her first solo hit with Está Chegando A Hora, an adaptation of the traditional Mexican folk song Cielito Lindo. Costa would go on to record extensively throughout the remainder of her lengthy career, and is perhaps best known for being the first to record Casinha Da Marambala in 1944, a song later covered by numerous artists including Elza Soares, Elis Regina, and Leonardo Ribeiro ~ Madriaga was born in 1920
April 25, 2002 ~ Lisa Nicole Lopes, commonly known as singer Lisa Left-Eye Lopes, passed away in La Ceiba, Honduras ~ Best known as one third of R&B girl group TLC, alongside Tionne T-Boz Watkins and Rozonda Chilli Thomas, producing landmark albums Ooooooohh On The TLC Tip, CrazySexyCool and FanMail and hit singles such as Baby Baby Baby, Waterfalls, Diggin' On You, No Scrubs, and Unpretty. Lopes also worked as a producer for girl group Blaque and as a solo artist scored a number of hits including Not Tonight, U Know What's Up and Never Be The Same Again, the latter a collaboration with the Spice Girls' Melanie C ~ Lopes was born in 1971April 25, 1999 ~ R&B, funk percussionist Larry Troutman and singer Roger Troutman pass away in an apparent murder-suicide ~ Members of Zapp, fronted by younger brother Roger, known for 1980s funk, R&B hits such as More Bounce To The Ounce, Dance Floor, I Can Make You Dance and Computer Love. Larry shot and killed his younger brother Roger in an apparent murder-suicide. The band would disband after the death of the two brothers ~ Larry was born in 1944, Roger in 1951
April 25, 1995 ~ Rapper Method Man releases I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By notably featuring Mary J Blige, lifted off his Tical debut album ~ The song is a remix of Method Man's own All I Need interpolated with You're All I Need To Get By, the latter originally a Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit in 1968 for Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell. Prominently featuring Mary J Blige, Method Man's track would win the duo a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group and reach top 10 on both sides of the AtlanticApril 25, 1993 ~ Harold Manfred Kirchstein, commonly known as classical, opera, jazz, traditional pop, pop composer, arranger, conductor, producer Henri René, passed away in Houston, Texas, USA ~ Perhaps best remembered for a string of mid 1950s albums, Music For Bachelors, For The Weaker Sex, Compulsion To Swing and Riot In Rhythm, regarded as forerunners of the space-age pop aesthetic ~ René was born in 1906
April 25, 1990 ~ Jazz, swing, bebop, hard bop saxophonist Dexter Gordon passed away in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA ~ Considered one of the most influential early bebop artists, particularly influential on John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. Known for his humurous and communicative stage presence. Standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall, Gordon was sometimes referred to as “Long Tall Dexter” or “the Sophisticated Giant”. Early on in his career, played with the likes of Lionel Hampton, Billy Eckstine, and Dizzy Gillespie, prior to establishing himself as one of the premier leaders. As a leader or co-leader, Gordon has recorded well over 50 albums since the late 1940s, especially noted for albums such as Go, Body And Soul, and The Apartment. Gordon was nominated for an Academy Award for his lead role in the 1986 Round Midnight film, a fictionalized tale loosely inspired by the lives and careers of saxophonist Lester Young and pianist Bud Powell ~ Gordon was born in 1923April 25, 1987 ~ Country singer, guitarist Ida Jenshus, full name Ida Gjølga Jenshus, born in Steinkjer, Norway ~ Recorded about half a dozen albums, starting with Color Of The Sun released in 2008. Its follow-up No Guarantees released as 2010, as well as her third studio album Someone To Love released in 2012 would both reach top 10 on the album charts in her native Norway
April 25, 1987 ~ In its 13th week on the charts, Rose In Paradise by Waylon Jennings hits No.1 Billboard Country ~ Songwriters Jim McBride and Stewart Harris were inspired by a tale from the 1800s McBride had picked up on in his childhood. In McBride's hometown of Huntsville, Alabama, there had lived a lady named Rose in the 1800s, who had married five well-to-do husbands. All of them died mysteriously, and charges were brought against Rose, but they could never prove she had poisoned any of them. McBride would tell of how the song came to be to the Boot: “So I'm telling him this story, and after I finish he starts telling me low-country ghost stories, he's from South Carolina. So we go to lunch, and we decide when we come back we're gonna write ourselves a ghost story.” Issued as the lead single of Hangin' Tough, the song would be the last Billboard Country No.1 hit for Waylon Jennings
April 25, 1981 ~ In its 11th week on the charts, Leonard by Merle Haggard peaks at No.9 Billboard Country ~ Merle Haggard's tribute to Leonard Raymond Sipes, more commonly known as singer and songwriter Tommy Collins. As a singer, Collins scored several hits in the 1950s, yet he is best known as a songwriter instrumental in helping define the Bakersfield sound. Artists who recorded his songs include Buck Owens, Faron Young (If You Ain't Lovin' You Ain't Livin'), Jean Shepard, Rose Maddox, and Ferlin Husky. Haggard would score two Billboard Country No.1 hits with songs written by Collins, Carolyn in 1972 and The Roots Of My Raising in 1976
April 25, 1979 ~ Pop rock outfit the Doobie Brothers release Minute By Minute, issued as the second single off the album of the same name ~ A top 20 hit both in Canada and the band's native America, the single would be critically well received, the general consent being that it is one of the songs that reflects the band's transformation to a pop-soul outfit with more emphasis for piano and keyboards than in earlier recordings. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award, but lost out to their own What A Fool Believes from the same album
April 25, 1977 ~ Pop singer, pianist, guitarist Constantinos Christoforou born in Limassol, Cyprus ~ Internationally best known for representing Cyprus three times at the Eurovision Songfestival. As a solo artist in 1996, reaching 9th place with Mon Yia Mas, and again in 2005, reaching 18th place with Ela Ela (Come Baby). And in 2002 as a member of boy band ONE, reaching 6th place with Gimme
April 25, 1977 ~ Thomas Elisabeth MacDonald, commonly known as rock, punk rock bassist Tommy Mac, born in Lahr, West Germany ~ Member of Hedley, with whom he recorded about half a dozen albums since the mid 2000s, all of which reached top 10 in the band's native Canada. The band is best known for songs such as On My Own, For The Nights I Can't Remember, Never Too Late, and Cha-ching. MacDonald had previously worked with Jar, Flybanger, Everything After, and Loco
April 25, 1975 ~ Drummer, songwriter, film composer Alec Puro born in Santa Monica, California, USA ~ Formed industrial rock band Deadsy with guitarist Elijah Blue Allman and keyboardist Renn Hawkey in 1996. The band has opened for the likes of Linkin Park and the Stone Temple Pilots. Puro is perhaps best known as a composer for film and TV with over 40 film scores to his name including The Art Of Getting By, All-Nighter, and A Happening Of Monumental ProportionsApril 25, 1974 ~ Mandolinist, singer Jeff Austin born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, USA ~ Member of the Bluegrassholes. Best known as co-founding member of progressive bluegrass outfit the Yonder Mountain String Band from 1998 through 2013. Austin has also recorded as a solo artist and collaborated with the likes of Chris Castino, Keller Williams, Keith Moseley, and Brendan Bayliss ~ Austin passed away in 2019