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.
August 15, 2024 ~ Guitarist Joe Chambers passed away ~ Member of psychedelic soul band the Chamber Brothers, known for incorporating elements of traditional gospel and blues, psychedelica and rock into soul. The band, which also includes his siblings bassist George Chambers and harmonica player Lester Chambers, has recorded half a dozen albums and is best known for their 1968 eleven-minute single Time Has Come Today, which reached No.11 Billboard Hot 100 ~ Chambers was born in 1942
August 15, 2022 ~ Saxophonist, keyboardist, guitarist Hans Magnusson passed away ~ Longtime member of the Thorleifs, remaining with the dansband from 1962 through 2012. They are best known for their 2009 song Sweet Kissin' In The Moonlight, a contender for the Swedish entry for the Eurovision Songfestival. They would lose out to Malena Ernman who would reach 21st place in the international competition ~ Magnusson was born ca.1949
August 15, 2022 ~ Heavy metal singer Steve Grimmett passed away ~ Member of short-lived rock outfit Medusa before rising to fame as lead singer for Grim Reaper, joining the band in 1982. Present on the band's best known including the hits See You In Hell, Fear No Evil and Rock You To Hell, all of which gained notoriety in the 1990s after being used in the popular Beavis & Butthead animated series. Grimmett has also appeared on recordings by Chateaux, Onslaught, Lionsheart, and Cradle Of Filth ~ Grimmett was born in 1959
August 15, 2016 ~ Vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson passed away in Montara, California, USA ~ Influence on later vibraphonists including Steve Nelson, Joe Locke, Stefon Harris. Over three dozen albums as leader or co-leader, especially acclaimed for a string of mid 1960s releases including Stick Up, Components and Oblique. Member of the SF Jazz Collective. In-demand sideman, present on albums by Les McCann, Eric Dolphy (Iron Man), Jackie McLean, Andrew Hill, Grant Green (Idle Moments), Joe Henderson (Mode For Joe), John Handy, Lee Morgan (The Procrastinator), McCoy Tyner, Stanley Cowell (Brilliant Circles), Prince Lasha, Donald Byrd, Dexter Gordon, Roy Haynes, Pharoah Sanders (Rejoice), Woody Shaw, and Lou Rawls ~ Hutcherson was born in 1941
August 15, 2016 ~ Pop singer Céline Dion records Recovering ~ Given to Céline Dion by co-writer Pink after Dion's husband succumbed to cancer in early 2016. Co-written by Allen Shamblin and Tom Douglas. Produced by Humberto Gatica and Scott Price. Released as a single September 2016. Dion has since regularly performed the song in live sets, starting with the cancer charity event Stand Up To Cancer and added it to her set lists for the Vegas residency show as well as the 2017 and 2018 tours
August 15, 2014 ~ Jazz violinist John Blake Jr, full name John Edward Blake Jr, passed away in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA ~ First gained attention in the early 1970s working with Archie Shepp, appearing on the acclaimed albums Attica Blues and The Cry Of My People. Recorded about half a dozen albums as a leader or co-leader, noted especially for his Rhythm And Blu album released in 1986 which also included fellow violinists Didier Lockwood and Michal Urbaniak. A prolific sideman, veering between R&B and post-bop, Blake has also guested on albums by Norman Connors, Grover Washington Jr (Reed Seed), McCoy Tyner (Horizon), Carmen McRae, James Newton, Cecil McBee (Flying Out), Muhal Richard Abrams, Avery Sharpe, Steve Turre (Fire And Ice), Gerald Veasley, Phyllis Hyman (One On One), Tyrone Brown, and Gilberto Santa Rosa. Blake's son, jazz drummer Johnathan Blake, would also become a professional musician ~ Blake was born in 1947
August 15, 2012 ~ Flutist, composer Altamiro Carrilho, full name Altamiro Aquino Carrilho, passed away in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ~ Has recorded over a hundred albums since the mid 1950s. Considered one of the most virtuosic and influential choro flutists of all time, Carrilho was known in both the classical music world and popular music scene praies for inserting classical excerpts into choro and vice versa. Over the course of his lengthy career, spanning some six decades, Carrilho has accompanied artists such as Orlando Silva, Vicente Celestino, Elizeth Cardoso, Moreira da Silva, Caetano Veloso, and Chico Buarque ~ Carrilho was born in 1924
August 15, 2009 ~ Producer, pianist, singer Jim Dickinson, full name James Luther Dickinson, passed away in Memphis, Tennessee, USA ~ Father of Cody Dickinson and the Black Crowes guitarist Luther Dickinson. Member of the Dixie Flyers, with whom he backed artists such as Bettye LaVette, Hank Ballard, James Carr, and Albert Collins. In-demand session pianist for the likes of the Rolling Stones, the Flamin' Groovies, and notably Ry Cooder, appearing on about a dozen of Cooder's albums. Acclaimed producer from the 1970s onwards, working with artists such as Big Star (Third), Willy DeVille, Green On Red, the Replacements, the Panther Burns, Toots & the Maytals, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins. ~ Dickinson was born in 1941
August 15, 2008 ~ Gerald Wexler, commonly known as producer, label executive Jerry Wexler, passed away in Saratosa, Florida, USA ~ Partner at Atlantic Records. Hugely influential producer during the 1950s and 1960s. Coined the term “rhythm & blues”. Incremental in the careers of Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, the Drifters, and Ruth Brown ~ Wexler was born in 1917August 15, 2000 ~ Morris Joseph Lazar, commonly known as traditional pop, swing, big band singer, actor Freddie Stewart, passed away in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Best known for appearing in the fim series The Teen Agers from 1946 through 1948. Wrote the song Do I Know What I'm Doing for the 1943 She's For Me musical comedy film. Briefly sang with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra ~ Lazar was born in 1925
August 15, 1997 ~ Singer, actor, TV personality Ray Heatherton passed away in Englewood, New Jersey, USA ~ Discovered by bandleader Paul Whiteman who hired the young Heatherton by the late 1920s as featured vocalist on The Old Gold Hour radio show. Would go on to star in musicals, notably Babes In Arms, and become one of TV's earliest stars ~ Heatherton was born in 1909
August 15, 1996 ~ Joel Seneca McGhee, commonly known as actor, singer, songwriter Joe Seneca, passed away in New York, New York, USA ~ Best known as an actor for film and TV, notably portraying the role of Dr Hanes in The Cosby Show. To music audiences perhaps best known for penning Talk To Me, originally recorded by Little Willie John in 1958. Seneca himself would record the song two years later. Other songs written or co-written by Seneca include Break It To Me Gently (Brenda Lee), What Kind Of Girl Do You Think I Am (the Charmaines), and Same Time Same Place) (Clyde McPhatter) ~ McGhee was born in 1919August 15, 1995 ~ Keith Farrelle Cozart, commonly known as rapper Chief Keef, born in Chicago, Illinois, USA ~ Broke through at a mere age 16 with the single I Don't Like, remixed by Kanye West. Would go to be regarded as a highly influential figure in contemporary hip-hop, noted for his musical style and gangster image. Artists influenced by Cozart include 21 Savage, Lil' Uzi Vert, XXXTentacion, Juice WRLD, Doja Cat, and Billie Eilish
August 15, 1995 ~ Blues guitarist, singer Jesse Thomas, also known as Jesse Babyface Thomas, passed away in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA ~ Brother of country blues singer, slide guitarist Ramblin' Thomas. Dubbed “the Blues Troubadour” and best known for his 1929 recording Blue Goose Blues. Would continue to record throughout the 1950s and perform locally throughout the 1990s ~ Thomas was born in 1911
August 15, 1995 ~ Singer Michael Jackson releases You Are Not Alone, lifted off his HIStory (Past Present & Future Book I) album ~ After hearing R Kelly's Bump 'n Grind hit song, Michael Jackson reached out to Kelly's management asking Kelly to write him a song. The resulting You Are Not Alone, written, co-produced and featuring Kelly, became Jackson's 13th Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hit and the final one issued during his lifetime. The song would also go down in chart history as the first song ever to debut atop the American pop charts, a feat acknowledged by the Guinness Book of Records. Kelly would later comment: “I actually imitated Michael when I sent him my first copy. He was laughing at me because I was imitating him”
August 15, 1990 ~ Michael Tucker, commonly known as electropop producer BloodPop, born in Kansas City, Missouri, USA ~ Studied jazz guitar in school. Known for his sleek multi-layered production for the likes of Grimes, Madonna, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Fifth Harmony, and notably Lady Gaga, producing the latter's Joanne and Chromatica albums as well as the track Hold My Hand used for the 2022 Top Gun Maverick feature film which earned BloodPop a Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. Tucker has also remixed tracks for artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, Ellie Goulding, and Major LazerAugust 15, 1990 ~ John Michael Hakim Gibson, commonly known as rapper Cash Out, born in Columbus, Georgia, USA ~ Best known for Cashin' Out of his 2014 Let's Get It debut album. The single would reach top 40 Billboard Hot 100. Gibson has guested on recordings by Shawty Lo, Young Scooter, Rich Homie Quan, PartyNextDoor, and Waka Flocka Flame
August 15, 1990 ~ Lewis Calvin DeWitt Jr, commonly known as country singer, guitarist, songwriter Lew DeWitt, passed away in Waynesboro, Virginia, USA ~ Founding member of the Statler Brothers, with whom he recorded some two dozen albums including the highly acclaimed Bed Of Rose's, Holy Bible (Old Testament), Holy Bible (New Testament), and Short Stories. DeWitt wrote or co-wrote several of the band's best known including Flowers On The Wall, Things, Since Then, Thank You World and The Movies. DeWitt left the band in 1982 for medical reasons, succeeded by Jimmy Fortune. After his departure from the band, DeWitt has issued two solo albums, Here To Stay and On My Own, the latter spawning the minor hit You'll Never Know ~ DeWitt was born in 1938August 15, 1990 ~ Jazz bassist, double bassist Louis Vola passed away in Paris, France ~ Best known for his work with Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli as a co-founding member of the Quintette du Hot Club. Has also worked with Ray Ventura, Duke Ellington and with Charles Trenet ~ Vola was born in 1902
August 15, 1989 ~ Carlos Roberto Pena Vega, commonly known as singer, actor Carlos Pena Jr, born in Columbia, Missouri, USA ~ While still in high school, Pena first gained serious attention performing the lead role in the Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush and as a singer in the accompanying boy band Big Time Rush, with whom he recorded four albums since 2009. The band is best known for the non-album track Dale Pa'ya released in 2022. Pena has since sporadically recorded as a solo singer, scoring a minor hit with Electrico in 2014, and has regularly appeared in films and TV series
August 15, 1989 ~ Pop singer, songwriter Joe Jonas, full name Joseph Adam Jones, born in Casa Grande, Arizona, USA ~ Rose to fame as member of sibling outfit the Jonas Brothers alongside Kevin Jonas and Nick Jonas, known for Burnin' Up and Tonight, both of which reached top 10 Billboard Hot 100 in 2008. After the band folded, Jonas formed the funk-pop outfit DNCE, best known for the 2015 Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit Cake By The Ocean. Later reuniting, the siblings would score Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hit with Sucker in 2019
August 15, 1988 ~ New jack swing singer Karyn White releases The Way You Love Me, lead single off her eponymous Karyn White debut album ~ When offered their pick of Warner Bros acts, including veterans such as Chaka Khan, producers Kenneth Babyface Edmonds and LA Reid chose newcomer Karyn White. It paid off, as The Way You Love Me, issued as the singer's debut single, would reach No.7 Billboard Hot 100 and No.1 on the Billboard R&B charts. The song also earned the singer a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Performance, losing out to Anita Baker's Giving You The Best That I Got. White's debut album would spawn three more hits as Superwoman and Love Saw It both would also top the Billboard R&B charts and Secret Rendezvous reached No.4. White would later recall to SoulCulture how The Way You Love Me was the last song recorded for her eponymous debut album: “I remember LA Reid saying that we needed an uptempo banger because we already had Secret Rendezvous, which was a pop record influenced by Prince's sound. I love the whole scatting part of the song because it reminded me a little bit of Natalie Cole. It made me happy while recording it”August 15, 1986 ~ Natalia Noemi Cappuccini, commonly known as dance-pop, electropop singer, songwriter, actress Teddy Sinclair, born in Bradford, UK ~ Previously known under the monnikers Natalia Kills and Verbalicious. Best known for songs such as Don't Play Nice and Mirrors, the latter a 2010 hit on the American dance charts. Has collaborated with will.i.am, Far East Movement, LMFAO, DJ Tatana, and with Junior Caldera
August 15, 1978 ~ Adel Salah Mahmoud Eid El Tawil, commonly known as pop, hip-hop singer Adel Tawil, born in Berlin, West Germany ~ Member of boy band the Boyz during the late 1990s. Formed the duo Ich & Ich with Annette Humpe. Teamed up with rapper Azad for Prison Break Anthem (Ich Glaub' An Dich), used as the theme for the German version of the 2007 Prison Break film. As a solo artist best known for Lieder, lead single of his 2013 album of the same name
August 15, 1976 ~ Clarinetist Albert Burbank passed away in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA ~ Student of Lorenzo Tio. Worked with Kid Milton, Paul Barbarin, Kid Ory, Herb Morand, Kid Clayton, Percy Humphrey, and Jimmy Archey ~ Burbank was born in 1902