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 5, 2025 ~ Colin Frederick Jacobsen, commonly known as pop, rock & roll, country singer, guitarist, songwriter Col Joye, passed away in Sydney, Australia ~ Known for songs such as Bye Bye Baby, Rockin' Rollin' Clementine, Oh Yeah Uh Huh, Yes Sir That's My Baby and Heaven Is My Woman's Love ~ Jacobsen was born in 1936
August 5, 2024 ~ Doo-wop, R&B singer, songwriter Maurice Williams passed away ~ Fronted the Zodiacs, previously named the Royal Charms and the Gladiolas, known best for the 1960 Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hit Stay. At 1:36 it would be the shortest charttopper in Billboard history. The song would notably be covered by the Hollies in 1963, earning the band their first UK top 10 single, by the Four Seasons the same year, and by Jackson Browne in 1978. The original Zodiacs version would be included on the soundtrack of the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, leading to a renewed interest and chart success. Other well known songs include Little Darlin', which was a No.11 hit on the Billboard R&B charts for the band in 1957, then still called the Gladiolas, with a cover by Canadian quartet the Diamonds released the same year reaching No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the 1965 recording May I, which made little impact at the time of its release but would sell over a million copies over the years ~ Williams was born in 1938
August 5, 2023 ~ Free jazz, free improvisation cellist, composer Tristan Honsinger passed away in Trieste, Italy ~ Leader and sideman. Especially acclaimed for the 1996 Map Of Moods album and its 1999 follow-up A Camel's Kiss. Frequently collaborated with pianist Cecil Taylor and guitarist Derek Bailey. Member of the Henneman String Quartet and the ICP Orchestra. As a sideman present on recordings by Borbetomagus, Butch Morris, Anthony Braxton (October Meeting 1991), Tobias Delius, Alexander von Schlippenbach, and Sean Bergin ~ Honsinger was born in 1949
August 5, 2022 ~ Judith Mavis Cock, commonly known as pop, folk pop singer, pianist Judith Durham passed away in Melbourne, Australia ~ Lead singer of the Seekers from 1962 through 1968, scoring folk-pop hits such as I'll Never Find Another You, A World Of Our Own, The Carnival Is Over and Georgy Girl. Following her departure from the band would record about a dozen albums as a solo artist and sporadically join the Seekers from the mid 1990s forward ~ Cock was born in 1943
August 5, 2022 ~ Jazz, classical, R&B, pop rock pianist Michael Lang, full name Michael Anthony Lang, passed away ~ Has worked on over an estimated 2,000 film scores, working with every major film composer including Lalo Schifrin, John Williams, Henry Mancini, and Hans Zimmer. In-demand studio musician, present on albums by Hal Blaine, Frank Zappa (Lumpy Gravy), Don Ellis, Sérgio Mendes, Harry Nilsson, Seals & Crofts (Summer Breeze), Dusty Springfield, Leonard Cohen, Milt Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Tom Waits (Heartattack And Vine), Neil Diamond, Lionel Richie, Natalie Cole, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Amy Grant, and Robbie Williams ~ Lang was born in 1941
August 5, 2016 ~ Country, country pop singer, guitarist, songwriter Chris Lane releases his Girl Problems sophomore album ~ Singer Chris Lane's Joey Mol-produced sophomore effort would give the singer his first Billboard Country No.1 hit with the album's lead single Fix reaching the top of the charts. The album also included the Billboard Country top 10 single For Her, and Let Me Love You, the latter a cover of R&B singer Mario's 2004 hit. The album itself would reach top 10 on the Billboard Country album charts
August 5, 2013 ~ Pianist, singer, songwriter George Duke passed away in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Known for his solo albums, starting with The George Duke Quartet in 1966, as well as for his many collaborations including with Jean-Luc Ponty, Cannonball Adderley, Frank Zappa, the Mothers Of Invention, and Ruth Underwood. Has also produced pop and R&B hits for A Taste Of Honey, Jeffrey Osborne, Deniece Williams, Anita Baker, Rachelle Ferrell, Everette Harp, Gladys Knight, Melissa Manchester, Barry Manilow, the Pointer Sisters, Smokey Robinson, Seawind, and Take 6 ~ Duke was born in 1946
August 5, 2008 ~ Robert Rimato, commonly known as singer, songwriter Robert Hazard, passed away in Boston, Massachusetts, USA ~ Started as a Dylan-era folkie, turned to country for a number of years, followed by a reggae stint. Fronted Robert Hazard & the Heroes, scoring modest hits in the early MTV days with Escalator Of Life and Change Reaction. Best known for writing Cyndi Lauper's 1983 hit Girls Just Want To Have Fun. Would continue to record from time to time, his last recordings a return to country music ~ Rimato was born in 1948August 5, 2005 ~ Miko Stephanovic, commonly known as jazz bandleader, clarinetist, saxophonist Spud Murphy, passed away in Hollywood, Florida, USA ~ Studied clarinet, saxophone and trumpet. Started as saxophonist and arranger in the 1920s and 1930s working for artists such as Jimmy Joy, Ross Gorman, Slim Lamar, Austin Wylie, Jan Garber, Mal Hallett, and Joe Haymes. Stephanovic is also known as an educator and author having written over two dozen books on various topics in music ~ Stephanovic was born in 1908
August 5, 1998 ~ Guitarist, arranger Eldon Shamblin, full name Estel Eldon Shamblin, passed away in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA ~ Considered one of the premier electric guitarists in Western Swing. Influenced by Eddie Lang. Worked with the Alabama Boys, Bob Wills' backing unit the Texas Playboys, Merle Haggard's backing unit the Strangers, the Four Giants Of Swing, Leon McAuliffe, Tiny Moore, Willie Nelson, Joe Venuti, Mac Wiseman, the Tractors, and Asleep At The Wheel ~ Shamblin was born in 1916
August 5, 1997 ~ Actress, singer Olivia Holt, full name Olivia Hastings Holt, born in Germantown, Tennessee, USA ~ Rose to fame as an actress in a variety of Disney series. As a singer active since the mid-2010s, releasing a number of EPs and notably the modest dance hit Generous. Would make her Broadway-debut in a 2023 production of the musical Chicago, portraying the role of Roxie Hart
August 5, 1997 ~ R&B singer Usher releases You Make Me Wanna, lead single off his My Way sophomore album ~ The song tells of the singer falling for a girl who until this point had been just a friend, even though he already has a girlfriend. The song is based on a true story, as Usher would later explain: “I was with one girl, but I had flown to Los Angeles and I fell in love with this other girl. And what was so odd about it is she started out as a friend, and was encouraging me to keep my relationship afloat. And then I'm like, Well shit, why don't I be with you?” The single would be warmly received by critics, while the romanticism went well with female listeners and gave males a safe way to express their feelings in such situations. Issued as the lead single of his breakout sophomore album, You Make Me Wanna would be Usher's first major hit, peaking at No.2 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, and earned the singer his first Grammy Award, winning in the category Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
August 5, 1993 ~ Tenor saxophonist, oboist Bob Cooper passed away in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ First gained attention as a member of Stan Kenton's orchestra from the mid 1940s through the early 1950s. Cooper married June Christy, one of the groups most beloved regular singers, in 1947. Besides being a skillful saxophone player, one of many to emulate the velvety sounds of Lester Young, Cooper is also known as one of the first to play jazz solos on the oboe. Recorded as a leader since the mid 1950s, noted especially for the 1958 Coop (The Music Of Bob Cooper) album, and remained an in-demand sideman well through the 1980s regularly present on his wife's solo albums, as well as on recordings by Chet Baker Shorty Rogers (Shorty Rogers Courts The Count), Barney Kessel, Jimmy Giuffre, Bud Shank, Ella Fitzgerald (Sings The Cole Porter Songbook), Anita O'Day, Buddy Rich (This One's For Basie), Marty Paich, Buddy Bregman, Lena Horne (Stormy Weather), Pete Rugolo, Ray Brown, the Monkees (More Of The Monkees), Frank Capp, Linda Ronstadt, and Sammy Nestico ~ Cooper was born in 1925August 5, 1993 ~ Bassist, singer Randy Jo Hobbs passed away in Dayton, Ohio, USA ~ Worked with the McCoys from 1965 through 1969. Jammed with Jimi Hendrix in 1968, a session later unoficially released on the 1980 Woke Up This Morning And Found Myself Dead album. Spent the first half of the 1970s backing Edgar Winter and Johnny Winter. Appeared on the 1976 Montrose album Jump On It and on the Rick Derringer album Glass Derringer the same year ~ Hobbs was born in 1948
August 5, 1992 ~ Rock, pop rock, jazz fusion drummer Jeff Porcaro, full name Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro, passed away in West Hills, California, USA ~ Son of jazz drummer Joe Porcaro. Member of Toto, which also included his brothers bassist Mike Porcaro and keyboardist Steve Porcaro, and best known for the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits Hold The Line, Rosanna, and Africa. Besides his key role in Toto, Porcaro was one of the most in-demand session musicians present on albums by Seals & Crofts, Three Dog Night, Joe Cocker, Jackson Browne (The Pretender), Leo Sayer, Steely Dan (Katy Lied), Boz Scaggs, Carly Simon, Eric Carmen, Valerie Carter, Lee Ritenour, Diana Ross, Warren Zevon, the Pointer Sisters, Rickie Lee Jones, Pink Floyd (The Wall), the Brothers Johnson, Crosby Stills & Nash, Michael Jackson (Thriller), Donald Fagen, Paul Simon, Randy Newman (Trouble In Paradise), Chicago, Earth Wind & Fire, Patti Austin, Céline Dion, the Dire Straits, the B52's (Good Stuff), 10cc, and Bruce Springsteen ~ Porcaro was born in 1954
August 5, 1985 ~ Singer Kate Bush releases Running Up That Hill, also known as Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), lifted off her Hounds Of Love album ~ In a Faustian twist Running Up That Hill tells of a couple who dearly love eachother and intend to make a deal with God to switch places. Kate Bush had initially thought to make it a deal with the Devil instead, however, she thought a deal with God would be more powerful. The working title was Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), yet the label decided against a title with the word ‘God’ in it as they feared it would not be played on the radio in countries with a strong Christian population, a decision the singer regrets to this day. The single would become a hit across Europe, including reaching top 10 in the Netherlands, Ireland, and the UK. In America, where Bush didn't tour or do promotion, the single would reach No.3 Billboard Hot 100 over three decades after its original release after the song was used in the Netflix series Stranger Things, making it her sole American top 10 hitAugust 5, 1984 ~ Singer, actress, TV personality Helene Fischer born in Krasnoyarsk, Soviet Union ~ Dubbed “the Queen of Schlager” with over 15 million records sold. Especially known for her 2013 Farbenspiel album. Songs such as Atemlos Durch Die Nacht, Herzbeben, Achterbahn, and Vamos A Marte featuring Luis Fonsi would all reach top 10 in her adopted homeland Germany. Has duetted with the likes of Eros Ramazzotti, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Bolton, and Robbie Williams
August 5, 1983 ~ Pop, synth-pop, new wave, blue-eyed soul group Spandau Ballet release Gold, lifted off their True album ~ Guitarist Gary Kemp had been inspired by movie themes and musicals and previously wrote She Loved Like Diamond in an attempt to emulate the American Jewish music that he knew from movies and musicals. She Loved Like Diamond, released as a single off their 1982 Diamond album, failed to reach the top 40 in their native UK. Kemp gave it another go, writing Gold as an hommage to the scores of film composer John Barry, especially the James Bond series, and this time it would be a hit. Gold reached top 10 across Europe, including a No.2 spot in the UK, and reached No.29 in America, making it one of only four Spandau Ballet songs to chart on the Billboard Hot 100August 5, 1981 ~ Singer, rapper Travie McCoy born in Geneva, New York, New York, USA ~ Co-founded Gym Class Heroes with Matt McGinley. As a solo artist best known for the 2010 hit Billionaire featuring Bruno Mars. Has also worked with T-Pain, the Smeezingtons, the Stereotypes, Lucas Secon, Josh Abraham, Cobra Starship, Kelly Rowland, Tyga, Cassie Davis, Claude Leitte, Lil Wayne, Jessica Jarrell, Taio Cruz, Iyaz, le Deuce, Stooshe, Olly Murs, and Jake Miller
August 5, 1980 ~ No wave, new wave, punk rock bassist George Scott III passed away in New York, New York, USA ~ Known for role in late 1970s New York no wave movement influential on later acts such as Sonic Youth, working with artists such as the Contortions, the Human Switchboard, John Cale, and Lydia Lunch. Following his death at age 26 of a heroin overdose, 8 Eyed Spy would call it quits. Another band, the Raybeats, however which was also co-founded by Scott would continue with Danny Amis taking over Scott's bass duties ~ Scott was born in 1953
August 5, 1978 ~ In its 11th week on the charts, Can We Still Be Friends by Todd Rundgren peaks at No.29 Billboard Hot 100 ~ Although Todd Rundgren, either as a solo artist or fronting the Nazz and Utopia, would receive wide critical acclaim and peer admiration throughout his career, the Pennsylvania-born singer would only score a handful of top 40 singles. 1970's We Got To Get You A Woman peaked at No.20 Billboard Hot 100, 1972's I Saw The Light at No.16, and 1972's Hello It's Me reached No.5. Can We Still Be Friends lifted off his eighth studio album Hermit Of Mink Millow, would be Rundgren's fourth and final hit, peaking inside the top 40 in both Canada and America and at No.8 in Australia. The lyrics tell of a relationship which simply has run its course with the singer asking if they can part amicably. Although Rundgren has repeatedly stated the song is not about any person in particular, it is generally assumed to be about Rundgren's breakup with long-time companion singer and former Playboy model Bebe Buell. In an interview with Songfacts, Rundgren has stated the song is perhaps one of his most relatable: “Can We Still Be Friends gets mentioned a lot (by fans) because I think it helps people to put into words the feelings that they have about a situation they've gone through but they can't really articulate in the right way”
August 5, 1975 ~ Post-britpop, alternative rock, indie rock guitarist Dan Hipgrave, full name Daniel Hipgrave, born in Brighton, UK ~ Member of Toploader, known for hits such as Dancing In The Moonlight, Achilles Heel and Just Hold On all taken off the band's 1999 Orka's Big Moka debut album. Although their 2002 sophomore Magic Hotel album would reach top 5 in the band's native UK, the band would be dropped by their label. Shortly thereafter the band disbanded citing “personal differences” within the band before reforming in 2009August 5, 1975 ~ Alternative rock, indie rock singer, guitarist, songwriter Toby Martin born in Melbourne, Australia ~ Fronted indie rock outfit the Youth Group from 1996 to 2009. The band has been critically compared to Teenage Fanclub, Pavement, and Death Cab For Cutie, and is especially acclaimed for their 2006 Casino Twilight Dogs album. Martin has also recorded as a solo artist, releasing his Love's Shadow solo debut during the band's hiatus
August 5, 1974 ~ Singer, keyboardist Billy Preston releases Nothing From Nothing, lifted off his The Kids And Me album ~ Preston had backed gospel singer Mahalia Jackson while still in his teens, played with the Beatles, including on the Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hit Get Back, and had scored his first solo No.1 hit, Will It Go Round In Circles, in 1973. Billy Preston wrote Nothing From Nothing with regular collaborator Bruce Fisher in the dressing room of an Atlanta nightclub where he was performing that night. It would become his second and final Billboard Hot 100 charttopper. The single's B-side was You Are So Beautiful, another Preston-Fisher original, which would later be covered by over an estimated 200 artists, including notably Joe Cocker. The common phrase “nothing from nothing leaves nothing” traces back to a line in the William Shakespeare-play King Lear: “Nothing will come of nothing”
August 5, 1974 ~ Gothic metal, symphonic black metal guitarist, songwriter Knut Magne Valle born in Gjerstad, Norway ~ Member of avant-garde metal outfit Arcturus since 1995, present on the band's most acclaimed The Sham Mirrors album released in 2002. Has also briefly worked with experimental electronica unit Ulver, appearing on and co-producing the band's 1998 Themes From William Blake's The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell album. Has also worked with artists such as Fleurety, Ancestral Legacy, Aura Noir, Ragnarok, and MayhemAugust 5, 1974 ~ Simon James Dawbarn, commonly known as pop, dance-pop singer, dancer Spike Dawbarn, born in Warrington, UK ~ Member of boy band 911, known for a string of British hits in the mid to late 1990s, including Don't Make Me Wait, The Day We Find Love, Bodyshakin', All I Want Is You, More Than A Woman, and perhaps their best known A Little Bit More