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.
December 28, 1986 ~ Punk rock, metal guitarist Parker Lundgren born in Port Townsend, Washington, USA ~ Influenced by Django Reinhardt and Chris DeGarmo. Best known as guitarist of Queensrÿche from 2009, replacing Mike Stone, through 2021. Has previously worked with Sledgeback, the Nihilists, and Geoff Tate
December 28, 1985 ~ Songwriter, producer Anton Hård af Segerstad born in Ödeborg, Sweden ~ Worked with Iggy Azalea, Fifth Harmony, JoJo, Mic Lowry, Dada Life, Nause, Loreen, and with Kim Cesarion. Often collaborated with fellow Swedish songwriters, producers Linnéa Deb and Joy Deb including on Måns Zelmerlöw's Heroes, 2015 Eurovision Songfestival winner
December 28, 1985 ~ Swing trombonist Benny Morton passed away in New York, New York, USA ~ Though Morton never became a household name and is largely forgotten today, in part due to poorly documented liner notes, Morton was one of the swing era's finest trombonists, praised for his subtle tone and tasteful understatement, and has been cited as an influence by the likes of Kai Winding, Bill Watrous, and Eddie Bert. Closely associated with guitarist Charlie Christian and singer Billie Holiday, especially on several of the latter's early recordings. Morton only recorded four sides as a leader, but as a valued sideman appears on albums by Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie (Lester Leaps In), Wild Bill Davison, Ray Bryant, Ruby Braff, Rex Stewart, Roy Eldridge, Buck Clayton, Lester Young, Eddie Condon, and Teresa Brewer. Morton continued to perform well into the 1970s ~ Morton was born in 1907
December 28, 1985 ~ In its 13th week on the charts, Party All The Time by Eddie Murphy peaks at No.2 Billboard Hot 100, held off the top spot by Lionel Richie's Say You Say Me ~ Released as the lead single off actor and comedian Eddie Murphy's How Could It Be musical debut album, Party All The Time hits No.2 Billboard Hot 100, a position it held for three consecutive weeks. The song is written and produced by Rick James, who also appears on the record playing percussion, and charts higher than any of James' own singles
December 28, 1985 ~ Contemporary classical singer, pianist Estelí Gomez born in Watsonville, California, USA ~ Praised for her “clear, bright voice” by the New York Times. Founding member of chamber ensemble Roomful Of Teeth, with whom she earned Grammy Awards for the albums Roomful Of Teeth and Rough Magic. Gomez has also notably appeared on albums by the Etherea Vocal Ensemble, Seraphic Fire, Conspirare, San Fermin (Jackrabbit), the Clarion Choir, Yo-Yo Ma (Sing Me Home), and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale
December 28, 1984 ~ Eddie Brown, commonly known as percussionist Eddie Bongo Brown, passed away in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Backed numerous Motown artists mostly during the 1960s as member of the label's houseband the Funk Brothers. Best known for his contributions to songs such as (I Know) I'm Losing You by the Temptations, I Second That Emotion by the Miracles, and If I Were Your Woman by Gladys Knight & the Pips. Also worked with Brass Fever, present on both Brass Fever and Time Is Running Out, which also included John Handy, Lee Ritenour, Buddy Collette, Oscar Brashear, and Shelly Manne ~ Brown was born in 1932
December 28, 1983 ~ Drummer, singer Dennis Wilson, full name Dennis Carl Wilson, passed away in Marina Del Rey, California, USA ~ Co-founding member, drummer of the Beach Boys. The only one in the band who actually surfed. Wrote or co-wrote tracks such as All I Want To Do, Got To Know The Woman, Friends, Little Bird, Forever. Released his sole solo album, Pacific Ocean Blue, in 1977 ~ Wilson was born in 1944
December 28, 1981 ~ Alternative rock, alternative country, folk punk, punk rock singer, guitarist, pianist, songwriter Frank Turner, full name Francis Edward Turner, born in Manama, Bahrain ~ Solo artist since the mid 2000s, backed by the Sleeping Souls. Has also worked with Million Dead, Möngöl Hörde, Jon Snodgrass, the Record Buying Public, Jason Isbell, Kneejerk, Badger Doritos, Albuquerque Meat Hat, Dive Dive, Ben Marwood, Flogging Molly, Brian Fallon, Gaslight Anthem, Sunset Sunday, and NOFX
December 28, 1978 ~ John Roger Stephens, commonly known as pianist, singer, songwriter John Legend, born in Springfield, Ohio, USA ~ First gained attention with a number of high-profile collaborations including Jay-Z (Encore), Alicia Keys (You Don't Know My Name) and Lauryn Hill (Everything Is Everything), before releasing his debut Get Lifted album in 2004. Best known for his 2013 international hit All Of Me which reached top 10 across the globe, topping the charts in America and the Netherlands
December 28, 1978 ~ Rapper Phonte, full name Phonte Lyshod Coleman, born in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA ~ Member of Little Brother. Forms the duo the Foreign Exchange with producer Nicolay, best known for Grammy Award-nominated Daykeeper of their 2009 Leave It All Behind sophomore album. Also records as a solo artist, occasionally using the moniker Percy Miracles, starting with the album Charity Starts At Home released in 2011. Has guested on recordings by Murs, DJ Shadow, Sean Price, Eric Roberson, Evidence, Drake, Royce da 5'9", the Roots, Mac Miller, Pharoahe Monch, and Talib Kweli
December 28, 1977 ~ David Vervoort, commonly known as dance, dance-pop producer Dave McCullen, born in Bonheiden, Belgium ~ Member of Belgian dance-act Lasgo, scoring the UK top 10 hits Something and Alone both taken of their 2001 Some Things album
December 28, 1976 ~ Fred Christian, commonly known as blues singer, guitarist, songwriter Freddie King, passed away in Dallas, Texas, USA ~ Rooted in Texas blues and Chicago blues. Hugely influential, especially on guitarists. Known for songs such as You've Got To Love Her With A Feeling, I'm Tore Down and perhaps most notably the instrumental Hide-away. King has also worked with Jimmy Rogers, Robert Lockwood Junior, Eddie Taylor, Hound Dog Taylor, Willie Dixon, Memphis Slim, Little Walter, Magic Sam, and Sonny Thompson ~ Christian was born in 1934
December 28, 1976 ~ Joshua Dolgin, commonly known as rapper, pianist, producer Socalled, born in Ottawa, Canada ~ Draws from hip-hop, klezmer, drum and bass, folk and other idioms. Has worked with David Krakauer, C-Ray Walz, Chilly Gonzales, Fred Wesley, Sophie Solomon, and Beyond The Pale. Known for Hiphopkhasene, a collaborative album with Sophie Solomon released in 2003 and for his 2013 remix of Moe Koffman's Curried Soul, the latter becoming the theme music of CBC Radio One's As It Happens radio show
December 28, 1973 ~ Rock & roll, rock, alternative country, country rock, folk rock bassist, guitarist Catherine Popper born in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA ~ Forms the trio Puss 'n Boots with Norah Jones and Sasha Dobson. Has also worked with Hem, Jesse Malin, Ryan Adams' band the Cardinals, Grace Potter, Jack White, Willie Nelson, and Levon Helm
December 28, 1971 ~ Singer Anita Doth born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands ~ Best known as half of eurodance duo 2 Unlimited, the other half being Ray Slijngaard. Working with producers Jean-Paul Decoster and Phil Wilde the duo became a sensation in Europe charting hits such as Nothing Like The Rain, Maximum Overdrive, No Limit, Tribal Dance, The Twilight Zone, and Workaholic. After the dissolution of the band in 1996 Doth became a vee-jay and formed the Divas Of Dance in 2002, teaming up with T-Spoon's Linda Estelle and the 2 Brothers On The 4th Floor's Desiree Manders. From 2009 to 2016 Doth would be involved with an Unlimited reunion, eventually leaving to pursue a solo career
December 28, 1971 ~ Composer, conductor, songwriter Max Steiner, full name Maximilian Raoul Steiner, passed away in Hollywood, California, USA ~ Referred to as “the Father of Film music”, being one of the first to write extensively for film having composed over 300 film scores. Won Academy Awards for the scores of 1935's The Informer, 1942's Now Voyager and 1944's Since You Went Away. Other well known soundtracks written or co-written by Steiner include King Kong and Casablanca ~ Steiner was born in 1888
December 28, 1970 ~ Drummer Zach Hill, full name Zachary Charles Hill, born in Sacramento, California, USA ~ Member of Hella, the Death Grips, and the ILY's. Has also recorded as a solo artist, starting with Astrological Straits released in 2008, as well as with Holy Smokes, Floössin, Mick Barr, Team Sleep, Marnie Stern, the Bygones, Omar Rodríguez-López. Spoek Mathambo, and Undo K From Hot
December 28, 1968 ~ Rock, jazz, blues, pop guitarist Gil Parris born in the Bronx, New York, USA ~ Half a dozen albums to his name, starting with the eponymous Gil Parris released in 1998. Blends blues, jazz, rock, smooth jazz. In-demand sideman, has worked with Dr John, Blood Sweat & Tears, Diane Schuur, David Mann, Billy Vera, Bobby Caldwell, Toni Braxton, Toko Furuuchi, Joel Rosenblatt, Vaneese Thomas, Chuck Jackson, and Cissy Houston
December 28, 1965 ~ Avant-garde, free jazz trumpeter Bart Maris born in Ninove, Belgium ~ Brother of singer, guitarist Piet Maris. Has worked with Fukkeduk, Kamikaze, the Rouppe Group, X-Legged Sally, Excelsior, Think Of One, the Flat Earth Society, Jaune Toujours, Electric Barbarian, Moker, Nanook, the Whodads, the Simpletones, Das Kammer Orchestra, 69, Olla Vogala, Art Zoyd, Fred Frith, and Univers Zero
December 28, 1964 ~ Country singer Buck Owens releases I've Got A Tiger By The Tail, lifted off the album of the same name ~ Written by Buck Owens and Harlan Howard. Produced by Ken Nelson. Released as a single later the same month and included on the album of the same name. Inspired by a sign at an Esso gas station which read “Put a tiger in your tank,” the company's slogan at the time. I've Got A Tiger By The Tail became the singer's fifth Billboard Country charttopper, and his highest-charting on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 where it peaked at No.25
December 28, 1964 ~ Rock guitarist Paul Wagstaff, also known as Wags, born ~ Well known figure in the Manchester scene, especially as a member of Paris Angels and subsequently Black Grape. The former enjoyed local popularity, releasing several singles at the turn of the 1990s notably Scope and Perfume prior to their sole album Sundew in 1991. Despite lacking a hit single, the album reached top 40 UK, and over time has garnered critical acclaim as a classic of the Madchester sound. However, due to the genre falling out of favor, the band was dropped by their label. Wagstaff would subsequently work with Black Grape, known for their critically and commercially successful It's Great When You're Straight (Yeah) album and its Reverend Black Grape UK top 10 single, as well as with a reformed late 1990s incarnation of the Happy Mondays, the Domino Bones, and on occassion with the Charlatans. On hearing of Wagstaff's passing, Paris Angels bandmate Scott Carey commented: “(Wagstaff's) talent was innate as was his ability to sniff out a good time at 50 paces, he had a wonderment about his soul” ~ Wagstaff passed away in 2025
December 28, 1963 ~ Composer, violist, violinist, conductor Paul Hindemith passed away in Frankfurt, West Germany ~ Major exponent of the Neue Sachlichkeit movement. Known for works such as Das Marienleben, Schwanendreher, Mathis Der Maler, Symphonnic Metamorphosis Of Themes By Carla Maria Von Weber. The nazis had a complicated relationship with Hindemith, some classifying his music as “degenerate” atonal music, others arguing he would make a fine example of a modern German composer. His music would be banned in 1936 ~ Hindemith was born in 1895
December 28, 1963 ~ Singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer Shawn Lee born in Wichita, Kansas, USA ~ Debuted with 1996's Discomfort, a promo album released only in France, and internationally with 2000's Monkey Boy. Has worked with the Dust Brothers, Jeff Buckley, Clutchy Hopkins, Tony Joe White, Darondo, Money Mark, and Tommy Guerrero
December 28, 1962 ~ Jazz pianist Michel Petrucciani born in Orange, France ~ Leader and sideman. Worked with Lee Konitz, Wayne Shorter, Jim Hall, Bob Malach, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Gil Goldstein, Pete Levin, Marcus Miller, Biréli Lagrène, Kenny Garrett, Stéphane Grappelli, Steve Gadd, Anthony Jackson, Charles Lloyd, Joe Lovano, Charles Lloyd, Kenny Clarke, and Clark Terry ~ Petrucciani passed away in 1999
December 28, 1961 ~ Folk, blues, jazz singer, songwriter Christine Collister born in Isle of Man, UK ~ Sang backup for Richard Thompson. Releasing solo albums since the mid 1990s. In-demand session vocalist, songwriter, collaborator worked with Clive Gregson, Daphnes Flight, Hell Bent Heaven Bound, Dave Kelly, Michael Fix, Mike Slamer, Pam Shane, Steve Lima, Rob Laufer, Linday Rowe, and Lena Andersson