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.
February 13, 1924 ~ Gene Urick, commonly known as traditional pop singer Gene Ames, born in Malden, Massachusetts, USA ~ Member of family outfit the Ames Brothers, known for a number of 1950s hits including Rag Mop, Sentimental Me, Can Anyone Explain (No No No), Undecided, The Man With The Banjo, The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane and Tammy ~ Urick passed away 1997
February 13, 1920 ~ Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant, commonly known as songwriter Boudleaux Bryant, born in Shellman, Georgia, USA ~ Songwriter, usually in partnership with his wife Felice Bryant. Together they wrote some of Nashville's most enduring hits for artists such as Jimmy Dickens (Country Boy), Buddy Holly (Raining In My Heart), Gram Parsons (Love Hurts), Emmylou Harris (Like Strangers), Ricky Van Shelton (Loving Proof), Johnny O'Keefe (She Wears My Ring), and perhaps most extensively for the Everly Brothers (Bye Bye Love, Problems, Wake Up Little Susie). Other artists who have recorded their songs include Tony Bennett, Frankie Laine, Sonny James, Eddy Arnold, Bob Moore, Charley Pride, Nazareth, Jim Reeves, Leo Sayer, Jerry Lee Lewis, Simon & Garfunkel, Sarah Vaughan, the Grateful Dead, Elvis Costello, Count Basie, Dean Martin, Ray Charles, Joan Jett, Roy Orbison, Solomon King, Sue Thompson, and Dillard & Clarke ~ Bryant passed away in 1987
February 13, 1920 ~ Soprano singer Eileen Farrell born in Willimantic, Connecticut, USA ~ Active on the opera stage, in the musical theatre, as a concert singer with a career spanning six decades. Arguably credited for releasing the first successful opera crossover album in 1960, namely I Got A Right To Sing The Blues. Has worked with the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Frank Sinatra ~ Farrell passed away in 2002February 13, 1919 ~ Ernest Jennings Ford, commonly known as country, pop, gospel singer Tennessee Ernie Ford born in Bristol, Tennessee, USA ~ Best known for his hit recordings Shotgun Boogie and Sixteen Tons. Also remembered for songs such as Smokey Mountain Boogie, I'll Never Be Free with Kay Starr, Tailor Made Woman with Joe Fingers Carr, Mister And Mississippi, Blackberry Boogie, and Hicktown ~ Ford passed away in 1991
February 13, 1912 ~ Jazz saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist Arthur Rollini, full name Arthur Francis Rollini, born in New York, New York, USA ~ Worked with Benny Goodman, including at the famed 1938 Carnegie Hall performance considered a milestone in big band history. Also worked with Richard Himber, Will Bradley, Wingy Manone, Joe Venuti, Lionel Hampton, Harry James, Louis Armstrong, Brad Gowans, Bunny Berigan, Jack Teagarden, and with his older brother Adrian Rollini ~ Rollini passed away in 1993
February 13, 1883 ~ Composer Richard Wagner, full name Richard Wilhelm Wagner passed away in Venice, Italy ~ Initially a composer in the Romantic tradition akin to Carl Maria von Weber and Giacomo Meyerbeer. Wagner would establish himself as an opera composer, known especially for the complex textures and rich harmonies of his compositions. Best known for writing the four-opera cycle The Ring Of The Nibelung ~ Wagner was born in 1813