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 17, 2025 ~ Drummer Rick Buckler, full name Paul Richard Buckler, passed away in Woking, UK ~ Best known as a member of mod revival trio the Jam alongside singer, guitarist, frontman Paul Weller and bassist Bruce Foxton from its formation until its disbandement. The band drew from a wide range of idioms including beat, soul, R&B, psychedelic rock, punk and new wave. The band would score four UK No.1 hits, namely Going Underground, Start, Town Called Malice and Beat Surrender. Following the band's disbandement in 1982 Buckler formed the short-lived Time UK, was a member of Sharp, and produced Bound For Glory for the Highliners and Tell 'Em We're Surfin' for the Family Cat. Buckler retired from music in the 1990s to return to music in the 2000s working with the Gift, From The Jam, and If. Buckler published his autobiography, titled That's Entertainment (My Life In The Jam), in 2015 ~ Buckler was born in 1955
February 17, 2023 ~ Conductor, oboist, TV, film composer Gerald Fried passed away in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA ~ Well known for composing music for a number of 1960s, 1970s TV shows such as Gilligan's Island, The Man From UNCLE, Shotgun Slade, Star Trek, and notably Roots, receiving an Emmy Award for the latter. Composed for over a dozen feature films, among them several of Stanley Kubrick's early movies including Fear And Desire, Killer's Kiss, and Paths Of Glory ~ Fried was born in 1928February 17, 2023 ~ Bruce Gordon Poulsen, commonly known as singer, mandolinist, autoharpist, songwriter Hans Poulsen passed away ~ Best known for songs such as Boom Sha-la-la-lo and Light Across The Valley. Also wrote and co-wrote for others including Rose Coloured Glasses for John Farnham and Monty And Me for Zoot ~ Poulsen was born in 1945
February 17, 2023 ~ Jazz saxophonist, flutist Jerry Dodgion passed away in Queens, New York, USA ~ Worked with Rudy Salvini, Gerald Wilson, Vernon Alley, Billie Holiday, Benny Carter, Red Norvo, Benny Goodman, Oliver Nelson, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Herbie Hancock, Duke Pearson, Blue Mitchell, Count Basie, Marian McPartland, Sonny Clark, Charlie Mariano, Randy Brecker, Lou Donaldson, Bobby Hackett, JJ Johnson, Etta Jones, Yusef Lateef, Blue Mitchell, Quincy Jones, Wes Montgomery, Shirley Scott, Jimmy Smith, and Stanley Turrentine ~ Dodgion was born in 1932
February 17, 2023 ~ Country songwriter, singer, guitarist, keyboardist Kyle Jacobs, full name Kyle Christopher Jacobs, passed away in Nashville, Tennessee, USA ~ Staff songwriter for Curb Music. Perhaps best remembered for co-writing More Than A Memory, a Billboard Country No.1 hit for Garth Brooks. Others who have recorded songs written or co-written by Jacobs include Trace Adkins (I Can't Outrun You), Jo Dee Messina, Craig Morgan, Tim McGraw, Kimberley Locke (8th World Wonder), Clay Walker, Kelly Clarkson (The Sun Will Rise), Scotty McCreery, Lee Brice, and his wife Kellie Pickler ~ Jacobs was born ca.1973
February 17, 2023 ~ Songwriter, drummer Tom Whitlock, full name Thomas Ross Whitlock, passed away in Nashville, Tennessee, USA ~ Best known for co-writing several songs for the 1986 Top Gun soundtrack with Giorgio Moroder, including Take My Breath Away performed by Berlin and Danger Zone performed by Kenny Loggins. Whitlock also collaborated with Moroder on several other projects, such as the soundtracks for American Anthem, Over The Top, and Rambo III, on Koreana's Hand In Hand official theme song for the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, and on Edoardo Bennato & Gianna Nannina's Un'estate Italiana official theme song for the 1990 FIFA World Cup held in Italy ~ Whitlock was born in 1954
February 17, 2022 ~ Rock, alt-country singer, guitarist Dallas Good passed away in Toronto, Canada ~ Son of bluegrass autoharpist Bruce Good. Founded the Sadies in 1994 with his brother Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Bellitsky. The band is known for their blend of punk, country, Americana, surf and garage rock and acclaimed for their 1998 Precious Moments debut album and their 2006 In Concert (Volume One) live album. The band has served as Neko Case's backing band and collaborated with the likes of Neil Young, the Mekons, Kurt Vile, and Buffy Sainte-Marie ~ Good was born in 1973
February 17, 2021 ~ Singer, guitarist, songwriter Andrea Lo Vecchio passed away in Rome, Italy ~ Active as a solo artist since the early 1960s, scoring a record deal with CBS after winning a talent contest in 1963. In-demand songwriter and collaborator. Closely associated with Roberto Vecchioni and Mina. Internationally perhaps best known for co-penning If I Only Had Time, a 1969 hit for John Rowles. Has also worked with Adriano Celentano, Shirley Bassey, Gigliola Cinquetti, Mireille Mathieu, Demis Roussos, Claude François, Ivan Graziani, Manuel De Peppe, and I Nuovi Angeli ~ Lo Vecchio was born in 1942February 17, 2021 ~ Rock & roll, rockabilly singer, guitarist, songwriter Gene Summers passed away in Dallas, Texas, USA ~ As a solo artist known for recordings such as School Of Rock & Roll, Straight Skirt, Nervous, Gotta Lotta That, Twixteen, Alabama Shake, Fancy Dan, and Big Blue Diamonds. Has also worked with the Rebels, the Tom Toms, Bill Smith Combo, and the Platinum Fog ~ Summers was born in 1939
February 17, 2021 ~ Ewart Beckford, commonly known as reggae, dancehall, dub singer, toaster U-Roy, passed away in Kingston, Jamaica ~ Pioneer toaster. Influenced by Louis Prima, James Brown, Ruth Brown, Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, and especially Louis Jordan. Known for songs such as Wake The Town, Wear You To The Ball, and Runaway Girl. Worked with producers such as Lee Scratch Perry, Bunny Lee, Phil Pratt, Sonia Pottinger, Rupie Edwards, Alvin Ranglin, and Lloyd Daley ~ Beckford was born in 1942
February 17, 2020 ~ Blues pianist, singer Henry Gray, passed away in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA ~ Helped create the sound of Chicago blues piano. Backed Howlin' Wolf for about a dozen years, starting in 1956. Also worked with Big Maceo Merriweather, Hudson Showes, Jimmy Reed, Bo Diddley, Billy Boy Arnold, Morris Pejoe, Abb Lock, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Homesick James, Robert Lockwood Junior, Muddy Waters, Johnny Shines, Hubert Sumlin, Lazy Lester, Little Walter, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Little Milton, Jimmy Rogers, Koko Taylor, JD Miller, and Elmore James ~ Gray was born in 1925
February 17, 2020 ~ Jazz drummer Jon Christensen, full name Jon Ivar Christensen, passed away in Oslo, Norway ~ Father of singer Emilie Stoesen Christensen. Key figure in Norwegian jazz. Active since the late 1960s, starting with the likes of George Russell and Jan Garbarek. Key member of 1980s jazz unit Masqualero. Present on albums by Karin Krog, Lee Konitz, Steve Kuhn, Terje Rypdal, Keith Jarrett (Belonging), Ralph Towner (Solstice), Enrico Rava, Blow Out, Miroslav Vitous, John Abercrombie, and Tomasz Stańko ~ Christensen was born in 1943February 17, 2019 ~ Jazz singer Ethel Ennis, full name Ethel Llewellyn Ennis, passed away in Baltimore, Maryland, USA ~ Prior to her seven-decade career as a jazz singer, played piano in church from a young age. Has recorded about a dozen albums, most warmly received, starting with Lullabies For Losers released in 1955. Toured Europe with Benny Goodman. Lovingly dubbed “the First Lady of Jazz” in her homestate of Maryland ~ Ennis was born in 1932
February 17, 2018 ~ Beatrice Pauline Botty, commonly known as pianist, organist Beebe Freitas, passed away in Aina Haina, Hawaii, USA ~ Best known as music director of the Hawaii Opera Theatre. Also worked with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Collegiate Chorale, the Camerata Singers, the New York Philharmonic, David Shifrin, Yo-Yo Ma, Sasha Cooke, and Frederica von Stade ~ Freitas was born in 1938
February 17, 2018 ~ Producer, singer, keyboardist Boyd Jarvis, full name Boyd Henry Jarvis, passed away in East Orange, New Jersey, USA ~ As a solo artist best known for his 1983 song The Music Got Me. Sued Robert Clivilles and David Cole of C+C Music Factory over copyright infringement, claiming Get Dumb incorporated parts of Music, and was awarded some $95,000 in damages. Session musician, remixer, producer, worked with Herbie Hancock, La Toya Jackson, Johnny Kemp, Jellybean, Timmy Regisford, Wally Jump Jr & the Criminal Elements, Colonel Abrams, Club Nouveau, Pretty Poison, François Kevorkian, Johnny Gill, Karyn White, Rick James, Evelyn King, Loose Ends, Chaka Khan, LeVert, Ronny Jordan, and Milk & Honey ~ Jarvis was born in 1958
February 17, 2016 ~ Conga player Ray Barretto passed away in Hackensack, New Jersey, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Sampled by Urban Dance Squad. Worked with Charlie Parker, Jose Curbelo, Tito Puente, Adalberto Santiago, the Fania All-Stars, Sonora Matancera, Celia Cruz, the New World Spirit, Gene Ammons, the Bee Gees, Kenny Burrell, Arnett Cobb, Ray Bryant, Billy Cobham, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Eumir Deodato, Jimmy Forrest, Dizzy Gillespie, Slide Hampton, Bill Doggett, Art Farmer, Eddie Harris, Willis Jackson, Yusef Lateef, Junior Mance, Clifford Jordan, Herbie Mann, Wes Montgomery, Michel Sardaby, Sonny Stitt, Jack McDuff, the Weather Report, Charles Williams, Julius Watkins, and Frank Wess ~ Barretto was born in 1929February 17, 2015 ~ Keyboardist Kenny Wally Kelly, full name Kenneth Bernard Kelly, passed away ~ Co-founding member of the Manhattans remaining with the group from 1964 through 1990, best known for their 1976 Kiss And Say Goodbye hit single which reached top 10 across the globe including the No.1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 ~ Kelly was born in 1941
February 17, 2014 ~ Guitarist, keyboardist Bob Casale, full name Robert Edward Casale Jr, passed away in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Best known as a member of Devo, alongside brother Gerald Casale. Also worked with the Martini Ranch, Visiting Kids, Mutato Muzika, and with the Police guitarist Andy Summers, engineering the latter's debut solo album ~ Casale was born in 1952
February 17, 2014 ~ Ian Fleming Smith, commonly known as reggae, dancehall singer Wayne Smith, passed away in Kingston, Jamaica ~ Best known for his 1985 hit single Under Mi Sleng Teng, generally regarded as the beginning of ragga. Its rhythm is based on a riff from Eddie Cochran's Somethin' Else, its lyrics inspired by Barrington Levy's Under Mi Sensi. Smith is also know for songs such as Come Along and Ain't No Meaning In Saying Goodbye. ~ Smith was born in 1965
February 17, 2013 ~ Malinda Gayle McCready, commonly known as country singer Mindy McCready, passed away in Heber Springs, Arkansas, USA ~ Sometimes referred to as “the Amy Winehouse of Country” for the turmoil and struggles she encountered in her personal life. Recorded five well-received albums, before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound a month after her former boyfriend, father of her younger son, had done the same on the exact same porch just one month earlier. Best known for the Billboard Country No.1 hit Guys Do It All The Time off her 1996 Ten Thousand Angels debut album. Other well known songs include Ten Thousand Angels, Maybe He'll Notice Her Now with Richie McDonald, A Girl's Gotta Do What A Girl's Gotta Do, and You'll Never Know ~ McCready was born in 1975
February 17, 2012 ~ Bassist Michael Davis passed away in Chico, California, USA ~ Best known as member of MC5, joining the band in 1964 as replacement for original bassist Pat Burrows. Appears on the band's original three albums, including their acclaimed and hugely influential Kick Out The Jams debut album. Member of Destroy All Monsters, for whom he wrote underground punk classics Meet The Creeper, Rocking The Cradle, and Fast City. Davis also worked with Blood Orange, and the Luminarios, and served as producer for Mother's Anger and Dollhouse ~ Davis was born in 1943
February 17, 2010 ~ Folk, blues, roots singer, guitarist, songwriter Ruby Hunter, full name Ruby Charlotte Margaret Hunter, passed away in Victoria, Australia ~ Musical and life partner of Archie Roach, with whom she had two sons and three foster children. As a solo artist became the first Aboriginal female artist to release a full-length album, namely Thought Within. Also noted for writing and performing the autobiographical Ruby's Story with Roach, Paul Grabowsky and the Australian Art Orchestra, which premiered in 2004 at the Sydney Opera House to critical acclaim ~ Hunter was born in 1955
February 17, 2004 ~ Singer, pianist Alicia Keys releases If I Ain't Got You, lifted off The Diary Of Alicia Keys sophomore album ~ The death of then 22-year-old singer Aaliyah in 2001 partly inspired Alicia Keys to write If I Ain't Got You. Keys wrote the song on a plane right after she had heard the news of Aaliyah's death. She would later recall: “I think being on a plane and knowing she passed away after a plane crash, there was just this sentiment of being present in the moment and really nothing else mattering but those that you love. I think that feeling was really present in my life at that time and really right in my face,” adding that she wrote the lyrics and music straight away, but it took forever to finish the song. Issued as the second single of her sophomore album, If I Ain't Got You would become her fourth Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit, peaking at No.4. The song earned Keys Grammy Award nominations for Song of the Year and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, winning the latterFebruary 17, 1997 ~ Kenny Thomas Skingle, commonly known as jazz, bebop, progressive jazz saxophonist, bandleader Kenny Graham, passed away in London, UK ~ Overlooked pioneer of British jazz, active since the mid 1940s in leading dance bands of the era, including ensembles led by Nat Temple, Nat Gonella, Bert Ambrose, Leslie Hutchinson, and Eric Winstone. Well known for forming and leading the Afro-Cubists from the early 1950s onwards, a band aiming to develop an amalgam of bebop, African and Cuban rhythms and super-modern harmonies. Despite critical acclaim, the band only briefly performed and recorded, their hybrid too innovative for the general public. From the mid 1950s onwards, Graham worked primarily as a composer and arranger, to retire from performing entirely in 1958 following medical misfortunes. However, Graham would continue to work as a composer and arranger, notably for Humphrey Lyttelton who recorded his One Day I Met An African and other pieces, and direct sessions for blues artists such as Big Bill Broonzy and Josh White. Graham was dismissive of most modern popular music, specifically rock and roll, once stating he was “completely dedicated to his strong belief in how jazz should sound” ~ Skingle was born in 1924
February 17, 1995 ~ R&B, hip hop, new jack swing trio TLC release Red Light Special, lifted off their CrazySexyCool sophomore album ~ Released to near-universal critical acclaim, Cashbox calling it “one of the sultriest, sexiest singles to come along in years”, this Kenneth Babyface Edmonds-penned and produced headboard bonker would be the second of four singles off its parent album CrazySexyCool to reach top 10 Billboard Hot 100 top 10. Fueled by the success of its singles, the album would become one of the best-selling 1990s albums, and eventually the all-time best-selling album by any American girl group with over 15 million copies sold. Regarding Red Light Special, lead singer Tionne T-Boz Watkins would later comment: “The first thing I pictured was a red strobe light flashing, and somebody doing stripper moves. Whatever tricks there are, that's my red light special.”