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.
July 15, 2025 ~ Billy Freeman, commonly known as dance music producer, remixer Billy April, passed away ~ Formed the producer, remixer duo Drizabone with Vincent Garcia. As recording artists they are known for their sole album, Conspiracy released in 1994, which spawned the UK No.16 hit Real Love. However, the duo would become better known for their remixes of other artists' songs, including tracks by Lisa Stansfield, Jody Watley, Mary J Blige, Duran Duran, Barry White, Diana Ross, and Kylie Minogue. The duo's biggest hit was a remix of Shanice's 1991 single I Love Your Smile, which reached No.2 on the British pop charts surpassing Shanice's original which failed to reach top 40, stalling at No.55 ~ Freeman was born ca.1961
July 15, 2024 ~ Thomas Brückner, commonly known as techno, progressive house, progressive trance DJ, producer Tomcraft, passed away in Regensburg, Germany ~ Active as a club DJ since the mid 1990s, notably as resident DJ at Munich's techno club KW Das Heizkraftwerk from the late 1990s through the early 2000s. Closely associated with Eniac, the pair working together on numerous releases. Perhaps best known for his 2002 progressive house single Loneliness, a club hit in the UK, which greatly boosted his career. Subsequent well known releases would include Prozac and Overdose. Starting in the early 2000s, Brückner would become an in-demand DJ at festivals the world over ~ Brückner was born in 1975
July 15, 2022 ~ Bassist Paul Ryder, full name Paul Anthony Ryder, passed away ~ Founding member of pivotal Manchester band the Happy Mondays remaining with the band through 1993 and rejoining in later years. Present on the band's best known including Step On, Kinky Afro and Loose Fit, all of which reached top 20 in their native UK. Ryder has also ventured into acting, appearing in the films The Ghosts Of Oxford Street, Losing It and perhaps most notably 24 Hour Party People ~ Ryder was born in 1964
July 15, 2021 ~ Singer, songwriter, journalist, advertising executive, author Doris Willens passed away in East Windsor Township, New Jersey, USA ~ Member of children's folk group the Baby Sitters alongside Alan Arkin and Lee Hays. Wrote the biography Lonesome Traveler (The Life Of Lee Hays), published in 1988, describing Hays' career with pivotal folk groups the Almanac Singers and the Weavers. Authored a number of dramatic and musical pieces for the theatre. Would spend much of her professional life as a journalist and advertising executive, eventually rising to the position of vice president with Doyle Dane Bernbach ad agency ~ Willens was born in 1924
July 15, 2021 ~ Rock singer, guitarist, songwriter Pyotr Mamonov, full name Pyotr Nikolayevich Mamonov, passed away in Moscow, Russia ~ Influenced by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the Weather Report. One of Russia's most revered and eccentric figures, eventually achieving cult status. Frontman, founder of Zvuki Mu, active mostly from 1982 through 1990 and in various incarnations in later years. One of the few Russian musicians to achieve international recognition, mostly through his late 1980s association with Brian Eno. Has also ventured into acting in films as well as writing and producing a series of his own one-man theatrical performances ~ Mamonov was born in 1951
July 15, 2020 ~ Country singer Kenny Dale, full name Kenneth Dale Eoff, passed away in San Antonio, Texas, USA ~ Best known for his Gene Pitney cover Only Love Can Break A Heart, the single reaching top 10 on the Billboard Country chart in the late 1970s. Dale had recorded four albums over the course of his career, starting with Bluest Heartache Of The Year released in 1977, before retiring from music in the early 1980s ~ Dale was born in 1951
July 15, 2018 ~ Label executive Stan Lewis, full name Stanley Joseph Lewis, passed away ~ Former record shop owner founded Jewel Records. Co-penned Dale Hawkins's Susie Q said to be a tribute to Stan's daughter Susan. As a label owner and producer Lewis has worked with artists such as Fontella Bass, Buster Benton, Brady Blade, the Blind Boys Of Alabama, Charles Brown, the Carter Brothers, Clarence Fountain, Peppermint Harris, Lowell Fulson, Mickey Gilley, John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Pigmeat Markham, Bobby Rush, the Soul Stirrers, Dorothy Norwood, Little Johnny Taylor, Big Joe Turner, Ike & Tina Turner, and Young-Holt Unlimited ~ Lewis was born in 1927July 15, 2018 ~ R&B, soul singer Theryl Declouet passed away in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA ~ Lead singer of Galactic, present on the band's first four studio albums until leaving the band in 2004 for health reasons. Previously, Declouet has recorded as a solo artist using the moniker House Man in the late 1980s ~ DeClouet was born in 1951
July 15, 2016 ~ Jazz guitarist Roland Prince passed away ~ As a leader best known for Color Vision released in 1976, featuring an all-star cast which included Frank Foster, Kenny Barron, and Bob Cranshaw. Closely associated with Elvin Jones, appearing on about half a dozen of the drummer's 1970s albums including the acclaimed Summit Meeting. Prince has also appeared on albums by Johnny Hartman, Buddy Terry (Awareness), Roy Haynes (Senyah), Compost, Larry Willis, James Moody, Don Pullen (Tomorrow's Promises), Clark Terry, Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, David Murray, Frank Wess, and Bob Montgomery (On The Brink) ~ Prince was born in 1946
July 15, 2015 ~ Conductor, harpsichordist Alan Curtis passed away in Florence, Italy ~ Known for his work in baroque opera. Founded the ensemble Il Complesso Barocco. Has interpreted pieces by Jean-Philippe Rameau, Johann Sebastian Bach, Claudio Monteverdi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Louis Couperin ~ Curtis was born in 1934
July 15, 2015 ~ Jazz double bassist Howard Rumsey passed away in Newport Beach, California, USA ~ Started on piano, moved to drums, then to bass. Played with Vido Musso, Johnnie Davis, Stan Kenton, Charlie Barnet, and Barney Bigard, prior to forming the Lighthouse All-Stars, the house band for the Lighthouse Club, Hermosa Beach, California. Over the next decade, Rumsey would lead and manage the ensemble, one of the primary jazz bands on the 1950s West Coast jazz scene, with over seventy musicians passing through its ranks including Sonny Criss, Hampton Hawes, Jimmy Giuffre, Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, Bud Shank, and Max Roach ~ Rumsey was born in 1917
July 15, 2012 ~ Singer Psy releases Gangnam Style, lifted off his Psy 6 (Six Rules Part 1) EP ~ The upbeat song, with the exception of one line entirely in Korean, became a surprise global hit after its accompanying music video went viral. The single would top the charts in some two dozen countries and reached top 10 in several more, without a doubt aided by its own goofy dance with comical horse-riding moves. Gangnam refers to the Gangnam region of Seoul, home of the trendy, hip and affluent. Psy has explained to CNN that he intended the title Gangnam Style as a joke as everything about the song is far from high class: “People who are actually from Gangnam never proclaim that they are, it's only the posers and wannabes that put on these airs and say that they are Gangnam Style. So this song is actually poking fun at those kinds of people who are trying very hard to be something that they're not”
July 15, 2010 ~ Garland Perry Cochran, commonly known as country singer, guitarist, songwriter Hank Cochran, passed away in Nashville, Tennessee, USA ~ Though a formidable singer in his own right, best known for his 1962 single Sally Was A Good Old Girl, Cochran is best remembered as a songwriter perhaps most noted for writing or co-writing country classics such as I Fall To Pieces and She's Got You, both first recorded by Patsy Cline, and Make The World Go Away, first recorded by Ray Price. Others who recorded his songs include Patti Page, Willie Nelson (Undo The Right), Burl Ives, Bobby Bare, George Jones (Don't You Ever Get Tired (Of Hurting Me)), Johnny Paycheck (A-11), Connie Smith, Lefty Frizzell, Eddy Arnold (I Want To Go With You), Waylon Jennings (I'm A Long Way From Home), Tammy Wynette (Don't Touch Me), Elvis Presley, Porter Wagoner, Merle Haggard (It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)), George Strait (The Chair), Keith Whitley (Would These Arms Be In The Way), Vern Gosdin, Gene Watson, Lee Ann Womack, and Mark Chesnutt ~ Cochran was born in 1935
July 15, 2007 ~ Bernadette Jean Johnson, commonly known as guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, singer, songwriter Kelly Johnson, passed away ~ Rose to fame as lead guitarist of all-female heavy metal outfit Girlschool from 1978 through 1984 and again from 1993 through 2000, present on hits such as Race With The Devil, Hit And Run and C'mon Let's Go ~ Johnson was born in 1958
July 15, 2000 ~ Pop rock, soft rock singer, guitarist, bassist, percussionist Paul Young passed away in Hale, UK ~ Not to be confused with his namesake Paul Young born in 1956. Member of the Toggery Five, known for the single I'm Gonna Jump. Best known as a member of 1980s band Mike + the Mechanics, notably present on Word Of Mouth, Taken In, Nobody's Perfect and on the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit All I Need Is A Miracle. Young has also worked with the Young Brothers, Gyro and with Sad Cafe ~ Young was born in 1947July 15, 1998 ~ Javorius Tykies Scott, commonly known as hip-hop, gangsta rap, mumble rap, trap rapper, singer, songwriter JayDaYoungan, born in Bogalusa, Louisiana, USA ~ Known for songs such as 23 Island, Elimination and Opps, all hugely popular on online streaming platforms. Has been releasing mixtapes since the mid-2010s. Issued his sole official full-length studio album, Baby23, in 2020. Shot and killed at age 24 ~ Scott passed away in 2022
July 15, 1992 ~ Joseph Douglas Muha, commonly known as groove metal, progressive metal, pop rock drummer Joey Muha, born in Port Dover, Canada ~ Member of Our Lady Of Bloodshed from 2009 through 2014. Member of progressive metal band OPTICS from 2011 through 2014. Toured the US in 2011 with Farewell To Freeway. Member of death metal band Threat Signal from 2012 through 2015. Also worked with Cynicist, Jungle Rot, Thought Beneath Film, and with pop band Liteyears
July 15, 1991 ~ Jazz trumpeter, bandleader Arthur Briggs passed away in Paris, France ~ Although Briggs got his start in music working with the 369th US Infantry Band, for which he set back his birth date as he was still underage, he would spend most of his career in Europe where he became well-respected while remaining relatively unknown to American audiences. Briggs first traveled to Europe at the turn of the 1920s as a member of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra, a Will Marion Cook-led ensemble that also included a young Sidney Bechet, before a short stint with Leslie Howard and subsequently settling in Belgium. Through the start of World War II, Briggs would lead several of his own bands, most notably the Savoy Syncopated Orchestra, and regularly collaborate with the likes of pianist Freddy Johnson, saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, and gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, including on the latter's 1935 Paris recording of Blue Moon. Briggs survived the war, playing classical music in a concentration camp band as jazz was strictly forbidden by the Nazis, and resumed his musical career after the war, recording, performing, and serving as a music teacher in France through the 1960s. Although most of his recordings as a leader are very obscure, Briggs is fondly remembered as one of the finest trumpeters of his day ~ Briggs was born in 1901
July 15, 1990 ~ Violinist Oleg Kagan, full name Oleg Moseyevich Kagan, passed away in Munich, West Germany ~ Married to cellist Natalia Gutman, with whom he has also worked. Known for numerous chamber collaborations, notably with pianists Sviatoslav Richter and Vasily Lobanov, as a proponent of modern music and fine interpreter of the works of Jean Sibelius, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Enescu ~ Kagan was born in 1946
July 15, 1990 ~ Singer, songwriter, actor Olly Alexander, full name Oliver Alexander Thornton, born in Harrogate, UK ~ Member of Years & Years, best known for their 2015 King single. LGBTQ advocate. Starred as Peter Pan in a 2013 production of Peter And Alice. Starred in the 2014 God Help The Girl musical film written and directed by Belle & Sebastian-lead singer Stuart Murdoch
July 15, 1989 ~ Actor, singer, songwriter Mack Wilds, full name Tristan Paul Mack Wilds, born in Staten Island, New York, USA ~ Best known for Own It of his 2013 New York (A Love Sottry) debut album. Guested on recordings by Fabolous, Mobb Deep, NORE, Method Man, and Torae
July 15, 1989 ~ Wilbur Schwichtenberg, commonly known as trombonist, bandleader Will Bradley, passed away in Flemington, New Jersey, USA ~ Enjoyed popularity during the 1930s and 1940s with a mixture of swing, dance, and boogie-woogie. Employed sidemen such as Freddie Slack, Arthur Rollini, Peanuts Hucko, Lee Castle, Pete Candoli, Ray McKinley, Doc Goldberg, Shorty Rogers, and Terry Allen. Best known for songs such as Scrub Me Mama With A Boogie Beat, Down The Road A Piece and perhaps his biggest hit Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar ~ Schwichtenberg was born in 1912
July 15, 1986 ~ Sertanejo singer, guitarist Mateus Liduário, full name Mateus Pedro Liduário de Oliveira, born in Itumbiara, Brazil ~ Forms the sertanejo duo Jorge & Mateus with Jorge, enjoying popularity since the mid 2000s especially as live performers. Their career would be given a further boost when their De Tanto Te Querer track would be featured in the popular telenovela A Favorita. The duo has primarily released live albums, of which the 2016 Como Sempre Feito Ninca (Ao Vivo) album was the most successful, spending ten weeks atop the charts in their native BrazilJuly 15, 1982 ~ Guitarist, songwriter Alex Scally born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA ~ Forms the dream pop duo Beach House with singer Victoria Legrand, known for songs such a Used To Be, and Zebra
July 15, 1980 ~ Bandleader, fiddler, A&R executive, producer Ben Selvin, full name Benjamin Bernard Selvin, passed away in New York, New York, USA ~ Known as “the Dean of Recorded Music”. As a bandleader best known for leading the Novelty Orchestra, reportedly selling six million copies of his 1919 version of Dardanella though this claim has been disputed as nonsensical by Selvin himself. A&R director and producer for Columbia Records from the mid 1920s onward, working with artists such as Mannie Klein, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, and Bunny Berigan. Selvin has also held executive positions at Majestic Records, Camden Records, and RCA-Victor ~ Selvin was born in 1898