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 21, 1948 ~ Pianist, conductor, arranger, composer Anders Berglund born in Stockholm, Sweden ~ Member of Blue Swede, best known for their 1971 BJ Thomas-cover Hooked On A Feeling which reached No.1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. In Sweden also known as longtime conductor of Melodifestivalen, the selection finals for the Eurovision Songfestival. Film composer, notably for the 1997 Pippi Longstocking feature film
July 21, 1948 ~ Steve Demetre Georgiou, commonly known as folk-pop, pop singer, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, songwriter Cat Stevens, born in London, UK ~ Penned The First Cut Is The Deepest, first recorded by PP Arnold in 1967 and notably covered by Rod Stewart, Dawn Penn and by Sheryl Crow. As a solo artist active since the late 1960s. Best known for the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits Peace Train, Morning Has Broken, Oh Very Young and Another Saturday Night
July 21, 1948 ~ Keyboardist, accordionist Lars Hollmer, full name Lars Gustav Gabriel Hollmer, born in Linköping, Sweden ~ Active in numerous genres, ranging from traditional folk to progressive rock and jazz. Noted for his irregular time signatures, complex polyrhytms and vocal improvisation including the use of non-sensical lyrics. Best known for his 1999 Andetag album. Has worked with Samla Mammas Manna, Ramlösa Kvällar, Fem Söker & Skatt, the Looping Home Orchestra, the Accordion Tribe, SOLA, Fanfare Pourpour, Lindsay Cooper, Fred Frith, and Gianni Gebbia ~ Hollmer passed away in 2008
July 21, 1946 ~ Drummer Barry Whitwham born in Manchester, UK ~ Co-founding and sole constant member of Herman's Hermits, known for 1960s hits such as Can't You Hear My Heartbeat, Silhouettes, Mrs Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter, I'm Henry VIII I Am, Listen People, and perhaps their best known No Milk Today
July 21, 1945 ~ Singer Rosie Hamlin, full name Rosalie Mendez Halin, born in Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA ~ Fronted Rosie & the Originals, best known for their 1961 hit Angel Baby. The song would later be covered by several artists including perhaps most notably by Linda Ronstadt and by John Lennon. Hamlin would be the first Latina to be honored by the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame on their Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Of One Hit Wonders, as well as the first Latina to appear on American Bandstand in 1961 ~ Hamlin passed away in 2017
July 21, 1943 ~ Guitarist Henry McCullough born in Portstewart, Northern Ireland ~ Co-founding member of Eire Apparent, with whom he opened for Jimi Hendrix. Co-founding member of Sweeney's Men. Member of Spooky Tooth. Backed Joe Cocker on his 1969 With A Little Help From My Friends debut album and on tour, including at the famed the Woodstock Music and Art Fair festival. Also closely associated with Paul McCartney, present on albums such as Ram and Band On The Run. Has also appeared on albums by Donovan, Andy Fairweather Low, Frankie Miller, Roy Harper (Bullinamingvase), Ronnie Lane, and Eric Burdon. McCullough has recorded over half a dozen albums as a solo artist, starting with Mind Your Own Business released in 1975 ~ McCullough passed away in 2016
July 21, 1942 ~ Francisco Saverio Guarente, commonly known as jazz trumpeter, bandleader Frank Guarente, passed away in New York, New York, USA ~ Active since the 1910s in New Orleans, eventually reaching popularity leading his own ensemble by the early 1920s. Has worked with Charles Edward Kerr, Eddie Lang, Arthur Schutt, Chauncey Morehouse, Paul Specht, Victor Young, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Jack Teagarden, Bing Crosby, and with the Boswell Sisters. Retired from music in 1937 for health reasons ~ Guarente was born in 1893
July 21, 1933 ~ Robert Caldwell Hicks, commonly known as bluegrass banjoist, mandolinist, fiddler Bobby Hicks, born in Newton, North Carolina, USA ~ Member of Bill Monroe's quintessential unit the Blue Grass Boys for most of the 1950s, rejoining on occasion in later years. Hicks backed Porter Wagoner in the early 1960s, and subsequently served as bandleader for Judy Lynn through 1970. Also closely associated with Ricky Skaggs, with whom he played for some two decades including on the albums Sweet Temptation, Highways & Heartaches, and Country Boy. Regarded as one of the finest fiddlers, once cited by Monroe as “the truest fiddler he had ever heard”, Hicks has recorded as a solo artist, notably Texas Crapshooter released in 1977, and was an in-demand collaborator and sideman present on recordings by Doyle Lawson, Kenny Baker, Michael Martin Murphey, Tony Rice (Cold On The Shoulder), the Lost And Found, the Bluegrass Album Band, David Grisman, the Seldom Scene, the Reno Brothers, Rhonda Vincent, Herschel Sizemore, and Eddie Adcock ~ Hicks passed away in 2024
July 21, 1932 ~ Charles A Hedges, commonly known as jazz clarinetist Chuck Hedges, born in Chicago, Illinois, USA ~ Somewhat overlooked veteran clarinetist equally at home in swing and Dixieland. Perhaps best known for his association with George Brunies for most of the 1950s, and for spearheading the Dixieland revival during the 1960s. Over half a dozen albums to his name as a leader, specifically noted for Skylark released in 1983. A valued sideman, Hedges has appeared on albums by Barrett Deems, Betsy Kaske, Tom Saunders (Exactly Like You), Rick Fay, the Magnificent VII, Duane Thamm, toured with trumpeter Dick Ruedebusch, and frequently worked with Wild Bill Davison ~ Hedges passed away in 2010
July 21, 1931 ~ Saxophonist Plas Johnson, full name Plas John Johnson Jr, born in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, USA ~ Perhaps best known for his sax solo on Henry Mancini's The Pink Panther Theme. In-demand session musician, present on albums by Charles Brown, BB King, Johnny Otis, Maxwell Davis, Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole, Glen Gray, Frank Sinatra, Ricky Nelson, Bobby Vee, Larry Williams, Bobby Day, Richard Berry, the Beach Boys (Pet Sounds), Chet Baker, Marvin Gaye (Let's Get It On), Dr John (Gris Gris), Maria Muldaur, Ry Cooder (Paradise & Lunch), Rita Coolidge, Teena Marie, Boz Scaggs, Joni Mitchell, Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Les Baxter, Linda Ronstadt, Tom Waits (Heartattack And Vine), Benny Carter, Bette Midler, Rod Stewart, Etta James, and Minnie RipertonJuly 21, 1931 ~ Conrad Yeatis Clark, commonly known as hard bop pianist Sonny Clark born in Herminie, Pennsylvania, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Worked with Buddy DeFranco, Kenny Burrell, Donald Byrd, Paul Chambers, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Art Farmer, Curtis Fuller, Grant Green, Philly Joe Jones, Clifford Jordan, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Art Taylor, Wilbur Ware, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Billie Holiday, Stanley Turrentine, and Lee Morgan ~ Clark passed away in 1963
July 21, 1921 ~ Music journalist, musician Franciszek Walicki born in Lödz, Poland ~ Seen as founder of Polist beat and rock, calling them big-beat as rock & roll was unacceptable for communist authorities. Organized jazz festivals. Founded a number of quintessential polish bands including Rhythm & Blues, considered the first Polish rock & roll band, as well as Czerwono Czarni and Breakout ~ Walicki passed away in 2015
July 21, 1918 ~ Scriptwriter, lyricist Arnold B Horwitt born in Richmond, Indiana, USA ~ Wrote scripts and lyrics for plays, songs and Broadway shows including Make Mine Manhattan, The Girls Against The Boys, and Plain & Fancy. The latter would include Young & Foolish introduced in the show by David Daniels and Gloria Marlowe. The song, co-written with Albert Hague, would become a standard covered by over 150 artists including the McGuire Sisters, Gogi Grant, the Lettermen, Tony Bennett, and Lesley Gore ~ Horwitt passed away in 1977
July 21, 1917 ~ Blues singer, guitarist, bassist, songwriter Floyd Jones born in Marianna, Arkansas, USA ~ Known for a number of late 1940s, early 1950s sides considered pivotal to the development of Chicago blues, including notably Stockyard Blues, Hard Times, Schooldays, and On The Road Again. The latter would later serve as the basis for a song of the same name by Canned Heat, which reached top 10 in the UK, top 20 on the American Billboard Hot 100. Over the course of his career, Jones has worked with Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers, Snooky Pryor, Moody Jones, Johnny Man Young, David Honeyboy Edwards, Sunnyland Slim, Big Walter Horton, and Kansas City Red. Jones remained active until his death at age 72 ~ Jones passed away in 1989
July 21, 1915 ~ Arthur Stanley Reid, commonly known as producer, label executive Duke Reid, born in Portland, Jamaica ~ Influenced by American jazz, blues and soul and in particular by Fats Domino. Alongside Coxsone Dodd, Reid dominated the Jamaican music scene of the 1960s as founder and producer for his Treasure Isle and Dutchess labels. Though Reid initially disliked ska, he eventually embraced the genre, his 1960s productions epitomizing the peak of the style, his work characterized by symphonic sounds and dense arrangements. Over the course of his career, Reid has produced recordings by some of the most notable ska and rocksteady artists including Stranger Cole, the Techniques, Justin Hinds, Alton Ellis, the Paragons, the Jamaicans, the Melodians, U-Roy, and Dennis Alcapon ~ Reid passed away in 1975July 21, 1910 ~ Carl Ravazza, commonly known as violinist, singer, bandleader Carl Ravell, born in Alameda, California, USA ~ Best known for his 1937 version of So Rare written by Jerry Herst and Jack Sharpe, presumed to be the first recorded version of what was to become a standard later recorded by over 50 artists including Guy Lombardo, Don Cherry, Ella Fitzgerald, and most notably Jimmy Dorsey ~ Ravazza passed away in 1968
July 21, 1902 ~ Jazz clarinetist, saxophonist Omer Simeon, full name Omer Victor Simeon, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA ~ Considered one of the most technically skilled reed players to come out of New Orleans, Louisiana. First gained attention in the mid 1920s working with Jelly Roll Morton, including on classic tracks such as Black Bottom Stomp, The Chant, Doctor Jazz, and notably playing the bass clarinet solo on Someday Sweetheart. Simeon would go on to work with King Oliver, Luis Russell, Erskine Tate, extensively with Earl Hines for most of the 1930s, as well as briefer stints with Horace Henderson, Walter Fuller, Coleman Hawkins, Jimmie Lunceford, Kid Ory, and Wilbur de Paris ~ Simeon passed away in 1959
July 21, 1898 ~ Sara Elizabeth Dougherty, commonly known as country guitarist, singer Sara Carter, born in Copper Creek, Virginia, USA ~ Married to AP Carter until 1936. Member of the Carter Family, singing lead on most of the band's 1920s and 1930s recordings, the family act considered one of the earliest and most influential acts in the history of country music. Carter wrote or co-wrote several of the band's songs, including My Foothills Home, The Dying Soldier, Lonesome Pine Special, Farther On, and Railroading The Great Divide ~ Dougherty passed away in 1979
July 21, 1896 ~ Composer Jean Rivier, full name Alexis Fernand Félix Jean Rivier, born in Villemomble, France ~ Best known for his flute compositions, though Rivier has composed over two hundred works including symphonies, chamber music, concertos, choral music, and works for solo instruments. A neo-classical composer active until his death, Rivier's music was often eclipsed by increasingly avant-garde compositions of more progressive French composers. Rivier also served as professor of composition at the Paris Conservatory, Paris, from 1948 until his retirement nearly two decades later, notable students include Gareth Walters, Pedro Ipuche Riva, and Gerd Boder ~ Rivier passed away in 1987
July 21, 1858 ~ John Chancellor Olcott, commonly known as singer, actor, songwriter Chauncey Olcott, born in Buffalo, New York, USA ~ Sang in minstrel shows and Broadway shows. As a lyricist and composer especially known for Irish musicals such as Sweet Iniscare, Garrett O'Magh and The Old Limerick Town. Olcott retired from music in 1925 for health reasons ~ Olcott passed away in 1932