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 23, 2023 ~ Cantastorie, folk singer, guitarist, songwriter Otello Profazio, full name Otello Ermanno Profazio, passed away in Reggio Calabria, Italy ~ Draws heavily from traditional folk of South Italy, especially Sicily and Calabria. Acclaimed for his 1964 Il Treno Del Sole album. Also known for the 1970s albums Il Brigante Musolino and Qua Si Campa D'Aria. Host of several TV music programs, notably Quando La Gente Canta aired on Secondo Canala ~ Profazio was born in 1934
July 23, 2023 ~ Eurodance, eurodisco singer Patty Ryan passed away in Germany ~ Best known for You're My Love You're My Life of her Love Is The Name Of The Game debut album released in 1987. Other well known songs include Stay With Me Tonight, I Don't Want To Lose You Tonight, and Ohne Zweifel ~ Ryan was born in 1961
July 23, 2023 ~ Singer, songwriter Raymond Froggatt, full name Raymond William Froggatt, passed away in Shrewsbury, UK ~ Spent most of the 1960s fronting the Buccaneers, later renamed to Monopoly and ultimately the Raymond Froggatt Band, starting in rock & roll and moving towards country as the decade progressed. Though chart success eluded them, others would find success with covers of his songs. Beat band the Dave Clark Five would reach UK top 10 with The Red Balloon, originally titled Callow-La-Vita, as would Cliff Richard with Big Ship. Australian singer Russell Morris would have a hit Australia and New Zealand with Rachel. Froggatt would go on to record well into the 2000s as a solo country singer, and is best known for his 1974 Rogues & Thieves album ~ Froggatt was born in 1941
July 23, 2021 ~ Rock, blues guitarist Wally Gonzalez passed away in Paranaque, Philippines ~ Leading figure in Pinoy rock, especially as co-founder of the Juan de la Cruz Band which at the height of its succes also included Mike Hanopol and Pepe Smith. The band is best known for Himig Nation of the 1973 landmark album of the same name. Has also recorded as a solo artist, notably Wally's Blues of his 1978 On The Road album, and was involved with a number of Pinoy bands from the 1990s forward serving as a mentor to numerous emerging talents ~ Gonzalez was born in 1949
July 23, 2014 ~ Guitarist Adolph Jacobs, also known as Al Jacobs, passed away ~ Rose to fame as a member of the Coasters from 1956 through 1960, appearing on some of the band's best known including Yakety Yak and Charlie Brown, which peaked respectively at No.2 and No.7 Billboard Hot 100. Following his departure from the band, Jacobs has sporadically recorded as a solo artist, noted for his Move Around Easy debut single, but failed to reach the same stature as with the Coasters. Jacobs would go on to work with Johnny Guitar Watson, Larry Williams, and Little Richard, appearing on the latter's 1972 The Second Coming album. Later still, Jacobs would lead his own band in California, with whom he occasionally has backed a Will Dub Jones and Billy Guy led incarnation of the Coasters. Despite being a member of the Coasters during their key period, Jacobs was snubbed when the band would be inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1987 ~ Jacobs was born in 1939
July 23, 2011 ~ Singer Amy Winehouse passed away in Camden, UK ~ Singer, songwriter rooted in soul, jazz and blues with just two albums to her name, 2003's Frank and 2006's Back To Black, before an untimely death at 27 due to alcohol poisoning. Known for songs such as Stronger Than Me, Rehab, You Know I'm No Good, Back To Black, and Tears Dry On Their Own ~ Winehouse was born in 1983
July 23, 2011 ~ Singer, producer, label executive, songwriter Johnny Hoes, full name Johannes Andreas Hoes, passed away in Weert, the Netherlands ~ As a singer best known for songs such as Och Was Ik Maar Bij Moeder Thuis Gebleven, Sneeuwwitte Boezem, Daar Mag Je Alleen Naar Kijken, Vader Waar Is Moeder Gebleven and Waar We Heengaan (Jelle Zal Wel Zien), all of which reached top 10 in the Netherlands between 1961 and 1967. Founded the Telstar label, for which Hoes discovered and produced acts such as de Alpenzusjes, Zangeres Zonder Naam, Eddy Wally, de Heikrekels, Normaal, Doe Maar, and Henk Wijngaard. Internationally best known for producing de Electronicas' 1980 hit single De Vogeltjesdans, a remake of a 1950 accordeon song Tchip Tchip. The song would go on to become a global hit, known in English as Chicken Dance, with an estimated 370 cover versions selling some 40 million copies globally ~ Hoes was born in 1917
July 23, 2010 ~ Singer Katy Perry releases Teenage Dream, lifted off the album of the same name ~ Initially received to mixed reception, yet over time Teenage Dream, a throwback to the euphoric feeling of being in love as a teenager, would garner wide critical acclaim with Glamour magazine going so far as to name it “one of the best pop songs of all time”. Issued as the second single off the album of the same name, Teenage Dream would reach top 10 in over a dozen countries, including the No.1 spot in America, where it became her third Billboard Hot 100 charttopper, preceded by I Kissed A Girl and California Gurls. Katy Perry herself has stated of the song: “I remember my teenage years, and I remember falling in love for the first time and how impressionable that was. How sensitive I was to every feeling. Heartbreak was really hard. Of course heartbreak is really hard now, and love is still intense, but it's a different type of feeling, that teenage love. I want people to have that feeling again of falling in love unabashedly, those teenage dreams”
July 23, 2009 ~ Daniel Hatton, commonly known as singer, guitarist Danny McBride, passed away in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Enjoyed regional popularity with the Cavaliers in the Boston area during the 1960s. Rose to national prominence as lead guitarist for Sha Na Na including on the TV show of the same name and in the 1978 film Grease. Has since worked as musician with various bands, as actor, as voice-over actor and published several humorous pieces for a variety of magazines ~ Hatton was born in 1945July 23, 2004 ~ Virtuoso fado, classical guitarist, composer Carlos Paredes passed away in Lisbon, Portugal ~ Son of guitarist Artur Paredes. Dubbed “the man with the thousand fingers” and regarded as one of the all-time premier Portuguese guitarists. Imprisoned during the late 1950s for his membership of the Communist Party. Has collaborated with artists such as Fernando Gusmão, Amália Rodrigues, Cecilia de Melo, Manuel Alegre, António Victorino de Almeida, and Charlie Haden ~ Paredes was born in 1925
July 23, 2004 ~ Singer, actor Serge Reggiani passed away in Boulogne-Bilancourt, France ~ Best known as an actor performing in some 80 films and various stage plays since the mid 1940s. Member of the French Resistance during World War II. Ventured out into music by the mid 1960s aided by singer, actor Yves Montand to become one of the most acclaimed chanson singers known for songs such as Les Loups Sont Entres Dans Paris and Sarah ~ Reggiani was born in 1922July 23, 2002 ~ Leonard Graham, commonly known as bop trumpeter Idrees Sulieman, passed away in St Petersburg, Florida, USA ~ Played with the Carolina Cotton Pickers, Earl Hines, Mercer Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Mary Lou Williams, Cab Calloway, John Coltrane, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Randy Weston, Oscar Dennard, Kenny Clarke, and Howard McGhee ~ Graham was born in 1923
July 23, 1999 ~ R&B, neo-soul, soul singer Macy Gray releases her I Try sophomore single, which would reach top 10 Billboard Hot 100 ~ Gray's most successful single, reaching top 10 in over half a dozen countries including her native America, her only Billboard Hot 100 charting single. I Try would also earn Macy Gray a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Upon reviewing Gray's On How Life Is album, which included I Try, music magazine Q rated the album as a “confident, bluesy soul debut, with a lived-in sound, as if Rod Stewart were a girl.”
July 23, 1996 ~ Country, country pop singer, guitarist, pianist Danielle Bradbery, full name Danielle Simone Bradbery, born in League City, Texas, USA ~ Won the fourth edition of NBC's talent show The Voice in 2013, becoming the youngest winner. Would subsequently release her eponymous Danielle Bradbery debut album, spawning the Billboard Country top 20 hit The Heart Of Dixie single
July 23, 1993 ~ Blues guitarist, singer Otis Big Smokey Smothers passed away in Chicago, Illinois, USA ~ Brother of Little Smokey Smothers. Member of Howlin' Wolf's backing band from the mid 1950s onwards including on pivotal recordings such as Who's Been Talking, Tell Me, Change My Way, Natchez Burning and I Asked For Water. Also worked with Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Bo Diddley, Ike Turner, JT Brown, Freddie King, Johnny Jones, Little Walter, Willie Dixon, Johnny Wiliams, Lester Davenport, Arthur Big Boy Spires, Earl Hooker, and Henry Strong ~ Smothers was born in 1929July 23, 1988 ~ In its 16th week on the charts, Set 'Em Up Joe by Vern Gosdin hits No.1 Billboard Country ~ Preceded by I Can Tell By The Way You Dance (You're Gonna Love Me Tonight) nearly half a decade earlier, Set 'Em Up Joe would be Vern Gosdin's second single to reach the top of the Billboard Country charts. The song is a tribute to Ernest Tubb, as the narrator takes to playing Walking The Floor Over You on the jukebox after his lover has left him. Gosdin co-wrote the song with Hank Cochran, Buddy Cannon, and Dean Dillon. Gosdin would score his third and final Billboard Country No.1 hit the following year when I'm Still Crazy made it to the top position
July 23, 1986 ~ Glam metal, pop metal outfit Bon Jovi release You Give Love A Bad Name, which would become the band's first Billboard Hot 100 No.1 ~ Polygram Records executive Derek Shulman had signed the band, seeing the drive and ambition of Jon Bon Jovi despite the fact that he “could only sing five notes and most of them out of tune”. Up to Slippery When Wet, the band's third studio album, they had enjoyed popularity in their native New Jersey, and had scored a modest hit with Runaway, peaking just inside the top 40 at No.39 Billboard Hot 100. To break through though, the band needed a little help, and Shulman brought in songwriter Desmond Child. The move worked out well, the album's first two singles You Give Love A Bad Name and Livin' On A Prayer would both reach No.1 Billboard Hot 100. Looking back on first working with singer Jon Bon Jovi and lead guitarist Richie Sambora, the band's two main songwriters, Child would later recall: “The very first day we got together we wrote You Give Love A Bad Name. Then a few weeks later we wrote Livin' On A Prayer. It was a magical collaboration and there was instant chemistry between us.” The album would reach the top position in over half a dozen countries, including eight weeks atop the American Billboard Hot 200 charts
July 23, 1985 ~ James Kern Kyser, commonly known as big band, swing, jazz bandleader, singer Kay Kyser, passed away in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA ~ Enjoyed popularity during the 1930 and 1940s as a big band bandleader and radio, TV, film personality including on his own NBC radio show Kay Kyser's Kollege Of Musical Knowledge which ran from 1939 through 1949. Known for songs such as Strip Polka, Three Little Fishies and It's All Up To You. Kyser and his band also featured in several films, usually as themselves, starting with 1949 That's Right You're Wrong. Kyser employed sidemen such as Harry Babbitt, Ish Kabibble, Ginny Simms, and singer Georgia Carroll whom Kyser would marry in 1945 ~ Kyser was born in 1905
July 23, 1984 ~ Singer George Michael releases Careless Whisper, a solo track lifted off the Wham Make It Big sophomore album ~ Lead singer George Michael was only 17 when he wrote this song. Michael would later claim that he got more compliments on his writing of the sax solo for the intro of Careless Whisper thatn on anything else he had ever written. The saxophone part was played by session musician Steve Gregory. Reportedly, ten different sax players tried to do the solo before Gregroy came up with the sound Michael was looking for. The song has been released as a single by Wham, reaching the No.1 spot in both the UK and America, as well as a later rendition by George Michael solo. Eventually the single would sell over 6 million copies. In later years, it has been notably covered by Brian McKnight, Seether, Kenny G, and Julio IglesiasJuly 23, 1984 ~ British pop group Wham release Careless Whisper, lifted off their Make It Big sophomore album ~ Lead singer George Michael was only 17 when he wrote this song. Michael would later claim that he got more compliments on his writing of the sax solo for the intro of Careless Whisper thatn on anything else he had ever written. The saxophone part was played by session musician Steve Gregory. Reportedly, ten different sax players tried to do the solo before Gregroy came up with the sound Michael was looking for. The song has been released as a single by Wham, reaching the No.1 spot in both the UK and America, as well as a later rendition by George Michael solo. Eventually the single would sell over 6 million copies. In later years, it has been notably covered by Brian McKnight, Seether, Kenny G, and Julio Iglesias
July 23, 1983 ~ Robert William Lane, commonly known as country singer, guitarist, songwriter Tex Morton, passed away in Sydney, Australia ~ Considered a pioneer of country music in New Zealand and Australia, his adopted homeland since the mid 1930s. Also recorded under the moniker the Yodelling Boundary Rider. Strongly influenced by Jimmie Rodgers's yodeling style. Well-known songs include All Set And Saddled, Freight Train Yodel, Mandrake, and My Sweetheart's In Love With A Swiss Mountaineer ~ Lane was born in 1916
July 23, 1980 ~ Keyboardist Keith Godchaux, full name Keith Richard Godchaux, passed away in Marin County, California, USA ~ Best known as pianist for the Grateful Dead from 1971 through 1979, singing lead vocals on Let Me Sing Your Blues Away. Has also worked with the Jerry Garcia Band. Married to singer Donna Jean Godchaux, with whom he also worked in the Dead. The couple also released their own somewhat overlooked Keith & Donna album in 1975, backed by Garcia, Spooky Tooth-bassist Chrissy Stewart and Wings-drummer Denny Seiwell ~ Godchaux was born in 1948July 23, 1980 ~ Pop, rock singer, guitarist, songwriter Tim Akkerman born in The Hague, the Netherlands ~ Founding member, lead singer of Di-rect, known for hits such as Inside My Head, She, Als Je Iets Kan Doen, Hungry For Love, Cool Without You and A Good Thing, all of which reached top 10 in the Netherlands. Akkerman left the band in 2009 to pursue a solo career and would be replaced by Marcel Veenendaal
July 23, 1979 ~ R&B, soul, gospel singer, actress Michelle Williams, full name Tenitra Michelle Williams, born in Rockford, Illinois, USA ~ Member of Destiny's Child, joining the band in 2000, first appearing on the 2001 Survivor album which spawned the hit singles Independent Women (Part I), Survivor, Bootylicious, Emotion, Nasty Girl. Also known as a solo artist, starting with the 2002 gospel album Heart To YoursJuly 23, 1976 ~ Alternative rock, punk rock, rock & roll guitarist Tony Bevilacqua born ~ Member of the Distillers, best known for their 2003 Drain The Blood single. After the band disbanded Bevilacqua formed Spinnerette. Has also worked with Brody Dalle, Cold Showers, the Drips, Adam Freeland, Har Mar Superstar, the Soft Pack, La Sera, Jenny Lee Lindberg, Jack Name, Airspace, Karyyn, Tei Shi, and Darker My Love