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 27, 2025 ~ Conductor, arranger, producer Celso Valli passed away in Bologna, Italy ~ Worked with Drupi, Tantra, Azoto, Mina, Andrea Bocelli, Laura Pausini, Eros Ramazzotti, FiIlippa Giordano, Mango, Vasco Rossi, Matia Bazar, Raf, Giorgia, Gerardina Trovato, and others ~ Valli was born in 1950July 27, 2024 ~ Bassist, producer Pat Collier passed away ~ Member of punk outfit the Vibrators, present on the albums Pure Mania and V2. Although at the time, their records sold poorly, the band is critically acclaimed and regarded as one of the more influential 1970s punk outfits. They are best remembered for Automatic Lover off their 1977 debut album, the single their only one to reach the UK top 40, peaking at No.35. Punk outfit Stiff Little Fingers would take their band name from the Vibrators song of the same title. From the 1980s onwards, Collier would establish himself as an engineer, and producer, noted especially for producing the Soft Boys' 1980 sophomore album Underwater Moonlight, and for his work with Robyn Hitchcock. To more mainstream audiences, Collier is perhaps best known for producing the 1983 album Walking On Sunshine for Katrina & the Waves, its title track Walking On Sunshine a top 10 hit in several countries including the USA and the UK ~ Collier was born in 1951
July 27, 2023 ~ Pop singer, actress Bea van der Maat, full name Béatrice Marguerite van der Maat, passed away in Leuven, Belgium ~ Fronted Won Ton Ton, known for their 1988 I Lie And I Cheat hit single. Has also recorded as a solo artist, releasing her Thin-Skinned debut album in 1988, guested with the LSP Band and the Belpop Bastards, ventured into acting, and hosted several TV shows ~ Van der Maat was born in 1960July 27, 2023 ~ Concert pianist, teacher Ruth W Greenfield, full name Ruth Miriam Wolkowsky Greenfield, passed away in Miami, Florida, USA ~ Broke racial barriers, bringing together black and white students, taught by black and white teachers. Studied composition with Nadia Boulanger. Best known for founding the Fine Arts Conservatory. Also taught at Miami Dade College ~ Greenfield was born in 1923
July 27, 2022 ~ Javorius Tykies Scott, commonly known as hip-hop, gangsta rap, mumble rap, trap rapper, singer, songwriter JayDaYoungan, passed away 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 was born in 1998
July 27, 2022 ~ John Denver Hore, commonly known as country singer, guitarist, songwriter John Grenell, passed away in Christchurch, New Zealand ~ Arguably New Zealand's best known country singer, graced with a voice often described as velvet, with well over a dozen albums to his name starting in the mid 1960s. First gained serious attention with his 1965 sophomore album Encore John Hore. Recorded actively through the mid 1970s, resurging in the late 1980s. Internationally best known for his acclaimed 1995 release Windstar Aotearoa ~ Hore was born in 1944
July 27, 2022 ~ Folk, traditional Irish singer, banjoist, mandolinist, guitarist, songwriter Mick Moloney passed away in Manhattan, New York, USA ~ Best known as co-founder, leader of the Green Fields Of America, an ensemble of American musicians promoting and performing Irish music. The band is especially acclaimed for their 1989 Live In Concert album. Moloney is also known as author of Far From The Shamrock Shore (The Story Of Irish-American History Through Song), published in 2002 ~ Moloney was born in 1944
July 27, 2022 ~ Alexander William Roberton, commonly known as label executive, music publisher, producer Sandy Roberton passed away in London, UK ~ Member of several pop, beat groups before venturing into music production and publishing. As a producer first gained attention working with UK pop band the Chocolate Watch Band featuring Gary Osborne. Ran several of Chess Records' UK subsidiaries including Arc Music, Regent Music and Jewel Music before forming his own company September Productions. Noted for producing the first three Steeleye Span albums, Hark (The Village Wait), Please To See The King and Ten Man Mop (Or Mr Reservoir Butler Rides Again). Also worked with acts such as the Liverpool Scene, Iain Matthews, Decameron, Shirley Collins, Plainsong, and John Martyn. Roberton also formed Rockburgh Records and Worlds End Producer Management Company ~ Roberton was born in 1942July 27, 2021 ~ Singer, actor Gianni Nazzaro passed away in Rome, Italy ~ Recorded some 50-odd singles, mostly covers, from 1965 through 1968 going by the moniker Buddy before reverting to his given name. Best known for Solo Noi released in 1968 and Me Chiammi Ammore released in 1970. Would continue to chart regularly throughout the decade before slowing down in the 1980s ~ Nazzaro was born in 1948
July 27, 2017 ~ Samuel Shepard Rogers IIII, coommonly known as actor, playwright, songwriter, drummer Sam Shepard, passed away in Midway, Kentucky, USA ~ Acclaimed as playwright and actor. Has also drummed with the Holy Modal Rounders, appearing on the Indian War Whoop and The Moray Eels Eat The Holy Modal Rounders albums. Once romantically involved with then-unknown singer Patti Smith, the duo co-writing the stage 1971 play Cowboy Mouth loosely inspired by their love relationship earning Smith her first serious exposure ~ Shepard was born in 1943July 27, 2016 ~ Traditional pop, doo-wop tenor singer Pat Barrett passed away ~ Member of Canadian vocal quartet the Crew Cuts, known for their mid 1950s string of hits including Sh'boom, Earth Angel, Ko-ko-mo I Love You So, Angels In The Sky and Gum Drop ~ Barrett was born in 1933
July 27, 2016 ~ Singer, guitarist, songwriter Pat Upton passed away in Geraldine, Alabama, USA ~ Lead singer, guitarist, main songwriter for Spiral Starecase, known for songs such as Baby What I Mean, No One For Me To Turn To, and More Today Than Yesterday, the latter later also recorded by Sonny & Cher, Diana Ross, Goldfinger, Andy Williams, Lena Horne, and Patti Austin ~ Upton was born in 1940
July 27, 2013 ~ Bolero singer, guitarist, songwriter Julito Rodríguez, full name Julito Rodríguez Reyes, passed away in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico ~ Active since the late 1940s. Member of Los Romanceros achieving national fame. Became internationally known after joining the trio Los Panchos in 1952, for whom he wrote the classic Mar Y Cielo. Left the band in 1958 to be succeeded by Johnny Albino. Would subsequently work with Trio Los Primos, the first Puerto Rican group to perform at Radio City Music Hall in New York, and with Los Tres Grandes alongside Tato Diaz and Miguel Alcaide ~ Rodríguez was born in 1925
July 27, 2013 ~ Journalist, author, singer Mick Farren, full name Michael Anthony Farren, passed away in London, UK ~ Counterculture, UK underground figure. Known for a number of 1950s recordings with proto-punk band the Deviants, such as You've Got To Hold On, and a number of 1970s recordings. most of them solo, including Play With Fire, Half Price Drinks and Broken Statue. Has collaborated with MC5's Wayne Kramer, co-wrote Hawkwind's Lost Johnny and Motörhead's Keep Us On The Road and Damage Case with Lemmy Kilmister. Wrote two dozen novels and a number of non-fiction works including four Elvis Presley biographies. As a journalist and music critic worked for the International Times, New Musical Express and the Los Angeles CityBeat ~ Farren was born in 1943
July 27, 2012 ~ Pop, rock singer, guitarist, songwriter Darryl Cotton, full name Darryl Grant Cotton, passed away in Melbourne, Australia ~ Co-founding member, lead singer of Zoot, known for songs such as 1 x 2 x 3 x 4, Monty And Me, Evil Child and perhaps their best known Eleanor Rigby. The latter, a hard rock cover of the Beatles song, would reach top 10 in the band's native Australia. After the band disbanded in the early 1970s Cotton would form the duo Darryl & Beeb with bandmate Beeb Birtles, soon renamed to Frieze. Has also recorded as a solo artist, notably scoring the 1980 hit Same Old Girl. Teamed up with Ronnie Burns and Russell Morris, forming the trio Burns Cotton & Morris in the 1990s ~ Cotton was born in 1949
July 27, 2009 ~ Jazz pianist George Russell, full name George Allen Russell, passed away in Boston, Massachusetts, USA ~ Though Russell started out on drums, he would become best known as a pianist active since the 1950s. As a composer, Russell is known for Ezz-Thetic, recorded by Lee Konitz, Max Roach, and Grant Green, and for Stratusphunk, recorded by Hal McKusick, and JJ Johnson. As a leader, Russell recorded some two dozen albums, and is especially acclaimed for three consecutive albums released in the early 1960s, Ezz-Thetics, The Stratus Seekers, and The Outer View. Though primarily a leader, arranger, and composer, Russell did on occasion serve as a sideman, notably on albums by Lucy Reed, Sheila Jordan (Portrait Of Sheila), and Gil Evans ~ Russell was born in 1923July 27, 2008 ~ Heavy metal drummer Graeme Crallan, also known as Crash Crallan, passed away in Hampstead, UK ~ Co-founded White Spirit, which also included guitarist Janick Gers of future Iron Maiden fame. Though the band's sole album, the eponymous White Spirit released in 1980, was critically acclaimed it sold poorly and the band would split up the next year. Crallan would subsequently briefly work with Tank, appearing on the band's 1984 Honour & Blood album before departing the band. Crallan passed away at age 50 after sustaining injuries in a fall in the streets of London ~ Crallan was born in 1958
July 27, 2007 ~ Country singer, guitarist, songwriter Lawton Williams passed away in Fort Worth, Texas, USA ~ Penned Fraulein, a hit for Bobby Helms in 1957. Also wrote Hank Locklin's Paper Face and Geisha Girl, Jim Reeves' Senor Santa Claus, Floyd Tillman's It Just Tears Me Up, and Bobby Bare's Shame On Me. As a singer known for just two charting singles, Anywhere There's People and Everything's OK On The LBJ ~ Williams was born in 1922
July 27, 2001 ~ Hard bop, post bop saxophonist Harold Land, full name Harold De Vance Land, passed away in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Influenced by John Coltrane. Worked with Clifford Brown, Max Roach, Curtis Counce, Bobby Hutcherson, Blue Mitchell, Red Mitchell, Cedar Walton, Buster Williams, Billy Higgins, Curtis Fuller, Jimmy Bond, Roy Ayers, Dolo Coker, Victor Feldman, Herb Geller, Chico Hamilton, Hampton Hawes, Al Hibbler, Elmo Hope, Freddie Hubbard, Carmell Jones, Thelonious Monk, Donald Byrd, Dinah Washington, and Gerald Wilson ~ Land was born in 1928
July 27, 1999 ~ Trumpeter Harry Sweets Edison passed away in Columbus, Ohio, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Best known for his tenure in Count Basie's orchestra, working alongside Buck Clayton, Lester Young (who named him “Sweets”), Buddy Tate, and Freddie Green. Has also worked with the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra, the Mills Blue Rhythm Band, Lucky Millinder, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Harry Belafonte, Louie Bellson, Bob Brookmeyer, Benny Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Milt Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, BB King, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Carole King, and Ella Fitzgerald ~ Edison was born in 1915
July 27, 1990 ~ Robert James Byrd, commonly known as R&B, soul, pop, rock & roll singer, songwriter Bobby Day, passed away in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Best known for his 1958 hit Rockin' Robin. Other well known songs include Over And Over and Little Biitty Pretty One. Member of the Hollywood Flames. Formed the duo Bob & Earl with Flames-bandmate Earl Nelson ~ Byrd was born in 1930July 27, 1986 ~ Jazz saxophonist Henry Bridges passed away in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Started in territory bands working with artists such as Don Byas and Charlie Christian. Would go on to work with Alphonso Trent, Anna Mae Winburn, Leslie Sheffield, and Harlan Leonard. Following a stint in the US Army during World War II would work through the early 1960s, collaborating with the likes of Julia Lee, Clifford Blivens, Peppy Prince, Helen Humes, and Damita Jo ~ Bridges was born in 1915
July 27, 1985 ~ Adolph Robert Thornton Jr, commonly known as hip-hop, gangsta rap rapper Young Dolph, born in Chicago, Illinois, USA ~ First gained serious attention as featured vocalist on OT Genasis's Cut It, a Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hit in 2015. Would release his solo debut album, King Of Memphis, the following year. As a solo artist best known for his 2020 album Rich Slave which reached top 10 Billboard Hot 200 album charts. Has collaborated with Key Glock, Gucci Mane, Lil Durk, and Lil' Baby ~ Thornton passed away in 2021
July 27, 1981 ~ Singer, guitarist Bert Ostyn born in Kortrijk, Belgium ~ Founded Absynthe Minded in 1999, initially a one-man band which eventually grew into a full fledged band. They are known for the albums A New Day, As It Ever Was and their eponymous 2009 Absynthe Minded album. Ostyn has also composed for the film Turquaze and the TV series Bevergem. Ostyn released his No South Of The South Pole solo debut album in 2015
July 27, 1981 ~ Pop rock group U2 release Fire, lead single off their October sophomore album ~ Though it was the band's first single to reach top 10 in their native Ireland, and their first to chart in the UK, where it peaked at No.35, the band had later called it one of their least favorite songs. The song would also be their first ever performed on the British TV show Top Of The Pops, a performance of which singer Bono would later recall in his autobiography: “I moved like a bad puppet, a jack-in-the-box with a look of constant surprise etched on my face”