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.
June 13, 1937 ~ Hard bop alto saxophonist Frank Strozier born in Memphis, Tennessee, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Worked with Harold Mabern, George Coleman, Booker Little, Miles Davis, Roy Haynes, Chet Baker, Shelly Manne, Don Ellis, the New York Jazz Repertory Company, Horace Parlan, Woody Shaw, Oliver Nelson, Booker Ervin, McCoy Tyner, Sonny Stitt, Louis Hayes, and Stafford James
June 13, 1934 ~ Drummer Uriel Jones born in Detroit, Michigan, USA ~ Member of Motown house band the Funk Brothers, initially hired as a fill-in for Benny Benjamin eventually taking on bigger role through the early 1970s. Appears on records such as the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell duet Ain't No Mountain High Enough, the Temptations hits Cloud Nine and Ain't Too Proud To Beg, the Miracles' I Second That Emotion, and Stevie Wonder's For Once In My Life ~ Jones passed away in 2009
June 13, 1929 ~ Hornist Alan Civil born in Northampton, UK ~ Closely associated with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Known especially for his recording of Benjamin Britten's Serenade For Tenor Horn And Strings. To pop audiences known for guesting on the Beatles-tracks For No One of the 1966 Revolver album, and A Day In The Life of the Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album the following year ~ Civil passed away in 1989
June 13, 1928 ~ Blues singer, guitarist, pianist Lafayette Thomas, full name Lafayette Jerl Thomas, born in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA ~ Rooted in church choir and introduced to blues guitar by his uncle, blues singer Jesse Thomas. Active since the late 1940s, backing artists such as Jimmy McCracklin, Sammy Price, Memphis Slim, Little Brother Montgomery, and recording from time to time as a solo artist. Especially noted for appearing on the 1968 LC Robinson-album Oakland Blues alongside Robinson and Dave Alexander ~ Thomas passed away in 1977June 13, 1927 ~ Jazz guitarist Attila Zoller, full name Attila Cornelius Zoller, born in Visegrad, Hungary ~ Leader and sideman. Fled Soviet-occupied Hungary. Studied under Jim Hall. Roommate of Ornette Coleman. Has worked with Jutta Hipp, Hans Koller, Herbie Mann, Lee Konitz, Albert Mangelsdorff, Benny Goodman, Stan Getz, Red Norvo, Jimmy Raney, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Shirley Scott, Cal Tjader, Jimi Hendrix, Don Friedman, Tommy Flanagan, and George Mraz ~ Zoller passed away in 1998
June 13, 1918 ~ William M Moore, commonly known as R&B, jazz saxophonist Wild Bill Moore, born in Detroit, Michigan, USA ~ As a solo artist scored a moderate R&B hit with We're Gonna Rock We're Gonna Roll in 1948, the single later regarded by some as one of the earliest rock and roll recordings. In-demand sideman in blues, R&B, and jazz, working with the likes of Slim Gaillard, Jack McVea, Big Joe Turner, Dexter Gordon, and Helen Humes, including on the latter's 1945 Be-Baba-Leba hit. To later audiences perhaps best known for backing Marvin Gaye on the 1971 masterpiece album What's Going On, notably present on the track Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) ~ Moore passed away in 1983June 13, 1917 ~ Clarinetist Phil Bodner born in Waterbury, Connecticut, USA ~ Worked with Benny Goodman, Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Brass Ring, Oliver Nelson, JJ Johnson, Oscar Peterson, Yusef Lateef, Peanuts Hucko, Wild Bill Davison, Ralph Sutton, Van McCoy (The Hustle), Marty Napoleon, Mel Lewis, George Duvivier, Milt Hinton, Bobby Rosengarden, Derek Smith, and Johnny Varo ~ Bodner passed away in 2008
June 13, 1908 ~ Jazz clarinetist Clarence Hutchenrider born in Waco, Texas, USA ~ Member of the Casa Loma Orchestra led by Glen Gray. A lung illness paused Hutchenrider's career from the mid 1940s through the mid 1950s. In later years Hutchenrider would work in the New York area, most notably with the Gully Low Band in the 1980s ~ Hutchenrider passed away in 1991
June 13, 1905 ~ Adolphus Anthony Cheatham, commonly known as swing, dixieland, big band trumpeter, bandleader Doc Cheatham, born in Nashville, Tennessee, USA ~ Influenced by Henry Busse, Johnny Dunn, Louis Armstrong. Worked with Ma Rainey, Bobby Lee, Wilbur de Paris, Marion Handy, McKinney's Cotton Pickers, Benny Carter, Teddy Wilson, Fletcher Henderson, Claude Hopkins, Pérez Prado, Marcelino Guerra, Ricardo Ray, Machito, and Benny Goodman ~ Cheatham passed away in 1997
June 13, 1903 ~ John Collins Fulton, commonly known as trombonist, singer Jack Fulton, born in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, USA ~ Sang with Paul Whiteman's orchestra from 1925 through 1933, present on songs such as Cuban Love Song, How Deep Is The Ocean, and Touch Of Your Hand. As a songwriter Fulton has co-written songs such as Until recorded by Tommy Dorsey, Mrs Santa Claus recorded by Nat King Cole, and Wanted recorded by Perry Como ~ Fulton passed away in 1993June 13, 1892 ~ Jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, producer Richard M Jones, full name Richard Marigny Jones, born in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, USA ~ Perhaps best known for penning Trouble In Mind, first recorded by Thelma La Vizzo with Jones on piano, quickly becoming a standard recorded by Georgia White, Dinah Washington, and Nina Simone. Jones is also especially noted for producing Louis Armstrong's famed the Hot Five and the Hot Seven recordings. Other notable associations include Joe Oliver, John Robichaux, AJ Piron, and Papa Celestin ~ Jones passed away in 1945
June 13, 1886 ~ Drummer, pianist, bandleader Art Hickman, full name Arthur George Hickman, born in Oakland, California, USA ~ Worked with Ben Black, Earl Burtnett, Fred Coffman, Clyde Doerr, Frank Ellis, Dick Noolan, Ed Fitzpatrick, Jess Fitzpatrick, Roy Fox, Roy Hoback, Vic King, Lou Marcasie, Hank Miller, Mark Moica, Bert Ralton, Juan Ramos, Forrest Ray, Walt Rosemar, Bela Spiller, Dick Winfree, and Flo Ziegfield ~ Hickman passed away in 1930
June 13, 1880 ~ Vincenzo Cacioppo, commonly known as pianist, violinist, bandleader, songwriter Vincent Rose, born in Palermo, Italy ~ Emigrated to America at age 17, and briefly returned to his native Palermo to study piano and violin. Following his musical studies, Rose quickly rose to fame working in various dance orchestras and eventually as music director in both Chicago and Los Angeles before forming his own orchestra. As a bandleader, Rose would enjoy popularity especially during the 1920s and 1930s, yet he is perhaps most noted for co-writing Blueberry Hill with lyricists Al Lewis and Larry Stock. Initially the song was rejected, yet when it was bought and published by music publisher Chappell & Company in 1940, about a dozen artists recorded the song within a year. Notable early versions include Sammy Kaye's, who was the first to record it, Glenn Miller's, whose single reached No.2 on the American pop charts, and Gene Autry's, who sang the song in the film The Singing Hill. However, the definitive version would be recorded some 12 years after Rose's death, when Fats Domino made it the biggest pop hit of his career. Initially, producer Dave Bartholomew was dead set against Domino recording the song, yet borrowing heavily from Louis Armstrong's 1949 version, Domino made it his breakout hit, broadening his audience once and for all, and a rock & roll standard popular to this day. Guitarist Carl Perkins would later comment: “In the white honky-tonks where I was playing, they were punching Blueberry Hill. And white cats were dancing to Fats Domino.” Other well-known songs co-written by Rose include Whispering (Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, Morton Gould, Miles Davis), Avalon (Al Jolson, Vaughn Monroe, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole), Linger Awhile (Bailey's Lucky Seven, Sam Lanin, Glen Gray, Earl Bostic), and The Umbrella Man (Kay Kyser, Guy Lombardo, Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie). With over an estimated 200 compositions to his name, Rose was posthumously inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 ~ Cacioppo passed away in 1944