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.
May 1, 2026 ~ Jazz, pop, rock guitarist Georg Wadenius, also known as Georg Jojje Wadenius, passed away ~ Co-founding member of Made In Sweden and Solar Plexus. After relocating to America, Wadenius would rise to international fame as lead guitarist of Blood Sweat & Tears from 1972 through 1975, present on the albums New Blood, No Sweat, Mirror Image, New City, and In Concert. To American audiences, Wadenius is also well known as a member of the Saturday Night Live Band from 1979 through 1985. Wadenius has recorded over a dozen albums as a leader, starting with Goda Goda in 1969, and was an in-demand touring and session guitarist prior to, during and after his tenure with Blood Sweat & Tears. Over the course of his career, Wadenius has appeared on albums by the likes of Pugh Rogefeldt, Joe Henderson, Dexter Gordon, Pekka Pohjola, Grace Slick, Luther Vandross (Never Too Much), Steely Dan (Gold), Fonzi Thornton, the Weather Girls, Dionne Warwick, Michael Franks, Jeffrey Osborne, Johnny Gill, Lisa Fischer, Keith Washington, Tom Chapin (Billy The Squid), Ronnie Cuber (The Scene Is Clean), Donald Fagen, Dr John, Eric Bibb, Jon Lucien, the Backstreet Boys (Millenium), and Jason Miles ~ Wadenius was born in 1945May 1, 2025 ~ Folk-pop, indie singer, guitarist, songwriter Jill Sobule passed away in Woodbury, Minnesota, USA ~ Debuted in 1990 with the album Things Here Are Different, produced by Todd Rundgren. A second album was recorded during the same period, now teaming up with producer Joe Jackson, yet it was never released and the singer was dropped by her label. Sobule would work a number of years as an assistant to a wedding photographer, and land a record deal five years later which led to the eponymous Jill Sobule album which spawned two of her best known singles. I Kissed A Girl, not to be confused with the later Katy Perry single of the same name, became a surprise radio hit, and Supermodel gained traction after it was included on the soundtrack for the teen comedy Clueless. Two subsequent albums, 1997's Happy Town and 2000's Pink Pearl, would earn Sobule wide critical acclaim, earning praise for her soft, plaintive yet bold vocals, subtlety, craftmanship and imaginative melodies, yet Sobule never became a household name. Sobule has also ventured into acting, notably in the 2004 Mind The Gap comedy-drama which also featured several of her songs, has opened for Don Henley, and collaborated with Richard Barone, Lloyd Cole, and Julia Sweeney. Sobule passed away age 66 in a house fire ~ Sobule was born in 1959
May 1, 2025 ~ Dinahir Tostes Caymmi, commonly known as singer Nana Caymmi, passed away in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ~ Daughter of Dorival Caymmi and sister of Dori Caymmi and Danilo Caymmi, all singers. Briefly married to Gilberto Gil during the late 1960s. Enjoyed some moderate succes at the time but neither much at home in the Tropicália nor the protest song movement. Caymmi has recorded well over two dozen albums over the course of her career, starting with Caymmi Visita Tom in 1964, which featured Antônio Carlos Jobim. Although she recorded prolifically for several decades, earning critical acclaim for albums such as 1979's Nana Caymmi (Sem Fim) and 1989's So Louco, it would not be until the 1990s until she became a household name with albums such as Bolero, Voz E Suor, and Resposta Ao Tempo. Caymmi is especially remembered for songs such as O Que é Que A Baiana Tem, Maracangalha, and Saudade De Itapoã, all of which are considered classics of Brazilian music ~ Caymmi was born in 1941
May 1, 2024 ~ Keyboardist, pianist Richard Tandy passed away in Albany, New York, USA ~ Key member of the Electric Light Orchestra present on nearly all of the band's recordings, helping define the band's unique sound through his palette of keyboards and serving as frontman Jeff Lynne's right hand and main arranger. The band is known for hits such as Can't Get It Out Of My Head, Evil Woman, Strange Magic, Telephone Line, Shine A Little Love, Don't Bring Me Down, Xanadu, and Hold On Tight ~ Tandy was born in 1948
May 1, 2023 ~ Folk, folk-rock, country singer, guitarist, songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, full name Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr, passed away in Toronto, Canada ~ Helped define the 1960s, 1970s folk-pop sound. Known for songs such as For Lovin' Me, Early Morning Rain, Steel Reel Blues, Ribbon Of Darkness, Black Day In July and perhaps his best known If You Could Read My Mind. His songs would be covered by numerous artists including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, the Kingston Trio, Marty Robbins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, Herb Alpert, Harry Belafonte, Sarah McLachlan, Eric Clapton, John Mellencamp, Tony Rice, Glen Campbell, the Grateful Dead, Olivia Newton-John, Paul Weller, Ultra Naté, and the Tragically Hip ~ Lightfoot was born in 1938
May 1, 2023 ~ Anders Sture Torbjörn Rogefeldt, commonly known as singer, guitarist Pugh Rogefeldt, passed away in Othems Distrikt, Sweden ~ Active since the late 1960s. At the time one of the few to sing in Swedish. Known for songs such as Små Latta Moln, Här Kommer Natten, Föräldralåten, Hog Farm, Dinga Linga Lena, and Stockholm. Passionate about old Norse religion, a subject which frequently showed up in his music ~ Rogefeldt was born in 1947May 1, 2022 ~ Rock, progressive rock, metal drummer Ric Parnell, full name Richard J Parnell, passed away in Missoula, Montana, USA ~ Perhaps best known for portraying the role of drummer Mick Shrimpton in the rock parody This Is Spinal Tap. Son of jazz drummer Jack Parnell. Has worked with acts such as Horse, Atomic Rooster, the Tritons, Nova, Toni Basil, Jon Anderson, the Deviants, and Zoo Drive ~ Parnell was born in 1951
May 1, 2018 ~ John Henry Starks, commonly known as drummer John Jabo Starks, passed away in Mobile, Alabama, USA ~ Best known for his association with James Brown, backing the singer on stage and in the studio from 1965 through 1976. Also worked with Bobby Blue Bland (including on the quintessential 1961 album Two Steps From The Blues), BB King, John Lee Hooker, Smiley Lewis, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Big Mama Thornton, Bobby Byrd, Howlin' Wolf, Lyn Collins, Fred Wesley, and JJ Blair ~ Starks was born in 1938
May 1, 2017 ~ Gustav Valentine Berglund III, commonly known as guitarist, singer Bruce Hampton, passed away in Atlanta, Georgia, USA ~ Key figure in the Atlanta, Georgia music scene drawing from jazz, fusion, southern rock and jam band music. Founded and fronted bands such as the Hampton Grease Band, Late Bronze Age, the Aquarium Rescue Unit, the Fiji Mariners, the Codetalkers, Quark Alliance, Pharaoh Gummitt, and the Madrid Express. Has guested on recordings by Frank Zappa (Lumpy Gravy), David Earle Johnson, Kevin Kinney, Susan Tedeschi (Wait For Me, and Widespread Panic ~ Berglund was born in 1947
May 1, 2016 ~ Jazz guitarist Doug Raney passed away in Copenhagen, Denmark ~ Son of guitarist Jimmy Raney, with whom he made his first recordings. Would go on to become an acclaimed guitarist in his own right, praised for his crisp chording and fluid voicings. Over a dozen albums as leader or co-leader, especially noted for Stolen Moments and Guitar Guitar Guitar. Recorded several albums with Chet Baker through the mid-1980s, most notably The Touch Of Your Lips released in 1979. Raney also guested on albums by Bernt Rosengren, John McNeil, Jesper Thilo, Horace Parlan (Hi-Fly), Ola Kvernberg, Joaquín Chacón, and Jesper Lundgaard. Raney lived in Denmark for a large portion of his career, where he died of heart failure at age 59 ~ Raney was born in 1956May 1, 2010 ~ Jazz trombonist, composer, arranger Rob McConnell, full name Robert Murray Gordon McConnell, passed away in Toronto, Canada ~ Founder of big band the Boss Brass, which he led from 1967 through 1999. Known for the 1978 Big Band Jazz album, awarded a Juno Award, and for the 1983 All In Good Time album, awarded a Grammy Award ~ McConnell was born in 1935
May 1, 2007 ~ Country, country pop singer Miranda Lambert releases her Crazy Ex-Girlfriend album ~ The singer's major label sophomore effort would top the Billboard Country chart, as did Kerosene, and reach top 10 Billboard Hot 200. It also spawned her first Billboard Country top 10 hit with Gunpowder And Lead. With a fair amount of “revengeful ex-lover's” songs, it further established her as a “bad-ass singer”, yet it also contained some softer material. Miranda Lambert would later comment: “"I definitely put more of myself out there on this one. People hear songs like Kerosene and even Gunpowder And Lead from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and think I'm always that badass, but if you listen to the record and hear songs like Desperation and More Like Her, the softer side comes through. And at first I was like, ‘Crap, I just said a whole lot about myself and now there's no going back!’ but fans and critics have responded so well I guess it was a good thing to do”
May 1, 1999 ~ Jazz, R&B tenor, alto saxophonist Eddie Chamblee, full name Edwin Leon Chamblee, passed away in New York, New York, USA ~ Worked with Sonny Thompson (including on the 1948 hits Long Gone and Late Freight), the Four Blazes, Lionel Hampton, Amos Milburn, Lowell Fulson, Dinah Washington (with whom he was briefly married), Milt Buckner, Dodo Greene, Memphis Slim, T-Bone Walker (on the 1955 album T-Bone Blues), and the Harlem Blues & Jazz Band ~ Chamblee was born in 1920May 1, 1998 ~ Singer, songwriter Jewel releases a book of poetry, A Night Without Armor ~ Singer Jewel Kilcher, mononymously known as Jewel, known best for the Foolish Games Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit taken of her 1995 Pieces Of You debut album releases her first literary work. It would also be released as a spoken word album. In later years the singer would also release more poems, essays, stories, two children's books and her memoir
May 1, 1996 ~ Jazz trombonist, arranger Billy Byers, full name William Mitchell Byers, passed away in Malibu, California, USA ~ Arthritis forced Byers to give up the piano in his teens, yet he would go on to become a respected arranger and trombonist. Byers got his start in music playing with Karl Kiffe, and following a stint in US Army at the end of World War II would spend the remainder of the 1940s playing with Georgie Auld, Buddy Rich, Benny Goodman, and Teddy Powell. In the 1950s, he wrote for radio and television, notably associated with the New York station WMGM-FM, worked with Ray Ventura in Paris, France, and teamed up with Quincy Jones, eventually serving as the latter's assistant at Mercury Records through the mid 1960s. Over the course of his lengthy career, Byers has arranged music for the likes of Coleman Hawkins, Eydie Gormé, Shirley Horn, Dizzy Gillespie, Chris Connor, Diahann Carroll, Rod McKuen, Liza Minnelli, Al Jarreau, and Pat Longo, and played trombone and horn on albums by Al Cohn, Manny Albam (Jazz Workshop), Kenny Clarke, Nat Pierce, Cootie Williams (Cootie Williams In Hi-Fi), Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Charlie Byrd, Bob Brookmeyer, Oliver Nelson (Afro-American Sketches), Jimmy Rushing, Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, and Sarah Vaughan. Later on in his career, Byers would tour with Frank Sinatra and work extensively as an arranger and conductor for film, TV, and Broadway, his work on a 1989 production of the musical comedy City Of Angels earning him a Drama Desk Award. As a composer, Byers is best known for writing Doodle Oodle and Rabble Rouser, both recorded by Count Basie in 1964. Byers has sporadically recorded as a leader, perhaps most notably the acclaimed 1961 album Impressions Of Duke Ellington. To rock audiences, Byers may be known for his trombone solo on the title track of Frank Zappa's 1972 album The Grand Wazoo ~ Byers was born in 1927
May 1, 1994 ~ Trip hop, electronica, alternative R&B, dream pop singer, songwriter Kacy Hill, full name Kacy Anne Hill, born in Phoenix, Arizona, USA ~ Backup dancer for Kanye West during his 2013 The Yeezus Tour. During the tour West was presented with a tape of Hill's song Experience and he immediately signed her to his GOOD Music label. Hill released her Bloo debut EP in 2015, a full-length Like A Woman debut album followed two years later
May 1, 1990 ~ Sergio Franci Galli, commonly known as tenor singer, actor Sergio Franchi, passed away in Stonington, Connecticut, USA ~ Initially aimed for a career in opera, yet would find succes with romantic traditional pop, showtunes and operatic cross-over pop in the UK in the early 1960s and subsequently in America eventually headlining in Las Vegas. Well known songs include Core 'Ngrato, Volare, Torna A Surriento, A Man Without Love, Passione, and A Vucchella ~ Galli was born in 1926May 1, 1989 ~ Cellist, conductor Antonio Janigro passed away in Zagreb, Yugoslavia ~ Member of Macek Sulek Janigro Trio. Started his conducting career by the late 1940s. Has worked with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Radio Zagreb Orchestra, and I Solisti Di Zagreb ~ Janigro was born in 1918
May 1, 1989 ~ Singer, songwriter Victoria Monét born in Atlanta, Georgia, USA ~ Has been releasing singles and EPs since the mid 2010s, leading up to her full-length Jaguar II debut album in 2023, which spawned the Billboard R&B No.4 hit On My Mama. The album earned the singer several Grammy Award nominations, of which Monét won the awards for Best R&B Album and Best New Artist. Monét had been active in performing arts since a young age, she sang in the church choir in her youth, formed her own dance group in high school, taught dancing at two dance studios, and was a member of Purple Reign. The latter was a short-lived girl group put together by Rodney Jerkins, more commonly known as Darkchild, but the group was dropped by Motown before any recordings were released. Starting somewhere near the turn of the 2010s, Monét pursued a solo recording career yet while waiting for success to come, she became an in-demand songwriter. Prior to her own Grammy Award wins in 2023, Monét has been most closely associated with Ariana Grande for whom she co-wrote over a dozen songs including the Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hits Thank U (Next) and 7 Rings. Others who recorded songs co-written by Monét include Diddy Dirty Money, Nas, TI, Chrisette Michele, Fifth Harmony, Machine Gun Kelly, Sara Evans, Chloe x Halle (Do It), Blackpink, and Normani
May 1, 1988 ~ R&B, rockabilly songwriter Claude Demetrius passed away in New York, New York, USA ~ Perhaps best known for writing Mean Woman Blues, one of the earliest hits for Elvis Presley and later covered by over an estimated hundred artists including Roy Orbison, whose single reached No.5 Billboard Hot 100 in 1963. Presley also recorded several other songs written or co-written by Demetrius including I Was The One, Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me), and Hard Headed Woman. Others who have recorded songs written or co-written by Demetrius include Louis Jordan (Ain't That Just Like A Woman (They'll Do It Every Time)), Dinah Washington, the Blenders, and Johnnie Ray ~ Demetrius was born in 1916May 1, 1986 ~ Rapper, producer, songwriter Tommy Brown, full name Thomas Lee Brown, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA ~ Best known for his work as a producer with Ariana Grande, Meghan Trainor, Rodney Jerkins, Jennifer Lopez, Wyclef Jean, Black Eyed Peas, Meek Mill, Travis Scott, Cee Lo Green, Nas, TI, John Legend, Teyana Taylor, Cyhi the Prynce, Victoria Monét, Mario, Chrisette Michele, Kelly Rowland, 2 Chainz, Naya Rivera, Machine Gun Kelly, and Fifth Harmony
May 1, 1984 ~ Arranger, composer, pianist Gordon Jenkins, full name Gordon Hill Jenkins, passed away in Malibu, California, USA ~ Worked with the Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, the Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Harry Nilsson, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Isham Jones, Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, Andre Kostelanetz, Lennie Hayton, Dick Haymes, Charles Lavere, and Patty Andrews ~ Jenkins was born in 1910
May 1, 1982 ~ Jazz trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire born in Oakland, California, USA ~ Played with his high school jazz ensemble when he was discovered by Steve Coleman, who visited the school to lead a workshop and employed the young trumpeter for a European tour. Subsequently Akinmusire would continue his musical studies, while gigging professionally on the side. 2007 would be a good year for the trumpeter as he won two of the most prestigious jazz competitions, the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition and the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition, and released his well-received Prelude (To Cora) debut album. While firmly rooted in jazz traditions, influenced by the likes of Miles Davis, Terence Blanchard, Kenny Dorham, and Brad Mehldau, the adventurous and daring Akinmusire would show new facets on each subsequent album, at times showing glimpses of post-bop, free jazz, funk, classical and hip hop influences. As a sideman and collaborator, Akinmusire has appeared on albums by Vijay Iyer, Alan Pasqua (The Anti-Social Club), Sara Gazarek, Esperanza Spalding (Esperanza), Joel Harrison, David Liebman, Roy Hargrove, Chris Dingman, Sachal Vasandani (Hi-Fly), David Binney (Graylen Epicenter), Jack DeJohnette, Dayna Stephens, Trilok Gurtu (Spellbound), Gerald Clayton, the Yellowjackets, Somi, Marcus Miller (Afrodeezia), Wolfgang Muthspiel, Mary Halvorson, Meshell Ndegeocello (The Omnichord Real Book), Billy Childs, Walter Smith III, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1), Cautious Clay, and Thomas Morgan. To non-jazz audiences, Akinmusire may be known for his trumpet playing on Kendrick Lamar's Mortal Man, the closing track of Lamar's 2015 To Pimp A Butterfly album. In 2023, Akinmusire would be appointed Artistic Director of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at the University of California, Los Angeles. Following his installment as director, Herbie Hancock would comment: “Ambrose is the perfect person to inspire the students of the Institute. I remember working with him when he was a student in the program, and watching him develop over the years has been really exciting. Now he will be able to cultivate a new wave of creative artists through his role in the program”
May 1, 1979 ~ Singer, guitarist, songwriter Bob Dylan records Precious Angel at Muscle Shoals Studios, Sheffield, Alabama ~ Penned by Bob Dylan. Produced by Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett. Notable guest on the track is Mark Knopfler on guitar. Included on the Slow Train Coming album. Released as a single b/w Trouble In MindMay 1, 1978 ~ Jazz pianist Raymond Fol passed away in Paris, France ~ Brother of saxophonist Hubert Fol. Worked with his brother, with Claude Abadie, Boris Vian, the Be-Bop Minstrels, Piere Braslavsky, Jean-Claude Fohrenbach, Django Reinhardt, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Hodges, Dizzy Gillespie, Sidney Bechet, Claude Luter, Guy Lafitte, Stéphane Grappelli, Kenny Clarke, Duke Ellington, Paul Gonsalves, Cat Anderson, and Gérard Badini ~ Fol was born in 1928