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 20, 1944 ~ Singer, guitarist, pianist Boudewijn de Groot, full name Frank Boudewijn de Groot, born in Jakarta, Indonesia ~ Pivotal Dutch singer, songwriter with a career spanning 5 decades. Slightly mischaracterised as “the Dutch Bob Dylan” on the basis of his 1966 protest song Welterusten Mijnheer De President. Well known songs include Noordzee, Een Meisje Van 16, Het Land Van Maas En Waal, Testament, Jimmy, Tante Julia, Een Wonderkind Van 50 and Avond
May 20, 1944 ~ John Robert Cocker, commonly known as singer Joe Cocker, born in Sheffield, UK ~ Known for songs such as With A Little Help From My Friends, The Letter, You Are So Beautiful, When The Night Comes, You Can Leave Your Hat On, and Unchain My Heart. Critically acclaimed, especially for his debut album, 1970's Mad Dogs & Englishmen. In-demand collaborator, worked with Leon Russell, Delaney & Bonnie, Silverhead, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, the Crusaders, Jennifer Warnes (the 1982 hit duet Up Where We Belong), Jimmy Barnes, BB King, Eros Ramazzotti, Tim Hinkley, Otis Thompson, and Al Jarreau ~ Cocker passed away in 2014
May 20, 1944 ~ Vincenzo Cacioppo, commonly known as pianist, violinist, bandleader, songwriter Vincent Rose, passed away in Rockville Centre, New York, USA ~ 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 was born in 1880May 20, 1942 ~ Trumpeter, hornist Dan Jacobs, full name Daniel Wright Jacobs, born in Bellaire, Michigan, USA ~ Has performed in over 500 shows of a touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar. In-demand session musician, has worked with the likes of John Pizzarelli, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Billy Dean, Mel Tormé, Linda Ronstadt, Gladys Knight, the Four Tops, and Al Green
May 20, 1942 ~ Pop singer Jill Jackson born in McCarney, Texas, USA ~ Formed the duo Paul & Paula, the other half being Ray Hildebrand, best known for their 1963 Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hit Hey Paula. Given their stagename by label executive Shelby Singleton, arguing that it wouldn't make much sense for “Ray & Jill“to sing “Hey hey Paul, hey hey Paula.” The duo's follow-up single Young Lovers would also reach top 10. The duo parted ways in 1965, but remained close friends and would regularly rejoin performing for special events
May 20, 1940 ~ Pianist, arranger, conductor, producer Charles Blackwell, full name Charles Vincent Blackwell, born in Leytonstone, UK ~ Closely associated with producer Joe Meek, under whose guidance Blackwell became one of the most prolific studio arrangers and producers of the 1960s and 1970s. Notable credits include serving in one capacity or another on hit songs such as Johnny Remember Me by John Leyton, What's New Pussycat and I'll Never Fall In Love Again by Tom Jones, and Release Me and A Man Without Love by Engelbert Humperdinck. Blackwell also regularly arranged and conducted studio recordings for francophone artists including Art Sullivan, Michel Polnareff, and Françoise Hardy (Je Veux Qu'il Revienne). In 2005, Blackwell was commissioned by the European Council to orchestrate and conduct a new recording of Anthem Of Europe, adapted from Ludwig van Beethoven's Ode To Joy, with a 70-man orchestra which is played at every sitting of the European Parliament ~ Blackwell passed away in 2024
May 20, 1940 ~ Frederick Earl Long, commonly known as R&B, soul singer Shorty Long, born in Birmingham, Alabama, USA ~ First to record Devil With The Blue Dress On in 1964, which never charted but would be a hit for Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels two years later. Would reach the charts with later releases such as Function At The Junction, It's A Crying Shame, Chantilly Lace and perhaps his best known Here Comes The Judge, the latter a Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit in 1968. Long played a variety of instruments, including piano, drums and trumpet, and was the only Motown artist other than Smokey Robinson allowed to produce his own recordings ~ Long passed away in 1969
May 20, 1932 ~ Jazz, big band, pop pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger Bob Florence, full name Robert Chase Florence, born in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Child prodigy. Gave his first recital at age 7. Worked in bands led by Les Brown, Louie Bellson, and Harry James. Worked as arranger, conductor, bandleader for artists such as Count Basie, Sérgio Mendes, Joe Pass, Bud Shank. Sideman with Julie Andrews, Sue Raney, and Joanie Sommers ~ Florence passed away in 2008
May 20, 1932 ~ James Wesley Miley, commonly known as jazz trumpeter, cornetist Bubber Miley passed away in New York, New York, USA ~ Active since the early 1920s, startied playing small clubs and boats as a member of the Carolina Five. Would go on to work with Mamie Smith, King Oliver and perhaps most notably Duke Ellington from 1923 through 1929 including on early hits by the Duke Ellington Orchestra such as Black And Tan Fantasy, East St Louis Toodle-oo and Creole Love Call. Post Ellington worked with Noble Sissle, Jelly Roll Morton, Hoagy Carmichael, Zutty Singleton, Leo Reisman, and Buster Bailey. Miley passed away of tuberculosis at age 29 ~ Miley was born in 1903
May 20, 1926 ~ Trombonist, singer Bill Pearce born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA ~ First gained serious attention working with evangelist Percy Crawford. Following a stint in the Army during World War II returned to college before turning to music yet again, working as a soloist and collaborating with the likes of Kurt Kaiser and the Melody Four, performing well into the 1990s ~ Pearce passed away in 2010
May 20, 1925 ~ Vic Urick, commonly known as traditional pop singer Vic Ames, born in Malden, Massachusetts, USA ~ Member of the Ames Brothers, consisting of four Urick brothers, their actual family name, raised on classical and operatic music. The sibling act would first perform as the Amory Brothers, and later shorten the name to the Ames Brothers. Active since the mid 1940s, the vocal group shot to national fame in 1949 following a performance on the musical radio quiz Sing It Again aired on CBS Radio, quickly becoming an in-demand nightclub act. The singles Rag Mop, Sentimental Me, and You You You all reached the top of the charts. They recorded well over a dozen albums through the early 1960s, at times backed by the orchestras of Hugo Winterhalter, Joe Reisman, and Sid Ramin, before disbanding ~ Urick passed away in 1978May 20, 1915 ~ Trumpeter, bandleader, musical director, arranger Bill McElhiney, full name William Krohmer McElhiney, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA ~ One of the most prominent arrangers in Nashville during the 1960s and 1970s. Notable credits include arrangements on Brenda Lee's I'm Sorry, and the signature trumpet parts on Johnny Cash's Ring Of Fire. Has also worked with artists such as Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison, Marty Robbins, Dolly Parton, Jim Reeves, Joni James, Connie Francis, Johnny Tillotson, and Tanya Tucker ~ McElhiney passed away in 2002
May 20, 1911 ~ Singer Helvetia Boswell born ~ One third of close harmony trio the Boswell Sisters, alongside siblings Martha Boswell and Connee Boswell, known for 1930s hits such as I Found A Million Dollar Baby In A Five An Ten Cent Store, Rock & Roll, The Object Of My Affection, Dinah, and Alexander's Ragtime Band ~ Boswell passed away in 1988
May 20, 1910 ~ Violinist Felix Galimir born in Vienna, Austria ~ Founded the Galimir Quartet in 1927 with his sisters, known for recording Alban Berg's Lyric Suite and Maurice Ravel's String Quartet. Would go on to work with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Palestine Symphony Orchestra, and the NBC Symphony Orchestra ~ Galimir passed away in 1999
May 20, 1901 ~ Jazz, boogie-woogie pianist, songwriter Jimmy Blythe, full name James Louis Blythe, born in South Keene, Kentucky, USA ~ Best known for his 1924 recording Chicago Stomp, arguably the first boogie-woogie recording. Other well known songs include Mecca Flat Blues, East Coast Trot, Oriental Man, and Brown Skin Mama. Despite a relatively short career, cut short by his untimely death at age 30 of meningitis, Blythe has recorded with a host of artists including Alexander Robinson, Johnny Dodds, Lonnie Johnson, the State Street Ramblers, Buddy Barton, Charlie Clark, Ma Rainey, Trixie Smith, and proved influential especially on Pinetop Smith and Albert Ammons ~ Blythe passed away in 1931