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 23, 1985 ~ R&B pianist, bandleader, arranger Lloyd Glenn, full name Lloyd Colquit Glenn, passed away in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ As a solo artist known for 1950s R&B hits such as Chica Boo and Old Time Shuffle Blues. As a sideman played on a number of classic R&B, rock & roll recordings including T-Bone Walker's 1947 hit Call It Stormy Monday, Lowell Fulson's Blue Shadows ~ Glenn was born in 1909May 23, 1983 ~ Film, TV composer George Bruns, full name George Edward Bruns, passed away in Portland, Oregon, USA ~ Best known for his work for Disney from the 1950s through the 1970s, including for animated films such as Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred And One Dalmations, Jungle Book, The Aristocats and Robin Hood ~ Bruns was born in 1914
May 23, 1983 ~ The 14th edition of Pinkpop takes place in Geleen, the Netherlands ~ Sunny, some 40,000 visitors show up for this edition's bill which includes Doe Maar, the Simple Minds, Gary Moore, Nena, Men At Work, TC Matic, the Fun Boy Three, and de Janse Bagge Bend
May 23, 1983 ~ Country, bluegrass bassist, songwriter Rex Gosdin passed away in Hampton, Georgia, USA ~ Member of the Hillmen, which also included Chris Hillman and his brother Vern Gosdin. The group played Southern California during the early 1960s but would fail to land a record deal. Rex would subsequently form the Gosdin Brothers with Vernon, the duo having some success with the songs Hangin' On and Till The End. They were also featured on Gene Clark's well-received Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers album released in 1967. Rex would go on to write songs for others, including co-writing If I Can't Have All Of You (Just Give Me What You Think Is Fair) for Ferlin Husky and Someday My Day Will Come for George Jones ~ Gosdin was born in 1938
May 23, 1979 ~ Following two earlier TV shows The Third Barry Manilow Special starring singer Barry Manilow airs on ABC ~ Manilow had done TV specials in 1977 and 1978. Today the third one airs, Barry Manilow opening the show with Ready To Take A Chance Again. Manilow also debuts Why Don't We Try A Slow Dance. Special guest is John Denver who joins Manilow for a medley of the Everly Brothers originals. The show runs for about 50 minutes and is awarded an Emmy Award for Choreography
May 23, 1979 ~ Heartland rock singer Tom Petty files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy ~ Responding to a wave of lawsuits after refusing to transfer his contract to MCA Records, Tom Petty files for bankrupty. The bold move halts the legal proceedings and forces the label to negotiate. The album Damn The Torpedoes, Petty's third studio album, would be released the following October and reach top 10 on the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart. It would include the songs Refugee and Don't Do Me Like That, both of which reached top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart
May 23, 1978 ~ Singer Bruce Springsteen kicks off his Darkness Tour at Shea's Performing Arts Center, Buffalo, New York ~ Generally considered Bruce Springsteen's best tour, some critics comparing the 115-date continuous tour to Bob Dylan's 1966 shows with the Band, the Rolling Stones' 1969 and 1972 tours and the Who's 1969 Tommy tour, all benchmarks of their era. Shows were longer than during previous tours, typically around 25 songs, but not yet the true marathon concerts that would occupy later tours. One of the reasons the 1978 tour is so well-remembered is probably that several complete shows were broadcast live on album-oriented rock radio stations, reaching a wider audience. Over the years the stations would play the broadcasts again and many high-quality bootlegs of these shows were recorded and circulated
May 23, 1978 ~ George Owen Smith, commonly known as bandleader, conductor, arranger, composer Reg Owen, passed away in Malaga, Spain ~ Worked with Teddy Joyce, the Royal Kiltie Juniors, Benny Glassman, Ted Heath, and Cyril Stapleton. Best known as a film composer, starting with 1957's A Date With Disaster. Scored a 1959 American hit with Manhattan Spiritual, which peaked at No.10 Billboard ~ Smith was born in 1921
May 23, 1975 ~ Loretta Mary Aiken, commonly known as comedienne, singer Moms Mabley, passed away in White Plains, New York, USA ~ Although as a black woman her wages were meager, Mabley was one of the most successful entertainers of the Chitlin Circuit, a collection of venues throughout the Midwest that billed African American entertainers during the era of racial segregation. Came out as a lesbian in the early 1920s, making her one of the first openly gay comedians. Later on in her career music would become a regular part of her act, and she scored a Billboard Hot 100 top 40 in 1969 with Abraham Martin & John, originally a top 10 for Dion the previous year. The feat would make Mabley, then age 75, the oldest living singer to score a US top 40 hit. Mabley would continue to perform until shortly before her death at age 81 ~ Aiken was born in 1894
May 23, 1974 ~ Jewel Kilcher, mononymously known as folk pop, pop rock singer, guitarist, songwriter Jewel, born in Payson, Utah, USA ~ Released her Pieces Of You debut album in 1995. It would spawn the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits You Were Meant For Me and Foolish Games and become one of the all-time best-selling debut albums. Jewel would continue to record to critical acclaim and a devoted fanbase, venture into acting, and write poetry, short stories, essays, two children's books and her memoir
May 23, 1973 ~ Gerald Maxwell Rivera, mononymously known as neo soul singer, songwriter Maxwell, born in Brooklyn, New York, USA ~ Along with D'Angelo and Erykah Badu one of the originators of neo soul. Released his Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite debut album in 1996, the first of four consecutive Platinum-selling albums. Known for songs such as Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder), Fortunate, Lifetime, Pretty Wings and Bad HabitsMay 23, 1973 ~ Jazz pianist Nikki Yeoh born in London, UK ~ Member of trio Infinitum, the other two parts being Mark Mondesir and Michael Mondesir. Also worked with Courtney Pine, the Allstars Collective, Cleveland Watkiss, Steve Williamson, Chanté Moore, the Roots, Joanna MacGregor, and Neneh Cherry
May 23, 1972 ~ R&B singer, songwriter Lorenzo Smith born in Havana, Florida, USA ~ Known for a number a 1990s albums, notably his 1992 Lorenzo sophomore album which included the moderate hits Make Love 2 Me, I Can't Stand The Pain and perhaps his best known Real LoveMay 23, 1970 ~ Matthew Flynn, commonly known as drummer Matt Flynn, born in Woodstock, New York, USA ~ Replaced original Maroon 5 drummer Ryan Dusick in 2006, the latter sustaining serious shoulder and wrist injuries from constant touring. Flynn had previously worked with the B52's, Chicago, Gavin Degraw and Gandhi
May 23, 1969 ~ Composer, songwriter Jimmy McHugh, full name James Francis McHugh, passed away in Beverly Hills, California, USA ~ Prolific songwriter, popular from the 1920 through the 1950s. Songs co-written by McHugh include On The Sunny Side Of The Street (Harry Richman, Chick Webb, Billie Holiday), Cuban Love Song (Paul Whiteman, Don Barretto, Ruth Etting), Don't Blame Me (Walter Woolf King, Paul Weston, Sarah Vaughan), A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening (Frank Sinatra, the Ink Spots, Eddy Arnold), I Just Found Out About Love (Nat King Cole, Ronnie Hilton), Let's Get Lost (Vaughn Monroe, Jimmy Dorsey, Kay Kyser), Exactly Like You (Roger Wolfe Kahne, Benny Goodman, Punch Miller), and I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me (Dolores Valesco, Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines) ~ McHugh was born in 1894
May 23, 1968 ~ Keyboardist, percussionist Ben Stivers born in Indiana, USA ~ In-demand session and touring musician. Worked with Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Chayanne, Exposé, Jon Secada, Julio Iglesias, Emilio Estefan, Dan Warner, Matchbox Twenty, Lyle Lovett, Barry Gibb, Scott Sharrard, Tony Scherr, James Maddock, Dana Fuchs, Erik Blicker, Jason Darling, and Chris Botti
May 23, 1967 ~ Alternative rock drummer, singer, songwriter Philip Selway, full name Philip James Selway, born in Abingdon, UK ~ Member of Radiohead, known for quintessential alternative rock songs such as Creep, Street Spirit (Fade Out), Paranoid Android, Karma Police, No Surprises, The Pyramid Song, and There There. Selway has also recorded as a solo artist starting with 2010's Familial album. Has also worked with Neil Finn's 7 Worlds Collide, the Samaritans, and the Weird SistersMay 23, 1967 ~ Singer, songwriter Tarsame Singh Saini, also known as Johnny Zee and Taz, born in Coventry, UK ~ British-born of Indian descent, Saini is considered a pioneer of cross-cultural Asian fusion music. Has released a number of solo albums, starting with Hit The Deck in 1989, prior to forming and fronting Stereo Nation. The band is best known for their 2000 Slave II Fusion album, Saini's most successful album, containing well known tracks such as Pyar Ho Gaya, Nachenge Saari Raat, Gallan Gorian, and Let's Go Dancing (Ooh La La La), the latter a cover of the Kool & the Gang classic ~ Saini passed away in 2022
May 23, 1966 ~ Rock outfit the Doors play Whisky A Go Go, Los Angeles, for the first time ~ The band play the famed club for the first time, where they would become the house band. The gigs get them enough exposure to land a record deal with Elektra Records. They would release their eponymous debut album the following year
May 23, 1965 ~ Jazz, bossa nova singer Ithamara Koorax born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ~ Classically trained. Influenced by Elizete Cardoso, Elis Regina, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Flora Purim. Some two dozen albums to her name starting with 1993's Luiza. Worked with the Brazil All-Stars, Art Farmer, Jack DeJohnette, Luiz Bonfá, and Juarez Moreira
May 23, 1963 ~ Singer, bandleader Eddy Howard, full name Edward Evan Duncan Howard, passed away in Palm Desert, California, USA ~ Enjoyed popularity during the 1940s and 1950s. Started his career singing in the bands of Ben Bernie and Dick Jurgens. Would venture out on his own, leading his own orchestra by the mid 1940s. Known for songs such as To Each His Own, My Adobe Hacienda, Kate (Have I Come Too Early Too Late), Room Full Of Roses, It's No Sin, Be Anything But Be Mine ~ Howard was born in 1914
May 23, 1961 ~ New wave, pop rock bassist Toni Carbone born ~ Member of Denovo. The band is best known for their 1987 Persuasione sophomore album, widely considered one the premier albums of 1980s Italian indie music. Following the band's disbandement in 1990 Carbone has worked primarily as a producer ~ Carbone passed away in 2023
May 23, 1958 ~ Comedian, actress, singer Lea DeLaria born in Belleville, Illinois, USA ~ Best known as comedian and actress, notably for her role in Netflix-series Orange Is The New Black as inmate Carrie Black. Credited with being the first openly gay comic to appear on American television with her 1993 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show. Has recorded a number of albums as a jazz singer starting with 2001's Play It Cool album
May 23, 1958 ~ Country, country pop singer Shelly West born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA ~ Daughter of renowned singer Dottie West, with whom she also toured. Best known for a string of hits in 1980s, both as a solo artist with songs such as José Cuervo, Flight 309 To Tennessee and Another Motel Memory, as well as duetting with David Frizzell on You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma, Another Honky-Tonk Night On Broadway and I Just Came Here To Dance. Mostly retired from music following her mother's death in 1991
May 23, 1956 ~ Singer, producer, songwriter Claytoven Richardson born in Berkeley, California, USA ~ Worked in various roles with artists such as Lave Love, Summers Heat, Narada Michael Walden, George Benson (backing vocals on Kisses In The Moonlight), Kenny G, Tevin Campbell, Michael Bolton, Elton John, Peabo Bryson, New Kids On The Block, Ricky Martin, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Céline Dion, the Dazz Band, the Whispers, Tiggi Clay, Fizzy Qwik, Regina Belle, Clarence Clemons, Barbra Streisand, Lou Rawls, Eddie Murphy, Lisa Fischer, Shanice, Stephanie Mills, Al Jarreau, Taylor Dayne, Diana Ross, Sheena Easton, Al Green, Grover Washington Jr, Curtis Mayfield, Puff Johnson, Gary Barlow, Steve Winwood, Kenny Loggins, Michelle Gayle, Patti Austin, Marc Anthony, Lara Fabian, Lionel Richie, Angela Strehl, Charlie Wilson, Boz Scaggs, and Sammy HagarMay 23, 1956 ~ Jazz bassist, songwriter Steve Kirby born in Maumee Valley, Ohio, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Worked with Wes Anderson, Kenny Barron, Kathleen Battle, Joanne Brackeen, Regina Carter, Cyrus Chestnut, Wycliffe Gordon, Benny Green, Terreon Gully, Slide Hampton, Winard Harper, Stefon Harris, Antonio Hart, Eddie Henderson, John Hicks, Elvin Jones, Geoffrey Keezer, Oliver Lake, Abbey Lincoln, Joe Lovano, Wynton Marsalis, Mulgrew Miller, Claudio Roditi, Wallace Roney, Jacky Terrasson, Steve Turre, Warren Wolf, and Miguel Zenón