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 24, 1945 ~ Pop, rock, comedy pop singer, pianist, bassist, guitarist Dave Peacock, full name David Victor Peacock, born in Enfield, UK ~ Best known as half of Chas & Dave from 1974 until the death of Chas Hodges in 2018. Has also worked with a host of others including Black Claw, Spike Island, Françoise Hardy, Mick Greenwood, Magna Carta, Prelude, Teresa Brewer, Oliver Nelson, Les Walker, Labi Siffre, Mike Berry, Tony Ashton, and Dave Edmunds
May 24, 1945 ~ Jazz, soul, folk singer, guitarist, songwriter Terry Callier, full name Terrence Orland Callier, born in Chicago, Illinois, USA ~ Childhood friend of Curtis Mayfield, Major Lance and Jerry Butler. Started in doo-wop bands in his teens. Influenced by John Coltrane. Wrote or co-wrote songs recorded by HP Lovecraft (Spin Spin Spin, It's About Time) and by the Dells (The Love We Had Stays On My Mind). Worked with George Benson, Gil Scott-Heron, Paul Weller, Massive Attack, the Juju Orchestra, Hardkandy, Nujabes, Koop, Beth Orton, and the Urban Species ~ Callier passed away in 2012May 24, 1944 ~ Singer, songwriter Susana Baca born in Chorrullos, Peru ~ Leading figure in the revival of Afro-Peruvian music. Actively recording since the late 1980s. Earned international acclaim with a series of albums on David Byrne's Luaka Bop label, starting with the eponymous Susana Baca produced by Greg Landau. Best known for Maria Lando. Briefly served as Peru's Minister of Culture in 2011, resigning due to a cabinet reshuffle in December
May 24, 1941 ~ Robert Allen Zimmerman, commonly known as singer, guitarost, songwriter Bob Dylan born in Duluth, Minnesota, USA ~ Quintessential protest singer. Cultural icon. Broke through as a songwriter with his 1963 The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan sophomore album and has recorded steadily since. Acclaimed for quintessential songs such as Blowin' In The Wind, The Times They Are A-Changin', Like A Rolling Stone, Positively 4th Street, Rainy Day Women #12 & 35, Just Like A Woman, All Along The Watchtower, Lay Lady Lay, Knockin' On Heaven's Door, It Ain't Me Babe, and HurricaneMay 24, 1941 ~ Emilio Bellissimo, commonly known as guitarist, singer, songwriter Tony Valentino, born in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Co-founding member of the Standells, which would serve as inspiration for later punk groups such as the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. The band is known best for their 1966 Billboard Hot 100 No.11 hit Dirty Water. The song, written by the band's producer Ed Cobb, with some additional contributions by several band members, has gone on to become acknowledged as one of the quintessential 1960s garage rock hits and remains a staple of classic rock radio to this day. In later years, the song would also be adopted as an anthem played after every hometown win by Boston baseball team the Boston Red Sox. Dirty Water has been named as one of 500 Songs That Shaped Rock & Roll by the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Although the band would be unable to score another Billboard Hot 100 top 20 hit, Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White would also become a classic, later covered by hardcore band Minor Threat as well as by punk outfit the Cramps
May 24, 1940 ~ Guitarist Jay Berliner born in Brooklyn, New York, USA ~ As a solo artist best known for his 1972 Bananas Are Not Created Equal album. In-demand collaborator, session musician, sideman. Notable album appearances include Charles Mingus' The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady, Van Morrison's Astral Weeks and Harry Belafonte's Play Me. Other collaborations include Herbie Mann, Laura Nyro, Grady Tate, Airto Moreira, Jackie & Roy, George Benson (White Rabbit), Grover Washington Jr (Soul Box), Milt Jackson, Ron Carter, Joe Farrell, Stéphane Grappelli, Carly Simon, Deodato, Harry Connick Jr, and James GalwayMay 24, 1938 ~ Holger Schüring, commonly known as bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, percussionist, singer Holger Czukay, born in Gdansk, Poland ~ Co-founding member of krautrock outfit Can, known for bridging the gap between pop and avant-garde. Czukay remained with the band through 1977 and rejoined on occasion in later years ~ Schüring passed away in 2017
May 24, 1938 ~ Cecil Bustamente Campbell, commonly known as singer, songwriter Prince Buster, born in Kingston, Jamaica ~ Highly influential on later reggae and ska artists. Helped define Jamaica's sound through a number of quintessential recordings in the 1960s, including Madness, The Ten Commandments Of Man, One Step Beyond, Al Capone, and Whine And Grine. His career slowed down in the 1970s to be rediscovered in the 1980s covered by British artists such as Madness and the Specials ~ Campbell passed away in 2016May 24, 1937 ~ Saxophonist Archie Shepp born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Helpful in the development of avant-garde jazz. Has worked with Cecil Taylor, John Tchicai, Don Cherry, Roswell Rudd, Reggie Workman, Charles Moffett, Dave Burrell, Sunny Murray, Clifford Thornton, Horace Parlan, John Coltrane, Chet Baker, Frank Zappa, and Joachim Kühn
May 24, 1937 ~ Jazz drummer Charly Antolini born in Zurich, Switzerland ~ Worked with Sidney Bechet, Bill Coleman, Oscar Klein, Werner Keller, Peter Witte, Horst Jankowski, Erwin Lehn, Eugen Cicero, Kurt Edelhagen, Peter Herbolzheimer, Max Greger, Steve Hooks, Andrei Lobanov, David Gazarov, Rocky Knaur, Len Skeat, Brian Lemon, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Barbara Dennerlein, Albert Mangelsdorff, Earl Hines, Roy Eldridge, Jimmy Giuffre, Art Farmer, Oliver Nelson, Art van Damme, Stuff Smith, Braden Powell, Dick Morrisey, Dirk Raufeisen, Jimmy Woode, Herman Rarebell, and Pete York
May 24, 1936 ~ Avant-garde, minimalist composer, pianist, guitarist, drummer, poet Harold Budd, full name Harold Montgomery Budd, born in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Influenced by John Cage and Morton Feldman. Emerged from the 1960s California avant-garde community. Known for works such as The Oak Of The Golden Dream, Madrigals Of The Rose and Pavillion Of Dreams, the latter released as his 1978 debut album produced by Brian Eno. Has also worked with Robin Guthrie, Andy Partridge, John Foxx, and Jah Wobble ~ Budd passed away in 2020May 24, 1935 ~ Songwriter, lyricist James W Blake, full name James William Blake, passed away in New York, New York, USA ~ Best known for co-writing The Sidewalks Of New York with Charles B Lawlor, music by Lawlor, lyrics by Blake. The song would be first recorded by Dan Quinn in 1895 and over the years covered by numerous artists including Vernon Dalhart, Paul Whiteman, Guy Lombardo, and Nat King Cole ~ Blake was born in 1862
May 24, 1935 ~ Pianist, singer Valerie Capers born in New York, New York, USA ~ Blind since the age of 6, Capers has learned to read braille music and memorize all pieces before playing them. In 1960, she became the first blind person to graduate from the Juilliard School in New York, New York. Although she had some trouble finding a teaching position, as insitutions were reluctant to hire a blind pianist, Capers would become best known for her association with the Manhattan School of Music, where she advised blind students and developed a jazz curriculum, and with the music department of the Bronx Community College. As a composer, she is best known for the two hour Christmas cantata Sing About Love, which draws from jazz, gospel, blues, and classical, the largely classical song cycle Song Of The Seasons, and Sojourner about the life of civil rights activist Sojourner Truth, the latter work described by Capers as an “operatorio”, a combination of opera and oratorio. Capers has occasionally recorded, perhaps most notably the 1990s albums Come On Home and its follow-up Wagner Takes The A TrainMay 24, 1928 ~ Bassist Max Bennett born in Des Moines, Iowa, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Worked with Georgie Auld, Terry Gibbs, Charlie Ventura, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Charlie Mariano, Conte Candoli, Bob Cooper, Bill Holman, Stan Levey, Lou Levy, Coleman Hawkins, Jack Montrose, the Monkees, the Partridge Family, Frank Zappa (Hot Rats, Chunga's Revenge), the LA Express, Marvin Gaye, Barbra Streisand, Anthony Newley, Elvis Presley, the Four Tops, Nelson Riddle, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Seals & Crofts, Quincy Jones, Kenny Rogers, the Beach Boys, Carole King, OC Smith, Michael Franks, Artie Butler, Percy Faith, Hidle Brown Barnum, Stan Kenton, Céline Dion, Jose Iglesias, Carole King, the Temptations, the Crusaders, George Harrison, José Feliciano, Andy Kim, and the Grass Roots ~ Bennett passed away in 2018
May 24, 1919 ~ Herbert Bernfield, commonly known as saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader Herbie Fields, born in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Best known for his rendition of Dardanella. Worked with Raymond Scott, Lionel Hampton, Neal Hefti, Bill Evans, Eddie Bert, Bernie Glow, Manny Albam, Al Klink, Marty Napoleon, Serge Chaloff, Frank Rosolino, Jim Aton, and Tiny Kahn ~ Bernfield passed away in 1958
May 24, 1901 ~ Jazz pianist Frank Signorelli born in New York, New York, USA ~ Co-founded the Original Memphis Five, for whom he also co-wrote Sioux City Sue. Would go on to work with the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Adrian Rollini, Eddie Lang, Bix Beiderbecke, Matty Malneck, Dick Stabile, Phil Napoleon, and Miff Mole. As a songwriter perhaps best known for co-writing songs such as A Blues Serenade (Johnny Sylvester, Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby), Little Buttercup (I'll Never Be The Same) (Joe Venuti, Nat King Cole, Coleman Hawkins), and Park Avenue Fantasy (Paul Whiteman, Morton Gould) ~ Signorelli passed away in 1975
May 24, 1831 ~ Music publisher, conductor, composer Benjamin Carr passed away ~ Regarded as the most important music publisher in America during the 1790s, as well as distinguished composer and conductor. Co-founded Musical Fund Society in 1820, one of the oldest musical societies in America. As a composer best known for his 1794 Federal Overture work for piano. Dubbed “the Father of Philadelphia Music” ~ Carr was born in 1768