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 29, 2025 ~ Hornist, pianist, bassist, film, TV composer Alf Clausen, full name Alf Faye Heiberg Clausen, passed away in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Best known as orchestrator and composer for many episodes of the cartoon series The Simpsons. Has also scored numerous other TV series and films including The Naked Gun and Ferris Bueller's Day Off ~ Clausen was born in 1941
May 29, 2022 ~ Rockabilly, R&B, country singer, songwriter Ronnie Hawkins passed away in Ontario, Canada ~ Cousin of rockabilly singer Dale Hawkins. Found succes in Canada, considered pivotal to the development of Canadian rock, rock & roll. Over 20 albums since the late 1950s. Early hits included Forty Days, Mary Lou, Bo Diddley and Bluebirds Over The Mountain, all of which reached the Canadian top 10. Hawkins' backing unit the Hawks included all of the future members of the Band, acclaimed for their 1968 Music From The Big Pink and subsequent albums. Other one-time members would go on to found acts such as Crowbar, Bearfoot, Skylark and the Full Tilt Boogie Band, the latter known for their association with Janis Joplin. Both singer Pat Travers and guitarist Roy Buchanan have also served in Hawkins' backing band ~ Hawkins was born in 1935
May 29, 2022 ~ Rock, acid rock, psychedelic rock drummer Steve Broughton passed away ~ Best known as drummer in the Edgar Broughton Band, fronted by his brother singer, guitarist, bassist Edgar Broughton. The band has been active on-and-off from the late 1960s through the 2000s, releasing their Wasa Wasa debut album in 1969. The band's next two albums, 1970's Sing Brother Sing and 1971's eponymous Edgar Broughton Band, would both reach top 30 in their native UK. Edgar Broughton has also drummed on Mike Oldfield's quintessential Tubular Bells album and performed as a solo artist since 2010 ~ Broughton was born in 1950
May 29, 2021 ~ Billy Joe Thomas, commonly known as singer BJ Thomas, passed away in Arlington, Texas, USA ~ Popular country-pop singer from the 1960s and 1970s best known for hits such as Hooked On A Feeling, the smash hit Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head penned by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Hey Won't You Play Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song and As Long As We Got Each Other, the latter a duet with Dusty Springfield ~ Thomas was born in 1942May 29, 2021 ~ Jazz, R&B trumpeter, hornist, trombonist, pianist Johnny Trudell passed away ~ In-demand Motown studio and session musician. Worked with Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves, the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Tribe, and Wendell Harrison ~ Trudell was born in 1939
May 29, 2019 ~ Alternative rock guitarist Jeff Walls, full name Jeffrey Kermit Walls, passed away in Durham, North Carolina, USA ~ Co-founding member of 1980s alternative rock outfit Guadalcanal Diary, best known for their 1987 2x4 album which was hailed by some critics as one of the best albums of the 1980s ~ Walls was born in 1956
May 29, 2019 ~ Jazz double bassist Michel Gaudry passed away in Saint-Lô, France ~ Worked with Michel Hausser, Billie Holiday, Quentin Jackson, Carmen McRae, Art Simmons, Elek Bacsik, Kenny Clarke, Sonny Criss, Stéphane Grappelli, Bud Powell, Stuff Smith, Billy Strayhorn, Jack Diéval, Gérard Badini, Jimmy Owens, and Irvin Stokes ~ Gaudry was born in 1928
May 29, 2019 ~ David Curtis Glover, commonly known as blues harpist, guitarist, singer, author, rock critic Tony Glover, passed away in St Paul, Minnesota, USA ~ Reportedly gave harmonica lessons to both David Johansen and Mick Jagger. Closely associated with Dave Ray and John Koerner, the trio recording and performing in various configurations, in solo turns and duets, but rarely as a trio. Ray suggested that it would be more accurate to refer to them not as Koerner Ray & Gloever, but rather Koerner and/or Ray and/or Glover. As a trio noted for appearing at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, captured on the Newport Folk Festival 1964 (Evening Concerts III) album. In later years they would occasionally perform together, until Ray's death in the early 2000s. Glover has also formed Nine Below Zero, co-authored the Little Walter biography Blues With A Feeling (The Little Walter Story), and has written prolifically as a rock critic ~ Glover was born in 1939
May 29, 2018 ~ Conductor, pianist Rosa Briceño Ortiz passed away ~ First woman to lead the Banda Marical Caracas. In 1983 also became the first woman to lead a Venezuelan symphony orchestra, namely the Orquesta Sinfonica Simon Bolivar ~ Ortiz was born in 1957
May 29, 2013 ~ Jazz pianist, composer, educator Mulgrew Miller passed away in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA ~ Influenced by Ramsey Lewis, Oscar Peterson, McCoy Tyner. Accompanied Betty Carter. Played with Woody Shaw, Art Blakey, Tony Williams. Debuted as a leader in 1985 with the Landmark release The Keys To The City, backed by bassist Ira Coleman and drummer Marvin Smith. Continued to record up to a year before his death, employing sidemen such as bassists Charnett Moffett, Reggie Workman, Peter Washington, Christian McBride, Derrick Hodge, saxophonists Kenny Garrett, Joe Henderson, Oliver Lake, Steve Wilson, percussionists Terri Lyne Carrington, Kenny Washington, and Lewis Nash ~ Miller was born in 1955
May 29, 2012 ~ Arthel Lane Watson, commonly known as guitarist Doc Watson, passed away in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA ~ Iconic, prolific picker drawing from various traditional American styles including bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel. Worked with T Michael Coleman, Randy Scruggs, Earl Scruggs, David Holt, Jack Lawrence, Tommy Emmanuel, Clint Howard, Chet Atkins, Bill Monroe, David Grisman, Del McCoury, Mac Wiseman, Ricky Skaggs, and with his son Merle Watson ~ Watson was born in 1923
May 29, 2012 ~ Antoinette Ardizzone, commonly known as singer Toni Arden, passed away in Lake Worth, Florida, USA ~ Sang with big bands in the 1940s, including with Al Trace, Joe Reichman, Ray Bloch and Shep Fields. Turned to traditional pop starting in the early 1950s, scoring solo hits such as I'm Yours, Kiss Of Fire, Too Young, I Can Dream Can't I and perhaps her biggest hit Padre, a million-seller in 1958 ~ Arden was born in 1924
May 29, 2010 ~ Singer Lena wins the 55th edition of the Eurovision Songfestival held in Oslo, Norway ~ Representing Germany, singer Lena wins with the song Satellite written by Julie Frost and John Gordon. Runner-ups would be Turkey's Manga with We Could Be The Same in second place, and Romania's Paula Seling and Ovi with Playing With Fire in thirdMay 29, 2010 ~ The 41st edition of Pinkpop takes place in Landgraaf, the Netherlands ~ Day 2 of 3. Sunny and warm with occasional rain, this year's edition would draw a total of some 72,000 visitors. Included on today's, Saturday the 29th's bill would be Moke, C-Mon & Kypski, Mando Diao, the Editors, Green Day, Ryan Shaw, Destine, Biffy Clyro, John Mayer, Everything Everything, Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Caro Emerald, and Soulwax
May 29, 2009 ~ Organist, composer Robert Theodore Anderson passed away in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA ~ Prolific composer, noted especially for Triptych and the cantata Garden Of Gethsemane. In-demand recitalist. Leading organ teacher, counting Stefan Engels, Ignace Michiels, Carole Terry and Wolfgang Rübsam among his students ~ Anderson was born in 1934
May 29, 2004 ~ The 35th edition of Pinkpop takes place in Geleen, the Netherlands ~ Day 1 of 3. Sunny and warm with occasional rain this year's edition would draw a total of some 36,000 visitors. Included on today's, Saturday the 29th's bill would be 37 Stabwoundz, Roy Paci, Hoobastank, HIM, ADHD, the Sheer, and Viva La Fete
May 29, 2002 ~ Jazz guitarist François Ovide passed away in Rouen, France ~ Best known for his associaton with Albert Marcœur and John Greaves. Also worked with So And So, Plat Du Jour, Gwendal, Mireille Bauer, Pip Pyle, Renaud, Patricia Kaas, Johnny Hallyday, and Maxime Le Forestier ~ Ovide was born ca.1952
May 29, 1999 ~ Singer Charlotte Perrelli wins the 44th edition of the Eurovision Songfestival held in Jerusalem, Israel ~ Representing Sweden, Charlotte Perrelli wins with the song Take Me To Your Heaven written by Lars Diedricson and Marcos Ubeda. Runner-ups would be Iceland's Selma with All Out Of Luck in second place, and Germany's Sürpriz with Journey To Jerusalem (Kudüs'e Seyahat) in third
May 29, 1999 ~ Bassist, singer Phil Kramer's remains found near Malibu, California, after mysteriously disappearing years earlier ~ Member of hard rock band Iron Butterfly from 1974 through 1980. Kramer went missing after a flurry of frantic calls in 1995. His disappearance would lead to a massive search, numerous news reports and TV show segments including on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Unexplained and Unsolved Mysteries. His remains were found in a car wreck at the bottom of Decker Canyon near Malibu in 1999 ~ Kramer was born in 1952
May 29, 1997 ~ Singer, songwriter Jeff Buckley, full name Jeffrey Scott Buckley, passed away in Memphis, Tennessee, USA ~ Son of singer Tim Buckley. Rose to fame on the strength of his sole studio album, Grace, released in 1994. Drowned at age 30 during a spontaneous evening swim. Best known for his cover of the Leonard Cohen-classic Hallelujah ~ Buckley was born in 1966May 29, 1994 ~ Jazz drummer Oliver Jackson, also known as Bops Jr, passed away ~ Leader and sideman. Worked with Thad Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Wardell Gray, Eddie Locke, Yusef Lateef, Teddy Wilson, Charlie Shavers, Buck Clayton, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Kenny Burrell, Earl Hines, Budd Johnson, Sy Oliver, Oscar Peterson, he Newport All-Stars, Ray Alexander, Gene Ammons, Ray Bryant, Dexter Gordon, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Johnny Hodges, Dexter Gordon, Illinois Jacquet, Etta Jones, Paul Gonsalves, Hank Jones, King Curtis, Gildo Mahones, Billy Mitchell, Joe Newman, Billy Strayhorn, and with Joe Thomas and Jay McShann ~ Jackson was born in 1933
May 29, 1989 ~ Opera conductor Giuseppe Patanè passed away in Munich, West Germany ~ Son of conductor Franco Patanè. Best known as chief conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra from 1985 to 1989. Suffered a heart attack while conducting The Barber Of Seville at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and passed away the same day at the hospital ~ Patanè was born in 1932
May 29, 1989 ~ Guitarist John Cipollina passed away in San Francisco, California, USA ~ Showed great promise as a classical pianist in his youth, but switched to guitar at age 12. Perhaps best known as co-founder and lead guitarist for seminal 1960s psychedelic rock outfit Quicksilver Messenger Service, remaining with the band through the mid 1970s. They are especially acclaimed for their eponymous 1968 Quicksilver Messenger Service debut album and its follow-up Happy Trails released the following year. Though not as commercially successful as peers the Jefferson Airplane the band is credited for helping start and define the genre. Cipollina has also worked with Brewer & Shipley, Papa John Creach, Mickey Hart, Copperhead, Terry & the Pirates, Nick Gravenites, Dinosaurs, Merrell Fankhauser, and Zero, and has recorded a sole solo album, John Cipollina's Raven, released in 1980 ~ Cipollina was born in 1943May 29, 1984 ~ Jazz bassist Jo Berger Myhre born in Sandefjord, Norway ~ Worked with Splashgirl, Blokk 5, Ingrid Olava, Solveig Slettahjell, Torgeir Vassvik, Lasse Passage, Jessica Sligter, Susanna Wallumrød, Randy Tytingvång, and Nils Petter Molvær
May 29, 1984 ~ Trombonist Santo Pecora passed away in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA ~ Active from the early 1920s onwards. Sang with bandleaders Johnny de Droit and Leon Roppolo. Toured with singer Bee Palmer. Joined the New Orleans Rhytm Kings in the mid 1920s. Later he worked with Sharkey Bonano and Wingy Manone. Pecora remained a staple of the local scene into the 1960s ~ Pecora was born in 1902