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.
November 10, 2024 ~ Flutist, teacher, author Walfrid Kujala passed away in Evanston, Illinois, USA ~ Closely associated with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, with whom he played from 1954 until 2002, the majority of his tenure on the piccolo. Kujala has also worked with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, served as a teacher at the Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, wrote numerous articles for the Instrumentalist, and was a founding secretary and later president of the National Flute Association ~ Kujala was born in 1925November 10, 2022 ~ Saxophonist, flutist, singer, songwriter Nik Turner, full name Nicholas Robert Turner, passed away in Pembrokeshire, UK ~ Owning a van, Turner originally offered his services as a roadie to the newly formed Hawkwind. However, when the band learned he played the saxophone they offered him a position in the band. Present on most of the band's best known including the acclaimed albums Space Ritual and Hall Of The Mountain Grill. Turner has also recorded as a solo artist and guested on recordings by Robert Calvert, Mother Gong, Psychic TV, and Helios Creed ~ Turner was born in 1940
November 10, 2021 ~ Baroque pop, sunshine pop, jazz singer, pianist, arranger, songwriter Margo Guryan passed away in New York, New York, USA ~ Best known as a songwiter. Penned Sunday Morning, a Billboard Hot 100 top 30 hit for Spanky & Our Gang in 1968. The song would also be recorded by the Baja Marimba Band, Oliver, Richard Groove Holmes, Sue Raney, by Guryan herself on her 1969 Take A Picture album, and by others. Songs written or co-written by Guryan have also been recorded by Chris Connor (Lonely Woman), Freda Payne, Nancy Harrow, Harry Belafonte (On My Way To Saturday), Alice Babs, Jackie DeShannon (Think Of Rain), Carmen McRae, and Julie London (Come To Me Slowly). Married to trombonist, pianist Bob Brookmeyer for a number of years ~ Guryan was born in 1937November 10, 2021 ~ Pop singer, guitarist, songwriter Miroslav Zbirka passed away in Prague, Czech Republic ~ Zbirka sings in Slovak, Czech and English. Co-founded Modus. Co-founded Limit. Has occasionally collaborated with Yes singer Jon Anderson. The asteroid 5895 Zbirka, discovered by Czech astronomer Zdenka Vavrova in 1982, was named in his honor ~ Zbirka was born in 1952
November 10, 2021 ~ Brian John Heatley, commonly known as jazz, blues rock double bassist Spike Heatley, passed away in Dinan, France ~ Active since the late 1950s, playing with the likes of Vic Ash, Tubby Hayes, Johnny Dankworth, and Tony Coe, considered the cream of the crop of British jazz. To rock, blues-rock audiences best known for his association with Alexis Korner, having played with both Blues Incorporated and with CCS. Heatley is also especially acclaimed as a member of 1980s all-star group the Great Guitars alongside Herb Ellis, Charlie Byrd, and Barney Kessel. Over the course of his four-decade career, Heatley has guested on albums by Donovan (Sunshine Superan), Harold McNair, Jackie Lomax, Magna Carta, Ian Campbell, Rod Stewart (Never A Dull Moment), Murray Head, Nick Ingman, Chris Connor, and Cleo Laine ~ Heatley was born in 1933
November 10, 2016 ~ Christopher Juel Barriere, commonly known as rapper 3-2, passed away in Houston, Texas, USA ~ Member of southern hip-hop acts such as the Convicts, the Blac Monks, the Southside Playaz and perhaps most notably Screwed Up Click. As a solo artist about half a dozen albums to his name, starting with Wicked Buddah Baby released in 1996. Barriere was fatally shot at age 44 ~ Barriere was born in 1972
November 10, 2015 ~ Pianist, producer, songwriter Allen Toussaint passed away in Madrid, Spain ~ Iconic New Orleans all-hatter. Influenced by Professor Longhair. Wrote or co-wrote songs such as Mother-in-law and Here Come The Girls (Ernie K-Doe), I Like It Like That (Chris Kenner), Fortune Teller (Benny Spellman), Get Out Of My Life Woman and Working In The Coal Mine (Lee Dorsey), Yes We Can Can (the Pointer Sisters), Play Something Sweet (Three Dog Night), Southern Nights (Glen Campbell), Right Place Wrong Time (Dr John), Ruler Of My Heart (Irma Thomas), Pain In My Heart (Otis Redding), and Lady Marmalade (Labelle). As a leader, sideman, producer or songwriter Tousssaint has worked with Snooks Eaglin, Huey Piano Smith, Dave Bartholomew, Fats Domino, Lee Allen, Smiley Lewis, Alvin Tyler, Frank Fields, Charles Hungry Williams, the Meters, and the Wild Tchoupitoulas ~ Toussaint was born in 1938
November 10, 2014 ~ Singer Taylor Swift releases Blank Space, lifted off her 1989 album ~ Taylor Swift had abandoned her wholesome girl-next-door image as well as her country-pop stylings, and ventured into new territory with the pop and dance-pop-influenced 1989 album, working closely with producers Max Martin and Shellback. At the time, tabloids were preoccupied with Swift's romantic life, rumours, speculations and reporting on how “wild woman” Swift had dated two men over the course of one and a half, two years. Swift responded with the tongue-in-cheek Blank Space, poking in fun at her perceived image: “So I created this whole character and I had fun doing it. Half the people got the joke, half the people thought I was really owning the fact that I'm a psychopath. Either one's fine. It was No.1 for eight or nine weeks, so I have no complaints”November 10, 2009 ~ Richard Aaron Katz, commonly known as pianist, arranger Dick Katz, passed away in Manhattan, New York, USA ~ Best known as a versatile sideman and producer, though has on occasion recorded as a leader. Has produced albums such as Helen Merrill's The Feeling Is Mutual, James Moody's The Blues And Other Colors, and Lee Konitz's Spirits. As a pianist present on albums by Al Cohn, JJ Johnson (Nuf Said), Carmen McRae, Manny Albam, Sonny Rollins, Ray Charles, Thelonious Monk (Criss-Cross), and Jack DeJohnette ~ Katz was born in 1924
November 10, 2008 ~ Willy Cecile Johannes van de Velde, commonly known as folk singer, guitarist Wannes van de Velde, passed away in Antwerp, Belgium ~ Considered one of the leading Flemish kleinkunst artists, along Willem Vermandere and Zjef Vanuytsel. Known for singing in local dialect. Well known songs of his include Ik Wil Deze Nacht In De Straten Verdwalen, Mijn Mansaarde and De Brug Van Willebroek ~ Van de Velde was born in 1937
November 10, 2006 ~ Soul, R&B, new jack swing singer, songwriter, producer Gerald Levert, full name Gerald Edward Levert, passed away in Cleveland, Ohio, USA ~ Son of Eddie Levert of the O'Jays. One third of LeVert, alongside Marc Gordon and brother Sean Levert. Member of LSG, alongside Keith Sweat and Johnny Gill. Wrote and produced for artists including Patti LaBelle, Barry White, Stephanie Mills, Anita Baker, Eugene Wilde, Teddy Pendergrass, James Ingram, Freddie Jackson, Chuckii Booker, Rude Boys, New Edition, and Men At Large ~ Levert was born in 1966
November 10, 2003 ~ Singer, pianist Alicia Keys releases You Don't Know My Name, lifted off her The Diary Of Alicia Keys sophomore album ~ Songs In A Minor, the singer's debut album issued in 2001, spawned two Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits and landed Alicia Keys five Grammy Awards including for Best New Artist. Keys would follow up strong with her sophomore album, its lead single You Don't Know My Name produced by Keys and Kanye West another hit, reaching No.3 Billboard Hot 100, and earned Keys another Grammy Award as well as a Soul Train Music Award. The song heavily relies on a sample from Main Ingredient's 1975 recording Let Me Prove My Love To You. Keys would later comment on the meaning of You Don't Know My Name: “It's about that feeling you have when you see somebody that you really, really like, or at least you think you do. And you're trying to figure out, ‘how am I supposed to say anything to this person? How am I supposed to introduce myself and get the story started?’ It's not an easy thing to do. So maybe you could say something like (You Don't Know My Name)”
November 10, 2003 ~ Rapper Twista releases Slow Jamz featuring Kanye West and Jamie Foxx, lifted off his Kamikaze album ~ Produced by Kanye West, who also raps a verse, the song tells of how between all the dance tracks club DJ's also need to play a slow jam every now and then to set the mood. The song samples the Luther Vandross version of A House Is Not A Home, which earned noted songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Hal David co-writing credits. West had previously produced tracks for Jay-Z and Alicia Keys and would include Slow Jamz on his own acclaimed The College Dropout solo debut album, issued shortly after Twista's Kamikaze album. West's version includes an intro and two extra verses by Jamie Foxx, and leaves out the original outro by Twista. The original single would be the first major hit for Twista, who previously had only reached the Billboard Hot 100 with Get It Wet back in 1997, which barely dented the chart peaking at No.96. Slow Jamz, however, would reach No.1 Billboard Hot 100
November 10, 2002 ~ R&B keyboardist Johnny Griffith, full name John Ellis Griffith Jr, passed away in Detroit, Michigan, USA ~ Influenced by Bud Powell, Glenn Gould, and Oscar Peterson. Member of Motown in-house band the Funk Brothers, with whom he worked on numerous recordings, perhaps most notably playing the electric piano on Marvin Gaye's I Heard It Through The Grapevine and the Temptations' Ain't Too Proud To Beg, and the organ on the Supremes Stop In The Name Of Love and Junior Walker & the All-Stars' Shotgun. Griffith has also appeared on tracks by other Motown artists including Mary Wells, the Miracles, the Marvelettes, and Martha & the Vandellas, and non- Motown acts including the Capitols, Edwin Starr (Agent Double-O-Soul), Jackie Wilson ((Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher), the Chi-lites, and Young-Holt Unlimited ~ Griffith was born in 1936November 10, 1999 ~ Violinist Felix Galimir passed away in New York, New York, USA ~ 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 was born in 1910
November 10, 1997 ~ Guitarist Tommy Tedesco, full name Thomas Joseph Tedesco, passed away in Northridge, California, USA ~ Member of the loose collective the Wrecking Crew consisting of first call session musicians. Has worked on numerous soundtracks and pop rock recordings in the 1960s and 1970s, his credits running in the thousands. Notable credits include the Beach Boys, the Mamas & the Papas, the Everly Brothers, Barbra Streisand, Jan & Dean, the 5th Dimension, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Zappa, Cher, Nancy Sinatra, and Wayne Newton. As a solo artist has recorded close to a dozen albums, mostly consisting of instrumental jazz guitar. Retired from music in 1992, following a stroke that left him partially paralyzed ~ Tedesco was born in 1930November 10, 1996 ~ Yafeu Akiyele Fula, commonly known as hip-hop, gangsta rap rapper Yaki Kadafi, passed away in Orange, New Jersey, USA ~ Founding member of Outlawz. His full-length Son Rize Vol.1 solo album would be released posthumously in 2004. Noted for guesting on several Tupac Shakur recordings, perhaps most notably on the tracks All Bout U and When We Ride of the 1996 All Eyez On Me ~ Fula was born in 1977
November 10, 1994 ~ Jazz singer, pianist Carmen McRae passed away in Beverly Hills, California, USA ~ Pianist, singer with over 60 albums to her name. Worked with Teddy Wilson, Benny Carter, Mercer Ellington, Dave Brubeck, Betty Carter, George Shearing, and Cal Tjader. Never performed a show without singing at least one Billie Holiday song, a huge inspiration and close friend of McRae's ~ McRae passed away in 1922
November 10, 1990 ~ Ronald Dyson, commonly known as singer, actor Ronnie Dyson, passed away in Brooklyn, New York, USA ~ As a singer best known for The More You Do It (The More I Like It Done To Me), One Man Band Plays All Alone, I Don't Wanna Cry and perhaps his biggest hit If You Let Me Make Love To You Then Why Can't I Touch You, the latter reaching the Billboard top 10 in 1970 ~ Dyson was born in 1950
November 10, 1986 ~ Singer Bruce Springsteen releases his Live 1975-85 5-LP live box set ~ Collecting ten years of live tapes, Bruce Springsteen's 5-LP box set would debut atop the Billboard Hot 200, a then-rare occurence and has since sold over 12 million copies, making it one of the all-time best-selling albums in America. The album would also reach top 10 in over half a dozen countries, including the No.1 spots in Canada and the Netherlands. Two singles, War and Fire, were lifted off the album, the former reaching top 10 Billboard Hot 100. Besides its commercial success, the album has been warmly received by critics, both at the time of its release and retrospectively, the New York Times describing it as “the equivalent of an epic American novel, its story told in the ungrammatical, rough-hewn vocabulary of rock,” while Rolling Stone praised Springsteen's “raw power, lyric honesty and spiritual determination”
November 10, 1986 ~ Pop rock outfit Genesis release Land Of Confusion, lifted off their Invisible Touch album ~ One of the rare political songs by the band, Land Of Confusion questions the wisdom of world leaders amidst the height of the Cold War and threat of nuclear war. The band's guitarist Mike Rutherford has called the song “a kind of '80s protest song”, further adding we live in a very nice world but seem to make a mess of it. The song is particularly noted for its accompanying music video, in which they used puppets from the British satirical TV show The Spitting Image. The show, which enjoyed massive popularity in Britain and continental Europe, would comment on current events, British and geo-politics, and also regularly mocked celebrities including the members of Genesis. Showing they could take a joke, the band hired the show's makers to do their video in which rather unflattering puppets of all band members were featured, alongside equally unflattering puppets of world leaders. Significant airplay of the video on MTV surely helped propel the single to No.4 Billboard Hot 100, making it their fourth consecutive American top 10 hit off the same album and fifth overall. The video would also earn the band a Grammy Award, the first and only Grammy Genesis would ever win
November 10, 1983 ~ R&B family outfit DeBarge release Love Me In A Special Way, lifted off their In A Special Way album ~ Written and produced by El DeBarge, Love Me In A Special Way would continue the band's success and reach No.11 on the Billboard R&B charts. The song would prove influential on later hip hop and R&B artists, as it would be covered by Immature, Tamia, and Kim Burrell, and sampled in several tracks including notably in GZA's Cold World, AZ's Love Me, and Ashanti's Dreams. Stevie Wonder guested on the original DeBarge recording, playing the harmonica. DeBarge would continue to record through the late 1980s, and over the course of their career scored about half a dozen top 20 hits on the Billboard R&B charts, two of which also reached top 10 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. Several of the family group's members would venture into successful solo careers, perhaps most notably co-lead singer El DeBarge who would score a 1986 Billboard Hot 100 No.3 solo hit with Who's Johnny
November 10, 1983 ~ Jazz bandleader, saxophonist Harlan Leonard passed away in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Playing professionally since age 17 starting with serving under Bennie Moten and eventually leading the band's reed section. Active as a bandleader since the early 1930s. Once employed Charlie Parker but fired him after just weeks for lack of discipline. Has also worked with Thamon Hayes, Vic Dickenson, Myra Taylor, Tadd Dameron. Would retire from music by the mid 1940s and has worked in banking and with the IRS for the remainder of his life ~ Leonard was born in 1905
November 10, 1983 ~ Country, country rock singer, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter Miranda Lambert, full name Miranda Leigh Lambert, born in Lindale, Texas, USA ~ Released her eponymous Miranda Lambert debut album in 2001. Broke through in 2005 with her Kerosene major-label debut which quickly reached Platinum status and has recorded to commercial succes since. Well known songs include Kerosene, Crazy Ex-girlfriend, Gunpowder And Lead, White Liar, Heart Like Mine, Mama's Broken Heart, Vice and Bluebird. Forms the trio the Pistol Annies with Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley. Prior to marrying a New York police officer in 2019, Lambert had dated several musicians including country singer Blake Shelton, R&B singer Anderson East, and the Turnpike Troubadours-frontman Evan Felker
November 10, 1980 ~ Singer Eddie Rabbitt releases I Love A Rainy Night, lifted off his Horizon album ~ The song originated from a draft version Eddie Rabbitt had written in the late 1960s. When he rediscovered the track some dozen years later, he finally finished it with help of regular collaborators David Malloy and Even Stevens. The song tells of a man's fondness for nocturnal thunderstorms and rain, the showers washing all his cares away to awaken to a bright new day the next morning. On the heels of Drivin' My Life Away, his first crossover hit, I Love A Rainy Night would reach No.1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, making it the biggest hit of his career. Although Rabbitt had and would continue to enjoy success mainly on the Billboard Country charts racking up over 30 top 10 hits including 17 charttoppers, he would score two more crossover hits. Step By Step and You And I, the latter a duet with Crystal Gayle, would peak respectively at No.5 in 1981 and No.7 in 1983