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 2, 1970 ~ Harold Stevens Hopper, commonly known as singer, songwriter, film composer, screenwriter Hal Hopper, passed away in Sylmar, California, USA ~ Original member of vocal group the Pied Pipers, including appearing in the 1938 film Alexander's Ragtime Band. Hopper would go on to compose themes tunes for several TV shows such as Judge Roy Bean, Colt 45, 26 Men, Circus Boy, and Bearcats ~ Hopper was born in 1912
November 2, 1968 ~ In its 7th week on the charts, Elenore by the Turtles peaks at No.6 Billboard Hot 100 ~ As the band wanted to diversify their musical output, write their own songs and show off their musical versatility, they recorded the album The Turtles Present The Battle Of The Bands which features performances in a wide variety of styles. White Whale had actually pushed the band to do another Happy Together, an upbeat pop song that had been their biggest hit, reaching No.1 Billboard Hot 100 the previous year. So Howard Kaylan, the band's lead singer, wrote Elenore with deliberately clichéd lyrics as a joke. As he would later comment: “It was never intended to be a straight-forward song. It was meant as an anti-love letter to White Whale, who were constantly on our backs to bring them another Happy Together. So I gave them a very skewed version. Not only with the chords changed, but with all these bizarre words. It was my feeling that they would listen to how strange and stupid the song was and leave us alone. But they didn't get the joke. They thought it sounded good. Truthfully, though, the production on Elenore -was- so damn good. Lyrically or not, the sound of the thing was so positive that it worked. It certainly surprised me.” The song would be the band's fourth American top 10 hit. Elenore, also noted as one of the first pop songs to use a Moog synthesizer, would also reach top 10 in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the UK. The following year, the band would score one more top 10 hit when You Showed Me reached No.6 Billboard Hot 100, tallying up the total top 10 hits to five before they disbanded by the turn of the decadeNovember 2, 1967 ~ Jazz singer, songwriter Kurt Elling born in Chicago, Illinois, USA ~ Worked with David Amram, Randy Bachman, Bob Belden, Joanne Brackeen, Oscar Brown Jr, Billy Corgan, Robert Davis, George Freeman, Buddy Guy, Jon Hendricks, Charlie Hunter, Bob Mintzer, Brad Mehldau, Lee Ritenour, John Pizzarelli, Bob Sheppard, Branford Marsalis, Laurence Hobgood, the Manhattan Transfer, the Yellowjackets, Till Brönner, and Harold Mabern
November 2, 1966 ~ Rock guitarist, singer Jimi Hendrix records Highway Chile at Olympic Studios, London, UK ~ Written by Jimi Hendrix. Produced by Chas Chandler. Titled to reflect his pronounciation of “child” without the “d” this autobiographical song is about his life as a musician on the road in the Chitlin Circuit forming his own sound. Used as the B-side of The Wind Cries Mary, released in the UK the following May
November 2, 1966 ~ John Smith Hurt, commonly known as piedmont blues, country blues, delta blues guitarist, singer Mississippi John Hurt, passed away in Grenada, Mississippi, USA ~ Known for songs such as Salty Dog, Candy Man, Ain't No Tellin', Frankie and Spike Driver Blues. Had his songs covered by Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Jerry Garcia, Beck, Doc Watson, John McCutcheon, Taj Mahal, Bruce Cockburn, Gillian Welch, and Josh Ritter ~ Hurt was born in 1893November 2, 1965 ~ Saxophonist, clarinetist Andrew d'Angelo born in Greeley, Colorado, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Actively recording since the late 1980s. Closely associated with Chris Speed and Kurt Rosenwinkel, notably in the trio Human Feel. Member of the Either/Orchestra in the 1990s. Has also collaborated with Erik Friedlander, Hilmar Jensson, Agogic, Tim Berne, Wadada Leo Smith, Jamie Saft, Tom Rainey, Orange Then Blue, Bobby Previte, and Ken Schaphorst
November 2, 1963 ~ Keyboardist, pianist Jens Johansson born in Stockholm, Sweden ~ Influenced by Don Airey, Eddie Jobson, Jon Lord. Member of Yngwie Malmsteen's backing unit Rising Force. Also worked with Dio, Jonas Hellborg, Ginger Baker, the Johansson Brothers, Shawn Lane, Mike Stern, Allan Holdsworth, Stratovarius, and Rainbow
November 2, 1962 ~ Guitarist, composer Richard Durrant born in Hollingbury, UK ~ Worked with the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hanover Orchestra, the BBC Midlands Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbie Flowers, Nick Pynn, and Howard Beach
November 2, 1962 ~ Heavy metal bassist, singer Ron McGovney born in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Best known as original bassist of Metallica, staying with the band until late 1982. Has also worked with Leather Charm and Phantasm
November 2, 1961 ~ Singer Connie Francis records Don't Break The Heart That Loves You ~ Written by Benny Davis and Murray Muncher. Produced by Danny Davis and Arnold Maxin. Connie Francis released the song as a single the following January, b/w Drop It Joe. It became her third and final charttoppper on the Billboard Hot 100, preceded by Everybody's Somebody's Fool and My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own. In 1977, Margo Smith notably covered Don't Break The Heart That Loves You, which would top the Billboard Country charts
November 2, 1961 ~ Kathryn Dawn Lang, commonly known as pop, country, alternative country singer, guitarist, songwriter kd Lang, born in Consort, Canada ~ Known for her activism in areas such as gay rights, human rights, animal rights. Revered by peers. Critics' darling. Dedicated fanbase. Known for songs such as Constant Craving, Miss Chatelaine and Lifted By Love. Has collaborated with Roy Orbison, Tony Bennett, Elton John, the Reclines, Neko Case, Laura Veirs, the Killers, Anne Murray, Ann Wilson, Jane Siberry, and Madeleine PeyrouxNovember 2, 1959 ~ Panagiotis Sfakianakis, commonly known as folk, pop rock singer Notis Sfakianakis, born in Herakleion, Greece ~ One of the all-time commercially most successful Greek artists. Known for songs such as Opa Opa, Soma Mou, Na Hareis, and perhaps his best known O Aetos
November 2, 1958 ~ Anthony Alphanso Waldron, commonly known as reggae DJ the Lone Ranger, born ~ Initially worked as duo with Welton Irie. As a solo artist seen as a huge influence on British deejays of the 1980s. Best known for his hit Love Bump and his album Barnabas Collins
November 2, 1957 ~ Drummer Carter Beauford, full name Carter Anthony Beauford, born in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA ~ Member of jazz fusion outfit the Secrets. Subsequently rose to fame as co-founding member of the Dave Matthews Band, known especially for their first three albums Under The Table And Dreaming, Crash and Before These Crowded Streets. The band has established themselves as a popular live act, releasing over 80 live albums, with a devout following. Beauford has also guested on recordings by Vertical Horizon, Carlos Santana, Blues Traveler frontman John Popper, and Béla FleckNovember 2, 1957 ~ Clarinetist, saxophonist Gebhard Ullmann born in Bad Godesberg, Germany ~ Leader and sideman. Worked with Out To Lunch, Niko Schäuble, Trilok Gurtu, Steve Argüelles, Phil Haynes, Ellery Eskelin, Drew Gress, Steve Swell, John Hebert, Paul Bley, Keith Tippett, Frank Gratkowski, Herb Robertson, Bobby Previte, Lauren Newton, Sylvie Courvoisier, Willem Breuker, Steve Swell, Rita Marcotulli, Tom Rainey, Ivo Papazov, and Frank Mobus
November 2, 1956 ~ Producer, songwriter Eric van Tijn born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands ~ Half of Fluitsma & Van Tijn, the other half being Jochem Fluitsma. Usually working behind the scenes, producing and writing for others the duo became a household name in 1996 when they recorded 15 Miljoen Mensen, initially for a Postbank advertisement. The song jumped to the top of the charts and has been a staple of Dutch popmusic since. As producer, songwriter duo the pair have worked with de Kast, the Dolly Dots, Mai Tai, Richenel, the Scene, Linda Roos & Jessica, Guus Meeuwis, Vagant, Lois Lane, Willeke Alberti, Mathilde Santing, Henk Westbroek, Caught In The Act, de Jazzpolitie, 4 Fun, Hind, and Status Quo. The pair wrote the Dutch entry for Eurovision Songfestival twice, Edsilia Rombley's Hemel & Aarde in 1998, ranking 6th overall, and Ruth Jacott's Vrede in 1993, which came in 4th placeNovember 2, 1956 ~ Pianist Frank Kimbrough born in Roxboro, North Carolina, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Influenced by Thelonious Monk, Vince Guaraldi, Keith Jarrett, Cecil Taylor. Actively recording since the mid-1980s. Collaborated with Ben Wolfe, the Herbie Nichols Project, Joe Locke, Rufus Reid, the Jazz Composers Collective, and Paul Motian ~ Kimbrough passed away in 2020
November 2, 1954 ~ Composer, actor Gary Yershon, full name Gary Bernard Stewart Yershon, born in London, UK ~ Best known as a film composer. Credits include films such as Happy-go-lucky, Another Year, Peterloo and perhaps most notably 2014's Mr Turner, the latter earning him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score
November 2, 1954 ~ Gospel, urban contemporary gospel singer, guitarist, bassist, songwriter Harvey Watkins Jr born in Canton, Mississippi, USA ~ Lead singer of the Canton Spirituals, founded by his father Harvey Watkins Sr. Debuted as a solo artist with the album He's There All The Time, in 1990
November 2, 1953 ~ Free jazz, post-bop saxophonist, percussionist Ernest Dawkins, full name Ernest Khabeer Dawkins, born in Chicago, Illinois, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Worked with Edward Wilkerson Jr, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Douglas Ewart, and the New Horizons Ensemble
November 2, 1950 ~ Ismael Morales, commonly known as saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist Esy Morales, passed away in New York, New York, USA ~ Noted for appearing on several of Xavier Cugat's albums. Formed the Brothers Morales Orchestra with his siblings Humberto Morales and Noro Morales. Led his own the Esy Morales Orchestra, perhaps best known for appearing in several movies including performing Jungle Fantasy in the 1949 Criss-Cross film ~ Morales was born in 1917
November 2, 1949 ~ Singer Frankie Miller, full name Francis John Miller, born in Glasgow, UK ~ Best known for his 1977 album Full House. Revered songwriter who had his songs recorded by the Bellamy Brothers, Betty Wright (Shoorah Shoorah), Hanne Boel, Johnny Cash, Lulu, Three Dog Night (Play Something Sweet), Ray Charles, Rod Stewart, Kim Carnes, Waylon Jennings, Bob Seger, Bonnie Tyler, Roy Orbison, Etta James, Joe Cocker, Joe Walsh, and Clint Black
November 2, 1947 ~ Bassist Dave Pegg born in Birmingham, UK ~ Longest-serving member of folk rock band Fairport Convention, joining the band in 1969 as replacement for Ashley Hutchings. First appeared on the 1970 Full House album. Has also worked with Jethro Tull, initially temporarily replacing the then-ailing John Glascock on their Stormwatch tour and officially joining the band after Glascock's deathNovember 2, 1946 ~ Bassist, singer Len Chip Hawkes born in London, UK ~ Bassist, co-lead singer of the Tremeloes from 1966 replacing Alan Howard through 1973, rejoining in 1979. Co-wrote the 1970 hit Silence Is Golden, which reached top 10 in the band's native UK
November 2, 1945 ~ John David Souther, commonly known as rock, country, country-rock singer, guitarist, songwriter JD Souther, born in Detroit, Michigan, USA ~ Best known for co-writing several hits for the Eagles, including The Best Of My Love, New Kid In Town, Victim Of Love and Heartache Tonight. Others who have recorded his songs include Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt (Faithless Love), Nicolette Larson, Kenny Rogers, and Don Henley. Souther was also a member of Longbranch Pennywhistle, the Souther Hillman Furay Band, and recorded as a solo artist, notably You're Only Lonely and Her Town Too, the latter a duet with longtime friend James Taylor ~ Souther passed away in 2024