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.
October 21, 1940 ~ James Beaumont, commonly known as singer Jimmy Beaumont, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA ~ Lead singer of doo-wop outfit the Skyliners, known for songs such as This I Swear, Pennies From Heaven, It Happened Today, Close Your Eyes, Comes Love and their best known Since I Don't Have You, the latter reaching the Billboard top 20 in 1958 ~ Beaumont passed away in 2017
October 21, 1940 ~ Manfred Sepes Lubowitz, commonly known as keyboardist, guitarist, singer Manfred Mann, born in Johannesburg, South Africa ~ Founder, leader, eponym of Manfred Mann, Manfred Mann Chapter Three and Manfred Mann's Earthband
October 21, 1936 ~ Violinist Suna Kan born in Adana, Turkey ~ Gave her first public performance at age 9, playing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Violin Concerto In A Major and Giovanni Battista Viotti's Violin Concerto In A Minor with the Presidential Symphony Orchestra. Would go on to study in Paris and work with renowned orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Moscow Symphony. Co-founded the TRT Ankara Chamber Orchestra with conductor Gürer Aykal, and served as the orchestra's principal violinist ~ Kan passed away in 2023
October 21, 1935 ~ Jazz pianist, singer Bobby Few born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Worked with Brook Benton, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Jackie McLean, Joe Henderson, Albert Ayler, Alan Silva, Booker Ervin, Kali Fasteau, Archie Shepp, Sunny Murray, Steve Lacy, Charles Gayle, Wilber Morris, Hans Dulfer, and Marzette Watts ~ Few passed away in 2021October 21, 1935 ~ Jazz trumpeter Don Rader, full name Donald Arthur Rader, born in Rochester, Pennsylvania, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Worked with Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson, Count Basie, Maynard Ferguson, Louie Bellson, Harry James, Terry Gibbs, Frank Foster, Henry Mancini, Les Brown, Stan Kenton, Della Reese, Frank Sinatra, Lanny Morgan, Lew Tabackin, and Toshiko Akiyoshi ~ Rader passed away in 2023
October 21, 1933 ~ King Malachi Street, commonly known as country singer, guitarist, songwriter Mel Street born in Rowe, Virginia, USA ~ Regularly hit the higher echelons of the country charts for most of the 1970s. Known for songs such as Borrowed Angel, You Make Me Feel More Like A Man, I Met A Friend Of Yours Today, If I Had A Cheatin' Heart, and Smokey Mountain Memories ~ Street passed away in 1978
October 21, 1926 ~ Don Helfman, commonly known as trumpeter, vibraphonist, singer Don Elliott born in Somerville, New Jersey, USA ~ Recorded over 60 albums. Longtime associate of Quincy Jones. As a sideman Elliott played with artists such as Louie Bellson, Joe Puma, Dinah Washington, Sylvia Syms, Paul Desmond, Michel Legrand, Art Farmer, Dave Grusin, Billy Taylor, Ruby Braff, Connee Boswell, Mundell Lowe, Bob Brookmeyer, and Leonard Feather ~ Helfman passed away in 1984
October 21, 1924 ~ Singer, actress Julie Wilson, full name Julie May Wilson, born in Omaha, Nebraska, USA ~ Widely regarded as “the Queen of Cabaret” with numerous roles in Broadway and West End productions since the late 1940s including in Three To Make Ready, Kiss Me Kate, South Pacific, The Pajama Game and Legs Diamond ~ Wilson passed away in 2015
October 21, 1921 ~ Chauncey Leon Westbrook, commonly known as jazz, R&B, soul guitarist Chauncey Lord Westbrook, born in Jacksonville, Florida, USA ~ Recorded a sole solo album, Get Out Of Town released in 1956. In-demand session musician, especially associated with Buddy Johnson and Aretha Franklin. Westbrook has also appeared on albums by Little Willie John (Fever), Rex Stewart, Shorty Baker, Charlie Rouse, Jimmy Witherspoon, Solomon Burke (If You Need Me), and Jimmy Scott ~ Westbrook passed away in 2006October 21, 1921 ~ Lyricist Maurice Pon, full name Maurice Marie Jean Pon, born in Bordeaux, France ~ Co-wrote Le Loup La Biche Et Le Chevalier and Le Travail C'Est La Santé, both recorded by Henri Salvador. Other artists who recorded songs co-written by Pon include André Bourvil, Fernandel, Jean Soblon, and André Claveau ~ Pon passed away in 2019
October 21, 1920 ~ Ruth Mae McMahon, commonly known as singer, actress Ruth Terry, born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA ~ Sang with both Paul Ash and Clyde McCoy in her early teens. Best known as an actress, singer in musical westerns alongside the likes of Gene Autry (Call Of The Canyon), Robert Livingston (Pistol Packing Mamas) and Roy Rogers (The Heart Of The Golden West) ~ McMahon passed away in 2016
October 21, 1917 ~ John Birks Gillespie, commonly known as trumpeter, bandleader, singer Dizzy Gillespie, born in Cheraw, South Carolina, USA ~ Quintessential jazz trumpeter, pivotal in development of bebop. Served under Edgar Hayes, Teddy Hill, and Cab Calloway. Influenced artists such as Miles Davis, Jon Faddis, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Arturo Sandoval, Lee Morgan, Chuck Mangione, and Johnny Hartman ~ Gillespie passed away in 1993October 21, 1915 ~ Composer Henri Bourtayre born in Biarritz, France ~ Operettas, film composer, songwriter. Had his songs recorded by Tino Rossi, Raymond Legrand, Georges Guétary, Marie José, Maurice Chevalier, Luis Mariano, Elyane Célis, Charles Trenet, Jacques Hélian, Guy Berry, Lina Margy, Jean Faustin, André Dassary, Robert Lamoureux, and Yvonne Printemps ~ Bourtayre passed away in 2009
October 21, 1912 ~ Carlos Wesley Byas, commonly known as bebop, swing saxophonist Don Byas born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA ~ Worked with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Bennie Moten, Terrence Holder, Walter Page, Lionel Hampton, Buck Clayton, Lorenzo Flennoy, Charlie Echols, Don Redman, Lucky Millinder, Andy Kirk, Edgar Hayes, Benny Carter, Hot Lips Page, Big Joe Turner, Paul Bascomb, Coleman Hawkins, Clyde Hart, Bill Coleman, Beryl Booker, and Amália Rodrigues ~ Byas passed away in 1972
October 21, 1912 ~ Gyorgy Stern, commonly known as orchestral, operatic conductor Georg Solti, born in Budapest, Hungary ~ Studied with Béla Bartók, Leo Weiner, and Erno Dohnanyi. Of Jewish descent he fled the Nazis in 1938, conducted one season in London and for the remainder of World War II found refuge in Switzerland earning a living as a pianist. Best known for conducting opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as long-serving music director of the the Chicago Symphony Orchestra ~ Stern passed away in 1997
October 21, 1908 ~ Violinist, conductor Alexander Schneider born in Vilnius, Russian Empire ~ Led the the Norddeutscher Rundfunk Orchestra from 1929 to 1932. Of Jewish descent lost his job as a result of the Nazi campaign against Jews, eventually fleeing Germany by the mid 1930s. Member of the Budapest Quartet through 1944. Turned down offers from the Metropolitan Opera, the Pro Arte String Quartet and the Paganini Quartet. Would go on to work with the Schneider Quartet, the New York Quartet, Pablo Casals, the New York String Orchestra, the Brandenburg Ensemble, and Arthur Rubinstein ~ Schneider passed away in 1993