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 26, 1942 ~ Jazz saxophonist Col Loughnan, full name Colin John Loughnan, born in Sydney, Australia ~ Active as a singer with the Crescents, best known for their Mr Blue single, and with the Delltones prior to taking up the saxophone. Co-founding member of the Daly-Wilson Big Band. Perhaps best known for his stint in the 1970s with progressive rock, jazz fusion unit Ayers Rock, for whom he wrote a considerable amount of the material including Crazy Boys and Big Red RockOctober 26, 1942 ~ Singer, guitarist, songwriter Milton Nascimento born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ~ Worked with Beto Guedes, Toninho Horta, Wagner Tiso, Flavio Venturini, Paul Simon, Sarah Vaughan, Mercedes Sosa, Carlos Santana, Pablo Milanés, Cat Stevens, George Duke, Quincy Jones, Earth Wind & Fire, Pat Metheny, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Jack DeJohnette, Naná Vasconcelos, Jon Anderson, James Taylor, Peter Gabriel, Duran Duran, Wayne Shorter, Gilberto Gil, and Herbie Hancock
October 26, 1941 ~ Country, folk singer, guitarist, songwriter Charlie Landsborough, full name Charles Alexander Landsborough, born in Wrexham, UK ~ Active since the 1970s. Best known for his 1994 recording What Color Is The Wind. Had his songs recorded by the likes of Foster & Allen (I Will Love You All My Life), Roly Daniels (Part Of Me), and George Hamilton IV (Heaven Knows
October 26, 1940 ~ Trumpeter Eddie Henderson, full name Edward Jackson Henderson, born in New York, New York, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Influenced by Booker Little, Clifford Brown, Woody Shaw, Miles Davis. Best known for his association with Herbie Hancock. Has also worked with the Cookers, Pharoah Sanders, Mike Nock, Norman Connors, Art Blakey, Azteca, Charles Earland, Kenny Barron, Gary Bartz, Norman Connors, Stanley Cowell, Benny Golson, Billy Harper, Mina Aoe, Dale Barlow, TK Blue, Joe Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, Laurent de Wilde, Ray Drummond, JJ Johnson, Azar Lawrence, Archie Shepp, Jarek Smietana, and Leon ThomasOctober 26, 1939 ~ Musical composer, conductor Marvin Laird born in Kansas City, Kansas, USA ~ Best known for writing the dance arrangements for the 1969 film Hello Dolly, a romantic comedy based on the 1964 Broadway musical of the same name. Though at the time the film would be critically well-received, earning no less than seven Academy Award nominations of which it won three, and opened strongly the film would be somewhat of a disappointment at the box office. Laird is also well known for composing the music to the off-Broadway all-female Ruthless musical, its lyrics and book by his life partner Joel Paley, which spoofed musicals such as Gypsy and Mame. Laird was survived by regular collaborator and life partner director, lyricist, playwright Joel Paley, who passed away six weeks later ~ Laird passed away in 2024
October 26, 1938 ~ John Henry Starks, commonly known as drummer John Jabo Starks, born in Jackson, Alabama, USA ~ Best known for his association with James Brown, backing the singer on stage and in the studio from 1965 through 1976. Also worked with Bobby Blue Bland (including on the quintessential 1961 album Two Steps From The Blues), BB King, John Lee Hooker, Smiley Lewis, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Big Mama Thornton, Bobby Byrd, Howlin' Wolf, Lyn Collins, Fred Wesley, and JJ Blair ~ Starks passed away in 2018
October 26, 1936 ~ Rockabilly, country, rock guitarist Al Casey, full name Alvin Wayne Casey, born in Long Beach, California, USA ~ First gained attention playing guitar on the mid 1950s Sanford Clark hit The Fool, which reached top 10 Billboard Hot 100. Has worked with Duane Eddy from the mid 1950s through the end of the decade, for whom he also wrote Ramrod. Closely associated with Johnny Cash, appearing on well over a dozen of Cash's albums including the acclaimed I Walk The Line released in 1964. Also guested on albums by Lee Hazlewood, Nancy Sinatra, the Beach Boys (Pet Sounds), the Monkees, and Elvis Presley (Elvis '68 Comeback Special) ~ Casey passed away in 2006
October 26, 1934 ~ Keyboardist, songwriter Hans-Joachim Roedelius born in Berlin, Germany ~ Influential experimental, Krautrock pioneer. Co-founded Kluster with Conrad Schnitzler and Dieter Moebius, renamed to Cluster after Schnitzler's departure in 1971, and acclaimed especially for 1971's Cluster '71. Roedelius and Moebler would also team up with guitarist Michael Rother, recording the albums Musik Von Harmonia and Deluxe under the group moniker Harmonia. Roedelius has recorded over 30 albums as a solo artist, notably Durch Die Wüste and Wenn Der Südwind Weht, and has frequently collaborated with Brian Eno
October 26, 1931 ~ Edward Emery Williams Jr, commonly known as Chicago blues singer, pianist, songwriter Detroit Junior, born in Haynes, Arkansas, USA ~ Known for recordings such as So Unhappy, Call My Job, If I Hadn't Been High, Ella, and Money Tree. Had his songs covered by Koko Taylor, and Albert King. Backed Howlin' Wolf for over a decade, starting in 1956. Has also worked with Eddie Boyd, John Lee Hooker, and Amos Milburn ~ Williams passed away in 2005October 26, 1929 ~ Singer Neal Matthews born in Nashville, Tennessee, USA ~ Member of the Jordanaires from 1949 until his death in 2000, a vocal group known best for backing artists such as Patsy Cline, Red Foley, Johnny Horton, Ferlin Husky, Jim Reeves, and George Jones. The group is especially known for their association with Elvis Presley, backing Presley on some of his best known including It's Now Or Never, Return To Sender, Can't Help Falling In Love, Are You Lonesome Tonight, and (Now And Then There's) A Fool Such As I ~ Matthews passed away in 2000
October 26, 1927 ~ Tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh born in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Protégé of pianist Lennie Tristano. Member of Supersax. Leader, co-leader, sideman. Has worked with Tristano, Elek Bacsik, Chet Baker, Bill Evans, Clare Fischer, Lee Konitz, Art Pepper, Joe Albany, Lew Tabackin, and Pete Christlieb ~ Marsh passed away in 1987
October 26, 1914 ~ Gospel singer Claude Jeter born in Montgomery, Alabama, USA ~ Member of the Dixie Hummingbirds. best known as co-founding member of the Swan Silvertones, one of the most popular and influential gospel groups especially popular during the 1950s. Noted for his falsetto voice as evidenced in songs such as Careless Soul and Saviour Pass Me Not. Influential on later singers including Al Green and the Temptations' Eddie Kendricks ~ Jeter passed away in 2009
October 26, 1913 ~ Bandleader, saxophonist, composer Charlie Barnet, full name Charles Daly Barnet, born in New York, New York, USA ~ Best known for songs such as Skyliner, Cherokee, The Wrong Idea, Scotch & Soda, In A Mizz and Southland Shuffles. Employed sidemen such as Buddy DeFranco, Roy Eldridge, Neal Hefti, Lena Horne, Barney Kessel, Dodo Marmarosa, Oscar Pettiford, Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, Jimmy Knepper, and Clark Terry ~ Barnet passed away in 1991
October 26, 1685 ~ Baroque, classical composer Domenico Scarlatti, full name Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti, born in Naples, Italy ~ Son of composer Alessandro Scarlatti. Influenced Béla Bartók, Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Claude Debussy, Vladimir Horowitz, and Dmitri Shostakovich. Best known for his keyboard sonatas, having written over 500 of them ~ Scarlatti passed away in 1757