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.
September 5, 2025 ~ Singer, guitarist, tambourinist, keyboardist Mark Volman, full name Mark Randall Volman, passed away in Nashville, Tennessee, USA ~ Co-founding and constant member of the Turtles, known for their 1967 Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hit Happy Together. While in the band it had been reported that Volman had his distinctive frizzy hair insured for $100,000 against fire, theft or loss due to illness. Formed the 1970s rock duo Flo & Eddie with bandmate Howard Kaylan, using the moniker Flo which is short for Phlorescent Leech. Also well known for his association with Frank Zappa, including on the pivotal 200 Motels album released in 1971 ~ Volman was born in 1947
September 5, 2024 ~ Dequantes Devontay Lamar, commonly known as hip hop, trap, mumble rap rapper, singer, songwriter Rich Homie Quan, passed away in Atlanta, Georgia, USA ~ Influenced by TI, Lil Wayne, OutKast and Goodie Mob. Guested on Gucci Mane's 2013 Trap House III mixtape. Later the same year, Lamar also guested on YG's Billboard Hot 100 top 20 single My Nigga. As a solo artist, Lamar is known best for the mid-2010s singles Type Of Way and Flex (Ooh Ooh Ooh), both of which reached top 20 Billboard R&B. Lamar's full-length Rich As In Spirit debut album released in 2018 would reach top 10 Billboard Hot 200. Lamar has also collaborated with Trinidad James, 2 Chainz, Migos, Fabolous, and DJ Drama ~ Lamar was born in 1990September 5, 2024 ~ Pianist, bandleader, songwriter Sérgio Mendes, full name Sérgio Santos Mendes, passed away in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Jazz and funk-infused bossa nova. Over 50 albums to his name starting in the early 1960s. Especially acclaimed for the 1966 Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 album. Best known for his breakthrough hit Mas Qua Nada ~ Mendes was born in 1941
September 5, 2023 ~ Classical pianist, teacher Anatol Ugorski passed away in Lemgo, Germany ~ As a student gained attention through his love of avant-garde pieces, including from renowned yet in the USSR controversial Western composers, premiering pieces by Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Olivier Messiaen, and Pierre Boulez. By the late 1960s he would be banned by the authorities and his career halted for ten years, confined to work in the provinces and in private performances only. The Ugorski family would emigrate to Germany by the 1990s, setting him of on an international career. Ugorski has performed solo and with orchestras such as the WDR Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Orchestre De Paris, and serve as professor at the the Hochschule fur Musik Detmold, Detmold ~ Ugorski was born in 1942
September 5, 2023 ~ Folk, country, pop singer, guitarist, songwriter Bruce Guthro passed away in Halifax, Canada ~ Father of singers Dylan Guthro and Jodi Guthrie. Lead singer of celtic rock band Runrig from 1998, first appearing on the band's In Search Of Angels album, until the band's disbandement in 2018. Has also recorded as a solo artist, noted for his Of Your Son album released in 1998. Three of the album's singles, Walk This Road, Falling, and Ivey's Wall would reach top 20 on the Canadian country charts ~ Guthro was born in 1961
September 5, 2023 ~ Pop, soft rock singer, songwriter Joe Fagin passed away ~ Best known for his 1983 double A-side single Breakin' Away/That's Livin' Alright, which reached top 10 in his native UK. The songs, both produced and co-written by David Mackay, were used as the opening and closing theme to TV comedy-drama Auf Wiedersehen Pet which premiered earlier the same year. Fagin also contributed to the 1985 single You'll Never Walk Alone, recorded by the charity supergroup the Crowd formed by Gerry Marsden specifically to aid the families of the victims of the Bradford City Stadium fire in which over 50 people died ~ Fagin was born ca.1940
September 5, 2023 ~ Larry Figueiredo, commonly known as singer Larry Chance, passed away in Monticello, New York, USA ~ Lead singer of popular 1960s doo-wop group the Earls, known for songs such as Never, Life Is But A Dream and I Believe. and their best known Remember Then. The latter would peak at No.24 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time of its release in 1962, yet over time would become a classic as one of the best remembered and most cherished songs of the doo-wop era specifically for its “Reh-meh-meh, Reh-meh-meh-member, Reh-meh-meh, Reh-meh-meh-mem-ber then” refrain ~ Figueiredo was born in 1940September 5, 2023 ~ Lemoine Gardner Ketcham, commonly known as singer, dancer, producer Lee Halliday, passed away in Marseille, France ~ Best known as agent and producer for Johnny Hallyday, producing almost all of the latter's songs from 1961 through the mid 1970s. Previously Ketcham formed an acrobatic dance trio with two of Hallyday's cousins. Ketcham has also produced for the likes of Les Lionceaux, Herbert Léonard, Nanette Workman, Lucky Blondo, and William Sheller ~ Ketcham was born in 1927
September 5, 2023 ~ Singer, guitarist, mandolinist, percussionist, songwriter Richard Laviolette, full name Richard Andrew Laviolette, passed away ~ Fused indie rock, contemporary folk, and alt-country. Has recorded over half a dozen albums, starting with Mary Carl released in 2005. Perhaps best known for his 2017 Taking The Long Way Home album. Suffering from Huntington's disease Laviolette passed away at age 41 in an assisted suicide ~ Laviolette was born in 1982
September 5, 2023 ~ Regla Teresa Garcia Rodriguez, commonly known as singer, bandleader Teté Caturla, passed away in Cuba ~ Daughter of renowned composer Alejandro García Caturla. Member of all-female orchestra the Orquesta Anacaona. Best known as member of all-female quartet the Cuarteto D'Aida, joining the group in 1963 and taking over as leader after the death of founding member Aida Diestro in 1973 ~ Garcia was born in 1937
September 5, 2023 ~ Rock, hard rock, stoner rock bassist Tom Davies passed away ~ Member of Nebula from 2003 until his death in 2023, with whom he recorded four albums starting with the critically acclaimed Apollo released in 2006. Davies passed away of leukemia at age 48 ~ Davies was born ca.1975
September 5, 2022 ~ Pianist, conductor Lars Vogt passed away in Erlangen, Germany ~ Best known as musical director for the Royal Northern Sinfonia from 2015 through 2020. Subsequently served as music director for the Orchestre De Chambre De Paris. As a concert pianist Vogt has recorded well over 30 albums consisting of works by Robert Schumann, Ludwig van Beethoven, Maurice Ravel, and Camille Saint-Saëns ~ Vogt was born in 1970
September 5, 2021 ~ Latin jazz percussionist, bandleader Ralph Irizarry passed away in Brooklyn, New York, USA ~ Has collaborated with artists such as Harry Belafonte, Celia Cruz, Paquito d'Rivera, Juan Luis Guerra, Paul Simon, and Talking Heads-frontman David Byrne. Irizarry also notably appeared in the musical drama film The Mambo Kings released in 1992 ~ Irizarry was born in 1954
September 5, 2021 ~ Pop singer, actress Sarah Harding, full name Sarah Nicole Harding, passed away in Buckinghamshire, UK ~ Rose to fame in the early 2000s as member of girl group Girls Aloud, known for UK top 10 hits such as Sound Of The Underground, Life Got Cold, The Show, I'll Stand By You, Something Kinda Ooooh, Walk This Way with the Sugababes, Call The Shots, and The Promise ~ Harding was born in 1981
September 5, 2019 ~ Session guitarist Jimmy Johnson, full name Jimmy Ray Johnson, passed away in Florence, Alabama, USA ~ In-house session guitarist for FAME Studios during the 1960s. Co-founded Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in 1969. Present on recordings by Arthur Conley, Percy Sledge (When A Man Loves A Woman), Clarence Carter, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin (I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)), James & Bobby Purify, King Curtis, Patti LaBelle, Etta James, Otis Rush, Cher, Boz Scaggs, Arif Mardin, Ronnie Hawkins, Herbie Mann, Lulu, Cowboy, the Rolling Stones (Brown Sugar), the Staple Singers, Laura Nyro, Bobby Womack, Joe Tex, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Seger, Eddie Floyd, the Dells, Johnnie Taylor, Orleans, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Don Covay, Joe Simon, Millie Jackson, Rod Stewart, Bonnie Bramlett, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dr Hook, Joe Cocker, and Bob Dylan ~ Johnson was born in 1943September 5, 2017 ~ Holger Schüring, commonly known as bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, percussionist, singer Holger Czukay, passed away in Weilerswist, Germany ~ Co-founding member of krautrock outfit Can, known for bridging the gap between pop and avant-garde. Czukay remained with the band through 1977 and rejoined on occasion in later years ~ Schüring was born in 1938
September 5, 2015 ~ Frederick Dennis Greene, commonly known as singer Denny Greene, passed away in Dayton, Ohio, USA ~ Member of Sha Na Na. Sang at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. Appeared in the movie Grease taking the lead vocals on Tears On My Pillow ~ Greene was born in 1949
September 5, 2012 ~ Joseph Alfred Souter, commonly known as singer, guitarist, songwriter Joe South passed away in Flowery Branch, Georgia, USA ~ Best known as songwriter responsible for songs such as Games People Play, Down In The Boondocks, Yo Yo, Hush, and Rose Garden. In-demand session musician including on songs such as Tommy Roe's Sheila and Aretha Franklin's Chain Of Fools, and albums such as Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde and Simon & Garfunkel's The Sounds Of Silence. Artists who have recorded South's songs include Billy Joe Royal, the Osmonds, Lynn Anderson, Deep Purple, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, Gene Vincent, Carol Burnett, Andy Williams, Kitty Wells, Dottie West, Jim Nabors, Arlen Roth, Liz Anderson, the Georgia Satellites, Waylon Jennings, Ike & Tina Turner, Hank Williams Jr, James Taylor, the Tams, and kd Lang ~ Souter was born in 1940
September 5, 2009 ~ Donald Eugene Jones, commonly known as pop rock, glam rock bassist Mickie Jones, passed away in San Dimas, California, USA ~ Bassist of Angel from 1975 to 1977, present on the albums Angel, Helluva Band and On Earth As It Is In Heaven. The band was discovered by Kiss guitarist Gene Simmons and known for their androgynous image. Slammed by rock critics and ridiculized by Frank Zappa in the song Punky's Whips, the band never achieved mass commercial succes but enjoyed a cult following. Both Jones and bandmate Punky Meadows were asked to join the New York Dolls but declined. Jones also previously played in BUX ~ Jones was born in 1952
September 5, 2003 ~ Gisele Marie Louise Marguerite LaFlèche, commonly known as actress, singer Gisele MacKenzie, passed away in Burbank, California, USA ~ Singer for radio and TV, notably replacing the Andrews Sisters on the CBS Radio radio show Club Fifteen, and on the TV show Your Hit Parade. As a recording artist best known for her 1955 hit Hard To Get. Has also worked as an actress both in the musical field and as a character actress for TV ~ LaFlèche was born in 1927
September 5, 2002 ~ Nils Kurt Erik Einar Grönberg, mononymously known as rapper, songwriter Einár, born in Stockholm, Sweden ~ Has released four full-length albums during his short career, starting with Första Klass in 2019. Scored over a dozen top 10 hit singles in his native Sweden, of which Katten I Trakten, Nu Vi Skiner and Dansa featuring Adaam reached the top spot. Involved in a several high-profile incidents, including his kidnapping by rival rapper Yasin in 2020. Einár was scheduled to testify in his kidnapping case the week after being found shot in the head and killed at age 19, his murder described by police as an execution ~ Grönberg passed away in 2021
September 5, 1999 ~ Kathryn Jewel Thorne, commonly known as boogie-woogie pianist Katie Webster, passed away in League City, Texas, USA ~ Best known for backing musicians such as Lightning Slim, Lonesome Sundown, and Otis Redding. Also worked with Garu Wiggins, Chris Rannenberg, Bonnie Raitt, and Robert Cray ~ Thorne was born in 1936
September 5, 1997 ~ Gyorgy Stern, commonly known as orchestral, operatic conductor Georg Solti, passed away in Antibes, France ~ 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 was born in 1912September 5, 1996 ~ Sigrid Solbakk Raabe, mononymously known as singer, songwriter Sigrid, born in Ålesund, Norway ~ Cites Adele, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young as influences. Debuted with the EP Don't Kill My Vibe in 2017. Scored a UK top 10 hit with Strangers. Followed through with a full-length debut album, Sucker Punch, in 2019
September 5, 1994 ~ Singer Brandy releases I Wanna Be Down, lead single of her eponymous debut album ~ Upon the release of her debut single, Cashbox predicted the then-15-year-old Brandy, previously known as a child actress and backing singer, would be the next big thing in the R&B market by mixing a traditional R&B style with a hip-hop groove. They would be right, as Brandy scored about half a dozen Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits through the early 2000s, starting with I Wanna Be Down peaking at No.6. The singer's eponymous debut album would eventually sell some six million copies