Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

February 8, 1938 R&B singer Ray Sharpe is born in Fort Worth, Texas.

February 1, 1938 Jimmy Carl Black (drummer, vocalist for Mothers of Invention) is born James Carl Inkanish, Jr. in El Paso, Texas.

January 30, 1938 Country singer Norma Jean is born in Wellston, Oklahoma. She is a regular singer on The Porter Wagoner Show from 1961-1967. Her replacement: Dolly Parton.

January 23, 1938 Eugene Church (lead singer of the Fellows) is born in St. Louis, Missouri. Known for the 1958 R&B hit "Pretty Girls Everywhere."

January 14, 1938 Country singer Billie Jo Spears is born in Beaumont, Texas. Her first hit is "Mr. Walker It's All Over" in 1969.

January 14, 1938 Allen Toussaint is born in New Orleans, where he makes a mark as a piano player, producer and songwriter. He plays on "Lady Marmalade" and writes "Southern Nights."

January 14, 1938 Jack Jones is born in Hollywood, California, to actor Allan Jones and actress Irene Hervey.

January 7, 1938 Rory Storm (lead singer of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes) is born Alan Caldwell in Liverpool, England.

December 30, 1937 Folk singer-songwriter Noel "Paul" Stookey (of Peter, Paul and Mary) is born in Baltimore, Maryland.

December 30, 1937 John Hartford - bluegrass, folk and country musician - is born John Harford in New York City, New York. On the advice of record producer Chet Atkins, he would add the 't' to his name.

December 25, 1937 O'Kelly Isley Jr., the eldest of The Isley Brothers, is born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

December 17, 1937 Art Neville, keyboard player with The Neville Brothers, is born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

November 30, 1937 Country singer Frank Ifield is born in Coundon, Warwickshire, England to Australian parents. Known for a string of '60s hits, including "I Remember You" and "Lovesick Blues."

November 30, 1937 Jimmy Bowen, producer of Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night," is born in Santa Rita, New Mexico. He starts his music career as a teen idol, singing the 1957 hit "I'm Stickin' With You."

November 30, 1937 Soul singer Luther Ingram is born in Jackson, Tennessee.

November 19, 1937 Geoff Goddard (keyboardist on The Tornados' "Telstar") is born in Reading, Berkshire, England. Wrote John Leyton's hit UK single "Johnny Remember Me" (1961).

November 17, 1937 Gerry McGee (lead guitarist for The Ventures) is born in Eunice, Louisiana.

November 15, 1937 R&B singer Little Willie John is born William Edward (or Edgar) John in Cullendale, Arkansas, but would be raised in Detroit, Michigan. Known for hits like "Need Your Love So Bad" and "Fever," famously covered by Fleetwood Mac and Peggy Lee, respectively.

November 9, 1937 Roger McGough (of The Scaffold) is born in Litherland, Lancashire, England.

November 6, 1937 Eugene Pitt (founding member of The Jive Five) is born in Brooklyn, New York.

November 2, 1937 R&B vocalist Earl "Speedoo" Carroll (of The Cadillacs, The Coasters) is born in New York City.

November 1, 1937 "Whispering" Bill Anderson is born in Columbia, South Carolina, but is raised in Georgia. The soft-spoken country singer is known for chart-topping hits of the '60s and '70s such as "I Get the Fever," "For Loving You," and "Sometimes."

October 31, 1937 Doo-wopper Norman Wright (of The Del-Vikings) is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

October 31, 1937 Folk singer-songwriter Tom Paxton is born in Chicago, Illinois.

October 29, 1937 Sonny Osborne (of The Osborne Brothers) is born in Roark, Kentucky.

October 28, 1937 Graham Bond (of Graham Bond Organization), a forerunner of British R&B, is born in Romford, Essex, England.

October 25, 1937 Country singer Jeanne Black is born Gloria Jeanne Black in Pomona, California. Known for the 1960 hit "He'll Have to Stay."

October 24, 1937 Surf rocker Santo Farina (of Santo & Johnny) is born in Brooklyn, New York.

October 20, 1937 Wanda Jackson, the "Queen of Rockabilly," is born in Maud, Oklahoma. Known for her fiery, high-volume rasp, she influences Elvis, Adele, and many other singers. Jackson is inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2009.

October 19, 1937 Country/rockabilly singer Jerry Jaye is born in Manila, Arkansas. Known for a hit '60s cover of Fats Domino's "My Girl Josephine."