Music History Events: Births
December 11, 1934 Bass baritone singer Curtis Williams (of The Penguins) is born in Los Angeles, California.
December 9, 1934 Bluesman Junior Wells is born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr. He is raised in West Memphis, Arkansas (where he may have also been born). He learns harmonica from his cousin, Junior Parker.
December 1, 1934 Soul singer Billy Paul ("Me And Mrs. Jones") is born in Philadelphia.
November 27, 1934 Al Jackson (of Booker T. & the MG's) is born in Memphis, Tennessee.
October 31, 1934 Rockabilly musician Ray Smith, known for the 1960 hit "Rockin' Little Angel," is born in Melber, Kentucky.
October 19, 1934 Dave Guard (of The Kingston Trio) is born Donald David Guard in San Francisco, California.
October 8, 1934 Baritone singer Doc Green (of The Drifters) is born in Harlem, New York.
October 1, 1934 Songwriter Geoff Stephens of The New Vaudeville Band is born in New Southgate, North London.
September 21, 1934 Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen is born in Westmount, Quebec, Canada.
September 19, 1934 Brian Epstein (Beatles manager) is born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England.
September 8, 1934 Country singer Bill Parsons is born in Crossville, Tennessee. Known for his association with Bobby Bare, who was the real voice on the 1959 hit "The All American Boy," which was mistakenly credited to co-writer Parsons.
September 3, 1934 Bluesman Freddie King is born in Gilmer, Texas. He is raised in Chicago's South Side.
August 20, 1934 Country/rock musician "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow (of The Flying Burrito Brothers) is born in South Bend, Indiana.
August 9, 1934 Country singer-songwriter Merle Kilgore is born in Chickasha, Oklahoma. Co-wrote "Ring of Fire" with June Carter Cash.
July 25, 1934 Jazz musician and composer Don Ellis is born in Los Angeles, California.
July 24, 1934 Jazz drummer Rudy Collins, who performed with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Cab Calloway, is born in New York City.
July 12, 1934 Pianist Van Cliburn is born in Shreveport, Louisiana. He rises to prominence when he wins the inaugural quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow.
July 2, 1934 Folk singer Tom Springfield (of The Springfields) is born Dionysius P. A. O'Brien in Hampstead, London, England. He'll welcome sister Dusty Springfield a few years later.
June 16, 1934 Carl "Little Caesar" Burnett (of Little Caesar & the Romans) is born.
June 11, 1934 R&B singer James "Pookie" Hudson (of The Spaniels) is born in Des Moines, Iowa.
June 9, 1934 Jackie Wilson is born in Detroit, Michigan.
June 1, 1934 Pat Boone (birth name: Charles Eugene Boone) is born in Jacksonville, Florida.More
May 23, 1934 Dr. Robert Moog, engineer and inventor of the Moog synthesizer, is born in New York City.
May 5, 1934 Saxophonist Ace Cannon, known for the 1962 hit "Tuff," is born in Grenade, Mississippi.
May 5, 1934 Johnnie Taylor is born in Crawfordsville, Arkansas.
May 3, 1934 '60s pop singer Frankie Valli (of The Four Seasons) is born Francesco Stephen Castelluccio in Newark, New Jersey.
May 1, 1934 Jazz singer and pianist Shirley Horn is born in Washington, DC.
April 29, 1934 Blues guitarist and singer Otis Rush is born in Philadelphia, Mississippi.
April 24, 1934 Country singer Red Foley and his second wife, Eva Alaine Overstake, welcome baby daughter Shirley Lee Foley. Shirley will marry pop singer Pat Boone in 1953.
April 19, 1934 Comedic songwriter Dickie Goodman is born in Brooklyn, New York. Known for spoofs like 1962's "Batman & His Grandmother" and a string of hits ribbing the popular TV series The Untouchables: "The Touchables," "The Touchables In Brooklyn," and "Santa And The Touchables."
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