Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

November 15, 1972 Harry Chapin's son Josh is born, which gives him a new appreciation for the poem his wife Sandy wrote (about her ex-husband) called "Cat's In The Cradle." Harry puts music to the poem and it becomes his biggest hit.

October 19, 1972 Pras Michel is born in Brooklyn, New York, raised in Irvington, New Jersey. In 1990 he forms Fugees with Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill, and in 1998 he has a solo hit with "Ghetto Superstar (That Is What You Are)." Pras makes news in 2023 when he's caught up in a foreign influence and political conspiracy scheme for which he's sentenced to 14 years in prison.

October 10, 1972 Vinnie Tattanelli (drummer for Nine Days) is born in Brooklyn, New York.

September 26, 1972 Shawn Stockman (of Boyz II Men) is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

September 23, 1972 Noted hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri is born in Asheville, North Carolina. He'll work with Mariah Carey, Usher, Jay-Z, and Janet Jackson, among others.

September 21, 1972 David Silveria, Korn's drummer drummer from their founding in 1993 until his departure in 2006, is born in San Leandro, California.

September 21, 1972 Liam Gallagher is born William John Paul Gallagher in Burnage, Manchester, England. He forms Oasis with his older brother, Noel.

September 8, 1972 Neil Young's girlfriend, the actress Carrie Snodgrass, gives birth to his first child, a son Zeke, who has cerebral palsy. His next child, Ben, also has the condition.

August 22, 1972 Alt rocker Paul Doucette (of Matchbox Twenty) is born in North Huntington, Pennsylvania.

August 16, 1972 Emily Robison of the The Chicks is born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

August 15, 1972 Michael "Mikey" Graham (of Boyzone) is born in Raheny, County Dublin, Ireland.

August 9, 1972 Arion Salazar (bass guitarist for Third Eye Blind) is born in Oakland, California.

August 6, 1972 Geri Halliwell (The Spice Girls' "Ginger Spice") is born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England.

July 20, 1972 Vitamin C is born Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey.

July 4, 1972 William Goldsmith (drummer for Foo Fighters) is born in Seattle, Washington.

June 25, 1972 Mike Kroeger (bassist for Nickelback) is born in Hanna, Alberta, Canada.

June 9, 1972 Puddle Of Mudd leader Wes Scantlin is born in Kansas City, Missouri. After getting a demo tape to Fred Durst in 1999, he signs with Durst's label and, with a new band lineup, releases their debut album, Come Clean, with the hits "Blurry" and "She Hates Me."

May 21, 1972 The Notorious B.I.G., aka Biggie Smalls, is born Christopher George Latore Wallace in Brooklyn, New York. He releases just one solo album before he is murdered in 1997, but leaves a legacy as one of the most creative and distinctive rappers of his time.

May 20, 1972 Rapid-fire rapper Busta Rhymes is born Trevor George Smith Jr. in Brooklyn, New York. Chuck D of Public Enemy provides his stage name, which comes from a college football player named George "Buster" Rhymes.

May 19, 1972 Jenny Berggren (lead singer of Ace of Base) is born Jenny Cecilia Petrén in Gothenburg, Sweden.

May 8, 1972 Darren Hayes (frontman for Savage Garden) is born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

May 4, 1972 Green Day bass player Mike Dirnt is born Michael Pritchard in Berkeley, California, where he is adopted by a couple from nearby El Sobrante.

April 13, 1972 Staind frontman Aaron Lewis is born in Rutland City, Vermont, raised in Massachusetts.

April 8, 1972 Bass player Paul Gray, a founding member of Slipknot, is born in Los Angeles but is raised in Des Moines, Iowa, where he forms the band. Gray is just 38 when he dies from a drug overdose in 2010.

April 4, 1972 Magnus Sveningsson (bass guitarist for The Cardigans) is born in Falkoping, Sweden.

April 4, 1972 Jill Scott is born in Philadelphia, where she makes the scene in the late '90s collaborating with The Roots. In 2000 she releases her debut solo album, Who Is Jill Scott?, with the single "A Long Walk." She later moves into acting, with roles on the TV series Girlfriends and the movie Why Did I Get Married?

March 17, 1972 Bass player Melissa Auf der Maur is born in Montreal, Quebec. She's in Courtney Love's group Hole from 1994-1999, and does a stint in Smashing Pumpkins from 1999-2000.

March 15, 1972 Mark Hoppus (bassist, co-lead vocalist of blink-182) is born in Ridgecrest, California.

March 13, 1972 Rapper Common is born Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. in Chicago, Illinois.

March 10, 1972 Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley is born in Norfolk, Virginia. In the '90s, he makes a name for himself producing tracks for Aaliyah and Ginuwine; the next decade finds him crafting hits for Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, and many others.