Pick a Day

Born on February 3

1990 Sean Kingston is born Kisean Anderson in Miami. His pop-reggae sound gets the attention of producer J.R. Rotem, who signs him to his label and issues his first single, "Beautiful Girls," in 2007. The song goes to #1 and leads to a run of hits that lasts through 2013, but in 2025 Kingston is convicted of wire fraud after exploiting his celebrity to steal luxury goods.

1977 Reggaeton star Daddy Yankee is born Ramon Rodriguez in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

1959 Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst of The Cure is born in Horley, Surrey, England. A founding member, he starts out on drums, then moves to keyboards before he is sacked by Robert Smith in 1989.

1956 Lee Ranaldo (guitarist for Sonic Youth) is born in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York.

1949 Arthur Kane (bass guitarist for New York Dolls) is born in The Bronx, New York City.

1947 Dave Davies (lead guitarist for The Kinks) is born in Fortis Green, London, England.

1947 Folk singer Melanie is born Melanie Safka in Queens, New York. She makes a big impact at Woodstock, where she plays on the muddy first day, inspiration for her song "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)."

1945 Johnny Cymbal is born John Hendry Blair in Ochiltree, Ayrshire, Scotland.

1943 Dennis Edwards (of The Temptations) is born in Fairfield, Alabama. He replaces lead singer David Ruffin in 1968.

1943 Eric Haydock (original bass guitarist for The Hollies) is born in Stockport, Cheshire, England.

1943 Folk rocker Shawn Phillips is born in Fort Worth, Texas. He starts his music career as a session musician for Donovan.

1940 Angelo D'Aleo (of Dion & The Belmonts) is born in the Belmont neighborhood of The Bronx, New York City.

1935 Blues rocker Johnny "Guitar" Watson is born in Houston, Texas.

1928 Pop singer Frankie Vaughan is born Frank Ableson in Liverpool, England.

1920 Actor/singer Russell Arms is born in Berkeley, California. In the '50s, he becomes a popular vocalist on the NBC series Your Hit Parade.

1809 German composer Felix Mendelssohn is born in Hamburg.