Pick a Day

Born on May 3

1987 Michael Kiwanuka is born in the Muswell Hill area of North London, where he's raised by his Ugandan parents. After touring as Adele's opening act, he wins the BBC Sound Of 2012 poll (over Frank Ocean and Azealia Banks) and releases his debut album, Home Again. In 2016 he goes to #1 in the UK with his second album, Love & Hate.

1981 Josh Tillman is born in Rockville, Maryland. He is the drummer for Fleet Foxes before going solo as Father John Misty.

1977 Country singer Eric Church is born in Granite Falls, North Carolina. After forming a band called the Mountain Boys as a student at Appalachian State University, he moves to Nashville and releases his debut album, Sinners Like Me, in 2006. His star turn comes in 2011 with his album Chief, which includes two of his most enduring songs, "Drink In My Hand" and "Springsteen."

1964 Sterling Campbell is born in New York City. An accomplished drummer, he has stints in several bands including Duran Duran, Soul Asylum and The B-52s.

1959 David Ball is born in Blackpool, England. Best known as half of the duo Soft Cell, he helps shape the sound of British electronic music, sticking with analog synthesizers as digital machines become the norm.

1953 Bruce Hall (bassist for REO Speedwagon) is born in Champaign, Illinois.

1951 '70s soft rocker Christopher Cross is born Christopher Charles Geppert in San Antonio, Texas.

1950 Mary Hopkin is born in Pontardawe, Wales. She signs with The Beatles' Apple Records in 1968 after a winning performance on the UK TV competition show Opportunity Knocks, and releases her first single, "Those Were The Days," later that year.

1948 John Richardson (drummer for the Rubettes) is born in South Ockendon, Essex, England.

1944 Pete Staples (bass guitarist for The Troggs) is born in Andover, Hampshire, England.

1934 '60s pop singer Frankie Valli (of The Four Seasons) is born Francesco Stephen Castelluccio in Newark, New Jersey.

1933 James Brown is born in Barnwell, South Carolina, raised in Augusta, Georgia. His '60s and '70s hits like "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and "Funky Drummer" break new ground with a percussive soul sound that lays the foundation for hip-hop when they're heavily sampled in the '80s and '90s. He's also an electrifying performer whose dazzling stage moves are emulated by the likes of Michael Jackson and Prince.

1928 Country singer Dave Dudley is born David Darwin Pedruska in Spencer, Wisconsin.

1926 Jazz trombonist Jimmy Cleveland, who would accompany Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, and James Brown, is born in Wartrace, Tennessee.

1921 Traditional pop vocalist Joe Ames (of The Ames Brothers) is born in Malden, Massachusetts.

1919 Pete Seeger is born in Manhattan. Throughout his career, Seeger champions folk music and uses the form to push for civil rights and environmental issues.

1917 Betty Comden is born Basya Cohen in Brooklyn. Along with her partner Adolph Green, she writes the screenplay for Singin' In The Rain along with many other musicals.

1903 Bing Crosby is born Harry Lillis Crosby Jr. in Tacoma, Washington.