Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

September 28, 1943 Nick St. Nicholas (of Steppenwolf) is born Klaus Karl Kassbaum is born in Plön, Germany. Nick's family will flee to Toronto, Canada, after his father's involvement in Operation Valkyrie, the failed mission to overthrow Adolf Hitler, makes his dad an assassination target.

September 25, 1943 Gary Jules Alexander (of The Association) is born in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

September 23, 1943 John Banks (drummer for The Merseybeats) is born in Liverpool, England.

September 23, 1943 Steve Boone (bassist for The Lovin' Spoonful) is born at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

September 23, 1943 Julio Iglesias is born in Madrid, Spain.

September 22, 1943 Toni Basil is born Antonia Christina Basilotta in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

September 19, 1943 "Mama" Cass Elliot is born Ellen Naomi Cohen in Baltimore, Maryland. The name Cass comes from her father, who calls her "the mad Cassandra." She becomes Mama Cass when she joins The Mamas & The Papas in 1965. After landing a string of hits with the group, she launches a solo career in 1968 and becomes a regular on TV talk and variety shows as both a guest and host. She has her own nightclub act when she dies from a heart attack in 1974 at 32.

September 13, 1943 Ray Elliot (keyboardist/saxophonist/flautist for Them) is born in Belfast, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland.

September 12, 1943 Singer Maria Muldaur, known for her 1973 hit "Midnight At The Oasis," is born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato in Greenwich Village, New York City.

September 11, 1943 Mickey Hart (one of the drummers for Grateful Dead) is born Michael Steven Hartman in Brooklyn but would be raised in Long Island, New York.

September 6, 1943 Roger Waters of Pink Floyd is born George Roger Waters in Great Bookham, Surrey, England. A founding member of the group, he takes creative control starting with their 1979 masterpiece The Wall, alienating his bandmates along the way. He leaves in 1985 and is gobsmacked when they soldier on without him, led by David Gilmour.

September 2, 1943 Soul/R&B singer Joe Simon is born in Simmesport, Louisiana. Known for the Grammy Award-winning song "The Chokin' Kind" (1969).

September 2, 1943 R&B singer Rosalind Ashford (of Martha and the Vandellas) is born in Detroit, Michigan.

August 29, 1943 Jazz/rock musician Dick Halligan (of Blood, Sweat & Tears) is born in Troy, New York.

August 28, 1943 Ann "Honey" Lantree (drummer and singer for The Honeycombs) is born in Hayes, Middlesex, England.

August 28, 1943 Actor/singer David Soul is born David Richard Solberg Jr in Chicago, Illinois. Soul played "Hutch" to Paul Michael Glaser's "Starsky" in the '70s crime series, Starsky & Hutch.

August 24, 1943 John Cipollina (lead guitarist for Quicksilver Messenger Service) is born in Berkeley, California.

August 19, 1943 Rock 'n roller Billy J. Kramer (of Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas) is born William Howard Ashton in Bootle, Lancashire, England.

August 19, 1943 Pop singer Don Fardon (of The Sorrows) is born Donald Maughn in Coventry, Warwickshire, England.

August 18, 1943 Carl Wayne (lead singer for The Move) is born Colin David Tooley in Winson Green, Birmingham, England.

August 11, 1943 Songwriter Kenny Gamble is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Co-wrote a string of popular Soul hits with Leon Huff, including "If You Don't Know Me By Now," "Back Stabbers" and "Me and Mrs. Jones."

August 11, 1943 Jim Kale (bassist for The Guess Who) is born Michael James Kale in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

August 11, 1943 Saxophonist Denis Payton (of The Dave Clark Five) is born in Walthamstow, North London, England.

August 10, 1943 Singer-songwriter James Griffin (of Bread) is born Cincinnati, Ohio.

August 7, 1943 Pop singer Lana Cantrell is born in Sydney, Australia.

August 5, 1943 Country music singer/songwriter Sammi Smith is born Jewel Faye Smith in Orange County, California.

August 4, 1943 David Carr (keyboardist for The Fortunes) is born in Leyton, London, England.

August 2, 1943 Kathy Lennon (of The Lennon Sisters) is born in Los Angeles, California. Had hits with "Tonight You Belong to Me" and "Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)."

July 31, 1943 Seventies singer-songwriter Lobo is born Roland Kent LaVoie in Tallahassee, Florida.

July 28, 1943 Guitarist Mike Bloomfield is born in Chicago. He plays on Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited and joins The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.