Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

April 22, 1939 Pop/soul singer Mel Carter, known for the 1965 hit "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me," is born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

April 20, 1939 Singer-songwriter Johnny Tillotson is born in Jacksonville, Florida.

April 18, 1939 Pianist Glen Hardin is born in Wellington, Texas. In addition to playing with Buddy Holly's band The Crickets, Hardin will record with artists such as Elvis Presley, John Denver, Emmylou Harris, and Rick Nelson.

April 16, 1939 Dusty Springfield is born Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien in West Hampstead, North London, England.

April 15, 1939 Pop singer-songwriter Marty Wilde is born Reginald Leonard Smith in Blackheath, South London, England.

April 5, 1939 R&B singer Ronnie White (of The Miracles) is born in Detroit, Michigan.

April 5, 1939 Pop singer-songwriter Crispian St. Peters is born Robin Peter Smith in Swanley, Kent, England.

April 4, 1939 Jazz musician Hugh Masekela is born in Witbank, South Africa.

April 1, 1939 Rudolph Isley (of The Isley Brothers) is born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

March 13, 1939 Neil Sedaka is born in Brooklyn, New York.

February 15, 1939 Pop singer Alvin Cash is born in St. Louis, Missouri.

February 14, 1939 Country singer Razzy Bailey is born in Alabama.

February 12, 1939 Ray Manzarek (of The Doors) is born in Chicago, Illinois.

February 1, 1939 Bluegrass musician Del McCoury is born in York, Pennsylvania.

February 1, 1939 Jazz pianist Joe Sample (of The Crusaders) is born in Houston, Texas.

January 24, 1939 Ray Stevens is born Harold Ray Ragsdale in Clarkdale, Georgia.

January 19, 1939 Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers is born in Chicago, Illinois, the younger brother of future bandmate Don.

January 16, 1939 Ray Phillips (of The Nashville Teens) is born in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, South Wales.

January 12, 1939 William Lee Golden of The Oak Ridge Boys is born in Brewton, Alabama.

January 10, 1939 Actor Sal Mineo is born in New York City. His music connection is on the operatic stage, where he played in NBC Opera Theatre's 1954 production of Richard Strauss' Salome and directed Gian Carlo Menotti's The Medium in 1972.

January 10, 1939 Scott McKenzie ("San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)") is born Philip Wallach Blondheim in Jacksonville, Florida, but is raised in North Carolina.

January 7, 1939 Lefty Baker (guitarist, vocalist for Spanky & Our Gang) is born Eustace Britchforth in Roanoke, Virginia.

December 22, 1938 Country singer-songwriter Red Steagall is born Russell Steagall in Gainesville, Texas. He discovers Reba McEntire in 1975.

December 18, 1938 Chas Chandler (bassist for The Animals, Jimi Hendrix Experience) is born Bryan James Chandler in Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

December 12, 1938 Connie Francis is born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in Newark, New Jersey. A huge star in the late '50s and early '60s, she becomes the first woman to top the Hot 100 as a solo artist when "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" hits #1 in 1960. In 2025 she returns to the zeitgeist when her 1962 B-side ""Pretty Little Baby" goes viral on TikTok.

December 5, 1938 Singer-songwriter J.J. Cale, a forerunner of the Tulsa Sound, is born John Weldon Cale in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

December 1, 1938 Rock 'n roll drummer Sandy Nelson is born in Santa Monica, California. Aside from being a session drummer on such tunes as the Teddy Bears' "To Know Him Is To Love Him," he releases a string of Top 40 instrumental hits, including "Teen Beat" at #4 in 1959.

November 26, 1938 Ray Brown (of The Four Freshmen) is born.

November 19, 1938 Hank Medress (of The Tokens) is born in Brooklyn, New York.

November 17, 1938 Gordon Lightfoot is born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He breaks through in America with his 1970 song "If You Could Read My Mind," inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage.