Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

August 3, 1936 Kenny Hodges (bass guitarist for Spanky and Our Gang) is born in Jacksonville, Florida.

July 30, 1936 Buddy Guy, a blues musician who starts his career in the '60s as the house guitarist for Chess Records, is born in Lettsworth, Louisiana. He's most successful in the '90s, when he issues a string of Grammy-winning albums with guest appearances by many of his admirers, including Eric Clapton and Bonnie Raitt.

July 15, 1936 H. B. Barnum is born in Houston, Texas. A child star, he makes his foray into music as "Pee Wee Barnum" and later becomes a sought-after arranger for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and The Supremes.

July 15, 1936 Country singer Tommy Dee is born in Vicker, Virginia. In 1959, he writes the hit "Three Stars" in honor of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, who tragically died in a plane crash earlier that year.

July 7, 1936 Tommy Dee, known for the 1959 hit "Three Stars," a tribute to the late Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper, is born in Vicker, Virginia.

June 28, 1936 Pop singer Cathy Carr is born Angelina Helen Catherine Cordovano in The Bronx, New York City. Known for the 1956 hit "Ivory Tower."

June 22, 1936 Kris Kristofferson is born in Brownsville, Texas.

June 19, 1936 Shirley Goodman (of Shirley & Lee, Shirley & Company) is born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

June 14, 1936 Renaldo "Obie" Benson (bass vocalist of The Four Tops) is born in Detroit, Michigan.

June 11, 1936 Jud Strunk, comedian and songwriter known for the 1973 ballad "Daisy A Day," is born in Jamestown, New York.

June 8, 1936 Teen idol James Darren is born James William Ercolani in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He rises to fame playing Moondoggie alongside Sandra Dee's Gidget and releases a string of pop records like the 1961 hit "Goodbye Cruel World."

June 6, 1936 Levi Stubbs (lead vocalist for The Four Tops) is born in Detroit, Michigan.

June 2, 1936 Doo wop singer Otis Williams (of The Charms), not to be confused with The Temptations member of the same name, is born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

May 25, 1936 Country singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall, who penned the smash hit "Harper Valley P.T.A.," is born in Olive Hill, Kentucky.

May 16, 1936 Doo wop singer Corinthian "Kripp" Johnson (of The Dell-Vikings) is born in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

May 14, 1936 Rock and roll singer Charlie Gracie, known for the 1957 hit "Butterfly," is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

May 7, 1936 Soul singer Jimmy Ruffin is born in Collinsville, Mississippi, to a family that will later include younger brother David Ruffin (of The Temptations).

May 2, 1936 English pop singer Engelbert Humperdinck is born Arnold George Dorsey in Madras, British India (present-day Chennai, India). He'll borrow his stage name from the German composer of the 1893 opera Hansel and Gretel.

April 29, 1936 Pop singer April Stevens is born Carol LoTempio in Niagara Falls, New York. She and her brother, Nino Tempo, will perform as a duo and win a Grammy Award for the 1963 single "Deep Purple."

April 17, 1936 "Robbin' the Cradle" (1959) singer Tony Bellus is born Anthony J. Bellusci in Chicago, Illinois.

April 16, 1936 Country entertainer Judy Lynn is born Judy Lynn Voiten in Boise, Idaho.

April 10, 1936 R&B singer Bobbie Smith (of The Spinners) is born in Detroit, Michigan.

April 4, 1936 Margo Sylvia, lead singer of The Tune Weavers (known for the 1957 hit "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby"), is born Margo Lopez.

March 26, 1936 Fred Parris, a founder of The Five Satins and composer of their hit "In The Still Of The Nite," is born in Connecticut.

March 22, 1936 Roger Whittaker is born in Nairobi, British Kenya.

March 15, 1936 Songwriter Howard Greenfield ("Breaking Up Is Hard To Do," "Oh! Carol") is born in Brooklyn, New York.

March 9, 1936 Country singer Mickey Gilley is born in Mississippi. His Gilley's Club outside of Houston is the setting for much of the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy.

March 4, 1936 Eric Allandale (of The Foundations) is born in Dominica, West Indies.

January 30, 1936 German jazz pianist Horst Jankowski is born in Berlin.

January 28, 1936 Country singer Bill Phillips, known for the 1966 hit "Put It Off Until Tomorrow," is born in Canton, North Carolina.