Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

November 18, 1927 Hank Ballard, who wrote and originally recorded "The Twist," is born John Henry Kendricks in Detroit, Michigan. He is raised in Birmingham, Alabama.

November 11, 1927 Jazz-blues singer and pianist Mose Allison is born on his grandfather's farm near Tippo, Mississippi.

November 8, 1927 Ken Dodd, comedian and UK hitmaker, is born in Liverpool, England.

November 8, 1927 Patti Page is born in Claremore, Oklahoma.

October 28, 1927 Jazz singer Cleo Laine is born Clementine Dinah Bullock in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England.

October 23, 1927 Jazz alto saxophonist William "Sonny" Criss is born in Memphis, Tennessee. He goes on to play with the likes of Charlie Parker, Johnny Otis, and Billy Eckstine.

October 13, 1927 Country singer Anita Kerr, leader of The Anita Kerr Singers, is born Anita Jean Grilli in Memphis, Tennessee. Her group will perform backing vocals for Red Foley, Ernest Tubb, Roy Orbison, and Willie Nelson, among others.

October 12, 1927 Guitarist Joe Olivier (of Bill Haley And His Comets) is born in Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands.

October 7, 1927 Jazz/pop singer Al Martino is born Jasper Cini in Philadelphia. He plays the Sinatra-like Johnny Fontane in The Godfather.

September 1, 1927 Doo-wop singer Tommy Evans (of The Drifters) is born. He's part of the lineup that releases the 1957 hit "Fools Fall in Love."

August 29, 1927 Country singer Jimmy C. Newman is born near Big Mamou, Louisiana. Known for the 1957 hit "A Fallen Star."

August 12, 1927 Porter Wagoner is born in West Plains, Missouri. He becomes famous as a country singer and host of The Porter Wagoner Show, where he introduces Dolly Parton.

July 27, 1927 Bob Morse (of the Jazz/Pop vocal group The Hi-Lo's) is born in Pasadena, California.

July 16, 1927 '40s and '50s pop vocalist Mindy Carson is born in New York City. She catches her big break when she wins an audition to the radio program Stairway to the Stars, landing her an eight-month gig with Paul Whiteman's orchestra.

July 12, 1927 Jazz trumpeter Conte Candoli is born in Mishawaka, Indiana.

July 9, 1927 Sixties pop singer Ed Ames ("My Cup Runneth Over") is born Edmund Dantes Urick in Malden, Massachusetts.

June 12, 1927 Jazz musician Al Fairweather is born in Edinburgh, Scotland.

June 3, 1927 Boots Randolph, popular saxophonist and pioneer of the Nashville Sound, is born Homer Louis Randolph III in Paducah, Kentucky.

May 25, 1927 Norman Petty, recording engineer for Buddy Holly, is born in Clovis, New Mexico. He'll also produce hits for Roy Orbison and Waylon Jennings.

May 7, 1927 '50s pop singer-songwriter Jim Lowe is born in Springfield, Missouri.

April 22, 1927 Caribbean singer Laurel Aitken, aka "The Godfather of Ska," is born Lorenzo Aitken in Cuba, but will settle in Jamaica.

April 6, 1927 Jazz musician Gerry Mulligan is born in Queens, New York City.

March 8, 1927 Jazz pianist/composer Dick Hyman is born in New York City.

February 22, 1927 Guy Mitchell is born Al Cernick in Detroit. He has a string of hit songs in the lead-up to the Rock Era: "My Heart Cries for You," "My Truly, Truly Fair" and "She Wears Red Feathers" among them.

February 13, 1927 Jim McReynolds (of the bluegrass duo Jim and Jesse) is born in Coeburn, Virginia.

February 2, 1927 Jazz saxophonist Stan Getz is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

January 28, 1927 Jazz tenor saxophonist Ronnie Scott is born Ronald Schatt in Aldgate, England.

January 17, 1927 Eartha Kitt is born in North, South Carolina.

January 13, 1927 Country singer-songwriter Liz Anderson is born in Roseau, Minnesota. Aside from her own hit "Mama Spank" (1964), she pens hits for other artists, including Merle Haggard ("(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers") and her own daughter, Lynn Anderson ("If I Kiss You (Will You Go Away)").

January 10, 1927 Singer/violinist Gisele MacKenzie is born in Winnipeg. She finds popularity as a guest on several TV shows throughout the '50s, including The Jack Benny Program and Your Hit Parade.