Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

September 13, 1918 Actor/singer Dick Haymes is born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Co-starred in the 1945 musical State Fair and recorded a string of duets with swing singer Helen Forrest during WWII.

August 25, 1918 Composer Leonard Bernstein is born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Known for his work on Broadway smashes West Side Story, Peter Pan and On the Town, among others.

July 31, 1918 Jazz pianist Hank Jones is born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. In addition to releasing over 60 albums, he also accompanies Marilyn Monroe as she famously sings "Happy Birthday, Mr. President," to John F. Kennedy on May 19, 1962.

May 15, 1918 Country singer Eddy Arnold is born on a farm near Hendersonville, Tennessee.

April 18, 1918 Guitarist Tony Mottola, known for working with Frank Sinatra and Perry Como, is born in Kearny, New Jersey.

April 11, 1918 Jazz bassist Jimmy Lewis is born in Nashville, Tennessee. Known for working with the Count Basie Orchestra, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Sam Cooke, and King Curtis, among others.

March 29, 1918 Actress/singer Pearl Bailey is born in Virginia.

March 21, 1918 Jazz pianist Charles Thompson is born in Springfield, Ohio.

March 20, 1918 Jazz pianist Marian McPartland is born Margaret Marian Turner in Slough, Berkshire, England. In 1978, she becomes the host of NPR's long-running radio show Piano Jazz.

February 16, 1918 Patty Andrews (lead singer of The Andrews Sisters) is born in Mound, Minnesota.

February 15, 1918 Country singer Hank Locklin ("Please Help Me, I'm Falling", "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On") is born in McLellan, Florida.

January 27, 1918 Lyle "Skitch" Henderson is born on a farm near Halstad, Minnesota. As a pianist and composer, he will work with the likes of Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby.

January 27, 1918 Elmore James is born Elmore Brooks in Richland, Mississippi.

December 2, 1917 Jazz singer Sylvia Syms is born Sylvia Blagman in Brooklyn, New York. In 1956 she lands her breakthrough hit with a cover of "I Could Have Danced All Night."

November 29, 1917 Merle Travis, writer and original performer of "Sixteen Tons," is born in Rosewood, Kentucky.

November 27, 1917 Howdy Doody host "Buffalo" Bob Smith is born Robert Emil Schmidt in Brooklyn, New York.

November 26, 1917 Nesuhi Ertegun, producer/executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International, is born in Istanbul, Turkey.

November 12, 1917 Traditional pop singer Jo Stafford is born in Coalinga, California.

October 21, 1917 Jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie is born John Birks Gillespie in Cheraw, South Carolina.

October 10, 1917 Jazz pianist/composer Thelonious Monk is born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Composed many jazz standards, including "Round Midnight," "Ruby, My Dear" and "Well, You Needn't," to name a few.

August 23, 1917 Country/Western swing musician Tex Williams is born Sollie Paul Williams in Ramsey, Illinois. Known for the 1947 novelty song "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)."

August 22, 1917 Bluesman John Lee Hooker is born in Coahoma County, Mississippi.

August 3, 1917 Jazz trumpeter Les Elgart is born in New Haven, Connecticut.

June 30, 1917 Lena Horne is born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York.

May 28, 1917 Papa John Creach (violinist of Hot Tuna, Jefferson Starship) is born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

May 14, 1917 Norman Luboff, a film and TV composer who also recorded with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Doris Day, is born in Chicago, Illinois.

April 12, 1917 Helen Forrest (girl singer of the Swing Era for Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and Harry James), is born Helen Fogel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

April 7, 1917 Jazz percussionist Mongo Santamaria, known for composing the jazz standard "Afro Blue," is born Ramon Santamaria Rodriguez in Havana, Cuba.

April 2, 1917 Italian American singer Lou Monte is born in Manhattan, New York.

March 26, 1917 Funky soul singer Rufus Thomas, known for his recordings at Stax Records, is born in Mississippi.