Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

October 17, 1909 Jazz drummer Cozy Cole is born William Randolph Cole in East Orange, New Jersey.

August 17, 1909 Trumpeter/bandleader Larry Clinton is born in Brooklyn, New York.

August 15, 1909 Composer/arranger Hugo Winterhalter is born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

August 10, 1909 Inventor Leo Fender, who founded Fender Musical Instruments, is born in Anaheim, California.

July 18, 1909 Harriet Nelson is born Peggy Lou Snyder in Des Moines, Iowa. Before starring on the long-running sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, alongside husband Ozzie Nelson, Harriet works as a singe and actress under contract with RKO Studios.

June 26, 1909 Colonel Tom Parker, the controversial talent manager who managed Elvis Presley's career, is born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk in Breda, Netherlands.

June 14, 1909 Burl Ives is born in Jasper County, Illinois.

May 26, 1909 Delta bluesman "Papa Charlie" McCoy is born in Jackson, Mississippi.

May 10, 1909 Maybelle Carter, matriarch of The Carter Family clan and mother to June Carter Cash, is born Maybelle Addington in Nickelsville, Virginia.

February 9, 1909 Carmen Miranda is born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha in Marco de Canaveses, Portugal.

January 15, 1909 Jazz drummer Gene Krupa is born in Chicago, Illinois.

January 13, 1909 Jazz trombonist Quentin "Butter" Jackson is born in Springfield, Ohio. He starts his music career playing with Cab Calloway and later the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

January 3, 1909 Victor Borge - pianist, conductor and comedian - is born Borge Rosenbaum in Copenhagen, Denmark.

October 10, 1908 Johnny Green, songwriter, composer, arranger and conductor, is born in New York City. Known for his 1930 composition "Body and Soul."

July 24, 1908 Duke Ellington's innovative trumpeter Cootie Williams is born in Mobile, Alabama.

July 8, 1908 Bandleader Louis Jordan, whose jazz and blues music leads to rock and roll, is born in Brinkley, Arkansas.

April 20, 1908 Jazz musician Lionel Hampton is born in Louisville, Kentucky.

April 7, 1908 Composer and arranger Percy Faith is born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

March 31, 1908 Jazz vibraphonist Red Norvo is born Kenneth Norville in Beardstown, Illinois.

January 26, 1908 Violinist Stephane Grappelli, who forms the jazz group Quintette du Hot Club de France along with guitarist Django Reinhardt, is born in Paris, France.

January 19, 1908 Comedian and cornet player Ish Kabibble is born Merwyn Bogue in North East, Pennsylvania. He borrows his stage name from the novelty song "Isch ga-bibble," a play on a Yiddish expression meaning "I should worry?"

January 16, 1908 Broadway entertainer Ethel Merman is born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann in Astoria, Queens.

January 14, 1908 Russ Columbo is born Ruggiero Eugenio di Rodolfo Colombo in Camden, New Jersey.

December 25, 1907 Jazz singer Cab Calloway is born Cabell Calloway III in Rochester, New York. He would grow up in Baltimore, Maryland.

December 3, 1907 Connee Boswell (of the '30s jazz trio The Boswell Sisters) is born in Kansas City, Missouri.

November 21, 1907 Songwriter, arranger Buck Ram is born Samuel Ram in Chicago, Illinois. Known for his work with The Platters, among other greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller. (You can also spot him under the pseudonyms Ande Rand, Lynn Paul and Jean Miles.)

November 10, 1907 Actress/singer Jane Froman is born in University City, Missouri. She would inspire the 1952 film With a Song in My Heart: The Jane Froman Story, starring Susan Hayward.

October 14, 1907 Singer/actor Allan Jones, the father of pop singer Jack Jones, is born in Old Forge, Pennsylvania.

October 5, 1907 Pop cover singer Mrs. Miller is born Elva Ruby Connes in Joplin, Missouri. Known for her version of Petula Clark's "Downtown," one of many off-key song renditions Miller was both celebrated and criticized for.

August 8, 1907 Jazz musician Benny Carter is born in Harlem, New York.