Pick a Day

Music History Events: Births

September 6, 1961 Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, guitarist and songwriter of a-ha, is born in Oslo, Norway.

April 13, 1961 Hiro Yamamoto (original bass player for Soundgarden) is born in Park Forest, Illinois.

April 3, 1961 Eddie Murphy is born in New York City. In 1985, he has a hit with "Party All The Time," written and produced by Rick James. Murphy also makes the charts with the novelty song "Put Your Mouth On Me" and the Michael Jackson collaboration "Whatzupwitu."

June 24, 1960 Siedah Garrett, co-writer of Michael Jackson's "Man In The Mirror" and his duet partner on "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," is born in Los Angeles.

May 30, 1960 Stephen Duffy is born in Alum Rock, Birmingham, England. A founding member of Duran Duran, he leaves the band shortly before they are signed to EMI. He later finds moderate success as a solo artist under the name Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy with the song "Kiss Me."

April 25, 1960 Thrash metal singer Paul Baloff (of Exodus) is born in San Francisco, California.

April 10, 1960 Katrina Leskanich of Katrina & the Waves is born in Topeka, Kansas.

January 5, 1960 Phil Thornalley, "Torn" songwriter and producer of The Cure's Pornography album, is born in Worlington, near Mildenhall, Suffolk, England.

December 20, 1959 Jackie Fox is born Jacqueline Fuchs in California. She gives up a promising career in mathematics when she joins The Runaways as bass player at the age of 15, rather than taking early entry into UCLA. After leaving the band, she returns to her studies, graduating from UCLA and then Harvard - where she is a classmate of Barack Obama - and goes on to work as an entertainment lawyer.

October 10, 1959 Singer Kirsty MacColl, known for her vocals on the Pogues song "Fairytale Of New York," is born in Croydon, Surrey, England. Her dad is the folk singer Ewan MacColl.

September 16, 1959 Vicki Blue (Victory Tischler-Blue) is born in Newport Beach, California. In 1977 she joins The Runaways after bassist Jackie Fox leaves, and plays on their fourth album. After the breakup of the band, Blue goes on to forge a career as an actress: playing Cindy in the 1984 mockumentary movie This is Spinal Tap.

September 14, 1959 Morten Harket, lead singer of the synthpop group a-ha, is born in Kongsberg, Norway.

July 10, 1959 Sandy West is born Sandy Pesavento in Long Beach, California. Together with Joan Jett, she is a founding member of the teenage all-female rock band The Runaways, playing drums. After the band splits she leaves the music industry, and dies at the age of 47 from lung cancer.

April 11, 1959 Music producer and composer David Lowe, known for his compositions for BBC News themes, is born in Birmingham, England.

April 10, 1959 Brian Setzer (of Stray Cats, The Brian Setzer Orchestra) is born in Massapequa, New York.

January 7, 1959 Go-Go's guitarist/bassist Kathy Valentine is born in Austin, Texas.

August 22, 1958 Vernon Reid is born in London. He is raised in Brooklyn and forms the band Living Colour - he is the guitarist and a primary songwriter.

July 3, 1958 Country singer Aaron Tippin is born in Pensacola, Florida, but will be raised in Travelers Rest, South Carolina.

June 12, 1958 Meredith Brooks, best known for her 1997 hit "Bitch," is born in Oregon.

May 20, 1958 Jane Wiedlin (rhythm guitarist of The Go-Go's) is born in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

February 16, 1958 Ice-T (Tracy Marrow) is born in Newark, New Jersey. He takes his stage name in honor of a notorious poet/pimp named Iceberg Slim.

December 9, 1957 Donny Osmond is born in Ogden, Utah. At age 5, he starts performing with his brothers in their group The Osmonds; by 13, he's the star of the group with his own solo career.

September 22, 1957 Nick Cave is born in Warracknabeal, Australia, to teacher Colin Cave and librarian Dawn Cave. With his band The Bad Seeds, he releases music of artistic daring starting in 1983 and spanning decades, earning a cadre of appreciative fans while staying safely out of the mainstream.

August 22, 1957 Country singer-songwriter Holly Dunn is born in San Antonio, Texas.

July 11, 1957 Bauhaus lead singer Peter Murphy is born near Northampton, England.

January 25, 1957 Edmund Sylvers of The Sylvers is born in Memphis.

November 13, 1956 Guitarist Aldo Nova is born Aldo Caporuscio in Montreal.

September 29, 1956 Bob Carlisle of "Butterfly Kisses" fame is born in Santa Ana, California.

August 29, 1956 Underground rocker GG Allin is born in Lancaster, New Hampshire. He famously declares that he will end his life by committing suicide on stage, but ends up dying of a heroin overdose in 1993.

August 25, 1956 Matt Aitken of the songwriting team Stock Aitken Waterman is born in Coventry, England. Among their hits: "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley.