Pick a Day

8 DECEMBER

In Music History

1950 Dan Hartman is born in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The "I Can Dream About You" singer also pens hits for other artists, including "Free Ride" for Edgar Winter Group and "Living In America" for James Brown.

1949 Ray Shulman (of Gentle Giant) is born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England.

1947 Geoff Daking (drummer for Blues Magoos) is born.

1947 Gregg Allman (of The Allman Brothers Band) is born in Nashville, Tennessee.

1944 George Baker is born Johannes Bouwens in Hoorn, Netherlands. His group George Baker Selection scores a hit with their debut single, "Little Green Bag," which is later revived in the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs in 1992.

1943 Jim Morrison is born James Douglas Morrison in Melbourne, Florida. He becomes lead singer of The Doors.

1943 Graham Knight (original bass player for Marmalade) is born in Glasgow, Scotland.

1941 Bobby Elliott (drummer for The Hollies) is born in Burnley, Lancashire, England.

1939 Jerry Butler (lead singer of The Impressions) is born in Sunflower, Mississippi. He moves to Chicago, where he sings in a church choir with future bandmate Curtis Mayfield.

1925 Jazz organist Jimmy Smith is born in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He helps popularize the Hammond B-3 electric organ in the '60s.

1925 Sammy Davis, Jr. is born in New York City. By the age of 3, he is a vaudeville performer alongside his father in the Will Mastin Trio. An all-around entertainer, he excels as a singer, actor and comedian, often performing with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin as part of The Rat Pack. His most famous song is "The Candy Man," a #1 hit in 1972.

1914 Floyd Tillman, forerunner of western swing and honky tonk, is born in Ryan, Oklahoma, and grows up in Post, Texas.

1828 Martha Ella Blocksom, subject of the song "Lorena," is born in Zanesville, Ohio.