About maketodayrock.com: We celebrate musicians' birthdays, remember those we've lost, and highlight key moments in music such a release dates, chart peak dates, or anything else tied to a specific date. Pick any day from the menu in the top right. The front page shows recent obituaries.
December 10, 1986 ~ Kathryn Louise Allen, commonly known as folk, country folk singer, guitarist, pianist, songwriter Kate Wolf, passed away in San Francisco, California, USA ~ Member of Wildwood Flower. Half a dozen albums to her name, starting with Back Roads. Best known for songs such as Across The Great Divide, Unfinished Life, Green Eyes, and Give Yourself To Love. Had her songs covered by John Gorka, Nanci Griffith, Laurie McClain (Cornflower Blue), the Wild Coyotes, Cathy Cowette, Lucinda Williams (Here In California), Dave Alvin, Emmylou Harris (Love Still Remains), Sherry Austin, Eric Bogle, Kathy Mattea, and Billy Bragg (One By One) ~ Allen was born in 1942
December 10, 1986 ~ Natlia Alexandra Gutierrez Batista, commonly known as singer, songwriter Natti Natasha, born in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic ~ Influenced by Bob Marley, Jerry Rivera, Lauryn Hill, Ivy Queen. Released a debut EP, All About Me, in 2012. A full-length debut album, Illuminati, followed in 2019. Has worked with Don Omar, Daddy Yankee, Ozuna, Becky G, Bad Bunny, RKM & Ken-Y, Thalia, Cosculluela, Anitta, Kany Garcia, the Jonas Brothers, Sebastián Yatra, Farukko, Yandel, Tony Dize, Lapiz Conciente, Justin Quiles, and Lenny TavarezDecember 10, 1985 ~ Singer Meghan Linsey born in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA ~ Formed Steel Magnolia with her boyfriend Joshua Scott Jones, winning the 2008 CMT talent show Can You Duet. The duo is best known for Keep On Lovin' You which reached the Billboard Country top 10 in 2009
December 10, 1984 ~ Alternative metal, progressive metal drummer Billy Rymer born in Long Island, New York, USA ~ Best known as drummer of the Dillinger Escape Plan from 2009 until the band's disbandement in 2017. Has also worked with NK, No Machine, Glassjaw and with thoughtcrimes
December 10, 1982 ~ Country singer, pianist, accordionist Jimmy Riddle, full name James Lawrence Riddle, passed away in Nashville, Tennessee, USA ~ Among a loose collective dubbed the Nashville A-Team, consisting of Nashville's finest session musicians. Member of Roy Acuff's the Smoky Mountain Boys from 1943 onwards. Also known for regularly appearing on the country and comedy TV show Hee Haw, first aired in 1969, where he became known for the art of eefing, a vocal technique similar to beatboxing ~ Riddle was born in 1918December 10, 1982 ~ Alternative rock, pop punk, post-hardcore singer, guitarist, bassist Nick Martin, full name Nicholas Anthony Martin, born in San Diego, California, USA ~ Best known as member of Sleeping With Sirens and Underminded. Notably worked with short-lived post-hardcore supergroups Isles & Glaciers and DRUGS. Has also worked with Cinematic Sunrise, Oceans Upon Men, Benjamin Flew Down, In Fear And Faith, Pierce The Veil
December 10, 1979 ~ Singer, conductor, actress Tora Augestad, full name Tora Karen Elisabeth Augestad, born in Bergen, Norway ~ Acclaimed classical and opera mezzosoprano singer, venturing out into jazz, cabaret, musical theatre. Played the lead role in the musical Annie. Sang with the vocal ensemble Pitsj from 1999 through 2006. Lead singer of Music For A While since 2007. Recorded with the Oslo Philharmonic and sang with the Zurich Opera
December 10, 1978 ~ Rock band Van Halen begin recording their Van Halen II album at Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California ~ With their eponymous Van Halen having reached Platinum certification and just one week off their first tour, playing as a support act for Black Sabbath, Montrose, and Journey, and headlining shows at some of the European dates, the band head to the studio to begin recordings for their Van Halen II sophomore album. It would be completed within a week, and give the band their first Billboard Hot 100 top 20 hit with the party track Dance The Night Away peaking at No.15. The critically acclaimed album itself reached top 10 Billboard Hot 200 at the time, and would eventually sell over 5 million copies by the mid 2000sDecember 10, 1977 ~ Myrtle Louise Lincoln, commonly known as violist, violinist, pianist, composer Louise Lincoln Kerr, passed away in Cottonwood, Arizona, USA ~ Known as “the Grand Lady of Music” with over 100 works to her name including symphonic tone poems, chamber music, orchestral works, concertos, and ballets. Helped co-found several orchestras and institutions, most notably the Phoenix Symphony. Well known compositions include Arizona Profiles, Enchanted Mesa and Tableau Vivant ~ Lincoln was born in 1892
December 10, 1975 ~ Bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, Americana singer, guitarist, banjoist, songwriter Gill Landry, full name Gilbert John Landry, born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA ~ Toured and recorded with string band the Old Crow Medicine Show. Co-founding member of the Kitchen Syncopators. Has also recorded as a solo artist, starting with The Ballad Of Lawless Soirez in 2007
December 10, 1973 ~ Georgette Adjoavi Bellow, commonly known as singer Bella Bellow, passed away in Lilikopé, Togo ~ Released her sole album, Rockya, in 1969 consisting of a live set recorded in Paris. Has also worked with Manu Dibango, Angélique Kidjo, and Afia Mala. Bellow passed away at age 28 in a car crash ~ Bellow was born in 1945December 10, 1973 ~ Actress, singer, model Gabriela Spanic, full name Gabriela Elena Spanic Utrera, born in Ortiz, Venezuela ~ Best known as an actress, appearing in several telenovelas. Reached international fame in 1998 portraying the dual role of twins Paola and Paulina in La Usurpadora, the series would air in over 100 countries. Has recorded a handful of albums, notably Gabriela Spanic Total released in 2004
December 10, 1972 ~ Daren Jay Ashba, commonly known as guitarist, producer, songwriter DJ Ashba, born in Monticello, Indiana, USA ~ Worked with Guns 'n Roses, Sixx AM, Bulletboys, Beautiful Creatures, Mötley Crüe, Drowning Pool, Marion Raven, Aimee Allen, Neil Diamond, and Pyromantic
December 10, 1969 ~ Film composer, songwriter Leigh Harline, full name Leigh Adrian Harline, passed away in Long Beach, California, USA ~ First gained attention as film composer working with Disney, including on the original versions of Disney's first animated feature-length film 1937's Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs and 1940's Pinocchio. Would go on to work with other studios, scoring soundtracks for movies such as Mr Bug Goes To Town, Monkey Business, True Story, and The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm ~ Harline was born in 1907
December 10, 1967 ~ Bror Jan Alfredo Marcolin, commonly known as heavy metal, doom metal singer, drummer Messiah Marcolin, born in Helsingborg, Sweden ~ Known for his operatic voice and his signature “doom dance,” an exaggerated stomping motion. Lead singer of Candlemass, with whom he recorded about half a dozen albums since the mid-1980s. The band is acclaimed especially for their first two releases, Epicus Doomicus Metallicus and Nightfall. Has also worked with Mercy, Memento Mori, Therion (Theli), Destruction, and Amon Amarth
December 10, 1967 ~ Singer, songwriter Otis Redding, full name Otis Ray Redding Jr, passed away in Madison, Wisconsin, USA ~ Pivotal R&B, soul singer. Quit school at age 15 to join Little Richard's backing unit the Upsetters. Has also worked as a backup singer and driver with Johnny Jenkins' band the Pinetoppers when an unscheduled improptu session at Stax led to a contract resulting in his 1962 debut single, These Arms Of Mine, and a full-length debut album, Pain In My Heart, two years later. Would record half a dozen albums over the next few years, tour Europe and regularly reach the higher echelons of the R&B charts before his untimely death in a plane crash in 1967. At the time of his death Redding was on the verge of breaking through to mainstream audiences. His post-humously released single, (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay, recorded just days before his death, would earn him his first Billboard Hot 100 No.1 ~ Redding was born in 1941
December 10, 1965 ~ Classical, avant-garde pianist, composer, impresario, techer, publisher Henry Cowell, full name Henry Dixon Cowell, passed away in Woodstock, New York, USA ~ Earned a reputation as a controversial and eccentric composer, blending folk melodies, dissonant counterpoint and unconvential orchestration. Leading figure of avant-garde music for the first half of the 20th century. Influential on composers such as Béla Bartók, Olivier Messiaen, Krzysztof Penderecki, progressive rock keyboardists such as Keith Emerson and Pink Floyd's Richard Wright, and free jazz pianists such as Cecil Taylor and Sun Ra. Also known as an author, his 1930 book New Musical Resources is still considered a useful resource for composers ~ Cowell was born in 1897
December 10, 1965 ~ Joseph Donald Mascis Jr, commonly known as alternative rock, noise rock, stoner rock, heavy metal singer, guitarist, drummer, songwriter J Mascis born in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA ~ Rose to fame as co-founding member, frontman, primary songwriter of alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr, influential in the 1990s alternative rock scene for his distinct guitar sound, Neil Young-like voice and extensive use of feedback and distortion. Has also recorded as a solo artist and with several side projects including Witch, Deep Wound, Sweet Apple, and Heavy Blanket
December 10, 1963 ~ Conductor Ian Page born ~ Best known as founder and artistic director of the Classical Opera with whom he has conducted numerous Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart operas, notably Mitridate Re Di Ponto, as well as works composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck and Georg Philipp TelemannDecember 10, 1963 ~ Rock, rock & roll singer Mieke Stemerdink born in Doetinchem, the Netherlands ~ Lead singer of de Gigantjes, known best for their 1985 Yaki Taki Oowah single. Stemerdink has also worked with artists such as Frédérique Spigt, Manuela Kemp, and with Lois Lane-sisters Monique Klemann and Suzanne Klemann
December 10, 1963 ~ Jazz bassist, composer Ole Amund Gjersvik born in Bergen, Norway ~ Worked with the Kaizers Orchestra, Ketil Bjørnstad, Ole Thomsen, Kåre Thomsen, Ole Paus, Jan Eggum, Herborg Kråkevik, and Sissel Kyrkjebø
December 10, 1963 ~ Indie rock bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, mandolinist, accordionist Tim Vesely born in Etobicoke, Canada ~ Founding member of Rheostatics, writing or co-writing some of the band's best known including Claire and Bad Time To Be Poor. Also worked with the Violet Archers, Great Aunt Ida and with L'Étranger
December 10, 1962 ~ Anthony George Sannella, commonly known as bandleader, violinist, pianist, reedist, guitarist Andy Sannella, passed away in New York, New York, USA ~ Worked with Nathaniel Shilkret, Leonard Joy, Ben Selvin, Adrian Schubert, Bert Hirsch, Sam Lanin, Art Gillham, Ukulele Ike, Frank Crumit, Seger Ellis, and Johnny Marvin ~ Sannella was born in 1900
December 10, 1961 ~ Virenia Gwendolyn Peeples, commonly known as R&B, dance singer, actress Nia Peeples, born in Hollywood, California, USA ~ Best known as an actress, starring in TV series such as Fame, Pretty Little Liars, The Young & The Restless and Walker Texas Ranger. As a singer known for High Time, I Know How To Make You Love Me and perhaps her best known Trouble
December 10, 1959 ~ Hilary Shapiro, commonly known as actress, singer, percussionist Hilary Shepard, born in New York, New York, USA ~ Singer, percussionist in all-female band American Girls, sharing lead vocal duties with Brie Howard. The band recorded one album, recorded as a demo but released as the eponymous American Girls in 1986. Best known for the songs American Girls and Androgynous used in the soundtracks of respectively Out Of Bounds and Tough Guys. Shepard also acted in the latter as well as numerous other films and TV shows
December 10, 1959 ~ Heavy metal, hard rock guitarist, singer Wolf Hoffmann born in Mainz, West Germany ~ Guitarist and last remaining original member of heavy metal band Accept, one of the defining forces in metal in the 1980s and quintessential to the development of speed and thrash metal. Best known for the early 1980s albums Restless & Wild and Balls To The Wall, both generally regarded as two of the top heavy metal albums of the decade