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.
July 26, 1941 ~ Alfred Jesse Smith, commonly known as soul, R&B, pop singer, keyboardist, songwriter Brenton Wood, born in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA ~ Influenced by Sam Cooke and Jesse Belvin. Best known for his two 1967 hits The Oogum Boogum Song and the self-penned Gimme Little Sign, the latter of which peaked at No.9 Billboard Hot 100. Wood would continue to record through the 1970s, notably the duet album Kid Games & Nursery Rhymes with Shirley Goodman released in 1969, yet despite his skilful smooth delivery and infectious grooves, he never again repeated the success of his two major hits. Nevertheless, both The Oogum Boogum Song and Gimme Little Sign are considered among the finest of 1960s R&B and remain popular to this day. Wood remained a popular live act on the oldies circuit and released his final album of original material, This Love Is For Real, in 2001 ~ Smith passed away in 2025
July 26, 1941 ~ Darlene Wright, commonly known as singer, actress Darlene Love born in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Member of the Blossoms. Closely associated with producer Phil Spector, Love sang backup for many 1950s and 1960s artists including Sam Cooke, Dionne Warwick, Bill Medley, the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, the Ronettes, Bobby Pickett, Frank Sinatra, the Crystals, and Sonny & CherJuly 26, 1941 ~ Bradford Steven Ellington, commonly known as jazz drummer Steve Ellington born in Atlanta, Georgia, USA ~ Picked up drums at 4, played with Ray Charles at 9. Continue on to play with Charles Brown, George Adams, Duke Pearson, Sam Rivers, June Christy, Joe Castro, Hampton Hawes, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Jackie McLean, Chet Baker, Stanley Turrentine, Mose Allison, Woody Shaw, Walter Davis Jr, Wilbur Ware, C-Sharpe, Billy Eckstine, Brick Jazz Funk Fusion, Art Farmer, Freddy Cole, Freddie Hubbard, Ike Isaacs, Maxine Sullivan, Harry Sweets Edison, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Dan Wall, Sonny Stitt, Dave Holland, Michel Petrucciani, Hal Galper, Steve Grossman, James Moody, and Johnny Griffin ~ Ellington passed away in 2013
July 26, 1940 ~ Apostolos Voskopoulos, commonly known as laika singer, songwriter, actor Tolis Voskopoulos, born in Kokkinia, Greece ~ Considered one of the legends of modern Greek music with over 40 albums to his name. Known for songs such as My Lonely Heart, I Drink To Her Health, I'm Beginning To Suspect and Out Of The Question ~ Voskopoulos passed away in 2021
July 26, 1939 ~ Blues drummer, singer Casey Jones born in Nitta Yuma, Mississippi, USA ~ Best known for his association with Albert Collins, appearing on albums such as Ice Pickin' and Frostbite, and Johnny Winter, backing Winter on albums such as Guitar Slinger and Serious Business. Has also recorded as a solo artist, acclaimed for his 1995 I-94 (On My Way To Chicago) album, and backed artists such as Earl Hooker, AC Reed, McKinley Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Lou Rawls, Otis Rush, and Lonnie Brooks ~ Jones passed away in 2017
July 26, 1938 ~ Robert Von Hebb, singer, commonly known as Bobby Hebb, born in Nashville, Tennessee, USA ~ Best remembered for his 1966 hit Sunny. Other notable songs include A Satisfied Mind and Love Me. Started working professionally with country artists such as Roy Acuff, and sang backup on Bo Diddley's Diddley Daddley, and replaced Mickey Baker in Mickey & Sylvia ~ Hebb passed away in 2010July 26, 1938 ~ Joanne Grogan, commonly known as jazz pianist Joanne Brackeen, born in Ventura, California, USA ~ Leader and sidewoman. Influenced by Frankie Carle and Charlie Parker. Has played with Dexter Gordon, Teddy Edwards, Charles Brackeen, Chick Corea, Freddie McCoy, Ornette Coleman, Clint Houston, Eddie Gomez, John Patitucci, Jack DeJohnette, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart, Art Blakey, Stan Getz, Buddy Terry, and Freddie Hubbard
July 26, 1937 ~ Don Roscoe Joseph III, commonly known as pianist Rocky Frisco, born in St Louis, Missouri, USA ~ Best known as longtime pianist for JJ Cale. Also worked with Steve Pryor, the Empty Pockets, Brad Absher, Larry Spears, Susan Herndon, Lata Gouveia, Dustin Pittsley, Jesse Aycock, Rodney Lay, Widespread Panic, Dennis Crouch, Snuggle Naked, and Tex Waggoner ~ Joseph passed away in 2015
July 26, 1934 ~ Composer Anthony Gilbert born in London, UK ~ Initially trained as a translator, Gilbert preferred to seek a career in music instead. Has studied privately with Mátyás Seiber, and subsequently at Trinity College and Morley College. Gilbert composed extensively since the 1960s, primarily for larger chamber ensembles, yet also for piano, choral and vocal works, and opera. As an educator, he has taught at several colleges including notably at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, UK. Among his students are artists such as Sally Beamish, Simon Holt, Priti Paintal, Jane Antonio Cornish, and Ian Vine. As to composing, Gilbert has been quoted as saying: “Ultimately, for me, the only honest thing to do in composing is to write straight from the heart and guts, whilst closely involving the brain. Trying to assess what my audience would like to hear, to be ‘accessible’, would to me seem cheap and patronising” ~ Gilbert passed away in 2023July 26, 1934 ~ Ioannes Spanos, commonly known as pianist, songwriter Giannis Spanos, born in Kiato, Greece ~ Scored the soundtrack to the 1971 Ekeino To Kalokain feature film. Served as pianist for the like of Serge Gainsbourg, Béatrice Arnac, and Juliette Gréco. As a songwriter had his compositions recorded by the likes of Keti Chomata, Giannist Poulopoulos, and Dimitris Mitropanos ~ Spanos passed away in 2019
July 26, 1933 ~ Gospel composer, minister Charles Albert Tindley passed away in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA ~ Dubbed “the Prince of Preachers” and founder of one of the largest Methodist congregations serving the African-American community. Perhaps best known for penning the hymn I'll Overcome Someday, which would serve as the basis for the Civil Rights anthem We Will Overcome recorded in various incarnations by Joe Glazer, the Limeliters, Pete Seeger, and Mahalia Jackson ~ Tindley was born in 1851
July 26, 1933 ~ Victor Guillermo Toro, commonly known as guitarist, cuatro player Yomo Toro, born in Guanica, Puerto Rico ~ Known as “the King of the Cuatro” with a career spanning six decades starting in the 1940s. The cuatro is a stringed instrument of the guitar family, larger than a mandolin and containg ten strings which generate complex tones and multiple harmonic series. Toro is firmly grounded in traditional Puerto Rican and Mexican music, specifically jibaro, has recorded prolifically as a solo artist and is an in-demand sideman for a wide array of artists. Notable associations include Arsenío Rodriguez, Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe, Rubén Blades, Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, David Byrne, and the Fania All-Stars ~ Toro passed away in 2012
July 26, 1931 ~ Label executive, producer Fred Foster, full name Fred Luther Foster, born in Rutherford County, North Carolina, USA ~ Best known for co-penning Me & Bobby McGee with Kris Kristofferson, originally recorded by Roger Miller. The song would be covered by well over 200 artists, notably recorded by Janis Joplin mere days before her death and posthumously becoming her sole Billboard Hot 100 charttopper. Foster is also known as co-founder of Monument record label. As a label executive and producer he was helpful in advancing the careers of acts such as Kristofferson, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Billy Joe Shaver, Tony Joe White, and the Gatlin Brothers ~ Foster passed away in 2019
July 26, 1929 ~ Jazz drummer Charlie Persip born in Morristown, New Jersey, USA ~ Leader and sideman. Founded the Jazz Statesmen with Roland Alexander, Freddie Hubbard, and Ron Carter in 1960. Also leads Supersound. Worked with Tadd Dameron, Dizzy Gillespie, Harry Sweets Edison, Harry James, Lee Morgan, Dinah Washington, Melba Liston, Kenny Dorham, Zoot Sims, Red Garland, Gil Evans, Don Ellis, Eric Dolphy, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Gene Ammons, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones, Louis Jordan, Ernestine Anderson, Art Farmer, Randy Weston, Erroll Garner, Buddy Emmons, Slide Hampton, Pony Poindexter, Benny Golson, and Sonny Stitt ~ Persip passed away in 2020July 26, 1928 ~ Joseph Walter Jackson, commonly known as talent manager Joe Jackson, born in Fountain Hill, Arkansas, USA ~ Talent manager and patriarch of the Jackson family, which includes Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson. Manager for most Jackson-acts including the Jackson 5 and the Jacksons ~ Jackson passed away in 2018
July 26, 1928 ~ Contemporary classical composer Tadeusz Baird born in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland ~ Critically regarded as successor to Alban Berg, Gustav Mahler, and Karol Szymanowski. Deported to Germany as a forced laborer at age 16, imprisoned in a concentration camp by the Nazi regime after a failed escape. After returning to his native Poland would found Group 49 with Kazimierz Serocki and Jan Krenz, a trio known for their socialist realism. Would turn to serialism in the 1950s. Composed symphonies, chamber music, for film and theatre, yet best known known for his numerous vocal cycles inspired by poetry ~ Baird passed away in 1981July 26, 1917 ~ Roberta Louise Osborn, commonly known as singer Alberta Adams, born in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA ~ Half of Bluezettes, the other half being Chubby Newsom. Also worked with artists such as Duke Ellington, Eddie Cleanhead Vinson, Louis Jordan, Lionel Hampton, T-Bone Walker, Tiny Bradshaw, and Johnnie Bassett ~ Osborn passed away in 2014
July 26, 1914 ~ Trumpeter, bandleader Erskine Hawkins, full name Erskine Ramsay Hawkins, born in Birmingham, Alabama, USA ~ One of the swing era's most respected bandleaders, Hawkins enjoyed popularity throughout the early 1950s, over time venturing into a more R&B-infused sound while still remaining firmly rooted in jazz. Perhaps best remembered for co-writing and first recording Tuxedo Junction, which has become a standard covered by well over 150 artists including Glenn Miller, Gene Krupa, Duane Eddy, Quincy Jones, King Curtis, and Chet Atkins. Other well known recordings include Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams, Don't Cry Baby, Tippin' In, and After Hours. Vocalists who have sung with his orchestra include Ida James, Delores Brown, and Della Reese. Hawkins would continue to perform, albeit it with smaller ensembles, into the 1980s ~ Hawkins passed away in 1993July 26, 1903 ~ Composer, conductor Donald Voorhees born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA ~ Known for his early work for radio and TV, earning an Emmy Award-nomination for his work on the TV series the Bell Telephone Hour. Musical director of the radio and TV show Cavalcade Of America. Conductor and director of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra from 1951 through 1983 ~ Voorhees passed away in 1989
July 26, 1886 ~ Violet Mary Tipton, commonly known as singer, actress Violet Loraine, born in London, UK ~ Rose to fame portraying the female lead role of Emma in the 1916 musical revue The Bing Boys Are Here opposite George Robey. The pair's duet hit If You Were The Only Girl (In The World) would become a signature song of the era and over time endure as a pop standard ~ Tipton passed away in 1956July 26, 1782 ~ Pianist, composer John Field born in Dublin, Ireland ~ Best known as inventor of the nocturne, a musical composition inspired by, or evocative of, the night. Admired by peers. Influenced many major composers including Frédéric Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, and Franz Liszt ~ Field passed away in 1837