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 8, 1914 ~ Jazz, pop singer, bandleader Billy Eckstine, full name William Clarence Eckstine, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA ~ Influenced Earl Coleman, Johnny Hartman, Arthur Prysock, Lou Rawls. Known for songs such as Cottage For Sale, Prisoner Of Love and I Apologize. Employed and mentored sidemen sich as Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Charlie Parker, Fats Navarro, Sarah Vaughan, Tadd Dameron, Gil Fuller, and Jerry Valentine ~ Eckstine passed away in 1993July 8, 1911 ~ Torch singer, songwriter, actress Gertrude Niesen born in New York, New York, USA ~ Enjoyed popularity in the 1930s and 1940s performing in musicals and films. Best remembered for recording the first version of Smoke Gets In Your Eyes in 1933, penned by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach and later covered by numerous artists including the Platters whose version topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958 ~ Niesen passed away in 1975
July 8, 1908 ~ Saxophonist, bandleader Louis Jordan, full name Louis Thomas Jordan, born in Brinkley, Arkansas, USA ~ One of the all-time most successful African-American artists. Leading jump-blues innovator, known for his highly energetic hybrid of jazz, blues, and boogie-woogie, and considered a major influence on 1950s rock & roll and R&B. Known for songs such as Caldonia, Choo Choo Ch'boogie, Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens, Let The Good Times Roll, Beans And Corn Bread, and Saturday Night Fish Fry Parts 1 & 2 ~ Jordan passed away in 1975July 8, 1892 ~ Ragtime, dixieland, blues pianist, songwriter J Russell Robinson born in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA ~ Joined the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1919, replacing the late Henry Ragas. Wrote or co-wrote songs such as Sapho Rags, Eccentric, Margie, Reefer Man and Singin' The Blues. Also worked with Lizzie Miles and Lucille Hegamin ~ Robinson passed away in 1963
July 8, 1872 ~ Harry Gumm, commonly known as composer, songwriter, vaudeville performer Harry von Tilzer born in Detroit, Michigan, USA ~ Brother of songwriter Albert von Tilzer. Music publisher, partner of Shapiro-Bernstein Publishing Company. One of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of his time. Wrote or co-wrote songs such as Cubanola Gilde, Old King Tut, Ragtime Goblin Man, They Always Pick On Me, I Want A Girl Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad, On The Old Fall River, and perhaps his biggest hit Bird In A Gilded Cage ~ Gumm passed away in 1946