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.
September 1, 1952 ~ Jazz, classical trombonist Ed Neumeister born in Topeka, Kansas, USA ~ As a leader especially acclaimed for the albums New Standards and Reflection. Considered an inventive performer, Neumeister has drawn from avant-garde, free jazz, post-bop, and modern classical. While still in high school, Neumeister backed rock and roll artists such as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, and Chuck Berry. In the classical world known for his tenures with the San Francisco Ballet & Opera and the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra. An in-demand big band player on the New York scene during the 1980s and 1990s, working with the likes of Lionel Hampton, Buddy Rich, and Mel Lewis. Neumeister has also appeared on albums by Jerry Garcia (Run For The Roses), Teresa Brewer, Bruce Williamson, Christopher Hollyday, Tom Boras, Michel Camilo, Tom Pierson, Bill Mays, Yvonne Roome, John Pizzarelli, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Dean Friedman, Jim McNeely, and Nnenna Freelon, and held several teaching positions both in the USA and abroad
September 1, 1951 ~ Jazz, classical, world music pianist, rebab player, sarod player Larry Porter, full name Lawrence Stephen Porter, born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA ~ Spent a significant part of his career in Europe, where he worked with artists such as Volker Kriegel, Kai Winding, Mel Lewis, Günter Lenz, and co-led the ensembles Head Heart & Hands and Music Community. Has traveled to India and Afghanistan, picking up Eastern influences. Notable associations include Airto Moreira, Albert Mangelsdorff, Sal Nistico, and Allan Praskin. Porter has also toured with Chet Baker, was a member of Art Farmer's band in the late 1980s and early 1990s, backed Archie Shepp, Marty Cook, and Monty Waters, and composed for the Berlin Philharmonic. To world music aficionados, Porter is perhaps best known for his 1999 album of traditional Afghan music, The Magical Rebab Of Larry Porter, on which he played the traditional short-necked lute the rebab. The album earned wide acclaim, critics praising Porter as “without a doubt, (…) one of the best rebab players of his generation”
September 1, 1948 ~ Pop, schlager singer Birthe Kjær born in Aarhus, Denmark ~ Internationally best known for representing her native Denmark at the 1989 Eurovision Songfestival with Vi male Byen Rød, which reached third place. Kjær had been recording since the late 1960s, and is known at home for hits such as Arriverderci Franz, Sommer Og Sol, Tennessee Waltz, and Av Min ArmSeptember 1, 1948 ~ Drummer Greg Errico born in San Francisco, California, USA ~ Rose to fame as co-founding member of Sly & the Family Stone, with whom he recorded five albums before departing the band in 1971. Present on most of the band's best known including all of the band's three Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hits, Everyday People, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), and Family Affair. After departing the band, Errico has worked with Mickey Hart, Betty Davis, Bill Wyman (Monkey Grip), David Soul, Hubert Laws, the Rhythm Devils, Harvey Mandel, Enuff Z'nuff, and Jerry Garcia
September 1, 1946 ~ Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, commonly known as singer, songwriter Barry Gibb, born in Douglas, Isle Of Man ~ Co-founding member of sibling outfit the Bee Gees, known for songs such as New York Mining Disaster 1941, Massachusetts, I Started A Joke, Lonely Days, How Can You Mend A Broken Heart, Jive Talkin', You Should Be Dancing, How Deep Is Your Love, Stayin' Alive, Night Fever, Tragedy, and You Win AgainSeptember 1, 1946 ~ Rock, hard rock singer, guitarist, songwriter Shalom Hanoch born in Kibbutz Mishmarot, Israel ~ Known as “the King of Israeli Rock”, having delivered some of the first Israeli rock albums especially in partnership with Arik Einstein. Has also worked with the High Windows, the Churchills, Shmulik Kraus, Josie Katz, and Tamouz
September 1, 1944 ~ Singer Archie Bell, full name Archie Lee Bell, born in Henderson, Texas, USA ~ While still in junior high school formed the Drells, known especially for the hit Tighten Up which topped both the Billboard R&B and Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1968. The song was originally issued as the B-side to Dog Eat Dog, but a radio DJ flipped it over and it became a surprise hit for the then-unknown Bell. Bell had recorded the song shortly before being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. While recuperating from a gunshot wound, he had a hard time convincing superior officers the song on the radio was his and he needed to get home to promote it. All he could get were some 15-day passes he used to return home and record more songs with the group. Despite subsequent releases being well-received by critics, Bell failed to repeat his earlier success. Nevertheless, Bell continued to perform and record venturing out into blues and country music until suffering a stroke in the 2020s
September 1, 1944 ~ Conductor, composer Leonard Slatkin, full name Leonard Edward Slatkin, born in Los Angeles, California, USA ~ Fixture on the American symphonic scene, regarded as one of the most versatile and accomplished conductors. Slatkin had worked with the New York Youth Symphony, the New Orleans Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony, prior to starting his tenure as music director of the St Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1979, notably increasing the profile of the orchestra through frequent touring and a series of acclaimed recordings including the first digital stereo version of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker in 1985. Other notable associations include the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Sympony Orchestra, becoming only the second non-British person to conduct the latter for The Night Of The Proms in 2001, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Slatkin is also a composer known for The Raven and Kinah, the latter an elegy dedicated to the memory of his parents, and as an author, notably publishing his Conducting Business (Unveiling The Mystery Behind The Maestro) in 2012September 1, 1940 ~ Singer, guitarist, songwriter Bobby Kimmel born ~ Worked with Linda Ronstadt, the Stone Poneys, Kenny Edwards, Shep Cooke, Kit Alderson, the Floating House Band, Doc Watson, Merle Watson, Jo Wilkinson, I Hear Voices, the 4 Corners, and BK Special
September 1, 1938 ~ Singer, songwriter Alton Ellis, full name Alton Nehemiah Ellis, born in Kingston, Jamaica ~ Pivotal to development of rocksteady. Half of Alton & Eddy, the other half being Eddy Parkins, known for recordings such as Muriel, Lullabye Angel and I'm Never Gonna Cry. As a solo artist best known for the quintessential rocksteady songs Girl I've Got A Date, featuring Gladstone Anderson, Paul Douglas, Hux Brown, Lynn Tait and Al Jackson Jr, and for Rocksteady, the song that actually named the genre. Ellis also worked with Coxsone Dodd, Vincent Chin, John Holt, Duke Reid, Winston Jarrett, Tommy McCook, Lloyd Charmers, Phyllis Dillon, the Heptones, Bunny Lee, Keith Hudson, and Aspo ~ Ellis passed away in 2008September 1, 1935 ~ Conductor Seiji Ozawa born in Mukden, Japan ~ Closely associated with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, serving as its music director for nearly three decades. Has also worked with the San Francisco Symphony, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic
September 1, 1934 ~ Shirley Enid Avery, commonly known as jazz singer, pianist Teri Thornton, born in Detroit, Michigan, USA ~ Quickly rose to fame at the turn of the 1960s only to fade into obscurity after a few albums and resurface to critical acclaim over three decades later. Brought up in a musical household, her mother hosting a weekly radio show, Thornton gravitated towards music early on. By the late 1950s, she was singing in clubs, with occassional sidegigs singing jingles for ads. In the early 1960s, she landed a record deal with Riverside and issued the highly acclaimed Devil May Care album, aided by a stellar cast of backing musicians including Clark Terry, Seldon Powell, Freddie Green, Wynton Kelly, and Jimmy Cobb. The album made her a critics darling and earned her peer admiration. Cannonball Adderley has been known to call her “the greatest voice since Ella Fitzgerald”. Over the next few years, Thornton would make regular TV appearances, including teaming up with Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald on the Today Show, headlined at the Birdland Jazz Club, sang Somewhere In The Night the theme song for the Naked City drama series, and recorded a few more albums. Despite critical acclaim, her records sold poorly and eventually she was dropped by her label. Thornton would fade into obscurity, performing from time to time accompanying herself on the piano, yet made her living in a series of day jobs from driving a cab to working as a booking agent. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, with the help of a newly-found manager Thornton resurfaced in the late 1990s. In 1998, she won a singing competition held by the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, beating Jane Monheit, Tierney Sutton and Roberta Gambarini, and released her well-received I'll Be Easy To Find album the following year. It would be her last, as she was diagnosed with cancer later the same year. Thornton passed away at age 65, only shortly after making one of the most remarkable comebacks in jazz history ~ Avery passed away in 2000
September 1, 1933 ~ Harold Lloyd Jenkins, commonly known as country, rock & roll, pop singer, songwriter Conway Twitty, born in Friar's Point, Mississippi, USA ~ Emerging from the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty would eventually establish himself as the premier romantic country singer, dubbed “the High Priest of Country Music”, with an impressive string of over four dozen nearly-consecutive Billboard Country top 10 hits from the late 1960s until his death in the early 1990s. Well known songs include Hello Darlin', She Needs Someone To Hold Her (When She Cries), Linda On My Mind, This Time I've Hurt Her More Than She Loves Me, I've Already Loved You In My Mind, I'd Love To Lay You Down, Tight Fittin' Jeans, Slow Hand, and Desperado Love. Twitty also regularly duetted with Loretta Lynn, the pair recording over half a dozen albums together, four of which reached the No.1 spot on the Billboard Country album charts ~ Twitty passed away in 1993September 1, 1933 ~ Eugene Haire, commonly known as jazz, blues, soul-jazz pianist, keyboardist, organist Gene Harris, born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA ~ Influenced by Oscar Peterson and Junior Mance. Rose to fame as leader of the Three Sounds. The trio would initially be dismissed by critics as lounge-jazz, yet became one of the most popular acts on the Blue Note label in the late 1950s and 1960s, and in retrospect earned critical acclaim for their blues-infused jazz with Harris acknowledged as a unique stylist. Harris recorded prolifically with the trio through the late 1960s, including collaborative albums with Lou Donaldson (LD+3), Stanley Turrentine (Blue Hour), and Anita O'Day (Anita O'Day & the Three Sounds). After the trio disbanded, Harris continued to record under his own name until retiring in 1977, only to return to the stage after being persuaded by bassist Ray Brown in the early 1980s and record to critical acclaim until his death at age 66 ~ Haire passed away in 2000
September 1, 1931 ~ Jazz hornist, bassist Willie Ruff, full name Willie Henry Ruff Jr, born in Sheffield, Alabama, USA ~ Half of longtime duo the Mitchell-Ruff Duo, the other half being pianist Dwike Mitchell. The duo has recorded well over a dozen albums and made history in 1959 when they became the first jazz act to play in the Soviet Union since World War II. Half of Pisano & Ruff, the other half being John Pisano. An in-demand sideman and collaborator, Ruff has appeared on albums by Clifford Coultier, Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Benny Golson, Bobby Hutcherson, Milt Jackson, Quincy Jones, Lalo Schifrin, Leonard Cohen (Songs Of Leonard Cohen), Jimmy Smith, and Sonny Stitt. Ruff was also particularly known as a music scholar and teacher, graduating in 1954 from the Yale School of Music, New Haven, Connecticut, and serving as a professor at his alma mater from 1971 through 2017 ~ Ruff passed away in 2023
September 1, 1931 ~ R&B, gospel singer Zilla Mays, full name Zilla Florine Mays, born in Atlanta, Georgia, USA ~ As a singer known for a number of early 1950s R&B, gospel recordings, notably I'll Keep Singing My Song, If You Were On The Other Side, Seems Like You Just Don't Care, and Don't Take My Good Love Away. Best known as a radio host and community leader in Atlanta from the mid 1950s until her death four decades later, hosting a number of shows on WAOK ~ Mays passed away in 1995
September 1, 1929 ~ Jazz drummer Grassella Oliphant born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA ~ Recorded two soul-jazz albums as a leader, The Grass Roots released in 1965 and its acclaimed follow-up The Grass Is Greener three years later with an all-star cast featuring Harold Ousley, John Patton, Grant Green, Clark Terry, and Major Holley. Songs from the latter album would later be regularly sampled by hip hop artists. Oliphant has been active since the early 1950s, first gaining serious attention backing Ahmad Jamal. Oliphant would go on to appear on albums by Tony Scott, Gloria Lynne (I'm Glad There Is You), Herman Foster, Joe Kennedy Jr, and Shirley Scott (Soul Shoutin') ~ Oliphant passed away in 2017
September 1, 1925 ~ Arthur Edward Pepper Jr, commonly known as saxophonist Art Pepper, born in Gardena, California, USA ~ First gained attention backing Stan Kenton. Though early on his career was regularly interrupted serving several stints in prison on drug charges, Pepper overcame his addiction and would go on to become a leading figure in bop and cool jazz. Pepper has recorded prolifically as a leader or co-leader since the mid 1950s, and is especially acclaimed for albums such as Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section, Plus Eleven, and Intensity. An in-demand sideman, Pepper has appeared on albums by Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, Annie Ross, Stan Getz (West Coast Jazz), Joe Morello (The Joe Morello Sextet), Marty Paich, Chet Baker, Quincy Jones (This Is How I Feel About Jazz), Herb Ellis, Gerry Mulligan, Art Blakey, Barney Kessel (Some Like It Hot), Helen Humes, Buddy Rich, and Dizzy Gillespie ~ Pepper passed away in 1982
September 1, 1898 ~ Mary Ellen Reynolds, commonly known as dancer, actress, singer Marilyn Miller, born in New York, New York, USA ~ One of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and 1930s. Rose to fame with her appearances in the 1918 Ziegfeld Follies and headlining the next year's edition playing the role of producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr's wife. Rumored to be Ziegfeld's mistress, though this was never proven. Also known for roles in stage productions of Peter Pan, Sunny and Rosalie, becoming the highest-paid Broadway star by the late 1920s ~ Reynolds passed away in 1936September 1, 1878 ~ Conductor, musical director Tullio Serafin born in Cavarzere, Italy ~ Leading opera conductor known for reviving many 19th century bel canto operas by Vincenzo Bellini, Gioachino Rossini, and Gaetano Donizetti. Closely associated with La Scala, the Teatro Colón, and the Metropolitan Opera. Incremental to the careers of Rosa Ponselle, Magda Olivero, Joan Sutherland, Renata Tebaldi, and most notably Maria Callas ~ Serafin passed away in 1968