Born On This Day In Music, April 20th

1978 – Clay Cook
Clay Cook American musician with the Grammy Award winning country music group, Zac Brown Band. Their 2015 album Jekyll + Hyde which debuted at No.1 on the US chart featured the single ‘Heavy Is the Head’ with vocals from Chris Cornell.

1973 – Gabry Ponte
Gabry Ponte, Italian DJ, remixer, record producer from Eiffel 65, (1999 UK No.1 single ‘Blue (Da Ba Dee‘). The single was also No.1 in Norway, Austria, Finland, Germany and Denmark.

1972 – Stephen Marley
Stephen Marley from Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers who had the 1988 UK hit single ‘Tomorrow People’. The Jamaican American musician is the son of Bob Marley and his wife Rita Marley. His 2011 album Revelation Pt. 1 – The Root of Life won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2012.

1972 – Carmen Electra
American actress, model, singer Carmen Electra, from The Pussycat Dolls. They had the 2005, US No.2 & UK No.1 with their debut single ‘Don’t Cha’ featuring Busta Rhymes. The Pussycat Dolls became only the fourth ever girl band to enter the UK charts at No.1 with their debut single. (The other’s being the Spice Girls, B*Witched and Girls Aloud). Carmen has appeared in Playboy magazine and Baywatch and MTV’s Singled Out.

1971 – Mikey Welsh
Mikey Welsh, bassist from American rock band Weezer who had the 1995 UK No.12 single, ‘Buddy Holly’. Weezer achieved mainstream success, helped by music videos directed by Spike Jonze.

1967 – Mike Portnoy
Drummer Mike Portnoy is born in Long Beach, New York. A founding member of Dream Theater, he also writes many of the band’s lyrics.

1951 – Luther Vandross
American singer, songwriter Luther Vandross who scored the 1989 UK No.13 single ‘Never Too Much’, first released 1983, and the US N0.10 and UK No.2 single with Janet Jackson ‘The Best Things In Life Are Free’. Vandross also worked with David Bowie, Mariah Carey. Vandross died on 1st July 2005 aged 54 two years after suffering a major stroke.

1951 – Steve Nathan
Keyboard player Steve Nathan is born in Buffalo, New York. He provides support on hundreds of hits by George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Wynonna, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Keith Urban and Jo Dee Messina.

1948 – Craig Frost
Craig Frost, keyboardist for 1970s hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad who had the US No.1 single with their version of ‘The Loco-Motion’ which was produced by Todd Rundgren and is also a member with Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band.

1948 – Rob Stoner
American multi-instrumental musician Rob Stoner. His work can be heard on Don McLean’s classic ‘American Pie’. In the summer of 1975 he was hired as bandleader, opening act and bass player in Bob Dylan’s band and has also worked with many other artists as well as Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, Chuck Berry, Lou Reed and Joni Mitchell.

1945 – Jimmy Winston
English musician Jimmy Winston who was the original keyboard player with Small Faces, (he left in Nov 1965).

1940 – Ronald Mundy
American singer Ronald Mundy. He was a member of The Marcels who scored the 1961 US and UK No.1 with a doo-wop cover of the ballad ‘Blue Moon’ that began with the bass singer singing, “bomp-baba-bomp-ba-bomp-ba-bomp-bomp… vedanga-dang-dang-vadinga-dong-ding…”. The record sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. He died of pneumonia on 20 January 2017 age 76.

1940 – Tim Drummond
Bass player Tim Drummond is born in Bloomington, Illinois. After playing in Conway Twitty’s road band, he winds up working for Neil Young, playing on the pop hits “Heart Of Gold” and “Old Man,” recorded in Nashville. He died on January 10, 2015.

1939 – Johnny Tillotson
American singer-songwriter Johnny Tillotson who had the 1960 US No.2 and 1961 UK No.1 single ‘Poetry In Motion’. He enjoyed his greatest success in the early 1960s, when he scored nine top-ten hits.

1934 – Ray Campi
American singer and musician Ray Campi. Nicknamed “The King of Rockabilly”, he first recorded in the mid-1950s. Campi’s trademark was his white double bass, which he often jumped on top of and “rode” while playing. He died died in his sleep at home on March 11, 2021, at the age of 86.

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