Born on this day in music, February 7th

1983
Sam Martin, American musician, singer, songwriter. He rose to fame in 2014 for not only writing, but being a featured artist on David Guetta’s No.1 singles ‘Lovers on the Sun’ and ‘Dangerous’.

1975
Wes Borland, guitarist with Limp Bizkit, who had the 2001 UK No.1 single ‘Rollin’ & US & UK No.1 album ‘Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavoured Water’.

1974
James Dewitt Yancey, (J Dilla or Jay Dee), hip hop producer and MC. He died on Feb 10th 2006 of a rare blood disease at his home in Los Angeles, California.

1974
Danny Goffey, drummer with English group Supergrass who had the 1995 UK No.2 single ‘Alright’, and the 1995 UK No.1 album I Should Coco which spent 35 weeks on the UK chart.

1968
Sully Erna, guitar, vocals, Godsmack, who had the 2003, US No.1 album ‘Faceless’, 2006 US No.1 album ‘IV’.

1962
David Bryan, keyboards with Bon Jovi who had the 1987 US No.1 & UK No.4 single ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’. Bryan is also the writer of the successful Broadway musical Memphis.

1962
Garth Brooks, US country singer, who had the 1991 US No.1 album ‘Ropin’ The Wind’ which spent 70 weeks on the US chart, and the 1994 UK No.13 single ‘The Red Strokes.’ Brooks is the biggest selling artist of the 90s with over 60 million sales.

1962
Deborah Bonham, English rock and blues vocalist and the sister of John Bonham the late drummer for the band Led Zeppelin.

1960
Steve Bronski, from English group Bronski Beat who had the 1984 UK No.3 single ‘Smalltown Boy’. He died in a fire at his flat in Soho, London on 7 December 2021 age 61.

1959
Brian Travers, saxophonist with UB40, who had the 1983 UK No.1 & 1988 US No.1 single ‘Red Red Wine’ and over 30 other top 40 hits. He died from cancer age 62 on 22 August 2021.

1955
Saxophone player Jimmy Z is born Jimmy Zavala in North Highlands, California.

1953
American guitarist, composer, and producer Bruce Gaitsch best known for working Chicago, Peter Cetera, Madonna, and Agnetha Fältskog. Gaitsch co-wrote the Madonna song ‘La Isla Bonita’, an 1987 international No.1 hit single from her third studio album True Blue.

1952
Andrew Chapin, American keyboardist best known for his short stint with the Ricky Nelson Band, which ended in 1985 when he and his bandmates died after their plane crashed on New Year’s Eve in De Kalb, Texas. Prior to joining Ricky Nelson, Chapin had been a member of The Association and before that Steppenwolf. He died on 31 December 1985.

1949
Alan Lancaster, bassist with English group Status Quo. He left the band in 1984. The group have had over 60 chart hits in the UK, more than any other rock band, including ‘Pictures of Matchstick Men’ in 1967, ‘Whatever You Want’ in 1979 and ‘In the Army Now’ in 2010. Twenty-two of these reached the Top 10 in the UK. In July 1985 the band opened Live Aid at Wembley Stadium with ‘Rockin’ All Over the World’. He died on 26 September 2021 age 72 due to complications from multiple sclerosis.

1948
Jimmy Greenspoon, organist with Three Dog Night, who had the 1970 UK No.3 & US No.1 single with a cover of the Randy Newman song ‘Mama Told Me Not To Come’. The band scored 21 Billboard Top 40 hits (with three hitting No.1) between 1969 and 1975. He died on March 11 2015 after a long battle with cancer at the age of 67.

1934
Earl King, New Orleans Blues guitarist. He wrote ‘Come On, (Let The Good Times Roll’), covered by Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. King died on April 17th 2003 from diabetes-related complications aged 69.

1934
US sax player King Curtis who was stabbed to death by a vagrant on the front steps of his New York home on 13th August 1971. Curtis worked with John Lennon and had played on The Coasters hit ‘Yakety Yak’.

1924
Dora Bryan, English actress and singer who had the 1963 UK No.20 single ‘All I Want For Christmas Is A Beatle’. She died on 23 July 2014.

---