Born On This Day In Music, June 14th

1993
American rapper, singer, and songwriter Gunna. He featured on the 2020, hip-hop collective Internet Money single, ‘Lemonade’, featuring American singer Don Toliver and Nav.

1983
English singer-songwriter Siobhan Donaghy, with British girl group Sugababes who had the 2002 UK No.1 single, ‘Round Round’. In 2006, British Hit Singles & Albums named the Sugababes as the most successful female act of the 21st century with six UK No.1 singles and eighteen UK top ten hits.

1980
Mark ‘Pelli’ Pellizzer, musician, singer from Canadian reggae fusion band Magic! that had the 2014 US and UK No.1 hit single ‘Rude’, from their 2014 US Top 10 album Don’t Kill the Magic.

1974
Joshua Radin, American singer-songwriter. His songs have been used in numerous films and TV series including Bones, Scrubs, House, Grey’s Anatomy and One Tree Hill.

1971
English rock singer-songwriter Billy Myers known principally for her 1998 transatlantic, Desmond Child penned hit, ‘Kiss the Rain’.

1963
Chris Degarmo, with American progressive heavy metal band Queensryche. Their 1994 album Promised Land went top 3 in the US.

1961
George O’Dowd, (Boy George), English singer, songwriter, DJ, fashion designer and photographer. As lead singer of the Grammy and Brit Award winning Culture Club, he scored the 1983 UK No.1 & 1984 US No.1 single ‘Karma Chameleon’ and global hits ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me’, and ‘Time’ (Clock of the Heart). As a solo artists George had the 1987 UK No.1 single ‘Everything I Own’. He became a coach on The Voice UK in 2016.

1960
English jazz and rock drummer, pianist Gary Husband who has worked with many artists including, Jeff Beck, Level 42, Jack Bruce, Gary Moore, Jimmy Nail, John McLaughlin.

1958
Nick Van Ede, singer, with English rock band Cutting Crew, who scored the 1987 US No.1 & 1986 UK No.4 single ‘I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight’.

1949
English drummer and songwriter Alan White, best known for his tenure in the progressive rock band Yes. In 1969, he joined the Plastic Ono Band after John Lennon invited him to play at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival. This led to drum work on Imagine and “Instant Karma!” for Lennon and All Things Must Pass by George Harrison. He died on 26 May 2022, aged 72.

1949
Jim Lea, English musician, bass, piano, violin with Slade who scored the 1971 UK No.1 single ‘Coz I Luv You’, plus five other UK No.1 hits and 18 UK Top 40 hit singles. Lea has since released a number of singles under the name Gang of Angels, Whild and The X Specials.

1948
American guitarist, and session player Steve Hunter who has worked with Lou Reed, Aerosmith and Alice Cooper. He played the acoustic intro on Peter Gabriel’s 1977 hit ‘Solsbury Hill’.

1947
Barry Melton, original lead guitarist for Country Joe & The Fish, Dinosaurs, is born in Brooklyn, New York.

1945
English musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer Rod Argent who was a member of The Zombies who had the 1964 UK No.12 single ‘She’s Not There’ and went on to form the band Argent. Argent who had the 1972 UK No.5 single ‘Hold Your Head Up’.

1943
Spooner Oldham, American songwriter and session musician, organist, best known as part of the studio backing band known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section of Alabama. He played on many hits including, Percy Sledge (When a Man Loves a Woman), Aretha Franklin (Respect,, Wilson Pickett (Mustang Sally) and worked with Bob Dylan, Delaney Bramlett, Willy DeVille, Joe Cocker, the Hacienda Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, the Everly Brothers, Dickey Betts, Cat Power, J. J. Cale and many others.

1938
American-born, British-based folk recording artist Julie Felix. She had two UK Singles Chart hits in 1970, the first of several on the RAK label, produced by Mickie Most. The first was with the song entitled ‘If I Could (El Cóndor Pasa)’, while the second, ‘Heaven is Here’, was written by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson of Hot Chocolate. Felix died on 22 March 2020 age 81.

1937
American jazz double bassist Chuck Berghofer who has worked with Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and The Beach Boys on Glen Campbell.

1931
American soul singer and multi-instrumentalist Junior Walker. He had the 1966 US & UK Top 20 single ‘How Sweet It Is’, and the 1969 US No.4 single ‘What Does It Take, To Win Your Love’. Walker also played sax on Foreigner’s 1981 hit ‘Urgent.’ He died of cancer on 23 November 1995 aged 64.

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