Born On This Day In Music, June 30th

1984
Fantasia Barrino, singer, American Idol winner, (2004 US No.1 single ‘I Believe’). The first time in US history a debut single has topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

1983
Anton Gordon, from British boy band One True Voice, created on the ITV television series Popstars: The Rivals who had the 2002 UK No.2 single ‘Sacred Trust / After You’re Gone’.

1983
Cheryl Cole, from English-Irish pop girl group Girls Aloud, which was created through the ITV talent show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. They scored the 2002 UK No.1 single ‘Sound Of The Underground’ and over 20 UK Top 20 singles. They hold the record for “Most Consecutive Top Ten Entries in the UK by a Female Group. Became a judge on the UK version of The X Factor in 2008. Scored the 2009 UK No.1 solo single ‘Fight For This Love.’

1979
Andrew Burrows, drummer, with English indie rock band Razorlight who had the 2006, UK No.1 single ‘America’ and their 2006 UK No.1 self titled album.

1969
Tom Drummond, bass guitarist for Better Than Ezra, is born in Shreveport, Louisiana.

1968
Philip Anselmo, from American heavy metal band, Pantera, who had the 1994 UK hit single ‘I’m Broken’. Pantera released four albums during the 1980s. Anselmo is the frontman for the Louisiana-based heavy metal supergroup Down and is also the owner of Housecore Records.

1967
Peter James Camell, guitarist with Liverpool group The La’s, who scored the 1990 UK No.13 single ‘There She Goes’.

1963
Yngwie Malmsteen, Swedish guitarist, songwriter and bandleader. Malmsteen first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal playing style in heavy metal.

1962
Julianne Regan, singer, songwriter from English group All About Eve, who had the 1988 UK No.10 single ‘Martha’s Harbour’.

1960
American record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician Brendan O’Brien, who has produced, to date, 14 US No.1 albums for acts such as Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC, The Black Crowes, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Aerosmith.

1956
Adrian Wright, The Human League. Formed in Sheffield, England in 1977 the group attained widespread commercial success with their third album Dare in 1981. The album contained four hit singles, including the UK/US No.1 hit ‘Don’t You Want Me’.

1951
Stanley Clarke, jazz bassist who has worked with Chick Corea, Santana, Keith Richards, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney and the fusion band Return to Forever.

1949
Andy Scott, guitarist with English group Sweet, who had the 1973 UK No.1 single ‘Blockbuster’, plus 14 other UK Top 40 singles. Sweet scored four top-ten hits in the US: ‘Little Willy’, ‘Ballroom Blitz’, ‘Fox On The Run’, and ‘Love Is Like Oxygen’.

1946
American singer Billy Brown from The Moments who had the 1970 US No. 3 single ‘ ‘Love on a Two-Way Street’. For contractual reasons they changed their name to Ray, Goodman & Brown and had further hits, including ‘Special Lady’.

1944
Glenn Shorrock, from Australian group, Little River Band who scored the 1978 US No.3 single ‘Reminiscing’ plus 12 other US Top 40 singles selling more than 30 million records.

1943
American vocalist Florence Ballard, The Supremes (1964 US & UK No.1 single ‘Baby Love’ plus 11 other US No.1 singles). Ballard sang on 16 top forty singles with the group, including ten No.1 hits. She died February 21st 1976.

1940
Larry Hall, known for the one-hit-wonder song “Sandy” (1959), is born in Hamlett, Ohio. Died September 24, 1997.

1936
Bon on this day, American folk singer Dave Van Ronk who was an important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City’s Greenwich Village scene in the Sixties, he was nicknamed the “Mayor of MacDougal Street”. Bob Dylan recorded Van Ronk’s arrangement of the traditional song ‘House of the Rising Sun’ on his first album, which The Animals turned into a No.1 UK single in 1964, helping inaugurate the folk-rock movement. He died on 10 February 2002 aged 65.

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