1987 – Justin Hayward-Young
Justin Hayward-Young, English singer, songwriter and the lead singer and guitarist of English indie rock band The Vaccines.
1985 – Lily Allen
English singer, songwriter Lily Allen who had the 2006 UK No.1 single ‘Smile’, and the 2006 UK No.2 album Alright, Still which sold over 2.6 million copies worldwide and brought Allen a nomination at the Grammy Awards, Brit Awards and MTV Video Music Awards. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen.
1984 – Rose Falcon
Singer/songwriter Rose Falcon is born in New York City. She earns her first country hit as a co-writer of Eric Paslay’s “Friday Night” in 2013, the same year she marries fellow artist Rodney Atkins.
1969 – Ben Leach
Ben Leach, of Liverpool-based group The Farm who had the 1990 UK No.4 single ‘All Together Now’.
1967 – David McAlmont
English vocalist and songwriter David McAlmont who scored the 1995 UK No.8 hit single ‘Yes’ (with guitarist Bernard Butler).
1962 – Alain Johannes
Chilean-American multi-instrumentalist, producer and vocalist Alain Johannes, who has worked with Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, PJ Harvey, Chris Cornell and Arctic Monkeys.
1961 – Dr Robert
Dr Robert, singer from British new wave group The Blow Monkeys who had the 1986 hit ‘Digging Your Scene’ and the 1987 UK No.5 single ‘It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way’.
1954 – Prescott Niles
Prescott Niles, bassist with . Their first single, ‘My Sharona’ was an international No.1 hit in 1979. Their album Get the Knack became one of the most successful debuts in history, selling over one million copies in less than two months and spending five weeks at No.1 on the Billboard album chart.
1951 – John Callis
Jo Callis, Synthesizer, keyboards, guitar, Human League, (1981 UK No.1 & 1982 US No.1 single ‘Don’t You Want Me’ plus over 15 other UK Top 40 singles). Callis had been a member of the Rezillos and wrote their 1978 hit ‘Top Of The Pops’.
1950 – Lou Gramm
Lou Gramm, singer, songwriter, with English-American rock band Foreigner, who scored the 1985 UK & US No.1 single ‘I Want To Know What Love Is‘. They are one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time with worldwide sales of more than 80 million records.
1948 – Larry Gatlin
Larry Gatlin is born in Seminole, Texas. Joined by brothers Rudy and Steve in the Gatlin Brothers Band, he writes numerous 1970s and ’80s hits marked by strong hooks and loads of harmony. They include “All The Gold In California,” “Broken Lady” and “Night Time Magic”.
1946 – Bob Henrit
Bob Henrit, drummer with English rock band Argent who had the 1972 UK No.5 single ‘Hold Your Head Up’ and the hit and ‘God Gave Rock and Roll to You’. He was also a member of The Kinks.
1946 – Lesley Gore
American singer, songwriter, actress and activist, Lesley Gore, who had the 1963 US No.1 & UK No.9 single ‘It’s My Party’, (which was produced by Quincy Jones). Gore composed songs for the soundtrack of the 1980 film Fame, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for ‘Out Here on My Own’, written with her brother Michael. She died on February 16, 2015, at the NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan, New York City, of lung cancer.
1945 – Goldy McJohn
Goldy McJohn, from Steppenwolf who had the 1969 US No.2 hit single ‘Born To Be Wild‘. Steppenwolf sold over 25 million records worldwide, released eight gold albums and scored 12 Billboard Hot 100 singles. McJohn died of a sudden heart attack on August 1, 2017.
1945 – Randy Cain
Randy Cain, singer from American R&B/soul vocal group The Delfonics who had the 1968 US No.4 single ‘La-La Means I Love You’, and the hits ‘Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)’, and ‘Ready or Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide from Love)’. Cain died on 9th April 2009 at the age of 63.
1939 – Tony Asher
British-American lyricist Tony Asher. He co-wrote eight songs on the Beach Boys 1966 album Brian Wilson, including ‘God Only Knows’ and ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice.’ He also wrote several songs with composer-arranger John Bahler for The Partridge Family and used on their television show.
1936 – Engelbert Humperdinck
English pop singer Engelbert Humperdinck (born Arnold George Dorsey), who scored the 1967 UK No.1 and US No. 4 single ‘Release Me’ and the hit ‘The Last Waltz‘. Humperdinck has sold more than 150 million records worldwide.
1933 – Bunk Gardner
Bunk Gardner (played woodwinds and tenor sax for Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention) is born John Leon Gardner in Cleveland, Ohio.
1929 – Link Wray
Native American Shawnee rock and roll guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist Link Wray, famous for his 1958 hit single ‘Rumble’. Wray was credited with inventing ‘fuzz’ guitar after punching a hole in a speaker giving him a distorted sound. Wray is also said to have popularised “the power chord. Wray died of heart failure at his home in Copenhagen, on 5th Nov 2005 at the age of 76.
