Born on this day in music,  November 19th

1971
Tony Rich, R&B singer-songwriter best known for his 1996 US No.2 hit single ‘Nobody Knows’ under the moniker “The Tony Rich Project”. Rich won a Grammy Award in 1996 for the Best R&B Album.

1971
English musician Justin Chancellor from American rock band Tool who had the 2001 US No.1 album Lateralus. He was formerly in the band Peach.

1965
Jason Pierce from English space rock band Spiritualized. They released the critically acclaimed 1997 Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, which NME magazine named as their Album of the Year.

1965
Pete Kember, (Sonic Boom), Spacemen 3, 1990 album ‘Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To’.

1960
All American drummer and percussionist Matt Sorum, who was a member of The Cult before joining Guns N’ Roses (as Steven Adler’s replacement) and then Slash’s Snakepit and Velvet Revolver.

1954
Annette Guest from American girl group First Choice. They had the 1973 UK No.9 single ‘Smarty Pants’ and the US hit ‘Armed and Extremely Dangerous’.

1952
British musician Bill Sharpe from Shakatak. They had the 1982 UK No.9 single ‘Night Birds’ and the 1984 top 10 hit ‘Down on the Street’.

1946
Joe Correro, Paul Revere and the Raiders, (1971 US No.1 single ‘Indian Reservation’, plus 14 other US Top 30 hit singles).

1943
Fred Lipsius from jazz-rock American music group Blood Sweat & Tears. They scored the 1969 US No.2 single ‘Spinning Wheel’, and the 1969 US No.12 single ‘You’ve Made Me So Very Happy’. They had a US No.1 with their second album Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1968.

1941
Eddie Rayner, keyboards, from New Zealand group Split Enz who had the 1980 UK No.12 single ‘I Got You’. Split Enz had ten albums (including seven studio albums) reach the top ten of the Official New Zealand Music Chart.

1939
Pete Moore, The Miracles, (1970 UK & US No.1 single with Smokey Robinson, ‘The Tears Of A Clown’).

1938
Hank Medress, from American male doo-wop-style vocal group The Tokens who had the 1961 US No.1 & UK No.11 single with its cover of Solomon Linda’s ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’. He died from lung cancer on 25th June 2007 aged 68.

1937
Ray Collins, vocals, Frank Zappa band. Collins was the lead singer on the band’s first two albums: Freak Out! (1966), and Absolutely Free (1967). Collins died on 24th Dec 2012.

1934
American folk singer, songwriter Dave Guard one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio, (1958 US No.1 & UK No.5 single ‘Tom Dooley’ plus nine other US Top 40 hits). He died of cancer on 22 March 1991 aged 56

1932
Scottish musician, bandleader Harry Robertson. He was responsible for writing and producing ‘Hoots Mon’ by Lord Rockingham’s XI, which stayed at No.1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in 1958. Lord Rockingham’s XI was a group of British session musicians put together to play as the resident band on the pop TV programme Oh Boy! shown nationally on ITV in the UK in 1958/59.

1927
Musician and keyboardist Joe Hunter who was a veteran session musician as one of the Funk Brothers who helped craft the distinctive Motown sound. He performed with such legendary Motown acts as Marvin Gaye Smokey Robinson and Martha and the Vandellas. Hunter died on 2 February 2007 in Detroit, Michigan, at the age of 79.

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