1984
Trey Songz, American singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, and rapper. He had the US No.1 album Trigga in 2014.
1983
American songwriter, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend. 2010 US & UK No.1 album, ‘Contra’ and the 2013 US No.1 album ‘Modern Vampires of the City’.
1979
Chamillionaire, (born Hakeem Seriki), US rapper, (2006 US No.1 & UK No.2 single ‘Ridin’).
1970
Matt Cheslin, bass player, Neds Atomic Dustbin, (1991 UK No.16 single ‘Happy’).
1962
Matt Cameron, drummer with Soundgarden, who joined Pearl Jam in 1998. At the age of thirteen, he and some friends played in a cover band called KISS, however, after a letter from the management of the rather better-known band Kiss, threatening the boys with legal action, they called it a day.
1959
Australian bassist Richard Grossman who has played bass guitar for the Divinyls and Hoodoo Gurus and was also a member of Australian bands: Matt Finish, Ghostwriters, Persian Rugs, The Kelly Gang and Men At Work.
1958
David Van Day, singer, from pop vocal duo Dollar who had the 1981 UK No.4 single ‘Mirror Mirror’.
1954
David Jaynes, from British pop band Modern Romance who had the 1982 UK No.4 single ‘Best Years Of Our Lives’ and a string of UK hits.
1949
Hugh McKenna, keyboards, from the Sensational Alex Harvey Band who had the 1975 UK No.7 single ‘Delilah, and the 1975 album Next.
1949
Paul Shaffer is born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The multi-instrumentalist finds fame as a bandleader on the Late Show with David Letterman.
1948
Beeb Birtles 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
Randy Newman, singer, songwriter, Composer of ‘Mama Told Me Not To Come’, ‘Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear’, 1977 US No.2 single ‘Short People.’ Film soundtracks including ‘Ragtime.’ Once hailed as the greatest songwriter alive by Paul McCartney. Since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer, his film scores include Ragtime, Toy Story; A Bug’s Life; Toy Story 2; Monsters, Inc.; Cars; Toy Story 3; and Monsters University.
1940
Bruce Channel, US singer, (1962 US No.1 & UK No.2 single ‘Hey! Baby’).
1940
Trinidadian British singer, Clem Curtis, the original lead vocalist of sixties soul group The Foundations who scored the 1967 UK No.1 single ‘Baby Now That I’ve Found You’ and the 1969 US No.3 single ‘Build Me Up A Buttercup’. The group was the first multi-racial group to have a No.1 hit in the UK in the 1960s. Curtis died on 27 March 2017 at the age of 76, after a lung cancer diagnosis earlier that year.
1939
Gary Troxel, The Fleetwoods, (1959 US No.1 & UK No.6 single ‘Come Softly To Me’).
1929
Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records. In 1957 Jackie Wilson recorded ‘Reet Petite’, a song Gordy had co-written with his sister Gwen and writer-producer Billy Davis. Wilson recorded six more songs co-written by Gordy over the next two years, including ‘Lonely Teardrops’. Gordy reinvested the profits from his songwriting success into producing. In 1957, he discovered the Miracles (originally known as the Matadors) and began building a portfolio of successful artists. Over the next decade, he signed such artists as The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5.
