1983
Amy Winehouse, UK singer, songwriter. Winehouse’s debut album, Frank (2003), was a critical success in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her follow-up album, Back to Black (2006), led to five 2008 Grammy Awards, tying the then record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night, and made her the first British female to win five Grammys. Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning on 23 July 2011, aged 27. Her album Back to Black posthumously became, for a time, the UK’s best-selling album of the 21st century.
1981
Ashley Roberts, singer, The Pussycat Dolls, (2005, US No.2 & UK No.1 with their debut single ‘Don’t Cha’ featuring Busta Rhymes). The Pussycat Dolls became only the fourth ever girl band to enter the UK charts at No.1 with their debut single. (The other’s being the Spice Girls, B*Witched and Girls Aloud).
1972
Nas, (Nasir Jones), US rapper, (1996 UK No.12 single ‘If I Ruled The World’, 2007 US No.1 album ‘Hip Hop Is Dead’).
1970
Graig Montoya, bassist from American rock band Everclear. The band found success with their first three albums Sparkle and Fade, So Much for the Afterglow, and Songs from an American Movie Vol. One:
1970
Mark Webber, from English rock band Pulp, who had the 1995 UK No.2 single ‘Common People’. He quit the band in January 1997. Pulp were regarded among the Britpop “big four”, along with Oasis, Blur and Suede.
1967
John Power, singer, songwriter with The La’s who had the 1990 UK No.13 single ‘There She Goes’. As a member of Cast he had the 1996 UK No.4 single ‘Flying’.
1959
Morten Harket, singer, songwriter A-Ha. With their 1985 single ‘Take On Me’, A-ha became the first Norwegian group to score a US No.1. and later at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, the video for ‘Take On Me’ won six awards. On 17 February 2020, the music video for ‘Take On Me’ reached one billion views on YouTube.
1955
American saxophonist and keyboardist Steve Berlin from Los Lobos (Spanish for “the Wolves”), who had the 1987 UK & US No.1 single with their cover version of ‘La Bamba’, which was a 1958 hit for Ritchie Valens and one of early rock and roll’s best-known songs.
1954
Barry Cowsill, from American singing group The Cowsills, who had the 1967 US No.2 single ‘The Rain, The Park & Other Things’, and the 1969 US No.2 single the theme from ‘Hair’. TV’s Partridge Family was based on The Cowsills family. He died from injuries caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. His body was not recovered until December 28th, 2005, from the Chartres Street Wharf, New Orleans. He was 51.
1950
Paul Kossoff, guitar, Free (1970 UK No.2 & US No.4 single ‘All Right Now’). Formed Back Street Crawler. Kossoff died of a heart attack on 19th March 1976 during a flight from Los Angeles to New York.
1949
American musician, Ed King. He was a guitarist for the psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock and guitarist and bassist for the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 to 1975 and again from 1987 to 1996. King died in his Nashville, Tennessee, home on 22 August 2018 at 68 years of age.
1949
American musician Steve Gaines, guitarist with Lynyrd Skynyrd who had the 1974 US No. 8 single ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and the 1982 UK No.21 single ‘Freebird’. Gaines was killed in a plane crash on 20th October 1977. The plane carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, crashed outside of Gillsburg, Mississippi. Gaines died from blunt-force trauma to the head; he was 28 years old. The crash also killed Ronnie Van Zant, Steve’s sister Cassie Gaines from the band.
1949
MC5 guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith is born in West Virgina, raised in Detroit. In 1980, he marries fellow punk pioneer Patti Smith.
1947
Jon “Bowzer” Bauman (of Sha Na Na) is born in Brooklyn, New York.
1946
Pete Agnew, from Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, who had the 1973 UK No.9 single ‘Broken Down Angel’, and the 1976 US No.8 single, ‘Love Hurts’.
1944
Singer/actress Joey Heatherton is born Davenie Johanna Heatherton in Rockville Centre, New York. Known for the 1972 hits “Gone” and “I’m Sorry.”
1939
English singer-songwriter and musician Tony Hooper. He was best known as a founder-member of Strawbs together with Dave Cousins. They are best known for their hit ‘Part of the Union’, which reached No.2 in the UK in 1973. He died on 18 Nov 2020 aged 81.
1914
Songwriter Mae Boren Axton, known as the ‘Queen Mother of Nashville’ she wrote over 200 songs including a co-writing credit on the Elvis Presley hit ‘Heartbreak Hotel’. She died on April 9th 1997 aged 82 after drowning in her bath at her home in Hendersonville, Tennessee after an apparent heart attack.
