by Britt Ryan | Nov 5, 2020 | Today in Music History
Some say his 1951 #1 hit “Rocket 88” was the first rock and roll song. Izear Luster “Ike” Turner Jr. — born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on this day in 1931 — was a bright talent with a dark side, best known for meeting Anna Mae Bullock, renaming her Tina Turner and...
by Britt Ryan | Nov 4, 2020 | Today in Music History
Four Grammys. Four Billboard #1 blues albums. He toured with the Beatles, backed Bo Diddley and Howlin’ Wolf, and had a song covered by The Blues Brothers. Even had a Top 40 single 40 years ago. Born in Lubbock, Texas, on this day in 1940, Delbert McClinton is still...
by Britt Ryan | Nov 3, 2020 | Today in Music History
Juilliard-trained bassist Henry Grimes, born in Philadelphia on this day in 1935, is known for one of the most intriguing comebacks in jazz history. After performing with such legends as Sonny Rollins, Benny Goodman, Monk and Mingus, he disappeared to California in...
by Britt Ryan | Nov 2, 2020 | Today in Music History
A jazz trumpeter who performed as a soloist in bands fronted by Rudy Vallee, Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman; backed up Bing Crosby and Billie Holiday; and fronted his own band — all before his death at age 33 from alcohol-fueled cirrhosis — Roland Bernard “Bunny”...
by Britt Ryan | Nov 2, 2020 | Today in Music History
Happy 94th birthday to jazz saxophone legend Lou Donaldson, born in Badin, North Carolina, on this day in 1926. “His distinctive blues-drenched alto has been a bopping force in jazz for more than six decades,” says the National Endowment for the Arts, which named him...
