Birthdays in Music
- 1549 Eustache du Caurroy, composer
- 1581 Daniel Selich, German court composer, born in Wittenberg (d. 1626)
- 1677 Johann Ludwig Bach, German composer (d. 1731)
- 1751 Blas de Laserna, composer
- 1758 Pierre-Gabriel Gardel, French ballet dancer/choreographer
- 1767 Johann Franz Volkert, composer
- 1805 Georg Andreas Henkel, composer
- 1875 Raymond Moulaert, composer
- 1876 Victor Jean Leonard Vreuls, composer
- 1893 Bernard Rogers, American composer (Warrior, Marriage of Aude, Passion), born in NYC, New York
- 1903 Edwin Denby, Tientsin China, US dance critic/poet (Snoring in N)
- 1903 Siro Cisilino, composer
- 1904 Predrag Milosevic, composer
- 1908 Emmanuel “Manny” Klein, American jazz trumpeter, born in NYC, New York (d. 1994)
- 1910 Alfred Mendelsohn, composer
- 1912 Erich Leinsdorf, Austrian-born American conductor, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1993)
- 1915 Ray Evans, American songwriter with Jay Livingston (d. 2007)
- 1916 David Vassall Cox, composer
- 1918 Norman Wisdom, comedian (Kraft Music Hall), born in London, England
- 1929 Paul Burlison, rockabilly musician (The Rock N Roll Trio), born in Brownsville, Tennessee (d. 2003)
- 1932 Ivan Davis, Electra Texas, pianist/writer (Hunger, Corn is Green)
- 1934 Jouko Sakari Linjama, composer
- 1938 Joe Beard, American blues guitarist (No More Cherry Rose), born in Ashland, Mississippi
- 1941 John Steel, rock drummer (Animals-House of the Rising Sun)
- 1942 Johnny Gamble, rocker (Classics)
- 1944 Florence LaRue Gordon, Penn, rocker (5th Dimension-One Less Bell)
Alice Cooper
1948 Alice Cooper, [Vincent Furnier], rocker (School’s Out), born in Detroit, Michigan
Alice Cooper
- 1948 Marguerite “Marge” Ganser, pop singer (The Shangri-Las), born in Queens, New York (d. 1996)
- 1948 Mary Ann Ganser, pop singer (The Shangri-Las), born in Queens, New York (d. 1970)
- 1950 James Dunn, American vocalist (Stylistics), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1950 Philip Ehart, rock drummer (Kansas)
- 1950 Robert-John Stips, rock keyboardist/singer (The Nits)
- 1951 Dariush Eghbali, Iranian singer and musician
- 1952 Jerry Shirley, rock drummer (Humble Pie-Hot N Nasty, Eat It)
- 1953 Kitaro, Japanese composer
- 1957 Don Davis, American composer
- 1960 Tim Booth, British singer (Heat, The World’s End), born in Leeds, England
- 1960 Jonathan Larson, American composer (Rent), born in White Plains, New York (d. 1996)
- 1962 Clint Black, American country vocalist (Killin’ Time, A Better Man), born in Long Branch, New Jersey
- 1964 Noodles, American guitarist (The Offspring)
- 1966 Spike, rocker [or Sep 18]
- 1969 Duncan Coutts, Canadian bassist (Our Lady Peace)
- 1976 Cam’ron, American rapper
- 1977 Gavin DeGraw, American musician
- 1982 Kimberly Wyatt, American singer and dancer (Pussycat Dolls)
Weddings in Music
Wedding of Interest
1924 Jazz musician Louis Armstrong (22) weds pianist Lil Armstrong (26)
Louis Armstrong
Wedding of Interest
1939 Singer Frank Sinatra (23) marries 1st wife Nancy Barbato
Frank Sinatra
Wedding of Interest
1941 Actress Vera-Ellen (19) weds fellow dancer Robert Hightower
Vera-Ellen
- 2006 Daughter of June Carter country singer Carlene Carter (50) weds Joe Brown began at Cinnamon Hill in Jamaica
Deaths in Music
- 1553 Caspar Othmayr, composer, dies at 37
- 1590 Gioseffo Zarlino, composer, dies at 73
- 1781 Josef Myslivecek, composer, dies at 43
- 1816 Meingosus Gaelle, composer, dies at 63
- 1834 Amelie Julia Candielle, composer, dies at 66
- 1854 Carl Ludwig Cornelius Westenholz, composer, dies at 66
- 1894 Adolphe Sax, Belgium musician and inventor (saxophone), dies at 79
- 1895 Faustina Hasse Hodges, composer, dies at 71
- 1896 Henry David Leslie, composer, dies at 73
- 1927 Thomas Linnemann Laub, composer, dies at 74
- 1944 Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (b. 1867)
- 1954 Vaclav Vackar, composer, dies at 72
- 1956 Peder Gram, Danish composer, dies at 74
- 1974 Mihail Andricu, composer, dies at 79
Louis Jordan
1975 Louis Jordan, American musician, songwriter and bandleader (Caldonia), dies of a heart attack at 66
Louis Jordan
- 1989 Kenneth “Jethro” Burns, country singer (Homer & Jethro), dies at 69
- 1995 Betty Davis, British dance teacher of Dame Margot Fonteyn, dies
- 2000 Doris Coley, American singer (The Shirelles), dies at 58
- 2001 J. J. Johnson, American jazz trombonist and composer (b. 1924)
- 2001 Iannis Xenakis, Greek composer and architect (b. 1922)
- 2003 Charlie Biddle, Canadian jazz bassist (b. 1926)
- 2007 Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (b. 1934)
- 2009 Lux Interior, Frontman of the garage rock band The Cramps (b. 1946)
- 2013 Pat Halcox, British trumpeter, dies at 82
- 2013 Reg Presley, English rocker, dies from lung cancer at 71
- 2013 Donald Byrd, American jazz trumpeter (Black Byrd), dies at 80
- 2016 Maurice White, American singer-songwriter (Earth, Wind & Fire), dies at 74
- 2016 Leslie Bassett, American classical composer (Variations for Orchestra – Pulitzer Prize 1966), dies at 93
- 2017 Gervase de Peyer, British clarinetist, dies at 89