Music History

Nigel Griggs, bassist with New Zealand group Split Enz, was born.

Irish singer, songwriter, bassist and producer Phil Lynott, founding member and frontman of the hard rock band Thin Lizzy, was born in West Bromwich, England. With the group, he had the No. 6 UK hit “Whiskey in the Jar” in 1973, and under his leadership Thin Lizzy became one of Ireland's most important rock bands. Lynott contributed to major songs including “Whiskey in the Jar”, “The Boys Are Back in Town” and “Jailbreak”. He died on January 4, 1986, from heart failure and pneumonia after being in a coma for eight days following a drug overdose. In 2005, a life-size bronze statue of him was unveiled in Dublin.

Country musician Sam Neely was born in Cuero, Texas. In the 1970s, he was known for a number of minor hits, including a cover version of “I Fought the Law”.

Rick Springfield, born Richard Lewis Springthorpe, was born in Guildford, New South Wales, Australia. He became known as an Australian-American musician, producer and actor. In 1981 he had the US number-one hit “Jessie's Girl”, for which he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. Before becoming a pop star, he played Dr. Noah Drake on the TV series “General Hospital”.

Israeli-American musician Chaim Witz, known by his stage name Gene Simmons, was born in Haifa, Israel. He became famous as co-founder, bassist and singer of the rock band KISS.

Singer Bob Cowsill of The Cowsills was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, although the family group was later formed in Newport, Rhode Island.

Singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor Dickran Gobalian, known as Leon Redbone, was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. He became known on the folk scene of the 1970s and performed music in the style of vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley.

Country-rock musician, guitarist, songwriter and founding member of Alabama Jeff Cook was born in Fort Payne, Alabama.

Swedish actor and musician Peter Stormare was born. He also performed with the band Blonde From Fargo.

English musician, singer, and songwriter Hugh Cornwell, co-founder, singer, and guitarist of the punk rock and new wave group The Stranglers, was born in North London. He served as the group’s lead singer and guitarist from 1974 to 1990. The Stranglers had the No. 2 UK single “Golden Brown” in 1982 and more than 20 other Top 40 hits.

English drummer Martin Lamble, a member of the folk-rock group Fairport Convention, was born in St John's Wood, London. He played on the group’s first three albums. In 1969, he died at the age of 19 in a van accident on the M1 motorway.

Russ Field, whose real name was James Lewis Russell Field, was born in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England. He became known as the guitarist of Showaddywaddy.

Guitarist Eric Bell, a founding member of Thin Lizzy, was born.

Ted Turner, guitarist with Wishbone Ash, was born on August 2, 1950, in Sheldon, Birmingham.

Pete Way, zakládající baskytarista hardrockové skupiny UFO, se narodil v Enfieldu v Anglii.

Americký countryový zpěvák, skladatel, kytarista a producent Rodney Crowell se narodil v Jacinto City v Texasu.

Andy Fairweather Low, singer and guitarist with Amen Corner, was born in Ystrad Mynach, Wales. He also performed as a backing vocalist on The Who's album "Who Are You".

Pop and rock drummer Liberatori “Liberty” DeVitto was born in New York City. He became best known as Billy Joel's drummer.

Erik Braunn, born Rick Davis, guitarist for Iron Butterfly, was born in Pekin, Illinois. The group was known for “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” and the 1968 album of the same name is listed by the source among the world's 40 best-selling albums, with more than 30 million copies sold. Erik Braunn died on July 25, 2003, aged 52.

Singer, songwriter and bandleader August Darnell, known as Kid Creole, was born.

American singer and songwriter Billy Griffin, who later became the lead singer of The Miracles, was born.

American drummer Tommy Aldridge was born, known among other things for his work with Whitesnake, the Ozzy Osbourne Band and Thin Lizzy.

Dennis Elliott, drummer of Foreigner, was born in Peckham, London, England.

American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist William Borsey, known as Willy DeVille, was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He became known as frontman of Mink DeVille, which was associated with New York's CBGB and had the UK hit “Spanish Stroll” in 1977. His song “Storybook Love”, on which he collaborated with Mark Knopfler, became the theme song of the 1987 film “The Princess Bride”.

Bill Cowsill of The Cowsills was born. The group had the US hit “The Rain, The Park & Other Things” in 1967 and a hit with the title song from “Hair” in 1969.

Dick Cowsill of The Cowsills was born. The group had the US hit “The Rain, The Park & Other Things” in 1967 and a hit with the title song from “Hair” in 1969.

Scottish folk musician John Alexander was born.

English guitarist and songwriter Michael “Micky” Moody was born in Middlesbrough. He was best known as a member of Whitesnake, Juicy Lucy and Snafu. Juicy Lucy had the UK No. 14 single “Who Do You Love” in 1970, while Whitesnake had the US No. 1 single “Here I Go Again” in 1987 and reached No. 9 in the UK.

Andrew Gold, the American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer best known for hits such as “Lonely Boy” and “Thank You for Being a Friend,” was born on August 2, 1951, in Burbank, California.

Joe Lynn Turner, the American singer known for his work with Rainbow and Deep Purple, was born on August 2, 1951, in Hackensack, New Jersey.

Johnny Graham, multi-instrumentalist with Earth, Wind & Fire, was born in Louisville, Kentucky.

Roy Flowers, drummer with Sweet Sensation, was born in Kingston, Jamaica.

Samantha Sang, born Cheryl Lau Sang, was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Northern Irish drummer Les Binks was born. He is best known as the drummer of Judas Priest from 1977 to 1979.

Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Dan Fogelberg was born in Peoria, Illinois.

Rock drummer Ric Parnell was born. He became known for his work with Atomic Rooster and for playing Mick Shrimpton in the film This Is Spinal Tap.

Jazz and soul singer Bobby Caldwell was born.

John Rees, bassist with Men at Work, was born.

English musician and songwriter John Deacon was born in Oadby, Leicester, England. He became famous as the bassist of the rock group Queen. He was the last member to join the group and also its youngest member; he was only 19 when he joined. He wrote a number of Queen’s hit singles, including “You're My Best Friend”, “Spread Your Wings”, “I Want to Break Free” and the group’s best-selling single in the US, “Another One Bites the Dust”.

English rock bassist and singer Glenn Hughes was born in Cannock, Staffordshire. He became known for his work with the bands Trapeze and Deep Purple and also briefly as the singer of Black Sabbath.

American rock singer Jimi Jamison was born in Durant, Mississippi. He became famous as the frontman of Survivor, Target and Cobra. With Survivor, he had the 1982 US and UK number-one single “Eye of the Tiger” and was also the voice and co-writer of the title song for the “Baywatch” TV series.

Mark Hudson, a founding member of the sibling musical group The Hudson Brothers, was born in Portland, Oregon. He also co-wrote several songs for Aerosmith, including the 1993 hit “Livin' On The Edge”.

Danny Joe Brown, singer, multi-instrumentalist and lead vocalist of Molly Hatchet, was born in Jacksonville, Florida.

Michael Derosier, Canadian drummer and former member of the American rock band Heart, was born.

James Warren, bassist, singer, guitarist and keyboardist of British group The Korgis, was born. The group had the 1980 hit “Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime”, which reached number five in the UK and number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.

English singer and songwriter Robert “Rob” Halford was born in Sutton Coldfield, England. He became known as frontman and lead singer of heavy metal band Judas Priest and also performed with the projects Fight, 2wo and Halford.

Kevin Kavanaugh, a member of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, was born. The band released the album “Hearts Of Stone” in 1978 and later more than ten other albums.

American musician and songwriter David “Dave” Hlubek was born in Jacksonville, Florida. He was a founding member and lead guitarist of the rock band Molly Hatchet.