a Phil Brodie Band Info Page
"Births & Deaths"
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APRIL: Charts ~ APRIL: On This Day ~ APRIL: Quiz
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APRIL
SADLY DEPARTED

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MORE BIRTHDAYS & PASSINGS
January . February . March . April . May . June . July
August . September . October . November . December
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APRIL BIRTHDAYS
REGULAR UPDATES

Born ~ April 1st
1981: Hannah Spearritt (singer; S Club 7).
1975: John Butler (Australian guitarist, multi musician, singer-songwriter; John Butler Trio).
1971: Method Man/Clifford Smith (rap artist; Wu-Tang Clan).
1967: Phil Demmel (US guitarist; Machine Head).
1965: Peter O'Toole (Irish bassist, guitar; Hothouse Flowers/Black Velvet Band)?

1964: Leslie Langston (bass, vocals; Throwing Muses).
1962: Phillip Schofield (TV presenter, DJ, Singer, actor).
1961: Mark White (guitar, keyboards; ABC).
1954: Jeff Porcaro (drums, founder of Toto/sessionist)*05.Aug.1992.
1952: Billy Currie (keyboards, violin, piano; Visage/ Ultravox).
1948: Simon Cowe (guitar, mandolin, banjo, vocals; Lindisfarne).
1948: Jimmy Cliff (singer, songwriter, reggae artist).
1947: Robin Scott (UK singer).
1946: Ronnie Lane (UK bassist; Faces/Small Faces/Slim Chance/freelance)*04.Jun.1997.
1946: Arthur Conley (US horn, vocals, songwriter; Arthur & the Corvets/solo)*16.Nov.2003.
1945: John Barbata (US drummer; The Turtles/Jefferson Airplane & Starship/sessionist).
1945: Kenny Buttrey (US session drummer)*12.Sept.2004.
1942: Phil Margo (vocals; Tokens)?
1942: Alan David Blakley (UK rhythm guitar, keyboards, vocals; Tremeloes)*10.June.1996.
1939: Rudolph Isley (US singer, songwriter; Isley Brothers).
1932: Debbie Reynolds (singer, actress; Tammy).
1927: Amos Milburn (US blues & boogie pianist, singer)*03.Jan.1980.
1906: Carl Martin (conga, percussion, guitar; Own Blues Trio)*10.May.1979.

April 2nd
1979: Jesse Carmichael (keyboards; Maroon 5).
1975: Deedee Magno (US singer; New Mickey Mouse Club/The Party/musicals).
1967: Greg Camp (lead singer, guitarist; Smash Mouth).
1961: Keren Jane Woodward (singer; Bananarama).
1956: Gregory Abbott (US singer).
1953: David Robinson (drummer; The Cars/The Scabs).
1952: Leon Wilkerson (bass, Lynyrd Skynyrd).
1952: Dave Bronze (bass; Robin Trower Band/Procol Harum/Eric Clapton Band/freelance).
1947: Emmylou Harris (country singer).
1946: Kurt Winter (Canadian guitarist; Guess Who)*14.Dec.1997.
1942: Leon Russell/Claude Russell Bridges(singer,songwriter,m-musician;solo/sessionist)?
1939: Marvin Gaye (singer, songwriter, pianist, drums; Motown)*01.April.1984.
1928: Serge Gainsbourg (French singer, pianist, guitarist)*02.March.1991.
1915:
Gica Petrescu (Romanian singer)*18.June.1915.

April 3rd
1970: Matthew Priest (drummer; Dodgy/sessionist).
1968: Sebastian Bach/Sebastian Bierk (singer; Skid Row/Breeder/solo).
1962: Simon Raymonde (bass, producer, mix;Cocteau Twins/solo).
1961: Eddie Murphy (US actor, singer).
1955: Mick Mars/Bob Alan Deal (US guitarist; Mötley Crüe).
1951: Mel Schacher (US bassist; Grand Funk Railroad/? and the Mysterians).
1949: Richard Thompson (vocals, mandolin, guitar, Dulcimer; Fairport Convention).
1946: Dee Murray (bass, backing vocals; Elton John band)*
15.Jan.1992
1944: Barry Pritchard (UK guitar; Fortunes)*11.Jan.1999.
1944: Tony Orlando/Michael Anthony Orlando Cassivitis (US singer; Dawn/solo).
1943: Richard Manuel (Canadian singer, piano; Revols/The Band)*
04.Mar.1986.
1942: Wayne Newton (US singer).
1941: Phillipe Wynne (US lead singer, The Spinners/Solo)*
14.July.1984
1941: Jan Berry (singer; Jan and Dean)*26.March.2004.
1938: Jeff Barry (singer/songwriter/producer; The Raindrops/The Archies).
1937: Louis Satterfield (US bassist, trombonist; Earth,Wind & Fire/solo)*27.Sept.
2004.
1936:
Harold Vick (US hard bop and soul jazz saxophonist, flautist; freelance, sessionist)*13.Nov.1987
1936: Jimmy McGriff
(US jazz organist; big bands/freelance)*24.May.2008.
1928: Don Gibson (US legendary country singer guitarist)*17.Nov.2002.
1924: Doris Day/Doris von Kappelhoff (US singer/actress).
1917: Bill
Finegan (American jazz bandleader, pianist, arranger, and composer)*04.June.2008.
1886: Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (African American actor and singer)*30.May.1953.

April 4th
1978: Lemar/Lemar Obika (R&B solo singer; successful uk fame academy contestant).
1975: Phil A. Jimenez (multiple instruments; Wheatus)?
1974: Andre Dalyrimple (singer; Soul For Real).
1973: Kelly Price (US singer).
1972: Jill Scott (US singer).
1972: Magnus Sveningsson (Swedish bassist; The Cardigans).
1968: Mark Yates (guitar; Terrorvision).
1966: Mike Starr (bassist; Alice In Chains/Sun Red Sun).
1964: Kid/Christopher Reid (Kid 'N Play).
1963: David Gavurin (lead guitarist; Sundays)?
1962: Craig Adams (bassist; Sisters of Mercy/The Cult/The Alarm)?
1957: Graeme Kelling (guitarist; Deacon Blue)*10.June.2004.
1952: Gary Moore (guitarist, singer, songwriter; Thin Lizzy, solo).
1951: Peter John Haycock (guitarist; Climax Blues Band).
1949:
Junior Braithwaite (Jamaican singer; co-founder of/first lead singer of The Wailers)*02.June.1999.
1948: Pick Withers (drummer; Dire Straits/freelance).
1948: Berry Oakley (US bassist, Allman Brothers Band)*11.Nov.1972.
1946: Dave Hill (UK guitar, Slade).
1945: Ian "Knox" Carnochan (UK lead singer; Vibrators/solo).
1941: Major Lance (Soul singer, dancer;The Floats/solo)*3.Sept.1994.
1940: Sharon Sheeley (US songwriter)*17.May.2002.
1939: Danny Thompson (UK double bassist; sessionist, John Martyn, Richard Thompson, Roy Orbison etc, etc).
1939: Hugh Masekela (South Africain vocalist, flugelhorn, trumpet; jazzman).
1915: Muddy Waters/McKinley Morganfield (US blues guitarist,singer)*30.April.1983.

April 5th
1973: Pharrell Williams (US singer; Neptunes).
1968: Paula Cole (US singer).
1965: Mike McCready (guitar; Mad Season/Pearl Jam).
1955: Janice Long (Radio broadcaster, DJ)?
1954: Stan Ridgway (singer, multi-musician; Wall of Voodoo/Flesh Eaters/solo).
1953: Christopher Franke (keyboards, synthesizer; Tangerine Dream).
1951: Everett Morton (drums; English Beat)?
1950: Agnetha Faltskog (Swedish pop singer, keyboards, piano; ABBA).
1944: Nicholas Caldwell (singer; The Whispers).
1942: Alan Clarke (vocals, guitar; The Hollies).
1941: Dave Swarbrick (vocals, violin, mandolin, fiddle; Fairport Convention).
1935: Peter Grant(manager,record exec;Yardbirds/Led Zeppelin/Bad Company)*21.Nov.1995.
1939: Ronnie White (singer, producer, songwriter; Chimes/Miracles/Ron&Bill)*
26.Aug.1995.
1929: Joe Meek (record producer; Tornados)*3.
Feb.1967.
1928: Tony Williams (lead singer; Platters)*14.Aug.1992.

April 6th
1978: Myleene Klass (singer, classical pianist, TV presenter; Hear'Say).
1975: Damon Pampolina (singer, TV presenter; New Mickey Mouse Club/The Party).
1965: Frank Black (guitar, vocals; Pixies/Frank Black and the Catholics).
1962: Stan Cullimore (guitar; Housemartins/music composer for childrens TV).
1958: Selwyn 'Bumbo' Brown (vocals, keyboards; Steel Pulse).
1951: Ralph Cooper (drums; Air Supply).
1947: Tony Connor (drums; Hot Chocolate).
1944: John Stax (bassist; Pretty Things).
1943: Julie Rogers (UK singer).
1942: Christopher Franke (keyboard, synthesizers, drums; Tangerine Dream).
1937: Merle Haggard (US country singer, guitar, fiddle; songwriter).
1927: Gerry Mulligan (one of the all time greatest baritone sax players)*20.Jan.1996.
1924: Charlie Rouse (jazz saxophonist; Thelonious Monk Quartet/& greats)*30.Nov.1988.

April 7th
1981: Watanabe Kazuki (Japanese guitarist and of founder Raphael)*31.10.2000.
1982: Kelli Young (singer; Liberty X).
1978: Duncan James (singer; Blue/solo)?
1960: Simon Climie (singer, songwriter, producer; Climie Fisher Duo)?
1951: Bruce Gary (drummer; The Knack)*22.Aug.2006.
1951: Janis Ian/Janis Eddy Fink (US singer, guitar, piano, songwriter).
1950: Steve Ellis (vocals; Love Affair).
1949: John Oates (vocals, keyboards, guitar; Hall & Oates).
1948: Carol Douglas (US singer).
1947: Florian Schneider- Esleben (flute; Kraftwerk).
1947: Pat Bennett (singer; The Chiffons).
1946: Bill Kreutzmann (drums; Warlocks/Grateful Dead).
1944: Pat LaBarbera/Pascel Emmanuel (Sax jazzman; solo/guest).
1943: Mick Abrahams (vocals, guitar; Blodwyn Pig/Jethro Tull).
1943: Alan Buck (drummer; Four Pennies/Johnny Kid).
1942:
Joel Dorn (US jazz, R&B music producer and record label serial entrepreneur)*17.Dec.2007
1938: Freddie Hubbard (flugelhorn, trumpet player; Jazz artist).
1938: Spencer Dryden (drums, Jefferson Airplane)*11.
Jan.2005.
1937: Charlie Thomas (US singer; Drifters).
1935: Bobby Bare (The All-American Boy country singer).
1918: Percy Faith (easy listening pianist, band leader)*09.
Feb.1976.
1915: Billie Holiday (legendary female jazz singer)*
17.July.1959.

April 8th
1979: Alexi "Wildchild" Laiho (guitarist; Children of Bodom/Sinergy/Kylähullut).
1975: Anouk Teeuwe
(female Dutch rock singer).
1971: Darren Jessee (drums; Ben Folds Five/Hotel Lights).
1964: Salt/Cheryl James (US rap, hip-hop artist; Salt n Pepa).
1964: Biz Markie/Marcel Hall (rap artist).
1963: Julian Lennon (UK singer, keyboards, John Lennon's 1st son).
1963: Donita Sparks (guitar, vocals; L7).
1962: Jerry Kelly (guitar; Lotus Eaters).
1962: Izzy Stradlin/Jeffrey Isbell (guitar; Guns N' Roses/Izzy Stradlin & the Ju Ju Hounds).
1962: Adam Mole (keyboardist; Pop Will Eat Itself)?
1956: Justin Sullivan (lead singer, guitar, lyricist; New Model Army).
1947: Larry David Norman (US musician, singer, songwriter "father of Christian rock music")*24.Feb.2008.
1947: Steve Howe (guitar; Yes/Flash).
1942: Roger Chapman (vocals; Family).
1978: Jacques Brel (French singer, major world songwriter)*09.10.1978.
1929: Walter Berry (Austrian opera singer; Vienna Music Academy)*27.10.2000.
1921: Franco Corelli (Italian opera singer; New York's Metropolitan Opera)*29.09.2003.

April 9th
1987: Jesse McCartney (US singer, actor) not related to Sir Paul.
1980: Albert Hammond Jr (guitar, rhythm guitar, singer, songwriter; Strokes/solo).
1978: Rachel Stevens (UK pop singer; S Club 7).
1969: Kevin Martin (vocals, guitar; Candlebox)?
1961: Mark Kelly (keyboards, guitar; Chemical Alice/Marillion).
1948: Phillip Wright (drums, lead singer; Paper Lace).
1946: Les Gray (vocals, Mud)*21.Feb.2004.
1944: Emil Stucchio (lead singer; Classics).
1944: Gene Parsons (drums; Byrds/Nashville West/The Flying Burrito Brs).
1943: Terry Night (bassist, producer; Terry Knight & the Pack/Grand Funk Railroad).
1932: Carl Perkins (US singer, songwriter, guitarist)
*19.Jan.1998.
1921: George David Weiss (US songwriter, President of the Songwriters Guild of America).
1898: Paul Robeson (actor, bass-baritone singer)*23.01.1976.

April 10th
1984: Mandy Moore (US singer).
1981: Elizabeth McClarnon (uk singer; Atomic Kitten).
1979: Sophie Ellis-Bextor (uk singer).
1970: Q-Tip/Jonathan Davis (hip-hop mc, actor, hip hop producer; Tribe Called Quest).
1970: Mike Mushok (guitar, songwriter; Staind).
1970: Kenny Lattimore (US singer; Maniquin/solo).
1968: Kenediid Osman (bassist, Sleeper/Candyland).
1964: Reni/Alan John Wren (drums; Stone Roses).
1963: Carlos Varela (Cuban singer, songwriter).
1959: Babyface/Kenneth Edmonds (US singer, keyboards, guitar).
1959: Katrina Leskanich (singer; Katrina & The Waves).
1959: Brian Setzer (singer, guitar; Stray Cats/Brian Setzer Orchestra/solo).
1957: Afrika Bambaataa (US hip hop artist).
1957: Steve Gustafson (bassist; 10,000 Maniacs).
1953: Terre Roche (UK folk singer, songwriter, composer; Roches).
1950: Eddie Hazel (guitar; Parliament/Funkadelic)*23.Dec.1992.
1950: Dave Peverett (guitar, vocals; Savoy Brown/Foghat)*07.Feb.2000.
1950: Ernest Stewart (bassist, KC and the Sunshine Band)*26.April.1997.
1948: Fred Smith (bassist; Blondie/Television)?
1947: Bunny Livingston (percussion, Bob Marley & Wailers).
1947: Karl Russell (vocals; Hues Corporation).
1940: Ricky Valance/David Spencer (Welsh pop singer).
1936: Bobbie Smith (lead singer; Detroit Spinners/Spinners)?
1934: Paul Brodie (Canadian saxophonist founded the World Saxophone Congress in Chicago)*19.Nov.2007
1932: Nate Nelson (US tenor and lead singer; Flamingos/Platters)*06.June.1984.
1921: Sheb Wooley (US actor, singer)*16.Sept.2003.
1911: Martin Denny (US legendary easy listening pianist)*02.March.2005.

April 11th
1987: Joss Stone/Joscelyn Eve Stoker (UK singer).
1970: Dylan Keefe (bassist; Marcy Playground).
1970: Delroy Pearson (UK singer; Five Star).
1969: Cerys Matthews/Cerys Elizabeth Philip (Welsh singer; Catatonia).
1966: Lisa Stansfield (UK singer; Blue Zone/solo).
1963: Nigel Pulsford (Welsh guitarist; Bush/solo).
1958: Stuart Adamson (UK guitar, vocals; The Skids/Big Country)*16.
Dec.2001.
1956: Neville Staples (singer, producer; Fun Boy Three/Specials/solo).
1951: Paul Fox (British guitarist; The Ruts/Dirty Strangers)*21.Oct.2007
1946: Bob "Whispering" Harris (DJ, radio host; Old Grey Whistle Test/BBC Radio 2).
1943: Tony Victor (singer; Classics)?

April 12th
1980: Bryan McFadden (singer; Westlife).
1978: Guy Berryman (bass, Coldplay).
1970: Nicholas Lofton Hexum (vocals, rhythm guitarist; 311/Pepper/Zack Hexum).
1967: Sarah Cracknell (lead singer; Saint Etienne).
1965: Sean Welch (bassist; Beautiful South).
1964: Amy Ray (singer, guitar, mandolin, harmonica; Indigo Girls).
1962: Arthur Paul "Art" Alexakis (vocals, guitar; Everclear).
1958: Will Sergeant (guitar; Echo & The Bunnymen/Electrafixion).
1958: Les Pattinson (bassist; Echo & The Bunnymen).
1957: Vince Gill (US country singer).
1956: Herbert Grönemeyer (German singer).
1951: Alexander Briley (singer; G.I.-Military Man Village People)
1950: David Cassidy (singer, actor; Partridge Family/solo).
1945: Doug
Riley (Canadian keyboardist; Famous People Players)*27.Aug.2007
1944: John Kay/Joachim Fritz Krauledat (German-Canadian guitarist; Steppenwolf/solo)
1940: Herbie Hancock (keyboard player, composer; Miles Davis/ bandleader).
1932: Tiny Tim/Herbert Buckingham Khaury (US singer, ukulele)*30.Nov.1996.
1930: Carol Lindsey Young (vocals; Kaye Sisters).

April 13th
1979: Toni Lundon (vocals; Liberty X).
1975: Lou Bega/David Loubega (German singer, prodcer).
1972: Aaron Lewis (vocals, acoustic guitar; Staind)
1966: Marc Ford (lead guitarist; Black Crowes/Uninvited/freelance).

1962: Hillel Slovak (Israeli guitar, founder member; Red Hot Chili Peppers)*25.Jun.1988.
1959: Kim McAuliffe (guitar, singer; Girlschool)?
1957: Wayne Lewis (singer, keyboardist; Atlantic Starr)
1955: Louis Johnson (bassist; Brothers Johnson).
1954: Jimmy Destri (keyboards; Blondie/solo).
1951: Max Weinberg (drummer; E Street Band/freelance)
1951: Peabo Bryson (US singer).
1946: Roy Loney (singer, guitar; Flamin Groovies/solo).
1946: Al Green (US soul singer).
1945: Lowell George (US singer, songwriter, guitarist; Little Feat)*29.June.1979.
1944: Jack Casady (US bassist; Jefferson Starship/SVT/Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna).
1944: Brian Pendleton (UK rhythm guitarist, lead guitar, vocals; Pretty Things/So What)*16.May.2001.
1943: Eve Graham (Scottish singer; New Seekers).
1943: Artie Traum (US folk singer, award-winning guitarist, producer and songwriter)
*20.July.2008.
1942: Bill Conti (US singer, producer, conductor, composer).
1940: Lester Chambers (singer; Chambers Brothers).
1936: Tim Field (singer; Springfields)?
1934: Horace Kay (singer; Tams).
1919: Howard Keel/Harry Clifford Leek (US singer, actor)
*07.Nov.2004.

April 14th
1974: Da Brat/Shawntae Harris (rap artist).
1969: Martyn LeNoble (Dutch bassist; Porno For Pyros/The Cult/Jane's Addiction).
1965: Carl Hunter (UK bassist; The Farm).
1965: Sheila Chandra (Indian-British singer; Monsoon/solo).
1962: Joey Pesce (keyboards; 'Til Tuesday)?
1958: Ronnie Grieco (US saxophone player; Joey Dee and the Starlighters/freelance/solo).
1949: June Millington (vocals, guitar; Fanny)?
1949: Sonja Kristina (vocals; Curved Air/the musical Hair).
1949: Dennis Bryon (Welsh drummer; Amen Corner/Bee Gees/Blue Weaver/freelance)?
1948: Larry Ferguson (keyboards; Hot Chocolate).
1946: Patrick Fairley (bassist, guitar; Marmalade).
1945: Ritchie Blackmore (guitar; Rainbow/Deep Purple/sessionist/freelance).
1942: Tony Burrows (singer; The Kestrels/First Class/sessioned with many bands).
1940: Clarence Satchell (saxophonist, guitarist; Ohio Players)*30.Dec.1995

1935: Loretta Lynn (country, singer).
1933: Buddy Knox (US singer, guitarist)*14.Feb.1999.
1924: Shorty Rogers/Milton Rajonsky (US jazz trumpeter, flugelhorn)*07.Nov.1994.

April 15th
1978: Francesco Fareri (Italian guitarist, shred guitarist, composer).
1968: Ed O'Brien
(guitar, harmony vocals; Radiohead).
1967: Frankie Poullian (bass; Darkness)?
1966: Samantha Fox (model; singer).
1966: Graeme Clark (bassist; Wet Wet Wet/Maggie Pie & The Impostors).
1965: Linda Perry (singer, producer, guitar, engineer; 4 Non Blondes/solo).
1965: Oscar Harrison (drummer, pianiast; Ocean Colour Scene)
1962: Nick Kamen (uk model, singer).
1948: Michael Kamen (oboe sessionist; film music composer, rock & classical)*18.11.2003.
1947: Stuart
"Wooly" Wolstenholme (organ,banjo,synthesisers; Barclay James Harvest).
1947: Michael Chapman (producer/writer/ Chinnichap productions).
1944: Dave Edmunds (guitar, keyboard, vocals, producer; Love Sculpture/Rockpile).
1939: Marty Wilde (uk pop singer).
1937: Bob Luman (American country and rockabilly singer)*27.Dec.1978.
1933: Roy Clark (US country singer, guitar, fiddle, banjo).
1930
: Herb Pomeroy (US jazz trumpeter;all the greats/own bands)*11.Aug.2007.
1894: Bessie Smith (US blues singer)*26.Sept.1937.

April 16th
1979: Sean Costello (American blues guitarist, singer)*15.April.2008
1976: Sean Maguire
(uk actor, singer).
1970: Gabrielle/Louise Gabrielle Bobb (UK singer).
1969: Sean Cook (bassist, Spiritualized).
1964: Esbjörn Svensson (Swedish jazz pianist; Esbjörn Svensson Trio aka E.S.T)*14.June.2008.
1964: David Pirner (guitar, vocals, trumpet; Murphy & Pirfinkle/Soul Asylum).
1963: Little Jimmy Osmond (US singer).
1963: Nick Berry (uk singer/actor).
1956: Paul Buchanan (vocals, producer, acoustic guitar; Blue Nile).
1951: John Bentley (bass; Squeeze).
1949: Bill 'Sputnick' Spooner (guitar; Tubes/Folk-Ups).
1947: Lee 'The Bear' Kerslake (UK drummer; The Gods, Toe Fat, The National Head Band, Uriah Heep).
1947: Gerry Rafferty (UK singer, guitar, songwriter; Stealers Wheel/Humblebums/solo).
1945: Stefan Grossman (guitarist; Even Dozen Jug Band/co-founded Kicking Mule Records).
1939: Dusty Springfield/Mary O'Brien (uk husky-voiced soul singer)*02.March.1999.
1936: Šaban Bajramovic (Serbian Romani singer, songwriter)*08.June.2008.
1935: Bobby Vinton/Stanley Robert Vintula (US pop singer).
1930:
Herbie Mann (American jazz flutist)*01.July.2003.
1929: Roy Hamilton (US singer)*20.July.1969.
1924: Rudy Pompilli (saxophone, clarenet; Bill Haley & His Comets)*05.Feb.1976.
1924: Henry Mancini (US composer and conductor)*14.June.1994.
1889: Charlie Chaplin (composer/actor)*25.Dec.1977.

April 17th
1974: Posh Spice/Victoria Beckham nee Adams (singer; Spice Girls/solo).
1970: Redman/Reggie Noble (US rapper).
1967: Liz Phair (US singer, guitarist).
1964: Maynard James Keenan (singer; A Perfect Circle/Tool).
1959: Stephen Singleton (saxophone; Vice Versa/ABC/Bleep/Booster).
1957: Afrika Bambaataa/Kevin Donovan (DJ, hip-hop artist).
1955: Pete Shelley (guitar; Buzzcocks)
1954: Michael Sembello (US guitarist, composer; Stevie Wonder band/sessionist/solo)
1948: Jan Hammer (Czechoslovakian keyboard player; Mahavishnu Orchestra/solo).
1943: Roy Estrada (bassist; Frank Zappa/Captain Beefheart)
1941: Billy Fury/Ronald Wycherley (uk singer mega popstar)*28.Jan.1983
1934: Don Kirshner (producer/promoter).
1932: Joe Romano (US jazz saxophonist; Woody Herman/Freelance).
1929: James Last (German orchestra leader).

April 18th
1974: Mark "Tru" Tremonti (lead guitar; Alter Bridge/Creed).
1970: Greg Eklund (drums; Everclear).
1964: Marky Mark 'Bez' Berry (UK dancer, percussion, mascot; Happy Mondays).
1962: Shirley Holliman (vocals; Pepsi & Shirlie/Wham!).
1958: Andy Kyriacou (drummer; Modern Romance).
1946: Lennie Baker (saxophone; Danny & the Juniors/Sha Na Na).
1944: Alexander "Skip" Spence (drums, guitar; Moby Grape/JeffersonAirplane)*16.Apr.1999
1941: Mike Vickers (saxophone, guitar, flute, clarinet; Manfred Mann/sessoinist/freelane).
1939: Glen D.Hardin (piano, guitar; Crickets/sessionist/freelance).
1924: Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown (US blues artist, multi musician)*10.Sept.2005.
1882: Leopold Stokowski/Antoni Stanislaw Boleslawowicz (Symphonic conductor)

April 19th
1989: Fiona MacGillivray (Canadian vocalist; The Cottars).
1970: Luis Miguel
(Mexican pop singer).
1967: Dar Williams
(US singer, guitarist, songwriter).
1966: Julia Neigel
(German singer and songwriter).
1953: Rod Morgenstein
(US drummer; Winger/Dixie Dregs/sessionist).
1947: Mark Volman/Phlorescent Leech (singer; Turtles/Mothers of Invention/Flo & Eddie).
1944: Bernie Worrell (keyboards, piano, synthesizer, organ; Parliament/Funkadelic).
1942: Alan Price (vocals, piano, keyboards,composer; Animals/Jade Warrior/own band).
1940: Genya Ravan (US vocalist; Goldie & the Gingerbreads/Ten Wheel Drive).
1941: Roberto Carlos Braga (Brazilian Grammy Award-winning MPB singer).
1935: Dudley Moore (UK actor, pianist, comedian, composer)
*27.March.2002
1928: Alexis Korner (French jazz, blues guitarist,"the father of British blues")
*01.Jan.1984.

April 20th
1972: Carmen Electra (singer, actress; Pussycat Dolls).
1972: Stephen Marley (singer, guitarist; Melody Makers).
1971: Mikey Welsh (bassist, Weezer/The Kickovers).
1951: Luther Vandross (US singer)*01.July.2005.
1948: Craig Frost (keyboardist; Silver Bullet Band/Grand Funk Railroad).
1945: Jimmy Winston (organ, keyboards; the Moments/Small Faces).
1939: Johnny Tillotson (US singer).
1929: Bob Braun (US television host)*15.Jan.2001.
1920: Tito Puente (US musician; influential Latin jazz and mambo musician)*31.May or 01.June.2000.

April 21st
1988: Mia Permanto (Finnish pop singer and radio host)*19.March 19.2008
1963: Johnny McElhone
(Scottish bassist; Altered Images/Texas/Hipsway).
1959: Michael Timmins (Canadian guitarist; Cowboy Junkies).
1959: Robert James Smith (guitar, keyboards, vocals; Siouxsie&The Banshees/The Cure).
1951: Nicole Barclay (keyboards, vocals; Fanny/freelance)?
1948: Paul Davis (US singer)*22.April.2008.
1947: John Weider (guitar, bass, violin; Family/The Animals/Stud/sessionist).
1947: Alan Warner (guitar; Foundations).
1947: Iggy Pop/James Newell Osterburg (singer; The Phsycodelic Stooges/Stooges).

April 22nd
1979: Daniel Johns (Australian vocalist, composer, pianist, guitarist; Silverchair).
1969: Craig Logan (Scottish singer; member of the trio Bros).
1956: Kenny Lyons (bassist; Lemonheads).
1951: Paul Carrack (singer, keyboardist; Ace/Squeeze/Mike & the Mechanics/solo).
1950: Peter Frampton (guitar, vocals; the Herd/Humble Pie/solo).
1944: Howard Wyeth (drummer, pianist; freelance/sessionist)?
1939: Simon Napier-Bell (manager of Wham! T Rex & Japan +more).
1937: Jack Nitzche (producer, songwriter, composer)*25.Aug.2000.
1936: Glen Campbell (singer, guitar, banjo; Beach Boys/solo).
1929: Erkki Junkkarinen (Finnish singer)*09.April.2008.

1922: Charles Mingus (Jazz musician/bandleader)*05.Jan.1979.
1922: Elden C. 'Buster' Bailey (percussion; New York Philharmonic)*13.Apr.2004.

April 23rd
1969: Stan Frazier (drummer; Sugar Ray)?
1968: Paul Clifford (bass, Wonder Stuff)?
1966: Neil Wathey (drummer; TNT/Suite FA/Bitter Suite/sessionist)

1964: Simon "Gen" Matthews (drummer, percussion; Jesus Jones).
1960: Steve Clark (UK
guitarist; Def Leppard)*08.Jan.1991.
1960: David Gedge (vocals, guitar, producer; Cinerama/The Wedding Present).
1955: Mark Schatz (bassist, banjo; The Bluegrass Album Band/freelance).
1952: Narada Michael Walden (vocals, drums; Mahavishnu Orchestra/freelance).
1949: John Miles (vocalist, guitarist and keyboards; The Influence/solo/freelance).

1947: Stu Middleton (guitar, keyboards; Prisoner/Bitter Suite).
1945: John Allen (guitarist; Nashville Teens).
1939: Patrick Williams (US composer of jazz, popular music, concert music, music for film & television).
1939: Ray Peterson (US pop singer)*25.Jan.2005.
1936: Roy Orbison (US pop and country singer, songwriter)*6.Dec.1988.
1924: Bob Rosengarden (Drums; band leader/Rosengarden & Kraus/Walter Wanderley).
1921: Janet Blair (actress, singer; TV musical specials).
1919: "Little" Benny Harris (US trumpet, composer; many jazz bands and sessionist)*11.May.1975.
1915: Joe Lippman (Jazz pianist, composer; band leader/many big bands)??
1903: Bob Garber (piano; band leader)*06.March.1988.
1895: Jimmy Noone (New Orleans clarinet player; bandleader)*19.April.1944.
1895: Charles "Cow Cow" Davenport (US boogie woogie piano player)*03.Dec.1955

April 24th
1982: Kelly Clarkson (singer; winner of the US TV show Pop Idol).
1973: Brian Marshall (bass guitar; Creed/Alter Bridge).
1968: Aaron Comess (drums; Spin Doctors)?
1967: Patty Schemel (drums; Hole/freelance).
1963: Horacio 'El Negro' Hernandez (Cuban drums/percussion; Yerba Buena)?
1963: Billy Gould (bass; Faith No More).
1960: Paula Yates (music presenter, TV host)*17.Sept.2000.
1957: Boris Williams (French drummmer; Thompson Twins/The Cure).
1957: David Jay Haskins (bass; Bauhaus/The Jazz Butcher/Love & Rockets).
1955: Captain Sensible/Raymond Burns (vocals, guitar, bass; King/The Damned/solo).
1948: Steve York (bass, Manfred Mann/Earth Band)?
1947: Glen Cornick (bassist; Jethro Tull).
1947: Hubert Ann Kelly (singer; Hues Corporation).
1945: TBT ('Tis Me!).
1945: Doug Clifford (drums;Creedence ClearwaterRevival/Creedence Clearwater Revisited).
1943: Glen Dale/Richard Garforth (guitar/vocals; Fortunes).
1943:
Ross Kettle (Australian singer, songwriter, guitar; Singing Kettles)*12.Sept.2007.
1942: Barbra Streisand (US singer, actress).
1937: Joe Henderson (saxophone; Horace Silver/Blood, Sweat & Tears)*30.June.2001.
1937: James "Spanky" DeBrest (bass; Art Blakey/Thelonious Monk/more)*02.March.1973
1933: Freddie Scott (US singer-songwriter: famous for "Hey Girl")*04.June.2007.
1928: John Arnold Griffin III (American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist)*25.July.2008.
1926: Joe Segal (jazz promoter, owner of 'The Jazz Showcase' nightclub in Chicago).
1923: Albert King/Albert Nelson (Blues guitar virtuoso, composer)*21.Dec.1992.
1922: Samuel Aaron Bell (tuba, bass; Duke Ellington/many jazz bands)*28.July.2003.

April 25th
1980: Jacob Underwood (singer; O-Town).
1965: Eric Avery (bassist; Jane's Addiction/freelance).
1965: Simon Fowler (vocalist, acoustic guitarist Ocean Colour Scene).
1964: Andy Bell (vocals, producer, arranger; Erasure/solo).
1964: Maya Gilder (keyboards; Furniture)?
1960: Paul Baloff (US singer, frontman; Exodus)*02.Feb.2002
1958: Fish/
Derek William Dick (singer; Marillion/solo/Radio presenter).
1950: Steve Ferrone (drummer; Average White Band/freelance).
1949: Michael Brown/Michael Lookofsky (US singer, songwriter).
1946: Ron Gilbert (bassist; Blue Magoos)?
1945: Bjorn Ulvaeus (Swedish guitarist, vocals, composer; ABBA).
1945: Stu Cook (bass; Creedence Clearwater Revival/Creedence Clearwater Revisited).
1945: Michael Kogel (singer; Los Bravos, first Spanish rock band with UK & US hit single).
1944: Charlie Harper/David Charles Perez (lead singer; UK Subs)
1943: John Bryson Eulenberg (songwriter/voice box pioneer).
1943: Tony Christie/Antony Fitzgerald (UK singer).
1937: Bubba Groce (US jazz drummer).
1933: Jerry Leiber (Leiber/Stoller songwriting and producing partnership).
1917: Ella Fitzgerald (US legendary jazz singer)*
15.June.1996
1913: Earl Bostic (US alto saxophonist; own R&B, soul, jazz bands)*28.Oct.1954

April 26th
1982: Jon Lee (vocals, S Club 7).
1981: Ms Dynamite/Niomi MacLean-Daley (UK rapper, singer).
1976: Jose Pasillas (drummer; Incubus).
1975: Joey Jordison (drums, guitar; Slipknot).
1970: T-Boz/Tionne Tenese Watkins (lead vocals; TLC)
1970: Ruth-Ann Boyle (vocals; Olive/solo).
1961: Chris Mars (drums; Golden Smog/The Replacements).
1960: Roger Taylor (drums; Duran Duran/Frebass) not Queen's drummer.
1952: Neol Davies (guitar, vocals, songwriter; The Selecter)
1951: Nick Garvey (lead vocalist, guitarist; Ducks Deluxe/Motors/solo).
1945: Tony Murray (bassist; Troggs/sessionist)?
1943: Gary Wright (singer, keyboards, violin, piano Spooky Tooth/solo/guest).
1942: Bobby Rydell/Robert Louis Ridarelli (US singer).
1940: Giorgio Moroder (Italian producer, disco sound, composer; film music/own studios).
1938: Duane Eddy (legendary US guitarist).
1938: Maurice Williams (lead singer; Royal Charms/Zodiacs).

1936: William Godvin "Beaver" Harris
(American jazz drummer)*22.Dec.1990

1924: Teddy Edwards (saxophone, Dexter Gordons/sessionist/freelance)*20.April.2003.
1921: Jimmy Giuffre (American jazz composer, arranger, saxophonist, clarinetist)*24.April.2008
1915: Johnny Shines (Delta Blues Slide Guitar)*20.April.1992.

April 27th
1984: Patrick Stump (lead vocals, guitar; Fall Out Boy).
1984: Yonah Higgins (vocals; Cleopatra).
1976: Isobel Campbell (Scottish singer,cello,piano;Gentle Waves/Belle-Sebastian).
1972: Bob Coombes (keyboards; Supergrass).
1969: Mica Paris (UK singer, actress).
1959: Marco Pirroni (guitar; Adam And The Ants).
1959: Scott Robinson (saxophone, flute, clarinet; Jazz musician).
1959: Sheena Easton (Scottish singer).
1951: Paul "Ace" Frehley (guitar, vocals; Kiss).
1949: Clive Taylor (bassist; Amen Corner)?
1948: Kate Pierson (US singer; The B-52's).
1947: Peter Ham (Welsh singer, guitar; Badfinger/The Iveys)*23
.April.1975.
1947: Herb Murrell (singer; Stylistics).
1947: Ann Peebles (US soul-rhythm & blues singer).
1946: Gordon Haskell (UK singer, songwriter; Ravens, League of Gentlemen/King Crimson/solo).
1944: Cuba Gooding Sr (singer; Main Ingredient).
1932: Casey Kasem (host of the weekly US Top 40 radio program & many other things).
1927:
Sal Mosca (American jazz pianist and educator)*28.July.2007.

April 28th
1969: Mica Paris (UK singer).
1968: Howard Donald (singer; Take That).
1968: Daisy Berkowitz/Scott Mitchell Putesky (bass; Marilyn Manson).
1966: Too Short/Todd Shaw (West Coast rapper).
1957: Wilma Landkroon (Dutch singer)
1955: Eddie Jobson (violin, keyboards, synthesizers; Curved Air/Roxy Music/Frank Zappa).
1953: Kim Gordan (bass; Sonic Youth/Ciccone Youth).
1945: John Wolters (drummer; Dr.Hook and the Medicine Show)*16.June.1997.

April 29th
1980: Kian Egan (Irish singer; Westlife).
1979: Jo Velda O'Meara (vocals, S Club 7).
1973: Mike Hogan (
bass; The Cranberries).
1967/69: Master P/Percy Miller (hip hop, rap artist).
1960: Phil King (bass, sometimes drummer; Lush).
1958: Simon Edwards (guitar; Fairground Attraction)?
1953: Bill Drummond (producer, A&R man, writer, drummer: KLF).
1948: Michael Karoli (German guitarist; Can)
1947: Tommy James
(singer; Shondells)
1947: Joel Larson (drums; Grass Roots)
1945: Tammi Terrell (US singer; The Sherrys/Motown)*16.March.1970
1943: Duane Allen (lead singer; Oak Ridge Boys).
1942: Klaus Voorman (German bassist;sessionist/Manfred Mann/Plastic Ono Band/more).
1940:
George Rufus Adams (US jazz jazz tenor saxophonist, flute, bass clarinet)*29.April.1940.
1937: Lefty Dizz (US blues guitarist and singer)*07.Sept.1993.
1934:
Otis Rush (US blues guitarist, singer).
1931: Lonnie Donegan (singer, guitar, banjo, songwiter, composer)*03.Nov.2002.
1929: Ray Barretto (PuertoRican percussion,congas; sessionist/Fania All-Stars)*17.Feb.2006.
1928: Carl Gardner (US singer; The Coasters).
1925: Danny Davis (US country vocalist, bandleader, producer; Nashville Brass)*12.June.2008
1899: Duke Ellington (jazz pianist, bandleader, songwriter, composer)*24.May.1974

April 30th
1987: Nikki Webster (Australian pop singer, entertainer).
1982: Cleo Higgins
(vocals; Cleopatra).
1982: Lloyd Banks/Christopher Lloyd (singer, rapper; G-Unit/solo)
1979: Sean Mackin (vocals, violin; Yellowcard)?
1973: Jeff Timmons (singer; 98 Degrees/solo).
1972: J.R. Richards (singer, guitar; Dishwalla/guest).
1971: Chris "Choc" Dalyrimple (singer; Soul For Real).
1971: Darren Emerson (Dance DJ, keyboards, Underworld).
1969: Clark Vogeler (guitarist; The Toadies).
1968: Ben Ayres (guitar, keyboards, tamboura; Cornershop)?
1969: Paulo Jr/Paulo Xisto Pinto Junior (Brazilian bassist; Sepultura)
1967: Turbo B (rap artist; Snap)?
1964: Barrington Levy (Jamaican reggae artist)
1962: Robert Reynolds (bass; The Mavericks).
1953: Merrill Osmond (lead singer; Osmonds).
1951: Des Tong (bass; Sad Cafe)?
1948: Wayne Kramer (vocals, guitar; MC5/solo).
1943: Bobby Vee/Robert Thomas Velline (US singer).
1933: Willie Nelson (counrty singer, guitar, songwriter, actor).
1925: Johnny Horton (US honky tonk singer, guitarist)*05.Nov.1960
1914: Dorival Caymmi (Brazilian songwriter and singer)*16.Aug.2008.
1896: Reverend Gary Davis (blind blues/gospel singer, guitarist)*05.May.1972.

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LOST THIS MONTH

April 1st
1984: Marvin Gaye (44) Legendary Motown singer/pianist/drummer/songwriter, (shot dead by his father during a violent argument, the day before his 45 birthday. Gaye's relatives claimed that he had purposely pushed his father to the edge instead of having to commit suicide)
1998:
Rozz Williams/Roger Alan Painter (34) US rock singer; Christian Death/Premature Ejaculation (suicide)
2004: Paul Atkinson (58)
UK guitarist for The Zombies. He later became an artists and repertoire executive, discovering and signing such bands as ABBA, Bruce Hornsby, Mr. Mister, Judas Priest, and Michael Penn (liver and kidney disease).

April 2nd
1987: Buddy Rich (69) Drummer, bandleader, sessionist, guest; considered on of the finest jazz drummers of all time. (brain tumour)
1998: Robert 'Rob' Pilatus (32) Afro-German model, stripper, singer of the duo Milli Vanilli. After the band was exposed as a fraud, he turned to a life of crime in Los Angeles (drug overdose)
2003: Edwin Starr (61)
US soul singer (heart attack)
2006: Buddy Blue /Bernard Seigal (48)
US guitarist with the legendary San Diego punktry band the Beat Farmers (heart attack).

April 3rd
1887: Johannes Brahms (63) Austria-Hungarian composer, pianist; his works blend classical tradition with a romantic impulse and include concertos, four symphonies, chamber music, and choral compositions.()
1978: Ray Noble (74)
UK bandleader, composer, arranger and actor; became leader of the HMV Records studio band in 1929. The band, known as the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, featured members of many of the top hotel orchestras of the day. The most popular vocalist with Noble's studio band was Al Bowlly, he also provided music for many radio shows like The Charlie McCarthy Show and Burns and Allen ().
1990: Sarah Vaughan/Sassy (66)
US jazz singer, considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th Century. (lung cancer)
1999: Lionel Bart (69)
UK composer of songs and musicals, best known for Oliver!
(died after a long hard struggle with cancer)
2002: Fad Gadget/Frank Tovey (45)
An influential British avant-garde electronic musician, he was an exponent of both New Wave and early industrial music (he had suffered from heart problems since his childhood, and died of a heart attack).
2003: Homer Banks (61)
African-American songwriter, singer and record producer, best known for his songs for Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s. Many of the songs he wrote have become contemporary classics (cancer).
2006: Martin Gilks (41) UK drummer for the British band the Wonder Stuff. They backed UK comedian Vic Reeves on a great remake of "Dizzy" in the early 90s. He left the group at the end of 1995 to join his brother "Tank" in forming Furtive Mass Transit Systems, a management company who looked after Reef, Cable, A and Hundred Reasons (motorcycle accident).
2008: Wayne "Frosty Freeze" Frost (44) American B-boy, breakdancer and member of the hip-hop group Rock Steady Crew, known for his comedic, acrobatic and inventive style; his trademark move is known as, "The Suicide", also known as "The Death Freeze Drop" (He was stricken with an undisclosed illness during early 2008, went on life support on March 27).

April 4th
1995: Kenny Everett (50) UK radio DJ, TV presenter; he began his show biz career as a DJ for Radio London, a pirate radio station, where he teamed up with Dave Cash for the 'Kenny & Cash Show' one of the most popular programmes on pirate radio (aids)
1997: Gene Ames (74) US singer with The Ames Brothers, they notched up 50 U.S. chart entries and were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998 (?)

April 5th
1981: Bob Hite (36)
lead singer, harmonica with Canned Heat (heart attack)
1983: Danny Rapp (41)
front man with his Danny and the Juniors; although his birth certificate states his birth was May 10, he was born at home on May 9 and registered the following day.
(an apparent suicide by gunshot)

1994: Kurt Cobain (27) founder, singer, guitarist of Nirvana (His death was officially ruled a suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound. Since then, the circumstances surrounding his death have fueled much analysis and debate)
1998: Cozy Powell/Colin Flooks (50) UK legendary drummer; Rainbow/ Whitesnake/ solo/ sessionist/ freelance; Considered to be one of England's best drummers, and very much in demand for rock and pop records, Cozy Powell is legendary for a heavy-hitting style that could be made to work with many kinds of rock music, whether for the thundering pop productions or the softer rock ballads (died in hospital following a car crash, driving his Saab 9000 in bad weather on the M4 motorway near Bristol, while talking to his girlfriend on his mobile phone, he lost control and crashed into the central barriers)
2002: Layne Staley (34)
lead guitarist & singer of Alice In Chains (lethal overdose of heroin and cocaine)
2006: Gene Pitney (66)
US singer songwriter. (Died peacefully in his sleep at The Hilton Hotel, Cardiff Wales, UK, after a sold out show at St. Davids Hall. An autopsy confirmed the singer died of natural causes)

April 6th
1977: Benny Featherstone (65) Tasmanian drummer, trumpet player (?)
1984: Ral Donner (41)
US singer; a most successful Elvis sound-alike, getting a career, a year's worth of charting singles, and years of steady work out of the fact that his singing bore an uncanny resemblance to the King of Rock & Roll's ballad style.(cancer)
1998: Wendy Orlean Williams (48)
lead singer; Plasmatics (died in a wooded area near her home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound)

1998: Tammy Wynette
(55) Country singer; known as the "First Lady of Country Music" and one of her best-known songs was "Stand by Your Man," which was one of the biggest selling hit singles by a woman in the history of the music genre (cardiac arrythmia)
2006: Augustyn Bloch (75) composer, member of the Polish Composers Union; he was an active concert organist, and wrote music for the Polish Radio Theatre ()

April 7th
1981: Kit Lambert (45)
record producer and the manager for The Who. (died of a cerebral hemorrhage after falling down a flight of stairs at his mother's home in London)
1994: Lee Brilleaux (41) South African singer, harmonica; Dr Feelgood (throat cancer)
2000:
Heinz/Heinz Henry Georg Schwartze (57) vocals, bass; Wild Boys/Tornados/solo; born in Germany but raised in Southampton, UK (stroke, effects of motor neurone disease)

2006: Derek Jamerson (39) US drummer and keyboardist very active in the Detroit Techno Music Scene, he is also the son of bassist James Jamerson.(died in the Presbyterian St. Lukes Hospital, Denver, Colorardo).
2008: Phil Urso (82) American jazz tenor saxophonist and composer, sadly he was never well-known, missed by the media, but he backed Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra with
the Eliot Lawrence Orchestra and played with Woody Herman, Jimmy Dorsey, Miles Davis, Terry Gibbs, Oscar Pettiford and many others in the late 1940's until the early 70s (?).

April 8th
1938: Joe "King" Oliver (57)
US cornet player; He pioneered in the use of mutes, including the plumber's plunger, derby hat, bottles and cups in the bell of his horn. His recording "WaWaWa" with the Dixie Syncopators can be credited with giving the name wah-wah to such techniques. He gave Louis Armstrong the first cornet that Louis was to own. Louis called Oliver his idol and inspiration all his life.()
1985: John Frederick Coots (87)
US songwriter
, he wrote over 700 songs including 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town' a song that became one of the biggest best sellers in American music history.()
1995: Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes (59)
US Bluesman, harmonica player, owner of Barnes' Playboy Club on Nelson Street in Greenville, Mississippi were he held court. (lung cancer)
1997: Laura Nyro (49) singer, guitar, piano, songwriter (ovarian cancer)
2008: Cedella Booker (81) Jamaican mother of the great Bob Marley (natural causes).

April 9th
1976: Phil Ochs (35) US folk singer songwriter (afflicted with serious depression, he hung himself at his sisters home in Queens, New York)
1988: Dave Prater (50)
one half of Sam & Dave; most of their hits were penned by Isaac Hayes and Dave Porter. In most recordings they were backed by Hayes on piano with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and the Memphis Horns.(car crash at Syracuse, Georgia).
1988: Brook Benton/Benjamin Franklin Peay (56)
Silky smooth US soul singer, rhythm & blues singer (complications from spinal meningitis)
1991: Martin Hannett (42)
Record producer, The Smiths, New Order, Joy Division, Happy Mondays, Magazine, and U2, The Psychedelic Furs (discovered dead in his chair, a victim of heart failure)
1997: Mae Boren Axton (82)
Known in the music industry as the 'Queen Mother of Nashville'. She was one of the co-writers of the song Heartbreak Hotel, made popular by Elvis Presley.
She was an influential member of the Nashville music industry. For decades she used her influence to contribute to the success of many musical careers including Mel Tillis, Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson and Blake Shelton to name only a few (drowned in her hot tub at her home)
2008: Bob Kames (82) American polka musician, songwriter and is credited with developing and popularizing the modern-day version of the song "Dance Little Bird," which is much better known by its more common name, The Chicken Dance. He is a member of the Wisconsin Area Music Industry's Hall of Fame (prostate cancer).
2008: Erkki Aukusti Junkkarinen (78) Finnish singer;
established his musical career in 1950, he helped spread the humppa style of music (?).
2008: Choubeila Rached (75) Tunisian singer, decorated with the insignia of the Order of the National Merit in the cultural sector by President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali (?).

Apr
il 10th
1958: Chuck Willis/Harold Willis (30) Blues, R&B singer (died suddenly of peritonitis while at the peak of his career)
1970: Rafael "Ralph" Escudero (71)
tuba, bowed bass, Puerto Rican Jazzman; valuable rhythm section member in some of the most prominent of the larger classic jazz ensembles, such as the bands of Fletcher Henderson and the popular McKinney's Cotton Pickers.()
1962: Stuart Sutcliff (22)
UK bassist for The Beatles; an art school friend of John Lennon and was the original bassist of the The Beatles for two years. He is credited with naming the group after Buddy Holly's band the Crickets. (died of a brain haemorrhage in an ambulance on the way to hospital)

2003: Little Eva/Eva Narcissus Boyd (59)
US singer; after the success of "The Loco-Motion", she was unfortunately stereotyped as a dance-craze singer and was given limited material.(died after a two year battle with cervical cancer).
2003: Douglas 'Noel' Fox (63)
US bass singer with the country and gospel band The Oak Ridge Boys, he went on to work as booking agent, talent manager and publisher. In 1978, he began managing the Oak Ridge Boys' publishing entity (died after surgery following a series of strokes).
2005: Wally Tax (57) Dutch vocalist, songwriter, composer; Outsiders/Tax Free/solo ()

April 11th
2006: Proof aka DeShaun Holton (32) founder rapper of D12, and was Eminem's publicity assistant and was a long time friend of his.(shot to death at the Detroit club, C.C.C. on Eight Mile Road)

April 12th
1963: Herbie Nichols (44) American jazz pianist, composer; recorded sessions wih Blue Note Records (leukemia)
1967: William "Buster" Bailey (64) jazz clarinetist; Fletcher Henderson/Clarence Williams /Louis Armstong and many other greats ()
1971:
Wynton Kelly (39) US jazz pianist with Miles Davis's Quintet, Cannonball Adderley, many others and a solo artist. Before his early death, he recorded as a leader for Blue Note, Riverside, Vee-Jay, Verve, and Milestone (epileptic fit).
2006: June Pointer (52)
US singer; The youngest of the Pointer Sisters also sang solo (cancer at Santa Monica University of California, LA, Medical Centre.)

April 13th
2004: Elden C. 'Buster' Bailey (81)
a member of the percussion section of the New York Philharmonic for 42 years (died after long illness)

April 14th
1954: Lil Green (34) American blues vocalist noted for superb timing and a distinctively sinuous voice (pneumonia)
1983: Pete Farndon (30) Uk bassist in the band The Pretenders (found drowned in his bath due to a drug overdose)
1998: Dorothy Squires (83) UK singer who did most of her work with the orchestra of Billy Reid before launching a solo career (cancer).
1999: Anthony Newley (67)
UK singer, actor, composer. (cancer).
2005: John Fred Gourrier (63)
Front man with his band John Fred & His Playboy Band (died from complications from a kidney transplant the year previous to his death)
2007: Don Ho/Donald Ho Tai Loy (76)
legendary Hawaiin pop singer, keyboard (heart failure)

April 15th
1995: Cleo Brown/C. Patra Brown (85)
US jazz singer; made recordings in the '30s and '40s, then entered the studios once again in the late '80s after being rediscovered living in the hinterlands of Colorado (?)
2001: Joey Ramone (49)
lead singer of The Ramones; the 1970s band that was credited with beginning the punk rock movement. The Ramones played raw tunes, fast and furious. (lymphatic cancer)
2005: Benny Bailey (79)
American bop trumpeter; in the early 1940s he worked with Bull Moose Jackson and Scatman Crothers. He later worked with Dizzy Gillespie and toured with Lionel Hampton. During a European tour with Hampton he decided to stay in Europe (died at home in Amsterdam)
2008: Clifford Davies (59)
American musician, former drummer for Ted Nugent and member of the jazz band "If" (died from a self inflicted gun shot wound).
2008: Brian "Blinky"Davison (65)
British drummer, former member of progressive rock band The Nice, also played with the Jackson Heights band, the Refugees and the Gong (he had been diagnosed with an inoperable tumor earlier this year) b. May 25th 1942.
2008: Sean Costello (28)
American blues guitarist and singer. won the Memphis Blues Society's Talent Award aged 14. He released his first album, Call The Cops, when he was 17. In 2000, he released Cuttin' In, earning him a Gold Record before his 21st birthday (found dead in his Atlanta hotel room, cause of death has yet to be determined)

April 16th
1999: Alexander "Skip" Spence (52)
drums, guitar; Moby Grape and Jefferson Airplane (lung cancer)

April 17th
1960: Eddie Cochran (21)
Singer/songwriter, multi-musician, one of the greatest, and the most talented of the early pop stars (car crash near Swindon, UK, on the way to London Airport after his successful UK tour)
1974: Vinnie Taylor (24)
lead guitarist with Sha Na Na (heroin overdose after a concert at University Hall at the University of Virginia)
1983: Felix Pappalardi (43)
producer, bassist, Mountain (shot dead by his wife Gail Collins during a jealous rage)
1987: Carlton Barrett (36)
bassist with the Impact All-Stars, Bob Marley & the Wailers, The Wailers, The Upsetters; furnished the rock steady rhythm section of Bob Marley And The Wailers from 1969 until Marley's death in 1981.(shot dead outside his house in Kingston)
1998: Linda McCartney
(56) vocals and keyboardist in Wings and other Paul McCartney projects; not only performed with her husband but was also an acclaimed photographer as well as a prominent advocate of vegetarianism and animal rights.(breast cancer)
2003: Earl King (69)
New Orleans Blues guitarist, international songwriter (complications of diabetes in New Orleans)
2008: Danny Federici (58) American musician; life long friend and over 40 years as keyboardist with Bruce Springsteen in bands Child, Steel Mill and The E Street Band (melanoma).

April 18th
1973: Willie "The Lion" Smith (79)
American jazz pianist; one of the masters of the stride style. Duke Ellington stated "Willie The Lion was the greatest influence of all the great jazz piano players who have come along. He has a beat that stays in the mind." ().
1996: Bernard Edwards (42)
producer, also bassist with Chic, ABC, Power Station and Rod Stewart (died in a Tokyo Hotel room after complaining that he was feeling ill)
2008: Peter Howard/Howard Weiss (80)
American musical theatre arranger, conductor and pianist. He served as the conductor and dance music arranger for the original Broadway productions of Hello, Dolly!, 1776 and Annie, and and served as the dance music arranger for many original Broadway productions (Parkinson's Disease).

April 19th
1944: Jimmy Noone (48) New Orleans clarinet/leader; considered one of the three top New Orleans clarinetists of the 1920s, with a smoother tone than his contemporaries that appealed to players of the swing era (died suddenly of a heart attack while in L.A. California)
1993: Steve Douglas (54
) US saxophone, flute, clarinet, drums; one of the most sort after session musicians in L.A, a member of The Wrecking Crew, who worked with Phil Spector, Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. He can be heard on records by Duane Eddy, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, BB King, Ike & Tina Turner, Bobby Darin and so many others (heart failure)
2003: Conrad Leonard (104!) pianist, composer; The oldest working musician in Britain. At 99 years old, his doctor advised him to "ease up a bit", and he accordingly cut his engagements to 75 gigs a year. Until the age of 103 years, he played the piano every Thursday at lunchtime in the Plantation Cafe at Squire's Garden Centre in Twickenham.

2005: Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (58)
Danish double bassist; known for his impressive technique and an approach that could be considered an extension of the innovative work of Scott LaFaro.(heart failure)
2005: Bryan Ottoson (27)
German born lead guitarist with the US nu-metal/industrial metal band American Head Charge from Minneapolis, Minnesota; he had also played in the bands Black Flood Diesel and A:POD (he was battling walking pneumonia with prescribed penicillin and pain medication, but was found dead in a bunk of their tour van as a result of these two drugs; his death was tragically accidental)

April 20th
1920: Tony Jackson (44)
jazz pianist; a legend from the ragtime years who unfortunately never recorded, remembered primarily because of Jelly Roll Morton's words of praise and due to his composition "Pretty Baby" becoming a standard. (syphilis).
1969: Benny Benjamin/Papa Zita (43)
main drummer for the Motown studio band known as The Funk Brothers, noted for his dynamic style. Motown record producers, including Berry Gordy, refused to work on sessions unless Benjamin was the drummer and James Jamerson was the bassist.(He died from a stroke)
1932: Ronnie Boykins (44)
US jazz bass player, freelance; most noted for his work with the Sun Ra Arkestra in the 1950s and 1960s ()
1991: Steve Marriott (44)
UK singer-songwriter and guitarist; best remembered for his powerful singing voice which belied his small stature and for his guitar play in groups the Small Faces and Humble Pie. At 13, he appeared as the Artful Dodger in Lionel Bart's musical Oliver!, (he lost his life in a house fire at his home in Essex).
1992: Johnny Shines (76)
Delta Blues slide guitarist; best known as a traveling companion of Robert Johnson, but his own contributions to the blues have often been unfairly shortchanged, simply because Johnson's own legend casts such a long shadow.(heart complications)
2001: Giuseppe Sinopoli (54)
Italian conductor and composer; best known for his intense and sometimes controversial interpretations of opera, especially works by Italian composers and Richard Strauss (died of a heart attack while conducting Giuseppe Verdi's Aïda at the Deutsche Opera in Berlin)
2002: Alan Dale/Aldo Sigismondi (76)
US singer, own TV & radio show during the 50's; he was placed second to Frank Sinatra in a radio poll, Battle of The Baritones, in 1948. His baritone was heard on Perez Prado's million-selling 1955 hit, "Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White", while his tune, "Sweet And Gentle", introduced the cha-cha-cha to North America.(?)
2003: Teddy Edwards (78) jazz saxophonist, worked with Dexter Gordons and many other greats; top L.A. sessionist and sort after freelance player.(prostate cancer)
2008:
Orish Grinstead (27) Irish-American rhythm and blues singer, member of the platinum-selling and multi award winning female R&B trio 702 (cancer and kidney failure).
2008: VL Mike/Michael Allen (32)
American rapper, had been portraying himself as a gangster for years through his music when he wasn't (shot to death in New Orleans).

April 21st
1978: Sandy Denny (31)
UK folk singer, piano, guitar; Fairport Convention (died after falling down a flight of stairs at a friend's house)
1999: Charles "Buddy" Rogers (94)
American actor and jazz musician (natural causes)
2000: Neal Matthews (70)
singer in the Jordanaires and the The Oak Ridge Boys ; he backed nearly ever early rock n roll star (heart attack)
2008: Aaron Shearer (88)
American classical guitarist; has several publications including his well known Classical Guitar Technique method books. His former students include Manuel Barrueco, Ricardo Cobo, David Tanenbaum, and David Starobin (?).
2008: Al Wilson (68)
American soul singer best known for the hit song "Show and Tell" and "The Snake", which has been very popular on the Northern Soul music circuit in the UK and is currently being featured in a Lambrini advert on British TV (kidney failure).

April 22nd
1980: Jane Froman (72)
US singer, actor; Jane Froman & nine others (cardic arrest)
1903: Earl "Fatha" Hines (79)
US jazz pianist; once called "the first modern jazz pianist," he differed from the stride pianists of the 1920s by breaking up the stride rhythms with unusual accents from his left hand. (?)
1996: Arthur
'T-Boy' Ross (46)
US songwriter, brother of Diana Ross; he and Leon Ware wrote hits for acts such as Michael Jackson, The Miracles and Marvin Gaye. (T-Boy and his new wife Patricia Robinson, were found murdered in a basement of a house in Detroit's Oak Park area, the double murder is still unsolved).
2003: Felice Bryant (77)
Songwriter, with her husband Boudleaux, Felice formed one of the most potent songwriting teams in country history (cancer)
2006: Kathleen (Kay) Finegan (95) big band singer with the likes of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and many others, later reinvented herself as one of New York's top caterers (old age)
2008: Monna Bell (70) Chilean singer (stroke)
2008: Paul Davis (60) American singer; his career encompassed soul, country and pop music, and he wrote many memorable country music hits. Best known for hits like "I Go Crazy," "'65 Love Affair," "Cool Night" (heart attack just one day after his 60th birthday) b. April 21st 1948.

April 23rd
1975: Peter Ham (27)
Welsh singer, songwriter, Badfinger and The Iveys (committed suicide by hanging himself)
1986: Harold Arlen (81)
US composer of popular music; an important composer of 20th century popular music, with over 400 songs written, his 1938 song "Over the Rainbow” was voted the twentieth century's No.1 song by the Recording Industry Association of America (?).
1991: Johnny Thunders/John Anthony Genzale Jr (38)
guitarist, vocals, New York Dolls (He died primarily from methadone and alcohol poisoning, although doctors had diagnosed leukemia in him earlier in the year, in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1991).
1999: Melba Doretta Liston (73)
US trombone, composer, musical arranger; toured and worked with Count Basie, Billie Holliday, Randy Weston, Ray Charles, Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie and many others (Heart problems).

April 24th
1962: Steve Allen Lewis (3)
Son of Jerry Lee Lewis (drowned in their home swimming pool)
1969: Rene Compere (62)
Belgian jazz trumpet player (?)
2001: Al Hibbler (85)
US blind Jazz, pop, r&b singer in the Duke Ellington's band after which he went solo, his biggest hit was "Unchained Melody". He performed at Louis Armstrong’s funeral in 1971 (?)
2008: Jimmy Giuffre (86)
US jazz clarinetist and saxophonist; arranger for Woody Herman's big band, for which he wrote the celebrated 'Four Brothers'. He continued to write creative, unusual arrangements throughout his career. He was a central figure in West coast jazz and was a member of Shorty Rogers's groups before going solo (pneumonia).

April 25th
1974: Pamela Courson (27)
wife of the late Jim Morrison (died of a drugs overdose)
1988: Carolyn Franklin (43)
singer, younger sister of Aretha (cancer)
1990: Dexter "Long Tall Dexter" Gordon (67) US saxophone virtuoso; played the fictional sax player Dale Turner in Bertrand Tavernier's 'Round Midnight. His realistic portrayal of a burned-out American jazz man who finds refuge in the cellar clubs of Paris earned him an Oscar nomination, making him the first instrumental musician to be so honored also voted musician of the year by Down Beat magazine in 1978 and 1980. (kidney failure)
1992: Yutaka Ozaki
(26) Japanese singer, songwriter (pulmonary edema)
1999: Roger Troutman (47) American vocalist with the band Zapp (After shooting his brother dead, he was found shot and critically wounded outside a recording studio in Dayton, Ohio; he died during surgery at a local hospital)
2002:
Lisa Nicole Lopes/Left Eye (30) singer, songwriter, rapper, in the group TLC (car accident in La Ceiba, Honduras).
2007: Bobby "Boris" Pickett (69) US singer, songwriter; sang and co-wrote the Halloween anthem "Monster Mash" which has put him in the history books making him pop music's most enduring one-hit wonder ever.(leukemia)
2008: Humphrey Lyttelton (86)
British Jazz patriarc, trumpeter, cartoonist, BBC radio broadcaster, and chairman of the BBC radio programme 'I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'. (died peacefully following heart surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm).
2008: Canhoto da Paraíba (79) Brazilian musician and violinist (heart attack)

April 26th
1984: Count Basie (79)
American jazz pianist, organist, and bandleader (pancreatic cancer)
1997: Ernest Stewart (47)
US keyboardist with KC and the Sunshine Band (asthma attack)

April 27th
1999: Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (76)
Legendary New Orleans trumpeter & bandleader (liver failure)
2000: Vicki Sue Robinson (45)
US singer and broadway star; a strong, vibrant vocalist, her records were among some of the best produced and arranged '70s disco releases with solid beats built on solid songs (cancer). b. May 21st 1954
2008: "Big" Ron O'Brien (56) American disc jockey (pneumonia)
2008: Marios Tokas (54) Cypriot composer (long struggle with cancer)

April 28th
1975: Tom Donahue (46)
American FM disc jockey; was a pioneering rock and roll radio disc jockey, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as a non performer, as one of only three disc jockeys to receive that honor.(heart attack)
1980: Tommy Caldwell (30)
bassist, Marshall Tucker Band (died of injures from a car accident)
1981: Steve Currie (33)
bass player in the glam rock band T Rex (car accident)
1982: Murray McEachern (66)
Canadian jazz and swing trombonist and alto saxophonist for having played trombone for Benny Goodman, the trombone and alto saxophone for the Casa Loma Orchestra and his studio work in his later career for Hollywood films, including solo performances in The Glenn Miller Story, Paris Blues and The Benny Goodman Story ()
1988: B W Stevenson (38)
US singer, songwriter, guitarist (died shortly after undergoing heart surgery)


April 29th
1953: Alice Ernestine Prin (52)
French nightclub singer, artists' model, actress, painter; The symbol of bohemian and creative Paris, at age 28 she was declared Queen of Montparnasse, and was one of the century's first truly independent women ()
1993: Mick Ronson (46)
guitarist with Hype, Mott the Hoople and Rats /sessionist/producer; made his mark during glam-rock's early '70s heyday but worked consistently with frequent collaborators David Bowie and Ian Hunter till his death (cancer)
2000:
Jonah Jones (90) American jazz trumpeter; in the 1920s he was playing on Mississippi riverboats and ended up playing with many greats. He won a Grammy Award in 1960 and was was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1999.(?)

April 30th
1982: Lester Bangs (33)
rock critic (heart attack)
1983: Andy Cavaliere (36)
manager of Steve Winwood ()
1983: Muddy Waters/McKinley Morganfield (68)
US legendary Blues Man; taught himself harmonica as a child. He later took up guitar, eagerly absorbing the classic delta blues styles of Robert Johnson and Son House. He was first recorded in 1941.(passed away in his sleep)
1988: James McCracken (61) US tenor vocalist; opera/classical; He was a member of the Metropolitan Opera's final U.S. tour, where he sang the role of Canio in Pagliacci ()
1999: Darrell Sweet (52)
Drummer, Nazareth (heart attack before a show in New Albany, Indiana)

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