| 1888 | Tom Brown, Traditional jazz tuba player and string bassist from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is said to have led the first band advertised as a 'jass' band and the first to leave New Orleans to go north. During his career he also toured and recorded with Ray Miller and Johnny Wiggs led groups. Brown died in New Orleans in March of 1958.
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| 1897 | Memphis Minnie, (Lizzie Douglas), Early Blues singer and guitarist born in Algiers, LA. Excluding contemporary artists, the most notable blues guitar playing female was Memphis Minnie. The most popular and prolific blueswoman outside the vaudeville tradition, she earned the respect of critics, the support of record-buying fans, and the unqualified praise of the blues artists. She died in 1973 at the age of 76.
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| 1905 | Clarence Gabriel, Traditional jazz guitarist, banjo player and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Clarence worked in the late 1920's with Louis Dumaine. He then toured with Sam Morgan and played with Mike Delay at Lavida. Spent later days working nickel-dance venues. Clarence died in New orleans in 1973.
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| 1907 | Jeff Riddick, Traditional jazz pianist from Oakland, Mississippi. He was a longtime member of Sharky Bonano's band and played at the Famous Door through the 1950's. His trio included two New Orleans legends, Ray Burke and Sherwood Mangiapane. His brother, Johnny was also a musician in New Orleans playing piano.
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| 1924 | Jimmy Rodgers (James Lane), Rhythm guitarist in Muddy Waters band - born in Atlanta, Ga. He was the last living connection to the groundbreaking first Chicago band of Muddy Waters (informally dubbed the Headhunters for their penchant of dropping by other musicians' gigs and "cutting their heads" with a superior onstage performance). He died in 1997.
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| 1931 | Dakota Staton, A jazz singer who gained a strong reputation early in her career, and, although she has never broken through to become a truly major name, she has retained her popularity for several decades.
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| 1935 | Ted Curson, An excellent trumpeter, he will always be best-known for his work with Charles Mingus' 1960 quartet (which also included Eric Dolphy and Dannie Richmond).
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| 1942 | Curtis Mayfield, Judged merely by his records alone, the man's legacy is enormous. As the leader of the Impressions, he recorded some of the finest soul vocal group music of the 1960s. As a solo artist in the 1970s, he helped pioneer funk and helped introduce hard-hitting urban commentary into soul music. "Gypsy Woman," "It's All Right," "People Get Ready," "Freddie's Dead," and "Superfly" are merely the most famous of his many hit records. He died in 1999.
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| 1944 | Jack Wilkins, He has proven on his infrequent recordings as a leader that he ranks near the top. Wilkins, who studied with John Mehegan early on, learned vibes, piano, and classical guitar, but has stuck to jazz guitar throughout his career.
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| 1944 | Mike Clark, Drummer for the popular group of the 60's called 'The Byrds'.
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| 1946 | Ian Hunter, With Mott the Hoople, guitarist/vocalist Ian Hunter established himself as one of the toughest and most inventive hard rock songwriters of the early '70s, setting the stage for punk rock with his edgy, intelligent songs.
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| 1950 | Suzie Quatro, What she did prove was that it was possible for a petite woman to play bass, sing, and wear leather with a reasonable degree of raunch and pride. That, with enough musical hooks to draw in the teen pop crowd, was enough to reel off a series of big British hit singles just before the advent of punk, although she remained virtually unknown in her native U.S.
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| 1951 | Deniece Williams, Singer who under the Columbia banner, released her first album entitled This Is Niecey. It featured the Billboard R&B number two single "Free," which also sealed the Top 25 on the pop charts.
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| 1952 | Billy Powell, Keyboardist for popular southern rock group named 'Lynyrd Skynyrd".
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| 1954 | Dan Hill, Singer - "Sometimes When We Touch".
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