| 1892 | Speckled Red (Rufus Perryman), He was a blues and boogie-woogie piano player and singer, and a native of Monroe, Louisiana. He's most noted for his recordings of "The Dirty Dozens". Speckled Red was the older brother of Piano Red, their nicknames derived from both men being albinos. He experienced a small revival of interest in his music during the late 1950s and 1960s, around the St. Louis-area jazz scene. He died on January 2, 1973, of cancer in St. Louis, at the age of 80.
(134) |
| 1903 | Milford (Stack) Dolliole, Traditional jazz drummer from New Orleans, Louisiana. He performed with the 'Young Tuxedo Ochestra' in his youth and until the 1950's played primarily in the lakefront resorts. He performed sparingly at Preservation hall in the 1970's. He passed away in 1994 at the age of 90.
(123) |
| 1910 | Bill Gallaty, Traditional jazz trumpeter from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the son of Papa Laine's legendary trombonist, Bill Sr. Bill, Jr. was primarily associated with Santo Pecora and played in swing bands with Charlie Bourgeois and Joe Petrie.
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| 1913 | Roy Zimmerman, Traditional jazz pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the well-known pianist in the Basin Street Six. He also played with Sharkey Bonano, and Pete Fountain. Roy died in Gulfport, Mississippi on July 7, 1969.
(113) |
| 1925 | Tommy Ridgley (Thomas Herman Ridgley), He was a Rhythm & Blues singer and native of New Orleans, Louisiana. He started in the church choir, but his recording break came in 1949 with the release of "Shrewsbury Blues," and "Early Dawn Boogie," on Imperial Records with Dave Bartholomew's band. He was in the business for 50 years most notable as Tommy Ridgley and The Untouchables. he died in August 1999 at the age of 73.
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| 1927 | Theard Johnson, A vocalist and a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. He recored a few sides at the beginning of the New Orleans R&B era including "Lost Love". (99) |
| 1927 | Sonny Criss, Alto-saxophonist who drifted, playing in jazz and R&B groups, including those led by Johnny Otis, Billy Eckstine, and Stan Kenton. He died in 1977.
(99) |
| 1929 | Finney Mo (Leslie Finney II), A vocalist and a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. He was known for his single "Shake That Thing" released in 1962. he relocated to Dallas and recorded sides for small local labels and passed sway in the 1980's. (97) |
| 1930 | Wilson Anthony (Boozoo) Chavis, He was a singer, accordianist and composer of creole and zydeco music. He was a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, and many of his songs have become standards of the zydeco repertoire. He died in Austin, TX in May 2001 at the age of 70.
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| 1933 | Carol Fran (Carol Martin), A soul blues singer, pianist and songwriter, and a native of Lafayette, Louisiana. She worked on Bourbon Street, and her debut single was "Emmitt Lee" in 1957. She's worked with Guitar Slim, Nappy Brown, Lee Dorsey, Joe Tex and others. She's released several albums and lived in Texas and back to Lafayette.
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| 1939 | Charlie Foxx, Member of the brother/sister duo "Charlie & Inez Foxx" from Greensboro made a little noise on the soul scene in the '60s. Their biggest hit was "Mockingbird," in 1963, which was a number two R&B and number seven pop smash. He died in 1998.
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| 1940 | Eleanor Greenwich, She helped to shape and popularize the "girl group" sound of the early '60s that included such acts as the Ronettes, the Shangri-Las and the Crystals, becoming, in the process, one of the most respected pop songwriters of the era.
(86) |
| 1943 | Barbara Ann Hawkins, A native of New Orleans and one-third of the original 1960's singing group called "The Dixie Cups". the group consisted of Barbara, her sister Rosa Lee Hawkins and their cousin Joan Marie Johnson. They are most widely known for their million selling hit "Chapel Of Love". In April 2007, The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame honored The Dixie Cups for their contributions to Louisiana music by inducting them into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
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| 1945 | Ernie Watts, Drummer whose later work reveals that he is an intense and masterful jazz improviser who has developed his own sheets-of-sound approach along with a distinctive and soulful sound.
(81) |
| 1947 | Greg Ridley, Bassist for the rock group "Spooky Tooth".
(79) |
| 1954 | Dwight Yoakam, Country and singer who helped return country music to its roots in the late '80s. Like his idols Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and Hank Williams, he never played by Nashville's rules; consequently, he never dominated the charts like his contemporary Randy Travis.
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| 1959 | (Weird) Al Yankovic, The foremost song parodist of the MTV era.
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