musical birthdays

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Steve Howe
Born: April 08, 1947
English musician, songwriter and producer, best known as the guitarist in the
rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London,
Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to learn the instrument
himself at age 12. He embarked on a music career in 1964, first playing in
several London-based blues, covers, and psychedelic rock bands for six years,
including the Syndicats, Tomorrow, and Bodast.

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Albert Hammond Jr.
Born: April 09, 1980
American guitarist, singer, songwriter and music producer. He is most famous for his role
as rhythm and lead guitarist, as well as occasional keyboard player and backing vocalist,
in the American rock band The Strokes. He is the son of singer-songwriter Albert Hammond.

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Babyface
Born: April 10, 1959
Kenneth Brian Edmonds, better known by his stage name Babyface, is an
American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has written and pro-
duced over 26 number-one R&B hits throughout his career and has won 12
Grammy Awards. He was ranked number 20 on NME's 50 of The Greatest
Producers Ever list.

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Jim Lauderdale
Born: April 11, 1957
American country, bluegrass, and Roots singer-songwriter. Since 1986, he
has released 31 studio albums, including collaborations with artists such as
Dr. Ralph Stanley, Buddy Miller, and Donna the Buffalo. A "songwriter's song-
writer," his songs have been recorded by dozens of artists, notably George
Strait, Gary Allan, Elvis Costello, Blake Shelton, the Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill,
and Patty Loveless.

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Vince Gill
Born: April 12, 1957
American country singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved
commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure
Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his
talents as a vocalist and musician have placed him in high demand as a guest
vocalist and a duet partner. He has recorded more than 20 studio albums, charted
over 40 singles on the U.S. Billboard charts as Hot Country Songs, and has sold
more than 26 million albums. He has been honored by the Country Music Association
with 18 CMA Awards, including two Entertainer of the Year awards and five Male
Vocalist Awards. As of 2017, Gill has also earned 21 Grammy Awards, more than any
other male country music artist. In 2007 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall
of Fame.

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Al Green
Born: April 13, 1946
American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for re-
cording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including "Take Me to
the River", "Tired of Being Alone", "I'm Still in Love with You", "Love and Happ-
iness", and his signature song, "Let's Stay Together". After an incident in which
his girlfriend died by suicide, Green became an ordained pastor and turned to
gospel music. He later returned to secular music. Green was inducted to the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. He was referred to on the museum's site as
being "one of the most gifted purveyors of soul music". He has also been referred
to as "The Last of the Great Soul Singers". Green is the winner of 11 Grammy
Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also received
the BMI Icon award and is a Kennedy Center Honors recipient. He was included in
the Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, ranking at No. 65, as
well as its list of the 100 Greatest Singers, at No. 14.

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Ritchie Blackmore
Born: April 14, 1945
Richard Hugh Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a found-
ing member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that
mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar riffs and has
been known for playing both classically influenced and blues-based solos...As a
member of Deep Purple, Blackmore was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame in April 2016. He is cited by publications such as Guitar World and Rolling
Stone as one of the greatest and most influential guitar players of all time.

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Chris Stapleton
Born: April 15, 1978
American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He was born in
Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky, until moving
to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2001 to pursue a career in music writing songs.
Subsequently, Stapleton signed a contract with Sea Gayle Music to write and
publish his music. As of 2018, Stapleton has amassed credits writing and co-
writing over 170 songs. He has co-written six number-one country songs in-
cluding Kenny Chesney's five-week number-one "Never Wanted Nothing More",
George Strait's "Love's Gonna Make It Alright", and Luke Bryan's "Drink a Beer".

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Peter Garrett
Born: April 16, 1953
Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician. Garrett
is the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. He served as President
of the Australian Conservation Foundation for ten years and, in 2003, was appointed
a Member of the Order of Australia for his contribution to the environment and music
industry. He is also known for his signature bald head, his unique and eccentric dance
style, and a "mesmerising onstage presence".

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Roy Estrada
Born: April 17, 1943
American former musician and vocalist, best known for his bass guitar work
with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and for having been a founding
member of Little Feat, playing on their first two albums.

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Glen Hardin
Born: April 18, 1939
American piano player and arranger. He has performed and recorded with such artists
as Elvis Presley, Emmylou Harris, John Denver, and Ricky Nelson. In 1970 Hardin got a
call from Elvis Presley to replace Larry Muhoberac in the TCB Band, featuring James
Burton, Jerry Scheff and Ronnie Tutt. Hardin remained with the band until 1976, touring
and recording with Presley and appearing in the Aloha From Hawaii TV special. Hardin
studied arranging and arranged many of Presley's hits such as "The Wonder of You", "Let It
Be Me" and "I Just Can't Help Believin'". This high-profile position soon led to many other
opportunities. In 1972 Gram Parsons, widely regarded as the father of country rock, hired
the TCB Band to record his first album, GP. Hardin played piano and was musical director on
the sessions for this as well as Parsons' second album, Grievous Angel. Through his work with
Parsons, Hardin was introduced to Emmylou Harris, with whom he would work after Parsons'
death in the highly praised and influential Hot Band. Across several years this band included
James Burton, John Ware, Rodney Crowell, Hank deVito, Emory Gordy, Jr., Albert Lee, Larrie
Londin and Ricky Skaggs. Hardin also played piano on the Roy Orbison television special, A Black
and White Night.

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Alan Price
Born: April 19, 1942
English musician, best known as the original keyboardist for the British band the Animals and for his subsequent
solo work...His organ-playing on songs by the Animals, such as "The House of the Rising Sun", "Don't Let Me Be
Misunderstood" and "Bring It On Home to Me" was a key element in the group's success.

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Rob Stoner
Born: April 20, 1948
American multi-instrumental musician. In the summer of 1975
he was hired as bandleader, opening act and bass player in Bob
Dylan's band. He played with Dylan during the Rolling Thunder
Revue tour and on the Far East leg of Dylan's 1978 World Tour.
His singing and playing is featured on many Bob Dylan recordings.
After quitting touring life with Dylan, he resumed his solo career.
He is still active and giving guitar lessons in Rockland County, New
York. He has played with such diverse artists as Chris Spedding,
Link Wray, Robert Gordon, Chuck Berry, and Joni Mitchell.

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Robert Smith
Born: April 21, 1959
English singer and songwriter. He is the
lead singer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist,
lyricist, principal songwriter and only consistent
member of the rock band the Cure, which he co-
founded in 1976. He was also the lead guitarist for
the band Siouxsie and the Banshees from 1982 to
1984 and was part of the short-lived group the Glove
in 1983. Smith is known for his distinctive voice and
guitar style and his unique stage look, the latter two
of which were influential on the goth subculture that
rose to prominence in the 1980s. Smith was inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The
Cure in 2019.

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Peter Frampton
Born: April 22, 1950
English-American rock musician, singer, songwriter, producer, and guitarist. He
was previously associated with the bands Humble Pie and the Herd. After the
end of his 'group' career, as a solo artist, Frampton released several albums in-
cluding his international breakthrough album, the live release Frampton Comes
Alive!. The album sold more than 8 million copies in the United States and spawned
several hit singles.

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Rob Fraboni
Born: April 23, 1951
California-born record producer and
audio engineer well known for his work
with Bob Dylan, The Band, Eric Clapton,
The Rolling Stones, Tim Hardin, The Beach
Boys, Joe Cocker, and Bonnie Raitt, and as
Vice President at Island Records where he
oversaw the remastering of the entire Bob
Marley catalog. He produced the soundtrack
on Martin Scorsese's groundbreaking concert
movie, The Last Waltz, which included an all-
star cast of famous rock and roll performers.
He built and designed the legendary Shangri-La
studios in Malibu to the specification of Bob
Dylan and the Band. Referred to as a "genius"
by Keith Richards in his bestselling autobiography
Life.

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Barbra Streisand
Born: April 24, 1942
American singer, actress, and filmmaker. In a career spanning six decades, she
has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment and has been recognized
with two Academy Awards, ten Grammy Awards including the Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award and the Grammy Legend Award, five Emmy Awards including
one Daytime Emmy, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a
Kennedy Center Honors prize, four Peabody Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom,
and nine Golden Globes. She is among a small group of entertainers who have been
honored with an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award – though only three were
competitive awards – and is one of only two artists in that group who have also won
a Peabody.

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Björn Ulvaeus
Born: April 25, 1945
Swedish songwriter, producer, a member of the Swedish musical group ABBA,
and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma
Mia!. He co-produced the film Mamma Mia! with fellow ABBA member and close
friend Benny Andersson.

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Duane Eddy
Born: April 26, 1938
American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit
records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their character-
istically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel-'Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Be-
cause They're Young". He had sold 12 million records by 1963. He was in-
ducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, and the Musicians Hall
of Fame and Museum in 2008.

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Ace Frehley
Born: April 27, 1951
American musician and songwriter best known as the original lead guitarist
and co-founding member of the rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of
The Spaceman (a.k.a. Space Ace) and played with the group from its inception
in 1973 until his departure in 1982. After leaving Kiss, Frehley embarked on a
solo career, which was put on hold when he rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a highly
successful reunion tour. Frehley's second tenure with Kiss lasted until 2002, when
he left at the conclusion of what was originally purported to be the band's Farewell
Tour. His most recent solo album, Spaceman, was released on October 19, 2018.
Guitar World magazine ranked him as the 14th Greatest Metal Guitarist of All Time.

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Chuck Leavell
Born: April 28, 1952
Charles Alfred Leavell is an American musician. A member of the Allman
Brothers Band throughout their commercial zenith in the 1970s, he sub-
sequently became a founding member of the jazz rock ensemble Sea
Level. He has served as the principal touring keyboardist and de facto
musical director of The Rolling Stones since 1982. As a session musician,
Leavell has performed on every Rolling Stones studio album released since
1983 with the exception of Bridges to Babylon (1997). He has also toured
and recorded with Eric Clapton, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Gov't Mule
and John Mayer.

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Willie Nelson
Born: April 29, 1933
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist,
activist, and actor. He was one of the main figures of the pro-
gressive and outlaw country subgenres that developed in the
late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the
Nashville sound. The critical success of his album Shotgun Willie
(1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of Red
Headed Stranger (1975) and Stardust (1978), made Nelson one of
the most recognized artists in country music. Nelson has acted in
over 30 films, co-authored several books, and has been involved in
activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana.

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Wayne Cramer
Born: April 30, 1948
American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and film and television com-
poser. Kramer came to prominence as a teenager in 1967 as a co-founder of
the Detroit rock group MC5 (Motor City 5), a group known for their powerful
live performances and radical left-wing political stance. MC5 broke up amid
personality conflicts, drug abuse, and personal problems, which, for Kramer,
led to several fallow years, as he battled drug addiction before returning to
an active recording and performing schedule in the 1990s. Rolling Stone ranked
him number ninety-two on their list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time".