Musicians Born on April 26

  • 1567 Nicolas Formé, French composer, born in Paris (d. 1638)
  • 1603 Francesco Nigetti, Italian composer, born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now Italy) (d. 1681)
  • 1796 Auguste Mathieu Panseron, French composer, born in Paris (d. 1859)
  • 1806 Karl Ludwig Friedrich Hetsch, German composer, born in Stuttgart, Germany (d. 1872)
  • 1822 Jan Albert van Eijken, Dutch composer and organist, born in Amersfoort, Netherlands (d. 1868)
  • 1834 Horatio Richmond Palmer, American composer and choir director, born in Sherburne, New York (d. 1907)
  • 1880 Mikhail Fokine, Russian choreographer and founder of modern dance, born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1942)
  • 1886 Ma Rainey [Gertrude Pridgett], American singer "Mother of the Blues", born in Columbus, Georgia (d. 1939)
  • 1910 Erland von Koch, Swedish composer, born in Stockholm (d. 2009)
  • 1910 Ernst Tittel, Austrian organist and composer, born in Sternberg, Moravia (d. 1969)
  • 1914 Wilfrid Howard Mellers, English musicologist and composer (François Couperin and the French Classical Tradition), born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire (d. 2008)
  • 1915 Johnny Shines, American delta blues singer and guitarist, born in Memphis, Tenneessee (d. 1992)
  • 1916 (Arnoldus) Arnold van Wyk, South African concert pianist and composer (Nagmusiek - Night Music), born in Calvinia, Cape Province, Union of South Africa (d. 1983)
  • 1920 Padú del Caribe [Juan Chabaya Lampe], Aruban pianist and composer, known as the "Father of the Caribbean" ("Aruba Dushi Tera" - Aruba's national anthem), born in Oranjestad, Aruba, Kingdom of the Netherlands (d. 2019)
  • 1921 Jimmy Giuffre, American jazz clarinetist, composer, arranger, and proponent of "free improv" jazz, born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2008)
  • 1922 Margaret Scott, South African ballet dancer and founder (Australian Ballet School), born in Johannesburg, Union of South Africa (d. 2019)
  • 1922 Paul-André Gaillard, Swiss composer, born in Veytaux, Switzerland (d. 1992)
  • 1925 Jørgen Ingmann, Danish jazz guitarist ("Apache"; "Dansevise"), born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 2015)
  • 1925 Wilma Lipp, Austrian soprano (Vienna Opera, 1945-81; Mozart's Die Zauberflöte - "Queen of the Night"), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2019)
  • 1926 Oldřich František Korte, Czech pianist, composer, and writer, born in Šaľa, Slovakia (d. 2014)
  • 1932 Francis Lai, French film music composer (Love Story), born in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France (d. 2018)
  • 1933 Ilkka Kuusisto, Finnish opera composer and arts administrator (Finnish National Opera, 1984-92), born in Helsinki, Finland
  • 1934 Esteban Sánchez, Spanish classical pianist and pedagogue (Badajoz Conservatoire, 1978-97), born in Orellana la Vieja, Spain (d. 1997)
  • 1936 Doug Sax, American mastering engineer (Bob Dylan, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Ray Charles), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2015)
  • 1938 Duane Eddy, American twangy guitarist ("Rebel Rouser"; Peter Gunn"; "Cannonball"), born in Corning, New York
  • 1938 Maurice Williams, American doo-wop singer, and songwriter (Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs - "Stay"), born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
  • 1940 Giorgio Moroder, Italian record producer, and film score composer (Cat People; Top Gun), born in Ortisei, Italy
  • 1941 John Mitchell, American classical composer, organist, church music director, and opera coach, born in Hollywood, California
  • 1942 Bobby Rydell [Ridarelli], American pop singer ("Wild One"; "Wildwood Days"), and actor (Bye Bye Birdie), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2022) [1]
  • 1943 Gary Wright, American rock singer and keyboardist (Spooky Tooth - It's All About; solo - "Dream Weaver"), born in Cresskill, New Jersey (d. 2023) [1]
  • 1945 Mike Finnigan, American session and touring rock, jazz, and blues Hammond B3 organ and keyboard player, and vocalist, born in Troy, Ohio
  • 1949 Jimmy Hall, American rocker (Wet Willie), born in Birmingham, Alabama
  • 1950 (Lakshminarayana) "L." Shankar, Indian rock, jazz and Indian classical violinist, singer and composer (Shakti; Frank Zappa; Peter Gabriel), born in Madras, Tamil Nadu
  • 1950 Peter Schaufuss, Danish dancer and director of ballet (Deutsche Opera Berlin), born in Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 1951 Diego Verdaguer [Miguel Boccadoro], Argentine-Mexican singer-songwriter, bandoneón player, and trumpeter ("Volveré"; "Voy a Conquistarte"), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 2022)
  • 1955 Gisèle Ben-Dor (née Buka), Uruguayan-Israeli-American conductor (Santa Barbara Symphony, 1994–2006; Boston Pro-Arte Chamber Orchestra, 1991–2000), born in Montevideo, Uruguay
  • 1957 Rosa Briceño, Venezuelan conductor, and educator, born in Caracas, Venezuela (d. 2018)
  • 1959 John Corabi, American hard rock guitarist and singer (Mötley Crüe, 1992-96), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 1960 Roger Taylor, English rock drummer (Duran Duran - "Hungry Like The Wolf"), born in Birmingham, England
  • 1961 Chris Mars, American drummer (The Replacements, 1979-90), and painter, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • 1962 Grahame "Skin" Skinner, Scottish rocker (Hipsway), born in Glasgow
  • 1962 Michael Damian, American actor (Young & Restless) and singer ("Rock On"), born in San Diego, California
  • 1967 Darrin Mooney, British session drummer (Primal Scream; Gary Moore), born in Merton, London
  • 1970 Shane Evans, American drummer (Collective Soul, 1992-2005 - "Shine"; "The World I Know"), born in Stockbridge, Georgia
  • 1970 T-Boz [Tionne Watkins], American R&B-pop singer (TLC -"Waterfalls"; "No Scrubs"), born in Des Moines, Iowa
  • 1971 Jay DeMarcus, American bassist (Rascal Flatts - "I Melt"), born in Columbus, Ohio
  • 1972 Juanita du Plessis (née Naudé), Namibian Afrikaans country music singer ("Ska-Rumba"), born in Windhoek, South West Africa
  • 1975 Joey Jordison, American drummer (Slipknot, 1995-2013 - "All Hope Is Gone"), born in Des Moines, Iowa (d. 2021)
  • 1975 Nerina Pallot, British pop-rock singer-songwriter ("Sophia"; "Everybody's Gone To War"), born in London
  • 1976 José Pasillas, American drummer (Incubus - "Meglomaniac"; "Drive"), born in Calabasas, California
  • 1978 (Myron) Avant, American R&B singer ("Separated"; "Read Your Mind"), born in Cleveland, Ohio
  • 1979 Ariane Moffatt, Canadian singer (Aquanaute - "La barricade"; "Dans un océan"), born in Saint-Romuald, Quebec
  • 1979 Janne Wirman, Finnish progressive metal keyboardist (Children of Bodom), born in Espoo, Finland
  • 1981 Caro Emerald [Caroline van der Leeuw], Dutch singer ("On A Night Like This"), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • 1981 Ms. Dynamite [Niomi Arleen McLean-Daley] English musician, born in Archway, North London
  • 1982 Jon Lee, English actor and singer (S Club 7), born in Ipplepen, Devon
  • 1984 Mija Martina, Bosnian singer (Eurovision 2019 - "Ne Brini"), born in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • 1985 Nam Gyu-Ri, Korean singer (member of See Ya), born in Seoul, South Korea