On This Day

<<

Musicians Born on April 8

>>
  • 1533 Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer, born in Correggio, Duchy of Modena and Reggio, Papal States (d. 1604)
  • 1692 Giuseppe Tartini, Venetian Baroque composer and violinist (Trillo del Diavolo), born in Piran, Republic of Venice (d. 1770)
  • 1697 Pierre Prowo, German composer, born in Altona, Duchy of Holstein, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1757)
  • 1708 Georg Zarth, Bohemian composer, born in Hochtann, Bohemia (d. 1778)
  • 1756 Joseph Gehot, Belgian composer, born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1820)
  • 1776 Thaddäus Weigl, German-Austrian composer, publisher, and conductor, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1844)
  • 1798 Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet of the Greek national anthem, born in Zakynthos Island, Greece (d. 1857)
  • 1843 Asger Hamerik [Hammerich], Danish composer, and educator (Peabody Institute, 1878-91), born in Frederiksberg, Denmark (d. 1923)
  • 1878 Rudolf Nelson, German composer, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1960)
  • 1881 Fernand Lamy, French composer, born in Chauvigny, France (d. 1966)
  • 1885 Dimitrios Levidis, Greek composer, born in Athens, Greece (d. 1951)
  • 1888 Victor Schertzinger, American composer and director (Uptown NY), born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania (d. 1941)
  • 1889 Adrian Boult, British conductor (BBC Symphony Orchestra, 1930-50; London Philharmonic, 1950-59), born in Chester, England (d. 1983)
  • 1895 Sigurdur Thordarson, Icelandic composer, born in Dyrafjordur, Iceland (d. 1968)
  • 1896 Karl Hermann Pillney, Austrian composer and painist, born in Graz, Austria-Hungary (d. 1980)
  • 1896 Yip Harburg [Isidore Hochberg], American lyricist ("Over The Rainbow"; "It's Only A Paper Moon"), born in New York City (d. 1981)
  • 1897 Herbert Eimert, German composer and musicologist (Glockenspiel), born in Bad Kreuznach, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1972)
  • 1902 Elmer Feldcamp, American big band baritone vocalist, saxophonist, and clarinetist (Freddy Martin Orchestra), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 1938)
  • 1902 Josef Krips, Austrian conductor (London Symphony, 1950-54; Buffalo Philharmonic, 1954-63; San Francisco Symphony, 1964-70), born in Vienna, Austria (d. !974)
  • 1904 John Antill, Australian composer (Corroboree; New Guinea Patrol), born in Sydney , Australia (d. 1986)
  • 1906 Raoul Jobin, French Canadian operatic tenor, born in Quebec City, Quebec (d. 1974)
  • 1909 George Dixon, American jazz trumpeter, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1994)
  • 1909 Olavi Pesonen, Finnish composer, born in Helsinki, Finland (d. 1993)
  • 1918 Lenore Engdahl, American classical pianist, and educator (Boston University School of Music, 1972–83), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2018)
  • 1920 Carmen McRae, American jazz singer and pianist ("Dream of Life"), born in New York City (d. 1994)
  • 1921 Jan Novák, Czech classical composer and contemporary Latin poet, born in Nová Říše, Moravia, First Czechoslovak Republic (d. 1984)
  • 1923 Franco Corelli, Italian tenor (Carmen), born in Ancona, Italy (d. 2003)
  • 1927 Oliver "Ollie" Mitchell, American musician and bandleader (The Wrecking Crew), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2013)

Fred Ebb (1928-2004)

American musical theater lyricist, with John Kander (Cabaret; Chicago; New York, New York; Funny Lady), born in New York City

Fred Ebb
  • 1929 Eiji Kitamura, Japanese jazz clarinetist, born in Tokyo, Japan

Jacques Brel (1929-1978)

Belgian singer, songwriter, actor, director and composer (Le Far West; Pain in the A--), born in Schaerbeek, Belgium

Jacques Brel
  • 1929 Walter Berry, Austrian lyric bass-baritone singer, ex-husband of Christa Ludwig, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2000)
  • 1930 John Reardon, American stage actor and operatic baritone (Metropolitan Opera, 1965-77), born in New York City (d. 1988)
  • 1933 Jaroslav Smolka, Czech composer (Metamorfosi), music director, dramaturge, pedagogue, and musicologist, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 2011)
  • 1938 Barton McLean, American electro-acoustic composer (Dimensions), teacher, and performer, born in Poughkeepsie, New York
  • 1941 Murray Khouri, New Zealand classical clarinet player (Australia Ensemble), writer, and broadcaster, born in Wellington, New Zealand (d. 2018)
  • 1941 Peggy Lennon, American pop singer (Lennon Sisters), born in Los Angeles, California
  • 1942 Leon Huff, American pianist, songwriter, and "Philadelphia Soul" producer, with Kenny Gamble (Billy Paul - "Me & Mrs Jones"; The O'Jays; Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes), born in Camden, New Jersey
  • 1942 Roger Chapman, British progressive rock vocalist (Family - "In My Own Time"), born in Leicester, England
  • 1944 Santiago Jiménez Jr, American folk and Tejano accordionist (El Mero Mero, Viva Seguin), born in Texas
  • 1947 Larry Norman, American musician and pioneer of Christian rock music ("Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?"), born in Corpus Christi, Texas (d. 2008)

Steve Howe (77 years old)

1947 English progressive rock guitarist (Yes - "Roundabout"; Asia - "Heat Of The Moment"), born in London, England

Steve Howe
  • 1950 Carmen Twillie, American session singer (The Lion King - "Circle of Life"; Celene Dion; Pink Floyd), born in Playa del Rey, California
  • 1951 Mel Schacher, American bassist (Grand Funk Railroad - "Some Kind of Wonderful"'; "We're An American Band"), born in Owosso, Michigan
  • 1951 Phil Schaap, American Grammy Award-winning jazz historian, DJ, author and educator, born in Queens, New York (d. 2021)
  • 1952 Adam Woods, British rock drummer (The Fixx - "One Thing Leads To Another"; "Saved By Zero"), born in Manchester, England
  • 1954 George Mesterhazy, Hungarian-American jazz pianist, and arranger, born in Hungary (d. 2012)
  • 1956 Justin Sullivan, British rock singer-songwriter (New Model Army), born in Jordans, Buckinghamshire, England
  • 1962 Adam Mole, British guitarist (Pop Will Eat Itself - "Get The Girl! Kill The Baddies!"), born in England
  • 1962 Izzy Stradlin [Jeff Isabelle], American guitarist (Guns & Roses), born in Lafayette, Indiana
  • 1963 Donita Sparks, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter (L7), and podcaster (The Hi-Low Show), born in Chicago, Illinois
  • 1963 Julian Lennon, English singer-songwriter ("Too Late for Goodbyes"), philanthropist (The White Feather Foundation), photographer, and son of Beatle John Lennon and his 1st wife, Cynthia, born in Liverpool, England
  • 1964 Biz Markie [Marcel Hall], American rapper, DJ and record producer ("Just A Friend"), born in New York City (d. 2021)
  • 1972 Paul Gray, American heavy metal bassist (Slipknot), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2010)
  • 1974 Chino XL [Derek Keith Barbosa], American rapper and actor, born in The Bronx, New York
  • 1975 Anouk [Schemmekes, née Teeuwe], Dutch rock singer-songwriter (Three Days In a Row), born in The Hague, Netherlands
  • 1979 Alexi Laiho, Finnish guitarist and singer (Children of Bodom, Sinergy, Kylähullut), born in Espoo, Finland (d. 2021)
  • 1980 Manuel Ortega, Austrian pop singer, born in Steyregg, Austria
  • 1984 Ezra Koenig, American rock singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Vampire Weekend - "A-Punk"; "Oxford Comma"), and broadcaster (Time Crisis), born in New York City
  • 1986 Erika Sawajiri, Japanese actress, model and singer, born in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan
  • 1989 Hitomi Takahashi, Japanese singer, born in Shiogama, Japan
  • 1989 Matthew Healy, British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer (The 1975 - "I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It"), born in London, England
  • 1990 Jonghyun [Kim Jong-hyun], South Korean singer-songwriter, radio host, and author (SHINee), born in Jung District, Seoul, South Korea (d. 2017)


Famous Musicians

Search the largest, most accurate site for today in music history.