Musicians Born on February 5

  • 1662 Giuseppe Vignola, Italian composer, born in Napoli, Habsburg Spain (d. 1712)
  • 1711 Joseph Umstatt, Austrian composer, born in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1762)
  • 1732 Nathanael Gottfried Gruner, German composer (Kantor at Gera), born in Zwickau, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1792)
  • 1748 Christian Gottlob Neefe, German composer, conductor and tutor of Ludwig van Beethoven, born in Shimnitz, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1798)
  • 1804 Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Finnish poet (Finland's national anthem "Maamme"), born in Jakobstad, Finland (d. 1877)
  • 1810 Ole Bull, Norwegian violin virtuoso and compsoer, born in Bergen, Norway (d. 1880)
  • 1862 Felipe Villanueva y Gutierrez, Mexican composer and violinist of the Porfiriato period, born in Tecámac, Mexico (d. 1893)
  • 1863 Armand Parent, Belgian violinist and composer, born in Liège, Belgium (d. 1934)
  • 1864 Carl Teike, German military composer, born in Stettin-Altdamm, Pomerania (now Szczecin, Poland) (d. 1922)
  • 1865 Harvey Worthington Loomis, American composer (Lyrics of the Red Man), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1930)
  • 1866 Rossetter Gleason Cole, American composer (Heroes of Freedom), born in Clyde, Michigan (d. 1952)
  • 1868 Lodewijk Mortelmans, Belgian composer (Morgenstemming - Morning Mood), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1952)
  • 1882 Felice Lattuada, Italian composer and educator (Civica Scuola di Musica, Milan, 1935-62), born at Caselle di Morimondo, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1962)
  • 1889 Ioan Dumitru Chirescu, Romanian composer and conductor, born in Cernavodă, Romainia (d. 1980)
  • 1902 Bronislaw Kaper, Polish-American Academy Award-winning film composer (Green Dolphin Street; Lili; The Brothers Karamazov), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1983)
  • 1903 Ivan Galamian, American violinist and violin teacher, born in Tabriz, Persia (d. 1981)

Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)

Polish violinist and composer, born in Łódź, Russian Empire (now Poland) [1]

  • 1912 Zoltán Pongrácz, Hungarian avant-garde composer (Mariphonia), born in Diószeg (d. 2007)
  • 1913 Rozelle Claxton, American jazz pianist and arranger, born in Bartlett, Tennessee (d. 1995)
  • 1918 Gara Garayev [Kara Karayev], Soviet-Azerbaijani composer (Seven Beauties), born in Baku (d. 1982)
  • 1921 John Pritchard, British conductor (Cologne Opera, 1978-89; San Francisco Opera, 1986-89), born in Walthamstow, Essex, England (d. 1989)
  • 1923 Claude King, American country music singer (Wolverton Mountain), born in Keithville, Louisiana (d. 2013)
  • 1929 Hal Blaine [Harold Belsky], American pop and rock session drummer (The Wrecking Crew), born in Holyoke, Massachusetts (d. 2019)
  • 1930 Ulf Söderblom, Finnish conductor (Finnish National Opera, 1973-93), and teacher, born in Turku, Finland (d. 2016)
  • 1933 Ron Wilson, American percussionist (Surfaris, drummed on "Wipe Out"), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1989)
  • 1935 Alex Harvey, Scottish rock and blues singer (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1982)
  • 1937 Cocky van Oost [Kommertje van Vliet], Dutch ballet dancer (Sylphides), born in the Netherlands
  • 1938 Dick van Niehoff, Dutch pop vocalist (Fouryo), born in the Netherlands (d. 2000)
  • 1939 Derek Wadsworth, British jazz composer and arranger, born in Cleckheaton, Yorkshire (d. 2008)
  • 1939 Patric Standford, British composer (Taikayoku; Christus Requiem), born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, England (d. 2014)
  • 1940 H. R. Giger, Swiss surrealist artist (album cover art for ELP - "Brain Salad Surgery"; Debbie Harry - "'KooKoo"), and Oscar-winning special effects designer (Alien), born in Chur, Switzerland (d. 2014)
  • 1941 Barrett Strong, American R&B vocalist ("Money (That's What I Want)"), piano player, and songwriter ("I Heard It Through the Grapevine"; "Just My Imagination"; "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone"; "War"), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2023) [1]
  • 1941 Rick Laird, Irish jazz-fusion bassist (Mahavishnu Orchestra, 1971-73; Gerry Niewood & Timepiece), and photographer, born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 2021)
  • 1942 Cory Wells [Emil Lewandowski], American rock vocalist (3 Dog Night - "Joy to the World"), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 2015)
  • 1943 Ivan Alexandrovich Tcherepnin, French-American composer of Russian and Chinese parentage (Le va et le vient), born in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France (d. 2003)
  • 1943 Larry Tamblyn, American rock guitarist (The Standells - "Dirty Water"), born in Los Angeles, California
  • 1944 (James) "J.R." Cobb American guitarist and songwriter (Classics IV - "Spooky"; Atlanta Rhythm Section - "Champagne Jam"), born in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 2019)
  • 1944 Al Kooper [Kuperschmidt], American rock musician, record producer and songwriter (Blood Sweat & Tears; Super Session; Bob Dylan; The Tubes; The Banana Splits), born in Brooklyn, New York
  • 1946 Mauro Pagani, Italian progressive rock violinist (Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM)), and film soundtrack composer, born in Chiari, Lombardy, Italy
  • 1947 George Underwood, British illustrator, and graphic designer for books and album cover art (Bowie; T. Rex; The Fixx), born in Bromley, England
  • 1948 David Denny, American rock guitar player (Steve Miller Band - "Abracadabra"; "The Joker"), born in Berkeley, California
  • 1948 Nigel Tufnel, British fictional heavy metal guitarist (Spinal Tap), born in Squatney, East London, England
  • 1950 Ann Sexton, American vocalist (You're Gone too Long), born in Greenville, South Carolina
  • 1951 Elizabeth Swados, American theater composer, playwright (Runaways; The Beautiful Lady), and novelist, born in Buffalo, New York (d. 2016)
  • 1951 Geraint Watkins, Welsh session and touring rock and roll pianist, accordion player, and singer-songwriter, born in Abertridwr, Wales
  • 1952 Daniel Balavoine, French singer-songwriter, born in Alençon, France (d. 1986)
  • 1953 Valerie Carter, American folk-rock singer-songwriter, and session vocalist, born in Winter Haven, Florida (d. 2017)
  • 1954 Cliff Martinez, American drummer (Captain Beefheart; Red Hot Chili Peppers, 1983-86), and film score composer (Spring Breakers; Sex, Lies, and Videotapes), born in the Bronx, New York
  • 1956 Vincent "Vinnie" Colaiuta, American touring and session rock and jazz drummer (Frank Zappa, 1979-83; Joni Mitchell, 1982-91; Sting, 1993-2003), born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania
  • 1957 Nick Laird-Clowes, English singer-songwriter (The Dream Academy - "Life in a Northern Town"), record producer, and film score composer, born in London, England
  • 1960 Aris Christofellis, Greek countertenor, born in Athens, Greece
  • 1962 Tommy Skeoch, American guitarist (Tesla, 1984-2006 - Psychotic Supper), born in Santa Monica, California
  • 1964 (Michael Andrew) "Duff" McKagan, American bassist (Guns N' Roses), born in Seattle, Washington
  • 1964 Alexia Vassiliou, Cypriot singer and film score composer, born in Famagusta, Cyprus
  • 1968 Chris Barron, American singer-songwriter (Spin Doctors), born in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
  • 1968 Nir Kabaretti, Israeli conductor, born in Tel Aviv, Israel
  • 1969 Bobby Brown, American singer-songwriter ("My Prerogative"), born in Roxbury, Massachusetts
  • 1971 Sara Evans, American country music singer ("Suds in the Bucket"; "A Real Fine Place to Start"), born in Boonville, Missouri
  • 1973 Trijntje Oosterhuis, Dutch pop and jazz singer, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • 1975 Adam Carson, American musician (AFI), born in Ukiah, California
  • 1980 Tiwa Savage, Nigerian singer-songwriter (Kele, Kele, Kele), born in Isale Eko, Lagos State, Nigeria
  • 1985 Lindsey Cardinale, American country music singer (American Idol, 2012), born in Hammond, Louisiana
  • 1987 Darren Criss, American actor (Glee: The Assassination of Gianni Versace), and singer-songwriter, born in San Francisco, California
  • 1995 Fireboy DML [Adedamola Adefolahan], Nigerian singer-songwriter (Jealous), born in Abeokuta, Ogun state, Nigeria