Musicians Born on March 17

  • 1664 Georg Österreich, German Baroque composer (founded the Bokemeyer collection), baptized in Magdeburg, Brandenburg-Prussia (d. 1735)
  • 1665 Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, French harpsichordist, organist, singer, and composer (Les pièces de clavessin; Céphale et Procris), born in Paris, France (d. 1729)
  • 1675 Petrus Laurentius Wockenfuss, Polish composer, born in Bruskowo Wielkie, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (d. 1721)
  • 1745 Nicolas Séjan, French organist and composer, born in Paris, France (d. 1819)
  • 1746 Jan Dawid Holland, Polish composer, born in Sankt Andreasberg, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1827)
  • 1839 Josef Rheinberger, German organist, composer, and educator (Munich Conservatory, 1877-1901), born in Vaduz, Liechtenstein (d. 1901)
  • 1848 Horace Nicholl, British composer, born in Tipton, England (d. 1922)
  • 1876 Frederic Ayers, American composer, born in Binghamton, New York (d. 1926)
  • 1880 Guillermo Uribe Holguin, Colombian composer, born in Bogotá, Colombia (d. 1971)
  • 1884 Alcide Nunez, American jazz clarinetist, born in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana (d. 1934)
  • 1890 Harold Morris, American composer, born in San Antonio Texas (d. 1964)
  • 1892 Sayed Darwish, Egyptian singer-songwriter and "father of Egyptian popular music" (Ana Haweet), born in Kôm el-Dikka, Alexandria, Egypt (d. 1923)
  • 1900 Alfred Newman, American film music arranger, conductor and composer, winner of 9 Academy Awards (The Robe; How The West Was Won; Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing), born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 1970)
  • 1901 Piotr Perkowski, Polish composer, born in Oweczacze (now Druzhne), Ukraine (d. 1990)
  • 1906 Tamara Geva, Russian-born dancer and actress, born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1997)
  • 1908 Radie Britain, American composer, born near Silverton, Texas (d. 1994)
  • 1909 Lovie Lee [Edward Lee Watson], American electric blues pianist, singer, and songwriter, born in Chattanooga, Tennessee (d. 1997)
  • 1911 Raffaele d'Alessandro, Swiss pianist, organist, and composer, born in St. Gallen, Switzerland (d. 1959)
  • 1916 Ray Ellington [Henry Pitts Brown], British drummer, bandleader, and singer (The Goon Show), born in Kensington, England (d. 1985)
  • 1917 Brian Boydell, Irish composer, born in Howth, Ireland (d. 2000)

Nat King Cole (1919-1965)

American jazz pianist and pop vocalist ("Unforgettable", "Mona Lisa"), born in Montgomery, Alabama

  • 1920 John La Montaine, American composer (Pulitzer 1959), born in Oak Park, Illinois (d. 2013)
  • 1924 Stephen Dodgson, British composer, born in Chelsea, London, England (d. 2013)
  • 1927 Sulkhan Nasidze, Georgian composer, born in Tiflis, Transcaucasia, Soviet Union (now Tblisi, Georgia) (d. 1996)
  • 1928 Edino Krieger, Brazilian conductor, avant-garde composer (Canticum Naturale), and record producer, born in Brusque, Santa Catarina, Brazil (d. 2022)
  • 1931 Lorraine Ellison, American soul singer ("Stay with Me"; "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)"), and songwriter, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1983)
  • 1932 Dick Curless, American country music singer-songwriter (A Tombstone Every Mile), born in Fort Fairfield, Maine (d. 1995)
  • 1934 Erhard Grosskopf, German avant-garde composer, born in Berlin, Germany
  • 1934 Q. T. Macon, American blues singer and guitarist ("Blow Wind"), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1994)
  • 1935 (Patrick Henry) "Adam" Wade, American pop singer (The Writing On The Wall), actor (Kiss Me Goodbye), and 1st US Black game show host (Musical Chairs), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2022)
  • 1936 Ladislaw Kupkovic, Slovak violinist, and composer (Musik für das Ruhrfestspielhaus; Klanginvasion auf Bonn), born in Bratislava. Czechoslovak Republic (d. 2016)
  • 1937 Galina Samsova [Samtsova], Russian ballerina (London Festival Ballet, 1964-73), and artistic director, born in Stalingrad, Soviet Union (d. 2021)
  • 1938 Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-Austrian ballet dancer and choreographer (Kirov Ballet, 1958-61; Royal Ballet, 1964-70; Paris Opera Ballet. 1983-89), born on a train near Irkutsk, Soviet Union (d. 1993)
  • 1938 Zoletta "Zola" Taylor, American pop singer (The Platters, 1954-62 - "The Great Pretender"; "Only You"; "Twilight Time"), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2007)
  • 1941 Clarence Collins, American doo-wop singer The (Imperials - "Tears On My Pillow"), born in Brooklyn, New York
  • 1941 Edward Harper, English composer, born in Taunton, England (d. 2009)
  • 1941 Paul Kantner, American rock singer and guitarist (Jefferson Airplane; Jefferson Starship), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2016)
  • 1942 Dimitris Poulikakos, Greek rock singer-songwriter (Exadaktylos; MGC), and actor, born in Athens, Greece
  • 1943 Jim Weatherly, American pop and country songwriter ("Midnight Train To Georgia"), born in Pontotoc, Mississippi (d. 2021)
  • 1943 Tony Newman, English drummer (Sounds Incorporated, T.Rex), born in Southampton, England
  • 1944 John Sebastian, American singer (Loving Spoonful - "Summer In The City"; solo - "Welcome Back"), born in New York City
  • 1944 Pat McCauley, Northern Irish rock keyboardist and drummer (Them. 1964-65 - "Here Comes The Night"; The Other Them, 1965-67), born in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland (d. 1984)

Pattie Boyd (80 years old)

1944 English model, photographer and author who married both George Harrison and Eric Clapton (not at the same time), born in Taunton, England

  • 1945 Elis Regina (Costa), Brazilian pop-samba-bossa nova singer ("Arrastão" - "Pull the Trawling Net"), born in Porto Alegre, Brazil (d. 1982)
  • 1946 Harold Brown, American rock drummer (War, 1969-94 - "Summer": "Low Rider"), born in Long Beach, California
  • 1946 Michael Peter Finnissey, English composer, born in London, England
  • 1947 Ian Gomm, British rock rhythm guitarist (Brinsely Schwarz, 1970-74 - Hooked On Love), and songwriter (Cruel To Be Kind), born in Chiswick, England
  • 1947 Yury Chernavsky, Russian composer and producer, born in Tambov, Russia
  • 1948 Fran Byrne, Irish musician (Ace), born in Dublin, Ireland
  • 1948 Jessica Williams, American jazz pianist and composer (In the Key of Monk), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 2022)
  • 1950 Michael Been, American musician (The Call), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (d. 2010)
  • 1951 Scott Gorham, American rock guitarist (Thin Lizzy - "Jailbreak"; "21 Guns"), born in Glendale, California
  • 1952 Nikos Xydakis, Greek composer, pianist, and singer, born in Cairo, Egypt
  • 1954 Lesley-Anne Down, British actress and singer (A Little Night Music; Moonraker), born in London, England
  • 1955 Paul Overstreet, American country singer (Daddy's Come Around), born in Van Cleave, Mississippi
  • 1956 Luca Francesconi, Italian classical and electronic music composer (Wanderer; Unexpected End of Formula), born in Milan, Italy
  • 1956 Will Rigby, American rock drummer and percussionist (The dB's; Matthew Sweet), born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
  • 1957 Hamish Kilgour. New Zealand drummer (The Clean - "Tally Ho!"), born in Christchurch, New Zealand (d. 2022)
  • 1959 Mike Lindup, British rock keyboardist, singer, and songwriter (Level 42 - "Lessons In Love"; "Something About You"), born in London, England
  • 1959 Paul Black [Marmorstein], American rock singer (L.A. Guns, 1985-87), and drummer, born in San Francisco, California
  • 1962 Clare Grogan, Scottish new wave singer (Altered Images - "Happy Birthday"), and actress (Gregory's Girl; Eastenders), born in Glasgow
  • 1962 Janet Gardner, American rock singer, and rhythm guitarist (Vixen - "Rev It Up"), born in Juneau, Alaska
  • 1962 Roxy Petrucci, American rock drummer (Vixen - "Rev It Up'), born in Rochester, Michigan
  • 1963 Michael Ivins, American rock bassist and keyboard player (The Flaming Lips, 1983-2021 - "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots"), born in Omaha, Nebraska
  • 1963 Nick Peros, Canadian classical composer (Prayer of Consolation; Northern Lights), record producer, and author, born in Toronto, Ontario

Billy Corgan (57 years old)

1967 American rock singer-songwriter and musician (Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness), born in Chicago, Illinois

  • 1967 Van Conner, American rock bassist and guitarist (Screaming Trees), born in Apple Valley, California
  • 1972 Marc Gunn, American podcaster (The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast), autoharp player, singer and producer (Brobdingnagian Bards), born in Germany
  • 1972 Melissa Auf der Maur, Canadian rock bassist (Hole, 1994-99), born in Montreal, Quebec
  • 1973 Caroline Corr, Irish Celtic folk rock singer, drummer, and bodhrán player (The Corrs - "What Can I Do"), born in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland
  • 1975 Justin Hawkins, British hard rock singer and guitarist (The Darkness - "I Believe in a Thing Called Love"), born in Chertsey, Surrey, England
  • 1976 Stephen Gately, Irish pop singer (Boyzone - "A Different Beat"; "No Matter What"), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 2009)
  • 1977 Richard Swift [Ochoa], American singer and songwriter (The Black Keys), born in California (d. 2018)
  • 1981 Nicky Jam [Nick Caminero], American rapper, singer and actor (Travesuras), born in Lawrence, Massachusetts
  • 1986 Olesya Rulin, Russian-American actress (High School Musical), born in Moscow, Soviet Union
  • 1988 Grimes [Claire Boucher], Canadian pop musician, born in Vancouver, British Columbia
  • 1990 Hozier [Andrew Hozier-Byrne], Irish folk-soul-blues singer-songwriter and guitarist ("Take Me To Church"), born in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland.
  • 1993 Rhian Teasdale, British Grammy Award-winning rock singer-songwriter (Wet Leg), born in Merseyside, England