Musicians Born on October 20

  • 1788 Philip Knapton, English composer and organist (Caller Herrin), born in York, England (d. 1833)
  • 1792 Anton Bernhard Furstenau, German composer and flutist, born in Münster (d. 1852)
  • 1819 Karol Mikuli, Polish composer, pianist, and friend of Frederic Chopin, born in Czerniowice, Bukovina (now Chernivtsi, Ukraine) (d. 1897)
  • 1867 Fini Henriques, Danish composer and violinist (Vølund Smed), born in Frederiksberg, Denmark (d. 1940)

Charles Ives (1874-1954)

American composer (Holiday Quick Step), born in Danbury, Connecticut

  • 1877 Josephine McGill, American composer and folksong collector, born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 1919)
  • 1884 Thomas Chalmers, American opera singer, actor, and filmmaker (Blind Alleys, Outrage), born in New York City (d. 1966)
  • 1890 Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton [LeMothe], American jazz pioneer pianist and composer (King Porter Stomp), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1941)
  • 1900 Rodolfo Halffter, Spanish composer, and music critic, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1987)
  • 1901 Adelaide Hall, American-English musical theatre, cabaret, and jazz singer (Cotton Club; "Creole Love Call" with Duke Ellington), born in Brooklyn, NYC (d. 1993) [1]
  • 1901 Hans-Otto Borgmann, German film score composer under the Third Reich, born in Linden, Germany (d. 1977)
  • 1908 Stuart Hamblen, American singer and composer (This Ole House), born in Kellyville, Texas (d. 1989)
  • 1913 (Louis) "Grandpa" Jones, American country music singer and banjo wizard (Hee-Haw), born in Niagra, Kentucky (d. 1998)
  • 1913 Angelo Ephrikian, Armenian-Italian composer, born in Treviso, Italy (d. 1982)
  • 1913 Johnny Best, American big band jazz and session trumpeter (Artie Shaw; Glenn Miller), born in Shelby, North Carolina (d. 2003)
  • 1914 Fayard Nicholas, American tap dancer, one-half of The Nicholas Brothers and actor (The Five Heartbeats), born in Mobile, Alabama (d. 2006)
  • 1915 Giora Schuster, German-Israeli composer, born in Hamburg, German Empire (d. 2006)
  • 1923 Robert Craft, American conductor, writer and friend of Stravinsky, born in Kingston, New York (d. 2015)
  • 1925 Herman Roelstraete, Belgium composer, born in Lauwe, Belgium (d. 1985)
  • 1925 Tom Dowd, American recording engineer and producer (innovator of multitrack recording), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 2002)
  • 1931 Jules Eskin, American cellist (Boston Symphony, 1964-2016), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2016)
  • 1934 Eddie Harris, American jazz saxophonist and composer ("Freedom Jazz Dance"), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1996)
  • 1936 Joanna Simon, American mezzo-soprano (1962-86), and Emmy Award-winning arts journalist (PBS, 1986-92), born in New York City (d. 2022) [1]
  • 1937 Wanda Jackson, American country singer ("Let's Have a Party"), born in Maud, Oklahoma
  • 1939 Jay Siegel, American rock bassist (Tokens - "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"), born in Brooklyn, New York
  • 1939 Raymond Jones, British keyboardist and songwriter, born in Oldham, England
  • 1940 Kathy Kirby, English singer ("Secret Love"), born in Ilford, England (d. 2011)
  • 1942 Joe Bourne, American jazz and gospel singer ("Upbeat and Sweet"), and visual artist, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • 1943 Dunja Vejzović, Croatian soprano, born in Zagreb, Croatia
  • 1944 William Hugh Albright, American composer and musician, born in Gary, Indiana (d. 1998)
  • 1945 Ric Lee, British blues-rock drummer (Ten Years After - "Love Like a Man"), born in Mansfield, England
  • 1945 Thomas Pasatieri, American opera composer (Frau Margot), born in New York City
  • 1950 Elodie Lauten [Genevieve Schecroun], French-American composer (The Death of Don Juan), born in Paris (d. 2014)

Tom Petty (1950-2017)

American classic rock singer and songwriter (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "American Girl"; Traveling Wilburys - "Last Night"; solo -"I Won't Back Down"), born in Gainesville, Florida

  • 1951 Al Greenwood, American keyboardist (Foreigner - "Feels Like the First Time"), born in New York City
  • 1954 Günter Müller, German sound artist, improvisor and percussionist, born in Munich, West Germany
  • 1954 Steve Orich, American orchestrator and composer (Jersey Boys), born in New York City
  • 1955 Thomas Newman, American film score composer (The Shawshank Redemption; Finding Nemo; Six Feet Under; WALL-E), born in Los Angeles, California
  • 1957 Susanna Haavisto, Finnish actress and singer, born in Helsinki, Finland
  • 1958 Ivo Pogorelić, Croatian pianist (1978 Casagrande winner), born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia
  • 1958 Mark King, English rock bassist and vocalist (Level 42 - "Standing in the Light"; "Love Games"), born in Cowes, England
  • 1958 Ricky Byrd, American rocker (Joan Jett & Blackhearts), born in The Bronx, New York
  • 1959 Vasti Jackson, American electric blues guitarist, music director, and record producer, born in McComb, Mississippi
  • 1960 Lepa Brena 'Yugoslavia’s Madonna', Yugoslav singer, born in Tuzla, Yugoslavia
  • 1962 Stuart Bruce, English recording engineer (Band Aid -"Do They Know It's Christmas?": Loreena McKennitt), born in Northolt, Middlesex, England
  • 1964 Zap Mama [Marie Daulne], Belgian-Congolese Afro-pop and world music singer-songwriter, born in Isiro, Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • 1965 Norman Blake, Scottish musician (Teenage Fanclub), born in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, Scotland
  • 1966 Fred Coury, American glam rock drummer (Cinderella -"Heartbreak Station"; "Nobody's Fool"), born in Johnston, New York
  • 1967 Luck Mervil, Haitian-Québécois actor and singer-songwriter, born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
  • 1971 Dannii Minogue, Australian singer, sister of Kylie Minogue, born in Melbourne, Victoria

Snoop Dogg (52 years old)

1971 American rapper ("What's My Name"; "Drop It Like It's Hot"), born in Long Beach, California

  • 1974 SubtractiveLAD [Stephen Hummel] Canadian electronic music composer and performer, born in Vancouver, British Columbia
  • 1976 Tom Wisniewski, American Christian-punk guitarist (MxPx), born in Dunoon, Scotland
  • 1977 Leila Josefowicz, Canadian-American classical violinist, born in Mississauga, Ontario
  • 1978 Paul Wilson, Scottish bass player (Snow Patrol), born in Kinlochleven, Scotland
  • 1980 Gary Jarman, English musician (The Cribs), born in Wakefield, England
  • 1988 Risa Niigaki, Japanese singer (Morning Musume), born in Yokohama, Japan

NBA YoungBoy (24 years old)

1999 American rapper ("Bandit"; Tyler the Creator -"WusYaName"), born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana