- 1698 Henri Madin, French composer, born in Verdun (d. 1748)
- 1746 William Billings, American hymn composer (Rose of Sharon), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1800)
- 1758 Paul Anton Wineberger, German musician and composer, born in Mergentheim (d. 1821)
- 1774 Ferdinando Orlandi, Italian musician and composer (d. 1848)
- 1798 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, French musical instrument inventor, luthier and violin maker (Octobass), born in Mirecourt, France (d. 1875)
- 1801 Adolf Muller Sr., Austrian composer of operettas, born in Tolna, Austria-Hungary (d. 1886)
- 1802 Wilhelm Bernhard Molique, German violinist and composer, born in the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg, Holy Roman Empire (now Germany) (d. 1869)
- 1835 Felix Draeseke, German composer (Christus: Mysterium in a Prelude and Three Oratorios), born in Coburg, Germany (d. 1913)
- 1870 "Uncle" Dave Macon, American vaudeville and Grand Ole Opry banjo player, singer-songwriter and comedian, born in Smartt Station, Tennessee (d. 1952)
- 1879 Joe Hill [Joel Hägglund], Swedish-American labor activist and protest songwriter ("The Preacher and the Slave"; "There Is Power in a Union"), born in Jevla, Sweden (d. 1915)
- 1879 Joseph Bovet, Swiss composer and conductor (Fribourg folk music), born in Sâles, Switzerland (d. 1951)
- 1880 Jaime Pahissa, Spanish-born composer and musicologist (d. 1969)
- 1887 Gastone De Zuccoli, Italian organist, composer (Autunno; Messa Francescana), and pedagogue, born in Trieste, Austria-Hungary (d. 1958)
- 1888 Cecil Coles, Scottish organist and composer (Behind the Lines), born in Tongland, Scotland (d. 1918)
- 1898 Alfred Wallenstein, American cellist and conductor (Chicago Symphony 1922-29), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1983)
- 1901 Ralph Rainger [Reichenthal], American song and film composer (Thanks for the Memory; Love In Bloom), born in New York City (d. 1942)
- 1909 Shura Cherkassky, Ukrainian classical pianist, born in Odesa, Ukraine (d. 1995)
- 1911 (Jonathon) "Jo" Jones, American jazz drummer, and percussionist (Count Basie), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1985)
- 1911 Vaughn Monroe, American singer and orchestra leader (Vaughn Monroe Show), born in Akron, Ohio (d. 1973)
- 1914 Alfred Drake [Capurro], American singer and actor (Trading Places, Hamlet, Kiss Me Kate), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1992)
- 1915 Roman Padlewski, Polish violinist, composer, and underground resistance fighter, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1944) [1]
- 1926 Ivan Jirko, Czech composer, music critic and psychiatrist, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 1978)
- 1926 Marcello Abbado, Italian pianist, composer, conductor, and teacher, born in Milan, Italy (d. 2020)
- 1927 Al Martino [Jasper Cini], American pop singer ("Here in My Heart"), and actor (The Godfather), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2009)
- 1934 Amiri Baraka [Everett Leroy Jones], American poet (Somebody Blew Up America), writer (Black Music), and music critic, born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2014)
- 1934 Feliksas Bajoras, Lithuanian composer (Mourning Music; Exodus I), born in Alytus, Lithuania
- 1936 Charles Dutoit, Swiss conductor (Montreal Symphony, 1977-2002; Orchestre National de France. 1991-2001; Royal Philharmonic, 2009-18), born in Lausanne, Switzerland
- 1939 Colin Cooper, British vocalist and harmonica player (Climax Blues Band - "Couldn't Get It Right"), born in Stafford, England (d. 2008)
- 1939 Joel Brodsky, American photographer, created over 400 album covers (The Doors; Isaac Hayes; Ohio Players), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2007)
- 1939 Mel Brown, American-Canadian blues guitarist and singer (Eighteen Pounds of Unclean Chitlings), born in Jackson, Mississippi (d. 2009)
- 1940 Dino Valenti [Chester "Chet" Powers], American rock guitarist/vocalist (Quicksilver Messenger Service), born in Danbury, Connecticut (d. 1994)
- 1941 Enrique Antonio "Tony" Silvester, Panamanian-American R&B singer-songwriter (The Main Ingredient - "Everybody Plays The Fool"), born in Panama (d. 2006)
- 1941 Larry Young [aka Khalid Yasin], American hard-bop and jazz-fusion Hammond B-3 organist (Unity), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 1978)
- 1941 Martin Murray, British rock guitarist (The Honeycombs, 1963-64 - "Have I the Right?"), born in London, England
- 1944 Judee Sill, American singer-songwriter (Crayon Angels: Jesus Was A Cross Maker), born in Studio City, California (d. 1979) [1]
- 1945 Kevin Godley, English rock drummer, vocalist, and producer (10cc - "I'm Not On Love"), born in Manchester, England
- 1946 Bernard Lavilliers [Oulion], French jazz singer and songwriter, born in Saint-Étienne, France
- 1947 Philip Malcolm "Pip" Williams, British record producer and arranger (Status Quo; Moody Blues), born in Hillingdon, Middlesex, England
- 1949 Dave Hope, American rock bassist and retired priest (Kansas - "Dust In The Wind"), born in Topeka, Kansas
- 1949 Gabriel Yared, Lebanese-French Grammy and Academy Award-winning film score composer (Betty Blue; The English Patient; The Talented Mr. Ripley; Chocolat), born in Beirut, Lebanon
- 1949 Kieran Kane, American country singer (O'Kanes - "Can't Stop My Heart from Loving You"), born in Queens, New York
John Mellencamp (72 years old)
1951 American rock singer-songwriter ("Jack & Diane"; "Small Town"; "Pink Houses"), co-founder of Farm Aid, and actor (Falling From Grace), born in Seymour, Indiana
- 1951 Ricky Phillips, American bass guitarist (Styx, 2003-), born in Mount Pleasant, Iowa
- 1951 Táta Vega [Carmen Rosa Vega], American vocalist (Color Purple soundtrack), born in Queens, Long Island
- 1953 (Hector) "Tico" Torres, American rock drummer (Bon Jovi - "Livin' On A Prayer"; "It's My Life"), and painter, born in New York City
- 1954 Kenneth Atchley, American ambient music composer, born in California
- 1955 Yo-Yo Ma, Chinese-American cellist (2001 National Medal of Arts, 2011 Presidential Medal of Freedom), born in Paris, France
- 1960 Kyosuke Himuro, Japanese rock singer-songwriter, born in Takasaki, Japan
- 1960 Viktor Lazlo [Sonia Dronier], French-Belgian pop singer ("Breathless"), born in Lorient, France
- 1961 Brian Mannix, Australian rock singer (Uncanny X-men - "How Do You Get Your Kicks?"), and actor, born in Melbourne, Australia
- 1964 Sam Brown, English singer-songwriter ("Stop!"), born in Stratford, United Kingdom
- 1966 Marco Beltrami, Italian-American film composer (3:10 To Yuma; The Hurt Locker; Logan), born in Long Island, New York
- 1967 Luke Haines, British musician (The Auteurs; Black Box Recorder), born in Walton-on-Thames, England
Toni Braxton (56 years old)
1967 American R&B singer-songwriter ("Un-Break My Heart"), born in Severn, Maryland
Thom Yorke (55 years old)
1968 British musician and singer (Radiohead - "Creep"; "Paranoid Android"), born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England
- 1969 Javier Álvarez, Spanish singer-songwriter, born in Madrid, Spain
- 1971 Daniel Boucher, Québécois musician, born in Montreal, Quebec
- 1974 Charlotte Nilsson, Swedish singer, born in Hovmantorp, Sweden
- 1975 Damian Kulash, American musician (OK Go), born in Washington, D.C.
- 1975 Tim Minchin, Australian comedian and musician, born in Northampton, United Kingdom
- 1976 Pekka Kuusisto, Finnish violinist and composer, born in Espoo, Finland
- 1976 Taylor Hicks, American pop and blue-eyed soul singer-songwriter (American Idol, 2006), born in Birmingham, Alabama
- 1978 Alesha Dixon, British pop singer (Mis-Teeq), born in Welwyn Garden City, England
- 1978 Nathaniel Rateliff, American roots-rock, R&B, and folk singer- songwriter (The Night Sweats - "S.O.B"), born in St. Louis, Missouri
- 1982 Li Yundi, Chinese classical pianist, born in Chongqing, China
- 1984 Ikuta Toma, Japanese singer and actor, born in Hokkaido, Japan
- 1988 Stacy DuPree, American musician (Eisley), born in The Woodlands, Texas
- 1991 Morta Grigaliūnaitė, Lithuanian concert pianist, born in Lithuania
- 1996 Lewis Capaldi, Scottish singer-songwriter ("Someone You Loved"), born in Glasgow, Scotland
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
Rappers
Rockers