People, Locations, Episodes

Don Byas, Tenor Saxophonist born

On this date in 1912, Don Byas was born in Oklahoma. He was an African American tenor jazz saxophonist.

Teddy Wilson, Pianist born

This date marks the birth of Teddy Wilson, an African American musician, in 1912.

Born in Austin, TX, Wilson began his career in the late 1920s in various Midwest bands. He ended up in Chicago, where he substituted for Earl Hines occasionally and made his first records with Louis Armstrong. He held his own in duets with Art Tatum in the early 1930s, and soon joinED Benny Carter’s band in New York.

Luiz Gonzaga, Afro Brazilian Musician born

*Luiz Gonzaga was born on this date in 1912. He was an Afro Brazilian singer, songwriter, musician, and poet. The son of a farmer, Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento, was born in Recife, Brazil. He was attracted to the accordion very early and used to accompany his father at parties and religious celebrations. He later went to do […]

Margaret Bonds, Teacher, and Composer born

On this date in 1913, Margaret Bonds was born. From Chicago, Illinois, she was an African American pianist and composer.

Etta Baker, Folk Artist born

*Etta Baker was born on this date in 1913. She was an African American singer, composer, and musician one of the last surviving original American folk-blues performers.

Helen Humes, Singer born

On this date in 1913, Helen Humes was born. She was an African American singer.

Smiley Lewis, Vocalist born

Smiley Lewis was born on this date in 1913. He was an African American vocalist and one of the greatest New Orleans R&B artists of the 1950s.

Anna Mae Winburn, Singer, and Bandleader born

*On this date, in 1913, Anna Mae Winburn was born.  She was a Black singer, guitarist, and bandleader.    Born Anna Mae Darden in Port Royal, Tennessee, she was the daughter of Andrew Jackson Darden and Lula Carnell, a musical family. She was the fourth oldest of 9 siblings, five brothers, and three sisters:  Her family moved to Kokomo, Indiana when she […]

Herb Jefferies, Singer, and Actor born

*Herb Jeffries was born on this date in 1913. He was a Black singer and actor. From Detroit, MI., his white Irish mother ran a rooming house, and his father, whom he never knew, was of Sicilian, Ethiopian, French, Italian, and Moorish ancestry. Jefferies grew up in a mixed neighborhood. He showed definitive interest in singing during his […]

Kenny Clarke, Bebop Drummer born

Kenny Clark was born on this date in 1914. He was an African American jazz drummer and bandleader.

Kenneth Spearman Clark was born into a musical family in Pittsburgh. He studied piano, trombone, drums, vibraphone, and music theory in public schools. From 1929 to 1933, he had his first professional experience as a drummer with Leroy Bradley’s Band, and later with Roy Eldridge. In 1934, he left Pittsburgh for short stint in St. Louis and eventually moved to New York. There he joined the Edgar Hayes Orchestra, and in 1937, he made his first European tour and recording debut.

Sonny Boy Williamson, Blues Musician born

*Sonny Boy Williamson was born on this date in 1914. He was an African American Blues musician.

Noah Ryder, Choral Conductor, and Educator born

Noah Ryder was born on this date in 1914. He was an African American conductor, singer and educator.

Sun Ra, Eclectic Musician, and Composer born

*On this date in 1914, Sun Rawas born.  He was a Black jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet.  Sun Ra was born Herman Poole Blount in Birmingham, Alabama.  He was named after the popular vaudeville stage magician Black Herman, who had deeply impressed his mother.  He was nicknamed “Sonny” from childhood, had an older sister and half-brother, […]

The Hippodrome Theater in Richmond, VA. Opens

*The Hippodrome Theater, a black entertainment venue in Richmond, Virginia’s Jackson Ward neighborhood, was celebrated on this date in 1914. Charles A. Somma opened the Hippodrome Theater as a vaudeville and movie theater. The theater played a major role in the entertainment of Richmond’s Black community during the early 20th century. It is located on Second Street […]

Billy Eckstine, Vocalist born

This date marks the day Billy Eckstine was born in 1914. He was an African American singer.

Born William Clarence Eckstein in Pittsburgh, he began singing at the age of 11 but until his late teens was undecided between a career as a singer or football player. He won a sporting scholarship but soon afterward broke his collarbone and decided that singing was less dangerous.