People, Locations, Episodes

Papa John Creach, Musician born

*Papa John Creach was born on this date in 1917. He was a Black musician.  John Henry Creach was born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. As a child, he was introduced to the violin by an uncle, and he received both tutoring in the instrument and conservatory training. He began playing violin in Chicago bars after […]

Dave Lambert, Lyricist born

*David Lambert was born on this date in 1917. He was a white-American jazz lyricist and singer.   David Alden Lambert was born in Boston, MA. His sole musical education came at age 10 when he played drums for a year. He picked up the drums again in the late 1930s when he worked summers playing with the Hugh McGuinness trio. […]

Lena Horne, Singer, and Actress born

This date marks the birthday of Lena Horne in 1917. She was an African American singer and actress whose refusal to be cast in stereotypical roles helped transform the popular image of Black women.

Thelonious Monk, Bebop Jazz Musician, born.

Thelonious Monk was born on this date in 1917. He was an African American jazz pianist and musical genius.

Dizzy Gillespie, Jazz Musician born

On this date in 1917, Dizzy Gillespie was born. He was an African American jazz trumpeter and band leader.

Born in Cheraw, SC, he began as a self-taught player. His natural gifts won him a scholarship at the Laurinburg Institute, where he studied for three years before moving to Philadelphia in 1935. He first recorded with Teddy Hill’s band in New York, as a replacement in Hill’s group. In 1939, he joined the Cab Calloway band and during its travels first encountered Charlie Parker in Kansas City.

Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson, Blues Musician born

Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson was born on this date in 1917. He was an African American blues musician.

Elmore James, Electric Guitarist born

*Elmore James was born on this date in 1918. He was an African American blues guitarist and singer.

Without question, James was the most influential slide guitarist of the postwar period. He was born in Canton, MS., and was the son of Leola Brooks, later given the surname of his stepfather, Joe Willie James. He got into music at an early age, learning to play bottleneck on a homemade instrument made out of a broom handle and lard can.

Carol Brice, Contralto Vocalist born

Carol Brice was born on this date 1918. She was an African American contralto singer.

Ella Fitzgerald, Jazz Singer born

This date in 1918 marks the birth of Ella Fitzgerald. She was an African American jazz singer from Newport News, Virginia.

Considered one of the greatest singers in jazz history, Fitzgerald moved as a child with her mother and her stepfather to Yonkers, New York. As a teenager, she began winning amateur talent contests at the Harlem Opera House and its nearby competitor, the Apollo Theater. This recognition led to an invitation to sing with noted drummer and band leader Chick Webb at the Savoy Ballroom. Upon Webb’s death in 1939, Fitzgerald became leader of the band.

Eddie Jefferson, Singer born

*On this date in 1918 Eddie Jefferson was born. He was an African American jazz & blues singer.

Arnett Cobb, Saxophonist born

*On this date in 1918, Arnett Cobb was born. He was an African American jazz tenor saxophonist.

Ike Quebec, Saxophonist and Talent Scout born

*Ike Quebec was born on this date in 1918. He was a Black jazz tenor saxophonist, arranger, and talent scout. Quebec was born in Newark, New Jersey. An accomplished dancer and pianist, he switched to tenor sax as his primary instrument in his early twenties. His recording career started in 1940 with the Barons of Rhythm. He […]

Gerald Wilson, Musician, and Bandleader born

*Gerald Wilson was born on this date in 1918. He was an African American trumpeter, arranger, band leader and educator.

Joseph Thompson, Folk Musician born

*Joseph Thompson was born on December 9, 1918. He was a Black folk music old-time fiddle player and one of the last musicians to carry on the Black string band tradition. Joseph Aquiler Thompson was born in Orange County, North Carolina. His father, John, a fiddler, and Uncle Walter, a banjo player, performed at local […]

Joe Williams, Singer born

*Joe Williams was born on this date in 1918.  He was a Black jazz singer with big bands and with his combos and sometimes worked as an actor.   Born Joseph Goreed, he was from Cordele, Georgia, the son of Willie Goreed and Anne Beatrice Gilbert.  When he was about three, his mother and grandmother took him to Chicago.  He grew up on the South Side of Chicago, where he […]