People, Locations, Episodes

Marie Knight, Singer born

*Marie Knight was born on this date in 1920. She was a Black gospel and R&B singer. Marie Roach was born in either Attapulgus, Georgia, or Sanford, Florida, but she grew up in Newark, New Jersey. Her father was a construction worker, and the family belonged to the Church of God in Christ. She first […]

Hazel Scott, Singer, Actress, and Musician born

Hazel Scott was born on this date in 1920. She was an African American singer, actress, and musician.

John Lee Hooker, Boogie Blues Musician born

*On this date in 1917, John Lee Hooker was born. He was an African American blues singer and pioneer of the art form.

The Hook (as he is sometimes called) was a Clarkdale, Mississippi native. His stepfather, Will Moore, planted the beginnings for his eerily mournful guitar sound while John Lee was in his teens. Hooker had been singing spirituals before that, but the blues took hold and never let go. Traditional symbols left their mark on the style in youth, too; legends like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, and Blind Blake, who all knew Moore.

Charlie (Bird) Parker, Saxophonist born

On this date in 1920, Charlie Parker was born. He was an African American alto saxophone player, a founder of the bebop jazz style, and one of the most influential musicians in the history of jazz.

Willie Mae Wong, Musician born

*Willie Mae Wong was born on this date in 1920. She was an African Asian American musician. From Greenville, MS., Wong had a Chinese father and a mixed-race mother. Willie Mae, also affectionately known as “Rabbit,” was one of the original members of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. They were the first multi-racial all-female big band […]

Dr. Yusef Lateef born

On this date in 1920, Yusef Lateef was born. He is an African American musician specializing as

Marian Bruce Logan, Cabaret Singer, and Activist born

*The birth of Marian Bruce Logan is celebrated on this date in 1920. She was a Black cabaret singer, civil rights advocate, and former New York City Commissioner of Human Rights. During her career in show business, she sang using the stage name, Marian Bruce. In the 1940s and 1950s, she starred in the first […]

Clark Terry, Trumpeter born

*On this date in 1920, Clark Terry was born.  He was a Black trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator.   Clark Virgil Terry Jr. was born to Clark Virgil Terry Sr. and Mary Terry in St. Louis, Missouri.  He attended Vashon High School and began his professional career in the early 1940s, playing in local clubs. He served […]

Evelyn White, Choral Vocalist born

*Evelyn White was born on this date in 1921. She was an African American vocalist, choral instructor, author and educator.

Matthew Kennedy, Choral Conductor born

*Matthew Kennedy was born on this date in 1921.  He was a Black classical pianist, professor, choral director, composer, and arranger of Negro Spirituals. Matthew Washington Kennedy was born in Americus, Georgia, the fourth child of Royal Clement Kennedy and Mary Magdalene Dowdell. His father was a postal worker and died of a heart attack when Matthew […]

Robert McFerrin Sr., Operatic Baritone born

*Robert McFerrin, Sr. was born on this date in 1921. He was a Black operatic baritone and the first African American man to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

The Sunset Café (Chicago) Opens

*The Sunset Café is celebrated on this date in 1921.  Also known as The Grand Terrace Café, the Sunset Café was a jazz club in Chicago, Illinois.  It was one of the most important jazz clubs in America.  Chicago became a creative capital of jazz innovation and again during the emergence of bebop in the […]

Billy Taylor, Pianist born

*Billy Taylor was born on this date in 1921.  He was an African American composer, educator, broadcaster and piano player.

From Greenville, NC, William Billy Taylor, Sr. graduated from Virginia State College in 1942. He moved to New York and played with such major musicians as Ben Webster, Eddie South, and Slam Stewart among others.   In 1944 he recorded with Stuff Smith. In 1951 he was the house pianist at Birdland and soon afterward Taylor formed his first of many trios.

Buddy Collette, Musician, and Educator born

*Buddy Collette was born on this date in 1921. He was a Black jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. William Marcel Collette was born in Los Angeles and raised in Watts, surrounded by people of different ethnicities. He lived in a house built by his father in an area with cheap, plentiful land. The neighborhood in which […]

Jon Hendricks, Jazz Vocalist born

*On this date in 1921, Jon Hendricks was born. He is an African American singer and writer.