People, Locations, Episodes

Etta Jones, Singer born

On this date in 1928, Etta Jone, an African American jazz singer, was born in Aiken, South Carolina.

Jimmy Smith, Jazz Organist born

Jimmy Smith, an African American jazz musician, was born this date in 1928.

He was born James Oscar Smith in Norristown, PA, near Philadelphia. His mother played the organ in a local church and his father was a tap dancer and a musician. Smith began playing piano for his father’s act at an early age. When he was 14, Smith enlisted in the navy where he played both the piano and the bass in the segregated army band. After a couple of years in the service, Smith moved back to Philadelphia where he worked construction and on the Pennsylvania Railroad to make ends meet.

Harold Land, Tenor Saxophonist born

*Harold Land was born on this date in 1928.  He was a Black hard bop and post-bop jazz tenor saxophonist.  Harold de Vance Land was born in Houston and grew up in San Diego. He started playing at the age of 16. He made his first recording as the leader of the Harold Land All-Stars for Savoy Records in 1949. In 1954, he joined the Clifford Brown/Max […]

Bo Diddley, Blues Musician born

Bo Diddley, an African American blues musician, was born on this date in 1928.

He was born Ellas Otha Bates McDaniel on a small farm near the town of McComb, MS, in rural Pike County, close to the Louisiana border. The only child of mother Ethel, at only 8 months of age, he went to live with his mother’s cousin Gussie McDaniel, who raised him.

The family moved to Chicago when young Ellas was 6 or 7 years old. It was in the Windy City that he got the name Bo Diddley from the kids at Willard Elementary School.

Arthur Prysock, Baritone Singer born

Arthur Prysock, an African American singer, was born on this date in 1929.

He was born in Spartanburg, S.C. He moved to Hartford, Connecticut, to work in the aircraft industry in the early 1940s. He also sang with a local band, and was spotted in 1944 by band leader Buddy Johnson, who signed him as a male vocalist. Despite his relative lack of record success, he was a mainstay of the cabaret and concert-hall circuits. Prysock sang on several of Johnson’s hits, first on Decca (“Jet My Love,” 1947 and “I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone,” 1948) and Mercury (“Because,”, 1950).

Ida Guillory, Accordion Musician born

*Ida Guillory was born on this date in 1929.   She is a Black musician specializing in Accordion and Vocals and an author of cuisine.  From Lake Charles, Louisiana, she grew up in the Cajun/Creole communities of Southwest Louisiana and East Texas. Although her lyrics are now bi-lingual, her first language was French, and the songs […]

Jimmy Cobb, Musician, and Teacher born

*Jimmy Cobb was born on this date in 1929.  He was a Black jazz drummer and teacher.    Wilbur James Cobb was born in Washington, D.C.  Before his music career, he listened to jazz albums and stayed awake into the late hours of the night to listen to Symphony Sid performing in New York City.   Cobb started his touring career in 1950 with the saxophonist Earl Bostic. […]

Kermit Moore, Cellist and Composer born.

*Kermit Moore was born on this date in 1929.  He was a Black conductor, cellist, and composer. Moore was born in Akron, Ohio. While still in high school, he studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In Manhattan, he studied the cello with Felix Salmond at the Juilliard School while simultaneously pursuing a master’s degree […]

Cecil Taylor, Pianist, and Poet born

*Cecil Taylor was born on this date in 1929.  He was a Black pianist and poet.   Cecil Percival Taylor was raised in the Corona, Queens neighborhood of New York City.  As an only child in a middle-class family, Taylor’s mother encouraged him to play music at an early age. He began playing piano at age six and went on to study at the New York […]

Ed Townsend, Lyricist born

Ed Townsend was born on this date in 1929. He was an African American songwriter and producer.

From Fayetteville, Tennessee, his father was a minister and as a result of his work, the family moved to Memphis. The church building was one of the few places that had a piano and it became a musical outlet as well as a place of worship for young Townsend. At 17, he was elected to the International American Methodist Episcopal Youth Council, which allowed him to visit many countries.

Johnny Ace, Singer born

*On this date in 1929, Johnny Ace was born. He was an African American rhythm and blues (R&B) singer.

Harvey Fuqua, Composer born

*Harvey Fuqua was born on this date in 1929.  He was a Black singer and composer.  Born in Louisville, KY, Harvey Fuqua (the nephew of Charlie Fuqua of the Ink Spots) started the Moonglows with lead singer and fellow Louisville native Bobby Lester, Alexander Graves, and Prentiss Barnes.   They were mentored by rock & roll […]

Albertina Walker, Gospel Singer born

*Albertina Walker was born on this date in 1929.  She was a Black gospel singer, songwriter, actress, and humanitarian.   Albertina Walker was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Ruben and Camille Coleman Walker. Her mother was from Houston County, Georgia, and her father was from Bibb County, Georgia. They moved to Chicago between 1917-1920, where […]

LaVern Baker, Singer born

On this date in 1929, LaVern Baker, an African American singer and entertainer, was born.

She was born Delores Williams in Chicago and began singing at an early age. The natural power of her voice, like many of her peers before her, came from her gospel background. Raised by her aunt, the famed Memphis Minnie, also influenced young Delores. In late 1946, as soon as she was old enough to go from singing for the Lord in choir to singing for money in a business that served liquor, she got a job at the Club De Lisa.

Berry Gordy Jr., Music Producer born

Berry Gordy, Jr., was born on this date in 1929. He is an African American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries.