on this day

1923 Sam Phillips born in Florence, Alabama. US founder of Sun Records, the first label of Elvis Presley’s recordings. Recorded

1926 Songwriter Irving Berlin marries Ellin Mackay. 1932 NBC begins airing The Carnation Contented Hour (named for the sponsor, Carnation Milk),

1941 Van Dyke Parks, US songwriter, producer. Worked with Brian Wilson on the ‘Smile’ album, played keyboards on The Byrds

1905 Composer Michael Tippett – known for the 1955 opera The Midsummer Marriage, among many other notable works – is

1942 Joe McDonald, vocals, Country Joe and the Fish, 1968 US hit ‘I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die.’ 1945 Jim

1920 Rex Allen born in Willcox, Arizona. US Country Singer/Guitarist and Actor in western films. Rex Allen died on December

1928 Bo Diddley, (Ellas Otha Bates) born in McComb, Mississippi. American R&B and Chicago Blues vocalist and guitarist. In addition,

1940 Leslie Morrison better known professionally as Lucky Starr, is an Australian pop and folk singer and television presenter. Starr

1915 Roebuck ‘pop’ Staples, vocals, The Staple Singers, (1975 US No.1 single ‘Let’s Do It Again’). Died 19th December 2000

1931 Scotty Moore born in Gadsden, Tennessee. Guitarist, whose first group was Doug Poindexter & the Starlite Wranglers. He played