October 21
Alternative rock lost a beautiful voice today in 1995 when Blind Melon's Shannon Hoon died of a cocaine overdose at 28 on the band's tour bus in New Orleans, ending the career of the charismatic frontman whose "No Rain" had become an MTV staple just two years earlier… Bebop's most flamboyant innovator Dizzy Gillespie was born on this date in 1917, the trumpeter whose puffed cheeks, bent horn, and harmonic innovations helped revolutionize jazz while his playful personality made him one of the music's greatest ambassadors before his death in 1993… British Invasion keyboardist Manfred Mann was born on this day in 1940, the South African-born bandleader whose group scored hits like "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" and whose later incarnation Manfred Mann's Earth Band found success with Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded by the Light."… Stax Records' guitar architect Steve Cropper celebrates his 84th birthday today, the session l...
