October 18

 

Rock and roll's founding architect Chuck Berry was born on this day in 1926, the St. Louis guitarist whose duck walk, guitar licks, and storytelling songs like "Johnny B. Goode" and "Maybellene" essentially invented the template for rock music before his death in 2017…

 

Iconic photography received its ultimate recognition today in 2005 when Annie Leibovitz's image of a naked John Lennon curled around Yoko Ono, taken hours before his murder for Rolling Stone's December 1980 cover, was named the top US magazine cover of the past 40 years…

 

Jazz's most accomplished ambassador Wynton Marsalis was born today in 1961, the New Orleans trumpeter whose technical mastery spans both classical and jazz realms while his work at Jazz at Lincoln Center has preserved and promoted America's greatest art form…

 

We remember Stealers Wheel's other half Joe Egan on his birthday today in 1946, the Scottish singer-songwriter who partnered with Gerry Rafferty to create "Stuck in the Middle with You" before the duo's acrimonious split and Egan's own solo career. Egan passed in 2024…

 

We honor the memory of Laura Nyro on her birthday today in 1947, the Bronx-born singer-songwriter whose jazz-influenced compositions like "Stoney End" and "Wedding Bell Blues" became hits for others while her own passionate performances influenced everyone from Elton John to Todd Rundgren before her death from ovarian cancer in 1997.