November 29

 

The Beatles lost their most spiritual member today in 2001 when George Harrison died of lung cancer in Los Angeles at 58, ending the life of the Quiet Beatle whose guitar work, songwriting, and Eastern philosophy explorations had profoundly influenced rock music's evolution…

 

We remember British blues' godfather John Mayall on his birthday today in 1933, the bandleader whose Bluesbreakers served as finishing school for Eric Clapton, Peter Green, John McVie, and Mick Taylor, nurturing a generation of guitar legends before his death in 2024…

 

Jazz's most romantic trumpeter Chuck Mangione celebrates his 85th birthday today, the flugelhorn virtuoso whose "Feels So Good" became an unlikely crossover hit that brought smooth jazz to mainstream audiences in the late 1970s…

 

We honor the memory of The Mamas and the Papas' tenor voice Denny Doherty on his birthday today in 1940, the Canadian singer whose harmonies were essential to the group's folk-rock sound before his death in 2007 took another piece of California's musical legacy…

 

Jazz composition's most elegant voice Billy Strayhorn was born on this day in 1915, the Duke Ellington collaborator whose sophisticated compositions like "Take the A Train" and "Lush Life" established him as one of American music's greatest writers before his death from cancer in 1967.