December 7

 

We remember folk storytelling's conscience Harry Chapin on his birthday today in 1942, the singer-songwriter whose narrative masterpieces like "Cat's in the Cradle" and "Taxi" addressed life's regrets while his tireless hunger activism made him as important offstage as on before his highway death in 1981…

 

Progressive rock mourned one of its majestic voices on this day in 2016 when Greg Lake died at 69, ending the life of the King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer bassist-vocalist whose powerful singing on "Lucky Man" and "From the Beginning" brought soul to prog's complexity…

 

Bohemian barfly poetry's master Tom Waits celebrates his 76th birthday today, the gravelly-voiced songwriter whose Los Angeles night-crawling characters and experimental soundscapes have made him one of music's most respected and influential outsider artists across five decades…

 

British pop harmony splintered today in 1967 when Graham Nash announced he was leaving The Hollies to form Crosby, Stills & Nash, beginning the supergroup that would define California folk-rock's sophisticated sound while Nash pursued his more experimental vision…

 

Irish singer-songwriter intimacy found a modern voice when Damien Rice was born today in 1973, the musician whose sparse arrangements and emotional vulnerability on albums like 'O' brought confessional folk to a new generation seeking authenticity…

 

Paul McCartney's post-Beatles journey stumbled today in 1971 with the release of Wings' debut album 'Wild Life,' the hastily recorded effort that showed the former Beatle still searching for direction while critics wondered if he could recapture his magic outside the Fab Four.