January 27

 

Classical music's greatest child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on this day in 1756 in Salzburg, Austria, the composer whose supernatural genius produced over 600 works in just 35 years before his death in 1791, leaving an unmatched legacy of symphonies, operas, and chamber music…

 

Pink Floyd's architectural drummer Nick Mason celebrates his 82nd birthday today, the only member to appear on every Floyd album whose steady timekeeping and business acumen helped guide the band through their psychedelic beginnings to stadium dominance across five decades…

 

Folk music lost its most principled voice on this day in 2014 when Pete Seeger died at 94, ending the life of the banjo-playing activist whose "We Shall Overcome" and unwavering commitment to social justice made him both blacklisted during McCarthyism and celebrated as an American treasure…

 

Blues found its most sophisticated voice when Bobby "Blue" Bland was born on this date in 1930, the Tennessee singer whose smooth delivery bridging blues and soul on songs like "Turn On Your Love Light" influenced everyone from Van Morrison to Mick Jagger before his death in 2013…

 

Gospel music mourned its greatest voice today in 1972 when Mahalia Jackson died in Chicago of heart failure at 60, ending the life of the singer whose powerful spirituals and refusal to sing secular music made her the most influential gospel artist in history…

 

We remember the King of the Slide Guitar Elmore James on his birthday today in 1918, the Mississippi bluesman whose opening riff to "Dust My Broom" became one of the most copied licks in blues history before his heart attack death at 45 in 1963 cut short his influential career.