Frebruary 1

 

The Heartbreakers' secret weapon Mike Campbell celebrates his 76th birthday today, the guitarist whose jangly Rickenbacker and telecaster work provided the sonic foundation for Tom Petty's greatest songs while his Fleetwood Mac collaboration proved his versatility beyond the band…

 

Television lost one of its most influential figures today in 2012 when Don Cornelius died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 75, ending the life of the Soul Train host whose platform gave Black artists national exposure and made him a cultural icon across four decades…

 

Motown royalty met European aristocracy on this day in 1986 when Diana Ross married Norwegian shipping magnate Arne Naess in Geneva, the Supreme's second marriage lasting 14 years and producing two sons before divorce returned her to single status…

 

We remember harmony's elder brother Don Everly on his birthday today in 1937, the Everly Brothers' guitarist whose close harmonies with Phil influenced the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, and every vocal duo that followed before his death in 2021…

 

We honor jazz-fusion's most soulful keyboardist Joe Sample on his birthday today in 1939, the Crusaders co-founder whose crossover hit "Street Life" and session work for everyone from Steely Dan to Joni Mitchell made him one of music's most respected players before his death in 2014…

 

We remember Frank Zappa's "Indian of the Group" Jimmy Carl Black on his birthday today in 1938, the Mothers of Invention drummer whose vocals and personality added essential texture to Zappa's early albums before his death in 2008…

 

We honor funk's wildest outlaw Rick James on his birthday today in 1948, born James Ambrose Johnson Jr., the "Super Freak" singer whose massive success and cocaine-fueled excess made him the 1980s' most notorious soul star before his death in 2004…

 

We remember Elvis's only daughter Lisa Marie Presley on what would have been her 57th birthday today, the singer-songwriter who struggled with her famous name and personal tragedies before her death from cardiac arrest in 2023 ended a life lived in the King's shadow.