April 29

Country music's greatest outlaw Willie Nelson celebrates his 93rd birthday today, the Texas troubadour whose "Red Headed Stranger" and endless touring proved that authenticity and marijuana advocacy could create a six-decade career defying Nashville's conventions and the IRS…

 

We remember jazz's greatest composer Duke Ellington on his birthday today in 1899, the bandleader whose sophisticated orchestrations and compositions like "Mood Indigo" elevated jazz to high art while his Cotton Club residency made him Harlem Renaissance's most elegant voice before his death in 1974…

 

Glam rock lost its greatest sideman today in 1993 when Mick Ronson died at 46 from liver cancer, ending the career of David Bowie's "Spider from Mars" guitarist whose arrangements and playing had been essential to Ziggy Stardust while his solo work remained criminally underrated…

 

Pop met Hollywood today in 1992 when Paula Abdul married actor Emilio Estevez in California, beginning the two-year marriage between the choreographer-turned-singer and Brat Pack star that ended in divorce, adding another failed celebrity union to the early 1990s casualty list…

 

Rock's greatest album cover designer Klaus Voormann celebrates his 88th birthday today, the Plastic Ono Band bassist whose Grammy-winning 'Revolver' artwork and friendship with the Beatles from Hamburg days made him one of rock's most essential behind-the-scenes figures…

 

We remember Chicago blues' most emotional guitarist Otis Rush on his birthday today in 1935, the left-handed musician whose West Side sound and string-bending influenced everyone from Eric Clapton to Buddy Guy before his stroke and death in 2018 ended six decades of passionate playing…

 

We honor Motown's most tragic voice Tammi Terrell on her birthday today in 1945, the singer whose duets with Marvin Gaye on "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" defined soul partnership before a brain tumor killed her at 24 in 1970, ending one of music's most promising careers…

 

Pop harmony's most cheerful voice Carnie Wilson celebrates her 58th birthday today, the Wilson Phillips co-founder whose "Hold On" proved that Beach Boy Brian Wilson's daughter could inherit his melodic gifts while her public weight-loss surgery made her a reality TV pioneer…

 

Bubblegum rock's catchiest voice Tommy James turns 79 today, the Shondells frontman whose "Crimson and Clover" and psychedelic pop proved that manufactured teen idols could evolve into genuine artists while his Roulette Records battles exposed the music industry's mobster connections.