May 19

Rock's greatest windmiller Pete Townshend celebrates his 81st birthday today, the Who guitarist whose power chords and smashing guitars defined rock aggression while his rock operas 'Tommy' and 'Quadrophenia' proved that destruction and sophistication could coexist across six decades of artistic ambition…

 

We remember ZZ Top's silent bassist Dusty Hill on his birthday today in 1949, the bearded Texan whose melodic playing and backing vocals anchored the power trio's boogie-blues for five decades before his death in 2021 ended one of rock's most enduring lineups…

 

We honor punk's founding heart Joey Ramone on his birthday today in 1951, the lanky frontman whose "Gabba Gabba Hey" and three-chord rebellion with the Ramones proved that rock could be stripped to its essence before lymphoma claimed him in 2001 just as punk's influence finally dominated mainstream rock…

 

Jazz fusion's most versatile saxophonist Tom Scott was born on this date in 1948, the L.A. Express founder whose session work on everyone's albums and film scores proved that technical mastery could embrace both commercial success and artistic credibility across five decades…

 

New wave's most androgynous icon Grace Jones celebrates her 78th birthday today, the Jamaican singer-model whose angular features and disco-meets-reggae proved that gender-bending theatricality could create a cult following while influencing everyone from Lady Gaga to modern dance music…

 

Jazz lost its founding tenor saxophonist on this day in 1969 when Coleman Hawkins died at 64, ending the career of the musician who established the saxophone as jazz's primary voice while his "Body and Soul" showed that improvisation could achieve artistic perfection…

 

Elton John found his rock voice today in 1972 with the release of 'Honky Château,' the album featuring "Rocket Man" that proved the piano man could rock harder than his early ballads suggested while his partnership with Bernie Taupin reached creative maturity…

 

Pop perfection arrived today in 1975 with Elton John's 'Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy,' the autobiographical concept album debuting at number one and proving that Bernie Taupin and Elton's partnership story could create their most cohesive and personal masterpiece.