November 24

 

Rock lost one of its greatest showmen today in 1991 when Freddie Mercury died of AIDS-related complications at his London home at 45, ending the life of Queen's flamboyant frontman just one day after publicly confirming his illness and silencing one of music's most powerful voices…

 

Pop culture's most unusual wedding occurred today in 1991 when Cyndi Lauper married actor David Thornton with the Reverend Little Richard performing the ceremony, uniting the "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" singer with her partner in a marriage that has endured over three decades…

 

The blues lost one of its shouting pioneers on this date in 1985 when Big Joe Turner died of a heart attack at 75, ending the career of the Kansas City vocalist whose powerful voice on "Shake, Rattle and Roll" helped bridge blues and early rock and roll…

 

Texas blues mourned its "Master of the Telecaster" today in 1993 when Albert Collins died of lung cancer at 61, silencing the guitarist whose icy tone and energetic performances had influenced everyone from Robert Cray to Stevie Ray Vaughan…

 

The Beatles' original drummer Pete Best was born on this date in 1941, destined to become rock's most famous "almost" after being replaced by Ringo Starr just before the band's breakthrough, spending decades answering questions about his brief time with the Fab Four…

 

Organ-driven rock found one of its practitioners when Lee Michaels was born today in 1945, the keyboardist whose hits "Do You Know What I Mean" and relentless touring proved that organ and drums alone could create powerful rock music…

 

We remember Stax Records' groove master Donald "Duck" Dunn on his birthday today in 1941, the bassist for Booker T. and the MG's whose melodic playing anchored countless soul classics before his death in 2012 made him a legend among bass players…

 

Ragtime found its greatest composer when Scott Joplin was born on this day in 1868 (not 1867), the pianist whose "Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer" brought syncopated sophistication to American popular music before his death in 1917 at just 48.