November 5

 

Folk-rock's angelic voice Art Garfunkel celebrates his 84th birthday today, the soaring tenor half of Simon & Garfunkel whose perfect harmonies and occasional lead vocals on songs like "Bridge Over Troubled Water" made him one of popular music's most distinctive singers…

 

Canadian rock's workhorse Bryan Adams turns 66 today, the raspy-voiced singer-songwriter whose arena anthems like "Summer of '69" and power ballad "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" made him one of the 1980s and 1990s' most successful international rock stars…

 

Alternative country's most prolific craftsman Ryan Adams celebrates his 51st birthday today, the former Whiskeytown frontman whose solo career has produced over 20 albums of heartland rock, though recent controversies have complicated his artistic legacy…

 

Rock guitar lost one of its most influential innovators on this day in 2005 when Link Wray died at 76, ending the life of the guitarist credited with inventing distorted "fuzz" guitar on his 1958 instrumental "Rumble," which influenced everyone from Pete Townshend to Jimmy Page…

 

We remember the complicated legacy of Ike Turner on his birthday today in 1931, the musician whose groundbreaking work as a blues guitarist and producer was forever overshadowed by his documented abuse of Tina Turner before his death in 2007…

 

Country-rock's cosmic cowboy Gram Parsons was born today in 1946, the visionary who helped create the Americana genre through his work with The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers before his drug-fueled death at 26 cut short one of music's most promising careers…

 

Blue-eyed soul lost half its greatest duo today in 2003 when Bobby Hatfield of The Righteous Brothers was found dead in his Michigan hotel room while on tour, his soaring tenor on "Unchained Melody" silenced by a heart attack at 63.