December 28

 

Blues-rock's albino virtuoso Edgar Winter celebrates his 79th birthday today, the multi-instrumentalist whose "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride" proved that synthesizers and saxophones could coexist in hard rock while his technical mastery earned respect across genres…

 

Texas blues lost one of its three Kings on this day in 1976 when Freddie King died at 42 from heart failure and ulcer complications, "The Texas Cannonball" whose aggressive style influenced Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan dying far too young from years of hard living…

 

Jazz piano found one of its founding fathers when Earl "Fatha" Hines was born on this day in 1905, the Pittsburgh innovator whose "trumpet style" right hand liberated the instrument from ragtime rhythms and influenced every jazz pianist who followed before his death in 1983…

 

The Beach Boys suffered their most tragic loss on this day in 1983 when Dennis Wilson drowned at 39 while diving near his boat in Marina del Rey, the only surfing Beach Boy whose troubled life and Charles Manson association ended in the Pacific he had sung about…

 

Power pop's most tortured genius Alex Chilton was born today in 1950, the Box Tops' teenage frontman who found cult success with Big Star before his erratic solo career and tragic heart attack death in 2010 made him rock's ultimate "could have been" story…

 

Rock and roll lost its loudest warrior on this day in 2015 when Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister died at 70, just four days after his birthday, ending the life of heavy metal's most uncompromising figure whose lifestyle seemed impossible to survive yet defined authenticity for generations…

 

Country-pop's power couple united on this day in 1993 when Shania Twain married producer Mutt Lange, beginning the creative partnership that would produce the best-selling album by a female country artist before their marriage ended in betrayal 15 years later.