February 16

Piedmont blues lost one of its last masters on this date in 1996 when Walter "Brownie" McGhee died at 80, ending the life of the guitarist whose six-decade partnership with harmonica player Sonny Terry preserved acoustic blues traditions while influencing the folk revival generation…

 

Pop lost its most defiant teenage voice on this day in 2015 when Leslie Gore died at 68 from lung cancer, ending the career of the singer whose "It's My Party" and "You Don't Own Me" became feminist anthems despite being recorded when she was just 17 years old…

 

We remember rock and roll's greatest ghost songwriter Otis Blackwell on his birthday today in 1932, the composer who wrote Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" and "All Shook Up" plus Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls of Fire" without receiving public recognition before his death in 2002…

 

We honor Sonny Bono on his birthday today in 1935, the entertainer who evolved from Cher's singing partner to Palm Springs mayor to US Congressman before his skiing accident death in 1998 ended one of entertainment's most unlikely political careers…

 

New Romantic guitar found its most precise player when Andy Taylor was born today in 1961, the Duran Duran guitarist whose Power Station side project proved he could rock harder than the band's synth-pop image suggested before leaving in 1986…

 

British rock royalty reunited today in 1993 when the Faces came together at the BRIT Awards to honor Rod Stewart's lifetime achievement, the performance reminding fans of the boozy camaraderie that had made them one of the 1970s' greatest bands…

 

Jazz spirituality reached its apex today in 1965 with the release of John Coltrane's 'A Love Supreme,' the four-part suite representing the saxophonist's devotional offering to God that became one of the most influential and beloved jazz albums ever recorded.