February 4

 

Rock's original shock master Alice Cooper celebrates his 78th birthday today, born Vincent Furnier, the Detroit preacher's son whose guillotines, snakes, and theatrical horror made parents terrified while proving that theatricality and hard rock could create lasting careers…

 

Pop lost its most angelic voice today in 1983 when Karen Carpenter died of cardiac arrest at her parents' Downey home at 32, her death from anorexia nervosa bringing eating disorders into public consciousness while silencing one of popular music's purest vocalists…

 

Scottish rock lost its most theatrical showman today in 1982 when Alex Harvey died of a heart attack at 46 while waiting for a ferry after performing, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band frontman's sudden death ending one of glam rock's most underrated careers…

 

Soul-funk mourned its visionary bandleader today in 2016 when Maurice White died at 74 after battling Parkinson's disease, ending the life of the Earth, Wind & Fire founder whose spiritual philosophy and kalimba playing created the 1970s' most joyful sound…

 

Australian pop found its breakthrough voice when Natalie Imbruglia was born on this day in 1975, the soap opera actress turned singer whose cover of "Torn" became the late 1990s' most inescapable one-hit wonder…

 

Showbiz lost its most flamboyant pianist today in 1987 when Liberace died of AIDS-related pneumonia at 67, the closeted entertainer whose candelabra and rhinestones made him Las Vegas royalty while he publicly denied his sexuality until his death…

 

Belfast's blue-eyed soul master received royal recognition today in 2016 when Van Morrison was knighted at Buckingham Palace by Prince Charles, honoring five decades of mystical R&B that bridged Irish folk and American soul…

 

Pop perfection emerged from personal chaos today in 1977 with the release of Fleetwood Mac's 'Rumours,' the album documenting the band's romantic dissolution that became one of the best-selling records ever, proving that heartbreak made the best art.