March 9

British blues' most psychedelic guitarist Robin Trower celebrates his 81st birthday today, the Procol Harum alumnus whose Hendrix-influenced solo work on "Bridge of Sighs" proved that cosmic blues-rock could create careers beyond the master's shadow…

 

Boston suffered a devastating loss on this day in 2007 when lead singer Brad Delp committed suicide at 55 by carbon monoxide poisoning, ending the life of the vocalist whose soaring harmonies on "More Than a Feeling" had defined arena rock's most meticulously produced sound…

 

Southern rock mourned a gritty frontman today in 2005 when Molly Hatchet's Danny Joe Brown died at 53 from renal failure caused by diabetes complications, ending the career of the singer whose "Flirtin' with Disaster" vocals captured the genre's raw power…

 

Free jazz found its most radical voice when saxophonist Ornette Coleman was born on this day in 1930, the innovator whose abandonment of chord changes liberated improvisation and influenced everyone from the Grateful Dead to modern experimental music before his death in 2015…

 

Garage rock's smoothest voice Mark Lindsay celebrates his 84^th birthday today, the Paul Revere & the Raiders frontman whose "Kicks" and "Hungry" brought Pacific Northwest rock to national audiences while his solo career proved his versatility…

 

Country-rock's harmonica master Jimmy Fadden was born on this day in 1949, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band member whose work on 'Will the Circle Be Unbroken' helped bridge Nashville traditionalists and California rockers across five decades…

 

The Velvet Underground's avant-garde architect John Cale celebrates his 84^th birthday today, the Welsh multi-instrumentalist whose classical training and willingness to experiment helped create the template for art-rock before his production work launched the Stooges and Patti Smith…

 

Rock and roll's wildest piano pounder made it official again today in 2012 when Jerry Lee Lewis married for the seventh time at 76 to Judith Brown, the Killer proving that age couldn't diminish his appetite for matrimony despite six previous divorces…

 

Hip-hop lost its most cinematic storyteller on this day in 1997 when the Notorious B.I.G. was gunned down at 24 in a Los Angeles drive-by shooting, Biggie Smalls' murder coming just six months after Tupac's killing and ending rap's most tragic East Coast-West Coast rivalry.