April 16

We remember Scottish songcraft's most gifted voice Gerry Rafferty on his birthday today in 1947, the Stealers Wheel co-founder whose "Baker Street" and its iconic saxophone solo made him a solo star despite his struggles with alcoholism that eventually led to his death in 2011…

 

Psychedelic rock lost one of its most tortured souls on this day in 1999 when Skip Spence died at 52 from lung cancer, ending the life of the Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape guitarist whose mental breakdown and solo masterpiece 'Oar' became cautionary tales of 1960s excess…

 

We honor blue-eyed soul's greatest voice Dusty Springfield on her birthday today in 1939, the British singer whose "Son of a Preacher Man" and work in Memphis proved that a white woman could deliver R&B with as much authenticity as any American before her death in 1999…

 

Grunge's most earnest survivor Dave Pirner was born today in 1964, the Soul Asylum frontman whose "Runaway Train" became an MTV phenomenon while bringing attention to missing children, proving that alternative rock could serve social causes without compromising credibility…

 

Jazz met supermodel glamour today in 1994 when Harry Connick Jr. married Victoria's Secret model Jill Goodacre in New Orleans, beginning the marriage between the crooner and Friends cameo star that has endured three decades as one of entertainment's most stable unions.