May 12

Blue-eyed soul's greatest voice Steve Winwood celebrates his 78th birthday today, the British prodigy whose journey from teenage Spencer Davis Group sensation through Traffic's psychedelia to solo success proved that child stars could sustain careers across six decades of keyboard mastery…

 

Rock's most glamorous couple wed today in 1971 when Mick Jagger married Bianca Macias at St. Tropez Town Hall, the white-suited bride and groom creating iconic photographs while beginning the turbulent eight-year marriage that would end with Studio 54 decadence and bitter divorce…

 

Jazz lost its most soulful saxophonist on this day in 2024 when David Sanborn died at 78, ending the career of the musician whose lyrical tone and crossover appeal made him one of the most recorded session players while his own albums bridged jazz and R&B for mainstream audiences…

 

We remember pop's greatest melodist Burt Bacharach on his birthday today in 1928, the composer whose sophisticated arrangements and Hal David collaborations on "Walk On By" and countless other hits elevated popular music to art before his death in 2023 ended seven decades of timeless songwriting…

 

Hollywood romance reached peak tabloid today in 1959 when singer Eddie Fisher married Elizabeth Taylor, the union destroying Fisher's marriage to Debbie Reynolds while beginning his turbulent relationship with Taylor that would end when she left him for Richard Burton…

 

We honor British new wave's most literate street poet Ian Dury on his birthday today in 1942, the Blockheads frontman whose cockney wit on "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" and polio-affected body made him punk's most unlikely working-class hero before his death in 2000…

 

We remember comedy's greatest social critic George Carlin on his birthday today in 1937, the counterculture comedian whose "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" Supreme Court case and decades of material influenced as many musicians as comedians before his death in 2008…

 

Arena rock's guiltiest pleasure Billy Squier celebrates his 76th birthday today, the guitarist whose "The Stroke" and shirtless performances made him MTV's most masculine presence until his "Rock Me Tonite" video's dancing destroyed his credibility overnight in 1984…

 

We remember the Small Faces' boogie-woogie organist Ian McLagan on his birthday today in 1945, the keyboardist whose work with the Faces and Rolling Stones proved that British rock could embrace authentic American soul before his death in 2014…

 

Rock guitar reached its full explosive potential today in 1967 with the release of the Jimi Hendrix Experience's 'Are You Experienced,' the debut album featuring "Purple Haze" and "Foxy Lady" that redefined what the electric guitar could do and changed music forever.