May 13

Soul's greatest living genius Stevie Wonder celebrates his 76th birthday today, the child prodigy whose journey from "Fingertips" to 'Songs in the Key of Life' proved that blindness couldn't limit musical vision while his social consciousness made him popular music's most important voice across six decades…

 

Country-rock's most unexpected crossover voice Darius Rucker turns 60 today, the Hootie & the Blowfish frontman whose transformation from 1990s alternative rock to Nashville star proved that Southern Black musicians could find acceptance in country music despite the genre's racial barriers…

 

The Boss made his biggest romantic mistake today in 1985 when Bruce Springsteen married actress Julianne Phillips, beginning the marriage that would end in divorce four years later after his affair with E Street Band member Patti Scialfa destroyed this doomed union…

 

The Beatles lost their first photographer on this day in 2020 when Astrid Kirchherr died at 81, ending the life of the German artist whose Hamburg portraits and Stuart Sutcliffe romance helped create the band's visual identity while her mop-top haircuts changed rock and roll forever…

 

We remember rock and roll's most tragic pioneer Ritchie Valens on his birthday today in 1941, the Chicano teenager whose "La Bamba" proved that Latin rock could dominate before the 1959 plane crash that killed him at 17 made him "The Day the Music Died's" youngest victim…

 

We honor Fleetwood Mac's most fragile guitarist Danny Kirwan on his birthday today in 1950, the musician whose work on 'Then Play On' showcased brilliant promise before alcoholism and mental illness led to his 1972 firing and tragic death in 2018 ended a wasted talent…

 

Soul bass lost its funkiest foundation on this day in 2012 when Donald "Duck" Dunn died at 70, ending the career of the Stax Records session legend whose work with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and Blues Brothers proved that Memphis groove could transcend every genre…

 

British soul found its most sophisticated voice today in 1980 with the release of Joan Armatrading's "Me Myself I," the title track from the album proving that a Black British woman could create deeply personal pop-rock while maintaining complete artistic control.