May 28

Swamp rock's greatest voice John Fogerty celebrates his 81st birthday today, the Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman whose "Proud Mary" and feuds with his brother Tom proved that working-class rock could achieve massive success while his decades-long legal battles over the CCR catalog became rock and roll's most bitter sibling warfare…

 

We remember blues guitar's founding electric pioneer T-Bone Walker on his birthday today in 1910, the Texas guitarist whose single-string solos and showmanship influenced everyone from B.B. King to Chuck Berry while establishing the template for modern electric blues before his death in 1975…

 

We honor Jefferson Airplane's most distinctive voice Papa John Creach on his birthday today in 1917, the violin virtuoso whose electric fiddle proved that classical instruments could dominate psychedelic rock while his Hot Tuna collaborations with Jack Casady stretched jam band possibilities before his death in 1994…

 

Soul's greatest living voice Gladys Knight celebrates her 81st birthday today, the "Empress of Soul" whose "Midnight Train to Georgia" and Pips harmonies made her one of R&B's most respected artists while her Las Vegas residencies and cooking show proved that superstars could diversify beyond music…

 

Session bass's most recorded timekeeper Leland Sklar celebrates his 79th birthday today, the LA studio musician whose work on Jackson Browne, James Taylor, and countless other classic albums made him one of rock's most essential but least-known contributors across six decades…

 

New wave's most soulful frontman Roland Gift turns 65 today, the Fine Young Cannibals vocalist whose "She Drives Me Crazy" proved that British pop could embrace genuine emotion while his reggae-influenced delivery made the band one of the late 1980s' most distinctive sounds…

 

Pop-folk's most confessional voice Colbie Caillat celebrates her 41st birthday today, the California singer-songwriter whose "Bubbly" became an unexpected phenomenon while her ukulele-driven approach and YouTube success proved that internet distribution could create genuine stars before streaming changed everything.