22 Mar 1936 | Kenyan/British singer-songwriter and musician, Roger Whittaker who had the 1969 UK No.12 single 'Durham Town', and the 1975 UK No.2 & US No.19 single 'The Last Farewell'. He is best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability. |
22 Mar 1943 | American musician, guitarist, and singer-songwriter George Benson. His album Breezin' was certified triple-platinum, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard album chart in 1976 and has since released over 30 albums. |
22 Mar 1943 | English musician Keith Relf, The Yardbirds who had the 1965 UK No.3 & US No.6 single 'For Your Love'. He also sang an early version of 'Dazed and Confused' in live Yardbirds concerts, a song later recorded by the band's successor group Led Zeppelin. Relf died aged 33 on May 14th 1976 when he was electrocuted in the basement of his home, while playing his improperly earthed (electrically grounded) guitar. |
22 Mar 1947 | Australian musician, songwriter and record producer Harry Vanda, The Easybeats who had the 1966 UK No.6 & US No.16 single 'Friday On My Mind'. After the band broke up in 1969, Vanda and fellow member George Young embarked on a songwriting career that saw the pair produce dozens of hits. They became two of Australia's best-known songwriters, with Young's work including 'Love Is In The Air' and 'Yesterday's Hero' both hits for John Paul Young. |
22 Mar 1947 | Patrick Olive, Hot Chocolate, who had the 1975 US No.3 single 'You Sexy Thing' the 1977 UK No.1 single 'So You Win Again' and over 25 other Top 40 hits. |
22 Mar 1948 | English composer and impresario of musical theatre Andrew Lloyd Webber. He has composed 13 musicals and several of his songs have been widely recorded and were hits; 'All I Ask of You' from The Phantom of the Opera, 'I Don't Know How to Love Him' from Jesus Christ Superstar, 'Don't Cry for Me, Argentina' from Evita, and 'Any Dream Will Do' from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Lloyd Webber was knighted in the 1992 Birthday Honours. |
22 Mar 1948 | Randy Hobbs, bass guitarist, Johnny Winter group, McCoys, (1965 US No.1 & UK No.5 single 'Hang On Sloopy'). Hobbs died on August 5th 1993 from a drug overdose, aged 45. |
22 Mar 1953 | British guitarist Robin Le Mesurier. He was known for his long collaborations with Rod Stewart and Johnny Hallyday, as well as for the wide-ranging nature of his musical performance, including membership of such bands as The Wombles. In September 2015, Le Mesurier joined Rod Stewart and Rolling Stone Ron Wood for the Faces reunion. He died on 22 December 2021 age of 68. |
22 Mar 1957 | American Grammy award–winning singer, songwriter and Broadway stage actress Stephanie Mills, who had the 1980 UK No.4 & US No.6 single, 'Never Knew Love Like This Before'. |
22 Mar 1958 | English singer/songwriter and guitarist Pete Wylie who with Wah! had the 1982 UK No.3 single 'Story Of The Blues'. He began his career in 1977 with lead vocalist Ian McCulloch (Echo & the Bunnymen) and bassist Julian Cope, (Teardrop Explodes) with whom he formed the band Crucial Three. |
22 Mar 1963 | Susanne Sulley, singer, The Human League. Formed in Sheffield, England in 1977 the group attained widespread commercial success with their third album Dare in 1981. The album contained four hit singles, including the UK/US No.1 hit 'Don't You Want Me'. |
22 Mar 1968 | Mickey Dale, keyboards, from English alternative rock band Embrace, who had the 2006 UK No. 2 single ‘Natures Law’, the 2006 UK No.1 album This New Day and two other UK No.1 albums. |
22 Mar 1970 | Andreas Johnson, Swedish musician and songwriter who had the international 1999 hit single 'Glorious', which has been used in a number of advertisements from companies including Volvo, Nutella and Vauxhall. |
22 Mar 1973 | Beverley Knight, MBE, English singer, radio presenter and musical theatre actress who released her debut album, The B-Funk, in 1995. Knight is widely labelled as one of Britain's greatest soul singers, and is best known for her hit singles ‘Greatest Day’, ‘Get Up!’, and ‘Shoulda Woulda Coulda’. |
22 Mar 1979 | Aaron North, American guitarist who was the co-founder and guitarist of punk band The Icarus Line who joined Nine Inch Nails in 2005. He formed Jubilee in late 2007 and co-founded Buddyhead with Travis Keller in 1998. |
22 Mar 1980 | Shannon Bex, singer, with American girl group Danity Kane, (formed on the MTV reality show Making the Band 3). They became the first female group in Billboard history to debut their first two albums at the top of the charts. |
22 Mar 1981 | American hip hop recording artist Shawn Mims who had the 2007 US No.1 single 'This Is Why I'm Hot'. |
22 Mar 1986 | English singer, songwriter Amy Studt, UK singer who had the 2003 UK No.4 single 'Misfit'. |