26 Mar 1917 | American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer Rufus Thomas who had the 1963 US No.10 single with ‘Walking The Dog’ and a 1970 UK No.18 & US No.28 single with ‘Do The Funky Chicken’. Thomas died on December 15th 2001 of heart failure at the age of 84. |
26 Mar 1944 | Diana Ross, American singer, The Supremes (1964 UK & US No.1 single 'Baby Love' plus over 20 other US & UK Top 40 hits). Solo (1980 US No.1 single 'Upside Down, 1986 UK No.1 single 'Chain Reaction'). During the 1960s The Supremes became Motown's most successful act, and is to this day the United States' most successful vocal group. As part of the Supremes, her success made it possible for future African-American R&B and soul acts to find mainstream success. |
26 Mar 1948 | English musician Richard Tandy, keyboardist, with Electric Light Orchestra, who had the 1979 UK No.3 & US No.4 single 'Don't Bring Me Down' plus 26 other Top 40 hits. He played the harpsichord on The Move's No.1 hit 'Blackberry Way'. |
26 Mar 1948 | Steven Tyler, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of Aerosmith, known as the 'Demon of Screamin'. Aerosmith scored the 1989 UK No.13 single 'Love In An Elevator', their 1989 album Pump spent 53 weeks on the US charts, and the 1993 US No.1 & UK No.2 album Get A Grip, as well as the 1998 US No.1 & UK No.4 single 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing'. In 2011, Tyler made his debut appearance as a judge on American Idol. |
26 Mar 1949 | Vicki Lawrence, American actress, comedian, and pop singer. In 1973, Lawrence became a one-hit wonder songstress, landing on the US chart with the No. 1 'The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia'. |
26 Mar 1949 | Fran Sheehan, bass, Boston, (1977 UK No.22 single 'More Than A Feeling', 1986 US No.1 single 'Amanda'). Boston have sold more than 75 million records worldwide, including 31 million albums in the United States, of which 17 million were from their self-titled debut album and seven million were for their second album, Don't Look Back, making them one of the world's best-selling artists. |
26 Mar 1950 | Teddy Pendergrass, soul singer, (1978 US No.25 single 'Close The Door', 1994 UK No.35 single 'The More I Get The More I Want'). One time member of Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes. Died on 13th Jan 2010 at the age of 59 following a difficult recovery from colon cancer surgery. |
26 Mar 1953 | Scottish musician William Lyall, keyboards with Pilot who had the 1975 UK No.1 single 'January'. He also worked with Sheena Easton and The Bay City Rollers. Lyall died in 1989. |
26 Mar 1955 | Martin Price from English electronic music group 808 State who had the 1989 UK No.10 single 'Pacific State'. They took their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. |
26 Mar 1957 | English music journalist Paul Morley who wrote for the New Musical Express from 1977 to 1983 and a co-founder of the record label ZTT Records. Morley was also a member of English avant-garde synth-pop group Art of Noise who had the 1988 UK No.5 single 'Kiss' with Tom Jones. |
26 Mar 1959 | British session drummer Chris Whitten who provided drums for the hit singles 'What I Am' by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, 'World Shut your Mouth' by Julian Cope and 'The Whole of the Moon' by The Waterboys. Whitten has also worked with Paul McCartney, Dire Straits, Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, The Pretenders, Swing Out Sister, ABC and The The. |
26 Mar 1968 | Kenny Chesney, US country singer, songwriter, (2002 US No.1 album ‘No Shoes, No Shirt’, 2005 US No.1 album 'Be As You Are'). Married Bridget Jones and Chicago actress Renee Zellweger in May 2005. |
26 Mar 1968 | James Jonas Iha, guitarist with American alternative rock band, Smashing Pumpkins who had the 1995 US No.1 album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. |
26 Mar 1971 | John Hendy from English pop boy band East 17 who had the 1994 UK No.1 single 'Stay Another Day', plus 18 top-20 singles and four top-10 albums, and were one of the UK's most popular boy bands during the early to mid-1990s. |
26 Mar 1981 | Jay Sean, British producer and songwriter who had the 2009 US No.1 single 'Down' with Lil Wayne and the critically acclaimed debut album Me Against Myself. |