August 27: Jeff Cook of the country music group Alabama is 61 today.

Jeffery A. "Jeff" Cook born in Fort Payne, Alabama is one of the founding members of the very popular country music group Alabama. Originally named Wildcountry, the group's name was changed to Alabama in 1972. Cook played lead guitar, keyboards, fiddle and was a vocalist. Other founding members included Cook's cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry.

After Alabama ceased performing and recording in 2003, Cook has formed the groups Cook & Glenn and the Allstar Goodtime Band.

Cook's career with Alabama resulted in 21 gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, 42 number one singles, 2 Grammies, 23 American Music Awards, 3 CMA Entertainer of the Year Awards, ACM's Artist of the Decade, RIAA's Group of the Century, and more than 78 million records sold. Alabama was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

Press links below to view You Tube videos:
-- "Take Me Down" (Alabama)
-- "Love in the First Degree" (Alabama)
-- "Mountain Music" (Jeff Cook & The AllStar Goodtime Band) 

August 27: Pop singer and teenage heart throb, Tommy Sands is 73 today.

Born into a musical family in Chicago in 1937, Sands began playing the guitar at age eight years-old.  Within a year had a job performing twice weekly on a local radio station in Shreveport, Louisiana. When he was 15, Colonel Tom Parker - who discovered Elvis Presley - heard about him and signed him to RCA Records.

His initial records didn't do well, but after appearing in an episode of Kraft Television Theatre, where he played a singer very similar to Elvis Presley, with guitar, bouffant hair, and excitable teenage fans - and sang "Teen-Age Crush" his popularity zoomed. Released as a 45 rpm single, it went to No.3 on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart.




Press to view other You Tube videos:-- "Sing Boy Sing"
-- What's my Line? (Nancy Sinatra & Tommy Sands)

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Sands' sudden fame brought an offer to sing at the Academy Awards show and his teen idol looks landed him a motion-picture contract to star in a 1958 musical drama called Sing, Boy, Sing. Sands performed in several films including Mardi Gras (1959), Babes in Toyland (1961), The Longest Day (1962), Ensign Pulver (1964), and None But the Brave (1965). Both his singing and film career faded by the 1970s.



In 1960, he married Nancy Sinatra. They were divorced in 1965.

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August 27: Daryl Dragon of the Captain & Tennille is 68 today.

Daryl Frank Dragon from Los Angeles, California) is a keyboardist, known as Captain who performed with his wife, Toni Tennille in the 1970s pop musical duo Captain & Tennille.

Dragon is the son of conductor, composer, and arranger, Carmen Dragon (his godfather was actor- comedian Danny Thomas.

In 1962, he became a member of the band Charles Wright & the Wright Sounds. He also played keyboards with The Beach Boys in the early 1970s, and got his nickname of "Captain" from the group's singer Mike Love. He perpetuated this nickname and image by wearing a nautical captain's hat.

In 2009, Toni Tennille revealed that Daryl had developed a mild form of Parkinson's disease which has manifested through a familial tremor.

Captain & Tennille are best known for their singles "Love Will Keep Us Together," "Muskrat Love"

and "Do That to Me One More Time," as well as their television variety series in the 1976–77 season.

Press links below to view You Tube videos:
-- "Love Will Keep Us Together"
-- "Do That to Me One More Time"
-- "Muskrat Love"

UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS (FIRST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER)

(Please let me know if I'm missing someone you'd like to see featured by leaving a "comment" below.)

SEPTEMBER 1:

*Gloria Estefan of Miami Sound Machine

Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees is 64.

Archie Bell of Archie Bell and The Drells is 66.

Conway Twitty: He died in June, 1993 at the age of 60.

Boxcar Willie (Lecil Travis Martin): Died in April 1999 at the age of 68.

Tommy Evans of the Drifters is 83.

SEPTEMBER 2:

*Billy Preston: He died in June 2006 at the age of 60.
Joe Simon is 67.
Jimmy Clanton is 70.
Sam Gooden of The Impressions 71.
William 'Liam' Clancy with The Clancy Brothers: He died in December 2009. at the age of 74.
Hugo Montenegro: He died in February 1981 at the age of 85.

SEPTEMBER 3:
* Jennifer Paige is 37.
Donald Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad is 62.
George Biondi of Steppenwolf is 65.
Gary Leeds of the Walker Brothers is 66.
Al Jardine founder member of The Beach Boys is 68.







SEPTEMBER 4:

 Argentine singer and actress, Camila Bordonaba is 26.
 Beyoncé Knowles is 29.
 British singer Lucie Silvasis 33.
* Curaçaon born singer Daisy Deeis 40.
 Carmit Bachar of the Pussycat Dolls is 46.
 Kim Thayil of Soundgarden is 50.
 Merald “Bubba” Knight of Gladys Knight & The Pips is 78.


SEPTEMBER 5:

 Terry Ellis of En Vogue is 44.
* Freddie Mercury of Queen would be 64 today. He died in Novemeber 1991.
 Dean Ford of Marmalade is 64.
 Loudon Wainwright III is 64.
 John Stewart of the Kingston Trio would be 71. He died In January 2008.
 Willie Woods of Junior Walker & the All Stars would be 74. He died in May 1997.

SEPTEMBER 6: 

*Rapper Foxy Brown is 31
Nina Persson of The Cardigans 36.
Dolores O'Riordan of The Cranberries is 39.
Macy Gray is 43.

  Mark Chesnutt is 47.

  Roger Waters of Pink Floyd is 66.
  Country music singer David Allan Coe is 71.







SEPTEMBER 7: 

Margot Chapman of the Starland Vocal Band is 53.
Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders is 59.
Gloria Gaynor is 61.

*Buddy Holly would be 74. He died on February 3, 1959.

Arthur Ferrante of Ferrante and Teicher is 89.

Aug 20: Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott was born on this date in 1949 ...

... he died on January 4, 1986 at the age of 36.

Born Philip Parris Lynott in  West Bromwich, England, Phil  was a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the critically acclaimed Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. As leader of the band, Lynott's vocals and bass guitar were a key element in the commercial success of the band's thirteen albums, and succession of hit songs. Similar to Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen, Lynott merged poetry with rock music.

Lynott also had a solo music career, published two books of poetry, and after Thin Lizzy disbanded, assembled and fronted the band Grand Slam, up until his death of at the age of 36.

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After discovering rock n' roll as a teen, Phil began singing in his first band, the Black Eagles. Around this time he met future Thin Lizzy drummer, Brian Downey. Phil then played in a succession of other bands; Kama Sutra, Skid Row and Orphanage.

Thin Lizzy was officially formed in the early-70's, and through a succession of guitarists, eventually became one of the world's top hard rock bands by the middle of the decade, especially on the strength of the hit anthem "The Boys are Back in Town" and a string of successful albums including Jailbreak, Bad Reputation, Live & Dangerous and Black Rose. While Lizzy was often classified as "heavy metal", the band covered a lot of musical terrain.

In addition to the band's instantly recognizable twin guitar trademark sound, - supplied by Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson - it was Lynott's storytelling lyric-writing that attracted their fans.

Lynott published several books of his poetry during the 70's and 80's, and released a pair of solo albums; 1980's Solo in Soho and 1982's Phil Lynott Album. But like many rockers of the 70's, Lynott and most of his bandmates succumbed to the lifestyle of rock n' roll - indulging in hard drugs and alcohol.

Lynott embraced the fledgling punk scene - forming a side project with ex-members of the Sex Pistols -  The Greedy Bastards (later shortened to The Greedies.) He also became friends with Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof, and guested on Johnny Thunders' 1978 album, So Alone.

After Thin Lizzy broke up, Lynott attempted to form another band, Grand Slam, which ultimately failed. But a successful collaboration with old friend Gary Moore, "Out in the Fields," showed Phil still had what it took, but it wasn't enough for Phil to put his life back on track. Lynott died on January 4, 1986 - his body giving out from all the years of abuse and hard living.

But the Thin Lizzy name and Lynott's songwriting and influence continued to be named by other musicians as a major influence, including Metallica, Def Leppard, Henry Rollins, and the Smashing Pumpkins.

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August 26: Dan Vickrey guitarist for Counting Crows is 44 today.

Don Vickrey was taught to play the guitar by his father when he was about 11 years old. his biggest influences came from his family's and neighbor's collection of vinyl LP, including Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bee Gee's and The Beatles. He also spent time at a local guitar shop where a music teacher introduced him to early Eric Clapton recordings.

Meanwhile the Counting Crows formed in San Francisco in 1991 first as an acoustic duo. About that time, Vickrey played with different bands, wrote songs while attending UCLA and played his own compositions with an acoustic guitar, in local coffee houses and other small venues. After graduation, he returned to the San Francisco Bay Area, and was introduced to bass guitarist Charles Gillingham of the Counting Crows by a mutual friend. Being a fan, Vickrey said he would like to join the group if there ever was an opening for a guitarist. In late 1993, Vickrey was asked to join after the release of their first album, August and Everything After, when the band felt they needed a new lead guitarist. Vickrey joined the band as a guitarist and providing harmony and backing vocals - one of the trademarks of the band's sound. He has performed on every album and tour since that time.

The band took its name from a divination rhyme about the crow, heard by lead singer Adam Duritz in the film Signs of Life. The rhyme begins the third verse of the song "A Murder of One" on the album August and Everything After : "Well I dreamt I saw you walking up a hillside in the snow / Casting shadows on the winter sky as you stood there, counting crows..."

As co-writer of a number of hit songs with Counting Crows, Vickrey has distinguished himself as a nominee for a Grammy Award, Golden Globe Award, an Oscar, and was a winner of an award from BMI for co-writing the song, "Accidentally in Love."

Press links below to view You Tube videos:
-- "Mr. Jones"
-- "Accidentally in Love"
-- "Colorblind"

August 26: Valerie Simpson of Ashford & Simpson is 64 today.

Valerie Simpson, born in The Bronx, New York, along with her husband, Nickolas Ashford are a songwriting, recording and production team. Together with former member of the Ikettes (Ike and Tina Turner's backup singing group) , Josie Jo Armstead , they wrote "Never Had It So Good"recorded by Ronnie Milsap, Maxine Brown's "One Step At A Time", as well as songs by the Shirelles and Chuck Jackson. Another of the trio's songs "Let's Go Get Stoned" gave Ray Charles a number one U.S. R&B hit in 1966. Also in 1966, Ashford & Simpson joined Motown and went on to successful winging careers. Their best-known songs include "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "You're All I Need To Get By," "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," and "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)," Their best-known song is "Solid" released in the U.S. in 1984.

Ashford & Simpson were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.

Press links below to view You Tube videos:
-- "Solid as a Rock"
-- "Found A Cure"
-- "Street Corner"