- 1533 Claudio Merulo, organist/composer
- 1692 Giuseppe Tartini, Venetian Baroque composer and violinist (Trillo del Diavolo), born in Piran, Venice (d. 1770)
- 1697 Pierre Prowo, German composer, born in Altona (d. 1757)
- 1708 Georg Zarth, Bohemian composer, born in Hochtann, Bohemia (d. 1778)
- 1756 Joseph Gehot, composer
- 1776 Thaddaus Weigl, composer
- 1843 Asger Hamerik, [Hammerich], composer
- 1878 Rudolf Nelson, composer
- 1880 Victor Schertzinger, composer/director (Uptown NY)
- 1881 Fernand Lamy, composer
- 1885 Dimitrios Levidis, composer
- 1889 Adrian Boult, Chester England, conductor/composer (BBC Sym Orchestra)
- 1895 Sigurdur Thordarson, composer
- 1896 Karl Hermann Pillney, composer
- 1896 Yip Harburg [Isidore Hochberg], American lyricist (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), born in NYC, New York; (d. 1981)
- 1897 Herbert Eimert, German composer/musicologist (Glockenspiel)
- 1902 Josef Krips, conductor (London Symph 1954-63), born in Vienna, Austria
- 1904 John Antill, Australian composer (Corroboree), born in Sydney (d. 1986)
- 1906 Raoul Jobin, French Canadian tenor (d. 1974)
- 1909 Olavi Pesonen, composer
- 1920 Carmen McRae (Clark), US jazz singer/pianist (Dream of Life)
- 1921 Jan Novák, Czech classical composer, born in Nová Říše, Morovia (d. 1984)
- 1923 Franco Corelli, Italian tenor (Don Jose-Carmen), born in Ancona, Italy (d. 2003)
- 1927 Oliver "Ollie" Mitchell, American musician and bandleader (The Wrecking Crew), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2013)
- 1928 Monty Sunshine, jazz bandleader (Gotta Travel On)
- 1928 Fred Ebb, American composer, born in Manhattan, NYC (d. 2004)
- 1929 Jacques Brel, Belgian singer, songwriter, actor, director and composer (Le Far West, Pain in the A__), born in Schaerbeek, Brussels (d. 1978)
- 1929 Walter Berry, Austria singer/ex husband of Christa Ludwig
- 1930 John Reardon, American baritone (Falke-Die Fledermaus), born in NYC, New York
- 1933 Jaroslav Smolka, Czech composer
- 1938 Barton Keith McLean, composer
- 1941 Peggy Lennon, singer (Lennon Sisters), born in Los Angeles, California
- 1942 Roger Chapman, Leicester, rock vocalist (Family-Family Entertainment)
- 1947 Steve Howe, rock guitarist (Asia, Yes-Roundabout), born in London, England
- 1947 Larry Norman, American musician and pioneer of Christian rock music (Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?), born in Corpus Christi, Texas (d. 2008)
- 1951 Mel Schacher, American bassist (Grand Funk Railroad-Some Kind of Wonderful), born in Owosso, Michigan
- 1952 Adam Woods, rock drummer/pianist (Fixx)
- 1962 Izzy Stradlin, [Jeff Isabelle], Lafayette IN, guitarist (Guns & Roses)
- 1963 Julian Lennon, singer (Too Late for Goodbyes) and son of John, born in Liverpool, England
- 1964 Biz Markie, rocker (Meteor Man, Townsend Television)
- 1972 Paul Gray, American bassist (Slipknot)
- 1974 Chino XL, American rapper
- 1975 Anouk [Teeuwe], Dutch singer, born in The Hague
- 1979 Alexi Laiho, Finnish guitarist and singer (Children of Bodom, Sinergy, Kylähullut)
- 1980 Manuel Ortega, Austrian singer
- 1986 Erika Sawajiri, Japanese actress, model and singer
- 1989 Hitomi Takahashi, Japanese singer
- 1989 Matty Healy [Matthew Healy], British vocalist and guitarist (The 1975), born in London, England
- 1990 Jonghyun [Kim Jong-hyun], South Korean singer-songwriter, radio host, and author (SHINee), born in Jung District, Seoul, South Korea (d. 2017)
April in History
Lionheart Richard, The Stranger King
Richard the Lionheart, Robin Hood’s king is considered one of the great English monarchs. Yet he cost his country a fortune and barely lived there.
April 6, 1199
The Man Who Sold His Wife
Most modern readers believe Thomas Hardy was plunging into deep fiction when he wrote about a man selling his wife in, The Mayor of Casterbridge. He wasn't.
April 7, 1832
Step Aboard the Titanic – Las Vegas Style
Even by Las Vegas standards it was controversial, a $1.2 billion recreation of the doomed Titanic, along with the iceberg that caused its destruction.
April 8, 1999
Yes, We Have Some Bananas
A strange fruit went on sale in London on this day, the like of which nobody had seen before. Known to scientists as the Plantaine fruit, it is now unremarkable.
April 10, 1633