Musicians Born in 1927

Leontyne Price

Feb 10 Leontyne Price, American opera soprano (Porgy & Bess), born in Laurel, Mississippi

Feb 10 Brian Priestman, British conductor and teacher, born in Birmingham, England (d. 2014)
Feb 11 Michel Sénéchal, French operatic tenor, and educator, born in Paris (d. 2018)
Feb 15 Gottfrid Gräsbeck, Finnish choral director, and composer, born in Turku, Finland (d. 2010)
Feb 21 Pierre Mercure, Canadian composer (Kaléidoscope), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1966)
Feb 22 David Ahlstrom, American composer, born in Lancaster, New York (d. 1992)
Feb 22 Guy Mitchell [Albert George Cernik], American singer and actor (Red Garters, 3 Redheads from Seattle), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1999)
Feb 23 Ivan Hrušovský, Slovak composer and educator (Rytmus), born in Bratislava, Slovakia (d. 2001)
Feb 25 Jacques Monod, composer
Feb 25 Ralph Stanley, American bluegrass musician, born in Dickenson County, Virginia (d. 2016)
Feb 25 René Thomas, Belgian jazz guitarist, born in Liège, Belgium (d. 1975)
Feb 26 Donald Gramm, American bass-baritone, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Feb 28 Don Helms, American steel guitarist (Hank Williams's Drifting Cowboys), born in New Brockton, Alabama (d. 2008)
Mar 1 Harry Belafonte, Jamaican-American calypso singer ("Banana Boat Song"; actor (Buck & the Preacher), and human rights activist , born in Harlem, New York
Mar 1 Lusine Amara, opera/concert singer
Mar 2 Siegfried Kohler, German composer (Tausend Sterne sind ein Dom), born in Meissen, Germany (d. 1984)

Mar 2 Witold Szalonek, Polish composer, born in Czechowice-Dziedzice, Poland (d. 2001)
Mar 4 Robert DiDomenica, American flautist, composer and educator, born in NYC, New York (d. 2013)
Mar 5 John "Jack" Cassidy, American singer and actor (Oscar-He & She, The Eiger Sanction), born in Richmond Hill, Virginia (d. 1976)
Mar 6 Norman Treigle, bass-baritone, born in New Orleans, Louisiana
Mar 8 Jaromir Podesva, composer
Mar 8 Josef Berg, Czech composer (d. 1971)
Mar 9 Hans Ludwig Schilling, German composer, born in Mayen, Germany (d. 2012)
Mar 9 John Beckwith, Canadian composer, born in Victoria, British Columbia
Mar 10 Donn Trenner, orchestra leader (ABC's Nightlife), born in New Haven, Connecticut
Mar 15 Carl Smith, American country singer (Grand Ole Opry), born in Maynardville, Tennessee
Mar 16 Olga San Juan, American actress, dancer and comedian (Variety Girl, 1 Touch of Venus), born in NYC, New York (d. 2009)
Mar 17 Kenneth S Goldstein, folklorist/enthomusicologist
Mar 17 Sulkhan Ivanovich Nasidze, composer
Mar 18 John Kander, composer (Cabaret, Funny Lady, Kramer vs Kramer), born in Kansas City, Missouri
Mar 20 John Joubert, British South African composer (Chamber Music for brass quintet), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 2019)
Mar 23 Osvaldo Lacerda, composer
Mar 24 János Decsényi, Hungarian composer (Farewell to a Vanished Century), born in Budapest, Hungary
Mar 27 Mstislav Leopold Rostropovich, Soviet-Russian cellist and conductor, born in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR (d. 2007)
Mar 31 Dave Hassinger, American recording engineer and record producer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2007)
Apr 1 Amos Milburn, R&B singer and pianist, born in Houston, Texas (d. 1980)
Apr 6 Gerry Mulligan, American saxophonist and orchestra leader (Jazz on a Summer Day), born in Queens, New York (d. 1996)
Apr 7 Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian percussionist (Drums of Passion), born in Ajido, Lagos (d. 2003)
Apr 8 Oliver "Ollie" Mitchell, American musician and bandleader (The Wrecking Crew), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2013)
Apr 11 Domenico Guaccero, Italian composer, born in Palo de Colle, Italy (d. 1984)
Apr 16 Edie Adams [Edith Enke], American businesswoman, singer, actress and comedian (Murial Cigar), born in Kingston, Pennsylvania (d. 2008)

Apr 17 Christopher Whelen, British composer and conductor, born in London, England (d. 1993)
Apr 19 Don Barbour, American singer (The Four Freshmen), born in Columbus, Bartholomew County, Indiana (d. 1961)
Apr 22 Pascal Bentoiu, Romanian composer, born in Bucharest, Romania (d. 2016)
Apr 22 Laurel Aitken, Jamaican singer and one of the pioneers of Jamaican ska music, born in Cuba (d. 2005)
Apr 23 Russell Smith, American composer, born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (d. 1998)
Apr 25 Ernst Widmer, Swiss-Brazilian composer, born in Aarau, Switzerland (d. 1990)
Apr 27 Connie Kay, American jazz drummer (Modern Jazz Quartet), born in Tuckahoe, New York (d. 1994)
Apr 29 Big Jay [Cecil James] McNeely, American R&B saxophonist, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2018)
May 1 Billy Byers, American jazz trombonist and arranger, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1996)
May 5 Charles Rosen, American pianist and musicologist (Sonata Forms), born in NYC, New York (d. 2012)
May 20 David Frederick Barlow, composer
May 20 Walter Aschaffenburg, German-American composer, born in Essen, Germany (d. 2005)
May 28 Bernhard Lewkovitch, Danish organist and composer, born in Copenhagen
May 31 Red Holloway [James], Helena, Arkansas, jazz tenor saxophonist, (d. 2012)
Jun 2 Andre Vandernoot, Flemish conductor (Royal Flemish Opera)
Jun 3 [Homer] Boots Randolph, American saxophonist (Yakety Sax), born in Paducah, Kentucky (d. 2007)
Jun 9 Franco Donatoni, Italian composer, born in Verona, Italy (d. 2000)
Jun 11 Beryl Grey, English prima ballerina, born in Highgate, London
Jun 11 Josef Anton Reidl, German composer, born in Munich, Germany (d. 2016)
Jun 13 Knut Wiggen, Norwegian computer music pioneer and composer, born in Buvika (d. 2016)
Jun 13 Slim Dusty [David Kirkpatrick], Australian country music singer-songwriter, born in Kempsey, New South Wales (d. 2003)
Jun 17 Martin Böttcher, German composer and conductor, born in Berlin (d. 2019)
Jun 18 Simeon Pironkov, Bulgarian composer, born in Lom, Bulgaria (d. 2000)
Jun 19 Karel Kupka, Czech composer, born in Rychvald
Jun 20 John M Dengler, American jazz multi-instrumentalist - bass sax/trumpet/trombone (The Intensely Vigorous Jazz Band), born in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania [1]
Jul 1 Hans Eklund, Swedish composer, born in Sandviken (d. 1999)
Jul 2 Brock Peters [George Fisher], American actor and singer (Carmen Jones, To Kill a Mockingbird), born in NYC, New York (d. 2005)
Jul 5 Beverly Tyler, American singer and actress (Fireball, The Youngest Profession, Big Town), born in Scranton, Pennsylvania (d. 2005)
Jul 6 Charles Whittenberg, American composer, born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1984)
Jul 6 Nilo Soruco, Bolivian singer and songwriter, born in Tarija, Bolivia (d. 2004)

Jul 7 Charlie Louvin, Rainsville Ala, country singer (Louvin Brothers)
Jul 7 Doc Severinson [Carl], bandleader/trumpeter on the Tonight Show, born in Arlington, Oregon
Jul 9 Ed Ames [Edmund Dantes Urick], American popular singer and actor (Ames Brothers, My Cup Runneth Over), born in Malden, Massachusetts
Jul 11 Herbert Blomstedt, American conductor (Dresdner Staatskapelle, 1975-85; San Francisco Symphony 1985-95), born in Springfield, Massachusetts
Jul 12 Pavle Merku, Italian-Slovene composer and ethnomusicologist, born in Trieste (d. 2014)
Jul 18 Carlo Franci, Italian composer and conductor, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 2019)
Jul 18 Kurt Masur, German conductor (New York Philharmonic), born in Breig (d. 2015)
Jul 20 Michael Gielen, Austrian conductor/composer
Jul 24 Wilfred Josephs, English composer, born in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne (d. 1997)
Jul 27 Guy Carawan, American folk singer and folklorist (popularized "We Shall Overcome"), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2015)
Jul 31 Ștefan Niculescu, Romanian composer, born in Moreni, Dâmbovita (d. 2008)
Aug 4 Jess Thomas, American tenor known for his singing in Richard Wagner operas, born in Hot Springs, South Dakota (d. 1993)
Aug 5 Gunnar Bucht, Swedish composer, born in Stocksund, Sweden
Aug 11 Raymond Leppard, conductor (St Louis Symphony Orchestra), born in London, England
Aug 12 Porter Wagoner, American country singer, discovered Dolly Parton (Y'All Come, "A Satisfied Mind"), born in West Plains, Missouri (d. 2007)
Aug 16 Dennis Moss, British jazz tenor saxophonist, born in Surrey, England (d. 2008)
Aug 21 Wilhelm Killmayer, German composer, born in Munich, Germany (d. 2017)
Aug 22 Aleksandar Obradovic, Serbian composer, born in Bled, Slovenia (d. 2001)
Aug 23 Martial Solal, French jazz pianist and composer, born in Algiers, French Algeria
Aug 24 Roger Danneels, Flemish accordionist, born in Bruges, Belgium (d. 1982)
Aug 29 Marion Williams, American gospel singer (Stars of Faith), born in Miami, Florida (d. 1994)
Aug 30 Piet Kee, Dutch organist and composer, born in Zaandam, Netherlands (d. 2018)
Sep 1 Tommy Evans, R&B singer (Drifters)
Sep 2 Tzvi Avni, Israeli classical composer (Meditations On A Drama), born in Saarbrücken, Germany
Sep 6 Keith Humble, Australian composer, born in Geelong, Australia (d. 1995)
Sep 7 Graham Dudley Whettam, British composer, born in Swinden, Wiltshire (d. 2007)
Sep 8 Harlan Howard, American country music songwriter ("I Fall To Pieces"; "Busted"), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2002)
Sep 9 Elvin Jones, American jazz drummer (Coltrane's "A Love Supreme"), born in Pontiac, Michigan (d. 2004)
Sep 20 John Dankworth, English jazz musician and composer, born in Woodford, Essex, England (d. 2010)
Sep 24 Richard Swift, American singer and songwriter (The Black Keys), born in California (d. 2018)

Sep 25 Colin Davis, English conductor (NY Met 1967-71), born in Weybridge, Surrey (d. 2013)
Sep 27 Boris Porena, Italian composer, poet, and writer, born in Rome
Sep 27 Red Rodney [Robert Chudnick], American jazz trumpeter (Charlie Parker Quintet), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1994)
Sep 27 "Earring" George Mayweather, American blues Harmonica Player, born in Montgomery, Alabama (d. 1995)
Sep 30 Hossein Dehlavi, Persian composer, conductor and teacher (Sarbaz; Plectrum Orchestra), born in Tehran, Persia (d. 2019)
Oct 1 Márta Kurtág [née Kinsker], Hungarian classical pianist, born in Esztergom, Hungary (d. 2019)
Oct 5 John W. Downey, American classical composer (A Dolphin), born in Chicago (d. 2004)
Oct 6 Paul Badura-Skoda, Austrian pianist (Mozart Interpretation), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2019)
Oct 7 Al Martino [Jasper Cini], American singer and actor (Here in My Heart, The Godfather), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2009)
Oct 8 Al Duncan, American blues drummer, born in McKinney, Texas (d. 1995)
Oct 8 Gigi Durston, American singer (Sonny Kendis Show), born in Baltimore, Maryland
Oct 10 Thomas Wilson, Scottish composer, born in Trinidad, Colorado (d. 2001)
Oct 13 Lee Konitz, American jazz saxophonist (Birth of the Cool), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2020)
Oct 21 Nadine Judd [Nadia Moore/Nerina], South African/British ballerina
Oct 23 William "Sonny" Criss, American bebop jazz saxophonist (Jazz U.S.A.), born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 1977)
Oct 24 Renato de Grandis, Italian composer, born in Venice, Italy (d. 2008)
Oct 24 Gilbert Bécaud [François Gilbert Léopold Silly], French singer, pianist, composer and actor (Nathalie) known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances, born in Toulon, France (d. 2001)
Oct 25 Barbara Cook, American stage singer and actress (Music Man), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2017)
Oct 27 Dominick Argento, American composer (Colonel Jonathan the Saint), born in York, Pennsylvania (d. 2019)
Oct 27 Bernard Parmegiani, French composer (L'Oeil écoute - The Eye Listens), born in Paris (d. 2013)
Oct 28 Dame Cleo Laine, British actress and jazz-pop singer (Flesh to a Tiger), born in Middlesex, England
Oct 31 Anita Kerr, American singer composer and producer (The Anita Kerr Singers), born in Memphis, Tennessee
Nov 4 Vittorio Fellegara, Italian composer, born in Milan (d. 2011)
Nov 7 Ivor Emmanuel, Welsh singer and actor (Zulu, Show Boat, Kiss Me, Kate), born in Margam, Wales (d. 2007)

Patti Page

Nov 8 Patti Page [Clara Ann Fowler], American singer (Tennessee Waltz), born in Claremore, Oklahoma (d. 2013)

Nov 8 Ken Dodd, British singer and comedian described as "the last great music hall entertainer", born in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, England (d. 2018)
Nov 8 Ivo Vinco, Italian operatic bass singer, born in Verona, Italy (d. 2014)
Nov 11 Mose Allison, American jazz and blues piano player, singer, and composer ("Everybody's Cryin' Mercy"; "Your Mind Is on Vacation"), born in Tippo, Mississippi (d. 2016)
Nov 14 Narciso Yepes, Lorca Spain, guitarist (Orquesta Nacionale 1947)
Nov 18 Lawrence Moss, American composer, born in Los Angeles, California

Nov 18 Hank Ballard [John Henry Kendricks], American rocker (The Midnighters - "The Twist" - pre-Chubber Checker), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2003)
Nov 19 Joe Hunter, American pianist and bandleader of Motown's house band - The Funk Brothers (1959-64), born in Jackson, Tennessee (d. 2007)
Nov 22 Grady "Fats" Jackson, tenor sax player
Nov 24 Alfred Kraus, Las Palmas Canary Islands, tenor (La Scala)
Nov 24 Emma Lou Diemer, composer
Nov 25 Dick Wellstood, American jazz pianist, born in Greenwich, Connecticut (d. 1987)
Dec 1 Grant Beglarian, composer
Dec 3 Isabelle Harriet Lucas, Canadian-born British actress and singer (Outland, Comics), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1997)

Andy Williams

Dec 3 Andy Williams, American pop singer ("Moon River"; "Days of Wine and Roses"), born in Wall Lake, Iowa (d. 2012)

Bhumibol Adulyadej

Dec 5 Bhumibol Adulyadej [Rama IX], King of Thailand (1946-2016), jazz saxophonist and composer, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts (d. 2016)

Dec 6 Jacques Bondon, French composer, born in Boulbon, Bouches-du-Rhône, France (d. 2008)
Dec 6 Akira Miyazawa, Japanese jazz saxophonist, born in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan (d. 2000)
Dec 7 Vlastimir Peričić, Serbian composer, born in Vršac, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (d. 2000)
Dec 7 Helen Watts, British contralto, born in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales (d. 2009)
Dec 9 Pierre Henry, French composer (considered pioneer of musique concrète), born in Paris (d. 2017)
Dec 14 Richard Cassilly, American tenor, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1998)
Dec 23 Joseph Castaldo, American composer, born in NYC, New York (d. 2000)
Dec 23 Pinocchio James, American jazz singer (Lionel Hampton Revue), born in Macon, Georgia
Dec 24 Teresa Stich-Randall, American soprano (Vienna State Opera), born in New Hartford, Connecticut (d. 2007)
Dec 28 Oleg Karavaichuk, Russian pianist and composer, born in Kiev (d. 2016)

About 1927

How Old? 93 or 94 years old
Generation: Greatest Generation

Chinese Zodiac: Tiger (Jan 1 - Feb 1), Rabbit (Feb 2 - Dec 31)

1926
Birthdays in Music
1928

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