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This week’s musical birthday celebrants.
Humorous country singer/songwriter Roger Miller, January 2, 1936
Brides of Funkenstein singer Dawn Silva, January 2, 1954
Other January 2 birthdays:
Russian composer Mily Balakirev, 1837
Italian operatic tenor Tito Schipa, 1888
English composer Michael Tippett, 1905
Humorous folk singer/songwriter Christine Lavin, 1952
Choral composer Eric Whitacre, 1970
Dictators/Manowar guitarist Ross “The Boss” Funicello (born Ross Friedman), January 3, 1954
Other January 3 birthdays:
Opera librettist Metastasio (born Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi), 1698
Beatles producer George Martin, 1926
Singer/songwriter/arranger Van Dyke Parks, 1941
Buffalo Springfield/Crosby, Stills & Nash co-leader Stephen Stills, 1945
Led Zeppelin bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, 1946
The Slits/The Raincoats drummer Palmolive (born Paloma Romero), 1955
Daft Punk DJ Thomas Bangalter, 1975
Mahavishnu Orchestra guitarist John McLaughlin, January 4, 1942
Henry Cow/Art Bears/Pere Ubu drummer Chris Cutler, January 4, 1947
Other January 4 birthdays:
Opera composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, 1710
German composer Johann Friedrich Agricola, 1720
Czech composer Josef Suk, 1874
Soundtrack composer Lionel Newman, 1916
Jazz tuba player Don Butterfield, 1923
Opera singer Grace Bumbry, 1937
Soul singer Arthur Conley, 1946
Jazz singer Susannah McCorkle, 1946
Avant-garde guitarist/electric rakist Eugene Chadbourne, 1954
Talk Talk frontman Mark Hollis, 1955
Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, 1956
Joy Division/New Order/Electronic/Bad Lieutenant guitarist Bernard Sumner, 1956
Country singer Patty Loveless, 1957
R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, 1960
Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie, 1962
Type O Negative leader Peter Steele, 1962
Rammstein singer Till Lindermann, 1963
Portishead singer Beth Gibbons, 1965
The Pogues bassist Cait O’Riordan, 1965
Silver Jews mastermind David Berman, 1967
Ash singer Tim Wheeler, 1977
Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel, January 5, 1931
Luscious Jackson/Beastie Boys drummer Kate Schellenbach, January 5, 1966
Other January 5 birthdays:
Italian composer Antonio Lotti, 1667
Blues singer/guitarist Elizabeth Cotton, 1895
Italian flutist Severino Gazzelloni, 1919
Italian pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, 1920
Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini, 1942
Kool & the Gang drummer George Brown, 1949
Blondie guitarist Chris Stein, 1950
Soul Asylum drummer Grant Young, 1964
Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett, January 6, 1946
Other January 6 birthdays:
Russian composer/mystic Alexander Scriabin, 1872
Conductor Maurice Abravanel, 1903
Bluegrass banjo player Earl Scruggs, 1924
Disco artist/songwriter/producer (“The Hustle”) Van McCoy, 1940
Fairport Convention singer/songwriter Sandy Denny, 1947
Fabulous Thunderbirds frontman Kim Wilson, 1951
AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young, 1953
Bollywood composer A.R. Rahman, 1966
Arctic Monkeys/Last Shadow Puppets frontman Alex Turner, 1986
French composer Francis Poulenc, January 7, 1899, and French flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal, January 7, 1922
Other January 7 birthdays:
Romanian pianist Clara Haskil, 1895
Spanish harpist Nicanor Zabaleta, 1907
German conductor Günter Wand, 1912
Loggins & Messina co-leader Kenny Loggins, 1948
The Go-Gos bassist Kathy Valentine, 1959
Chameleonic singer/songwriter David Bowie, January 8, 1947
Other January 8 birthdays:
Italian avant-garde composer Giacinto Scelsi, 1905
Classical pianist Abbey Simon, 1922
Rockabilly singer Elvis Presley, 1935
Russian-American pianist Vladimir Feltsman, 1952
Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood, 1966
