People, Locations, Episodes

Edward Heywood Jr., Bandleader born

*Edward Heywood was born on this date in 1915. He was a Black jazz pianist and bandleader. Edward Heywood Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His father, Eddie Heywood Sr., was a strong jazz pianist of the 1920s who often accompanied Butterbeans and Susie. He trained his son from age 12 as an accompanist in the pit […]

Una Mae Carlisle, Pianist, and Singer born

On this date in 1915, Una Mae Carlisle was born. She was an African American pianist and singer.

Born the day after Christmas in Xenia, Ohio, her parents were American Indian and black. Carlisle started singing at the age of three and by the age of seventeen (1932), she was working at a local radio station. Fats Waller heard her play and asked her to join his band, where she stayed until 1934. It is her voice with Waller on the recording “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love.”

Jay McShann, Kansas City Musician born

This date marks the birth of Jay McShann in 1916. He was an African American jazz pianist and composer.

McShann, from Muskogee, OK, began working for Don Byas at the age of 15, and attended the Tuskegee Institute. He started performing in Kansas City in 1936, and formed his own sextet the following year. In 1939, his big band performed at such famous Kansas City clubs as the Century Room and Fairyland Park. The band started recording for Decca in 1941 with Parker in the alto section.

Charlie Christian, Jazz Guitarist born

On this date in 1916, Charlie Christian was born. He was an African American musician who gave birth to modern jazz guitar style.

Christian was born in Dallas, and he and his family moved to Oklahoma City, where he began playing the guitar at age 12, By the time he turned 15, he had advanced to professional gigs. Equally adept at stand-up bass, he worked in bands led by his brother, Alphonso Trent, and by Anna Mae Winburn, as well as running his own jump band in Oklahoma City.

Hadda Brooks, Pianist, and Singer born

Hadda Brooks was born on this date in 1916. She was an African American pianist and singer.

She was born in Los Angeles, and at the age of four, at her request, her parents gave her piano lessons. After she attended public schools, she later studied classical music. In 1941, she married Earl “Shug” Morrison of the Harlem Globetrotters. He died within the first year of their marriage and Brooks never remarried. In the mid- to late 1940s, black popular music began to change from swing jazz and boogie-woogie into the sort of rhythm & blues that helped lay the foundation for rock & roll.

Dena Epstein, Music Librarian born

*Dena Epstein was born on this date in 1916. She was a white Jewish-American music librarian, author, and musicologist. Dena Julia Polacheck was born in Milwaukee to William Polacheck and Hilda Satt. She studied music at the University of Chicago and library science at the University of Illinois, graduating in 1943. She worked as a […]

Ulysses Kay, Musician born

*Ulysses Kay was born on this date in 1917. He was an African American musician and composer.

Big Joe Duskin, Blues Musician born

*Big Joe Duskin was born on this date in 1921. He was a Black blues and boogie-woogie pianist. He is best known for his debut album, Cincinnati Stomp (1978), and the tracks “Well, Well Baby” and “I Met a Girl Named Martha.” He was born Joseph L. Duskin in Birmingham, Alabama. By the age of seven, he […]

Tadd Dameron, Jazz Pianist born

*Tadd Dameron was born on this date in 1917 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was an African American jazz pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader, especially noted during the bop era for the melodic beauty and warmth of the songs he composed.

Rufus Thomas, Singer born

*On this date Rufus Thomas was born in 1917. He was a Black singer and songwriter.

Mongo Santamaria, Percussionist born

*Mongo Santamaria was born on this date in 1917.  He was an Afro Cuban percussionist and bandleader.   Ramón ‘Mongo’ Santamaria Rodríguez was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. He learned the rumba as a kid in the streets of Havana’s Jesús María barrio. He then learned the bongos from Clemente “Chicho” Piquero and toured […]

Papa John Creach, Musician born

*Papa John Creach was born on this date in 1917. He was a Black musician.  John Henry Creach was born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. As a child, he was introduced to the violin by an uncle, who provided both private tutoring in the instrument and conservatory training. He began playing the violin in Chicago bars […]

Dave Lambert, Lyricist born

*David Lambert was born on this date in 1917. He was a white-American jazz lyricist and singer.   David Alden Lambert was born in Boston, MA. His sole musical education began at the age of 10, when he played drums for a year. He picked up the drums again in the late 1930s when he worked summers playing with the Hugh […]

Lena Horne, Singer, and Actress born

This date marks the birthday of Lena Horne in 1917. She was an African American singer and actress whose refusal to be cast in stereotypical roles helped transform the popular image of Black women.

Thelonious Monk, Bebop Jazz Musician, born.

Thelonious Monk was born on this date in 1917. He was an African American jazz pianist and musical genius.