People, Locations, Episodes

Jabo Starks, ‘Beats’ Master Drummer, born.

*Jabo Starks was born on this date in 1938.  He was a Black funk and blues drummer best known for playing with James Brown. John Henry “Jabo” Starks was born in Jackson, Alabama, and fell in love with the drums after watching a marching band in a Mardi Gras parade in Alabama as a child.  […]

Café Society (New York City), Opens

*On this date in 1938, Café Society opened.   This was a New York City nightclub at Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village.   Managed by Jewish white-American Barney Josephson, it was created to showcase Black talent and to be an American version of the political cabarets he had seen in Europe.  Café Society was one of the first racially integrated nightclubs in the United States; Josephson also intended the club to […]

Reginald Buckner, Jazz Ambasador born

*Reginald Bucker was born on this date in 1938.  He was a Black musician and educator.   Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Reginal Tyrone Buckner grew up with an appreciation for the central location where many Jazz musicians of yore started.  He was also raised in the Strangers Rest Baptist church community.  Buckner was exposed […]

McCoy Tyner, Jazz Pianist born

*McCoy Tyner was born on this date in 1938. He was a Black jazz pianist and composer.   Alfred McCoy Tyner was born in Philadelphia, the oldest of three children. He was the older brother of Jarvis Tyner, the former executive vice chairman of the Communist Party USA. His mother encouraged him to study piano, and he began studying at […]

Joe Sample, Musician, and Composer born

*Joe Sample was born on this date in 1939. He was an African American musician and composer.

From Houston, Texas, Sample began playing the piano when he was five years old. He was a student of the organist and pianist Curtis Mayo. He teamed with high school friends, saxophonist-bassist Wilton Felder and drummer Stix Hooper, to form a band as teenagers in the mid-’50s. Trombonist Wayne Henderson, a classmate at Texas Southern University, later joined the group, which became known as The Jazz Crusaders when the group later moved to Los Angeles.

Rudolph Isley, Singer and Lyricist born.

*Rudolph Isley was born on this date in 1939. He was a Black Rhythm and Blues singer and lyricist. Rudolph “Rudy” Bernard Isley was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Isley began singing in church at a young age. By his teen years, he was singing as a member of The Isley Brothers with Kelly, Ronnie, and […]

Marvin Gaye, Lyricist, and Singer born

This date marks the birth of Marvin Gaye, an African
American singer, songwriter, and recording artist, in 1939.

Hugh Masekela, Trumpet Player born

*Hugh Masekela born this date in 1939.  He is a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer.

Blue Note Records is Formed

*Blue Note Records is celebrated on this date in 1939. They are an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it originated its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Originally dedicated to recording traditional jazz and small-group swing, […]

Mable Bailey, Musician and Teacher born

*Mable Bailey’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1939. She is a Black musician, teacher, and composer. She was born in Canton, Mississippi, and moved to Oakland, California, with her family as a child. She graduated from San Francisco State University in 1963 with a double major in education and music. She began composing […]

Ali Farka Touré, Musician, and Composer born

*”Ali Farka” Touré was born on this date in 1939. He was a Black African singer, multi-instrumentalist, and one of the African continent’s most internationally renowned musicians. Ali Ibrahim “Ali Farka” Touré was born in the village of Kanau, on the banks of the Niger River in the northwestern region of Tombouctou, Mali. His father died […]

Betty Everett, Rhythm & Blues Singer born

*Betty Everett was born on this date in 1939. She was an African American rhythm and blues singer.

Born in Greenwood, MS, she began playing the piano and singing in church at an early age. Everett moved to Chicago during the late 1950s, a very busy city even during the 50s. It was very hard for her during her first years because of its overpopulation.

As a teenager, she performed with Muddy Waters and Magic Sam, and recorded for several local labels, including Cobra and Onederful. But her big hits came when she signed with VeeJay Records.

Tina Turner, Singer born

Tina Turner was born on this date in 1939. She is an African American singer, dancer, and entertainer.

Jerry Butler, Singer, and Songwriter born

*Jerry Butler was born on this date in 1939. He was a Black soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician.  Jerry Butler Jr. was born in Sunflower, Mississippi. When Butler was three years old, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois, and he grew up in the Cabrini-Green housing projects. The mid-1950s had a profound effect on Butler’s life. He grew […]

Eddie Kendricks, Singer born

On this date in 1939, African American singer Eddie Kendricks was born in Union Springs, AL.