Born on this day ...

[Ruby]

^And the answer is ... 




Happy Birthday Chris Rea!

[Ruby]

Robbie Blunt was born on this day in 1951, in Worcestershire, England. He's been a session and touring guitarist, most notably playing on Robert Plant's first three solo albums. He seems to be fairly unsung, at least in a general sense, but also has a dedicated fanbase who are vocal in their support of his work. I'm choosing two tracks - "Big Log" was a no-brainer ... from The Principle of Moments ...  



... and "Midnight in Samosa" ... from Plant's debut solo album, Pictures at Eleven 

[CRAZY-HORSE]

CAROL BAYER SAGER  (80)

the lady wrote so many good songs for other artists,
click on the Wiki link for a selected list of songs she wrote for others:  Carole Bayer Sager - Wikipedia

her biggest solo hit:

[Ruby]

Happy Birthday to Max Weinberg - E Street band drummer, amongst other gigs (the Max Weinberg 7 on the Conan O'Brien show) - born on this day in 1951, in Newark, New Jersey. He's also played on several other not insignificant releases including Bat out of Hell and at one stage, he featured in two top performing singles at the same time - Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (No 1) and Air Supply's "Making Love out of Nothing at all" (No 2) - also courtesy of Mr Steinman. Must have been heady stuff! He'd chucked over his degree, six credits short, to join Springsteen, and it certainly appears as though he never had cause for regret. I read that he never takes his focus off the Boss when they're performing live which gives him the ability to pre-empt any improvisational moves and literally not miss a beat. 

I'm not linking any track in particular - I expect most people can play them in their head from memory in any case - the big songs ... so here is an excerpt from an interview with the crew ... 





And a bit by Max himself talking about the really big one - 

[Ruby]

Chris Frantz was born on this day in 1951, in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, USA. He got together with David Byrne at The Rhode Island School of Design where they formed a band called the Artistics before it expanded and became Talking Heads – he was the drummer. Tina Weymouth, Frantz’s girlfriend was also at the school and she joined the band two years down the line as their bassist. After Talking Heads disbanded, the three remaining band members formed the Tom Tom Club and among other projects, he and Tina provided backing vocals and percussion on the Gorillaz debut album. 

He’s regarded as a decent drummer by all accounts – an essential element of the TH sound and vibe. Still married to Tina, he has published a memoir - Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina. Happy Birthday Mr Frantz!

Because it was the first thing that sprang to mind …

[CRAZY-HORSE]

^^
im sure his memoir would be an interesting read

[Ruby]

^That much is certain!

Roddy Lorimer was born on this day in 1953 in Glasgow, Scotland. He is a trumpeter and flugelhorn player and has appeared on what is quite literally an A – Z of artist’s albums along with being a founding member of the session horn section, the Kick Horns, who have likewise been prolific – from Baaba Maal to Beyoncé, and in Lorimer’s individual case, to Wham and The Who! No predilection whatsoever!! LOL! He studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama so has formal training on the trumpet - to what extent is unclear.

What this little exercise in trawling around listening to bits and pieces from the birthday boy's resumé has shown me is that while horns are (somewhat counterintuitively) not always in evidence at the forefront of the mix, they lend a brightness that might otherwise be missed if it were not there. Never really thought about that before. 

I’m picking two tracks – Mr Lorimer played and toured extensively with The Waterboys and can be seen in this clip … 



And he’s credited on this gorgeous opening track from David Gray’s Life in Slow Motion, “Alibi” …

[Ruby]

David Surkamp was born on this day in 1952, in St Louis, Missouri. Who?? You might conceivably ask. Well, it's he who is possessed of one of the most unusual voices in rock, if not taking the whole darn shooting match. Lead singer and composer of the erstwhile Pavlov's Dog, aside from which he is a decidedly shrinking violet, in biographical terms, that is!

All the other original members have shuffled off this mortal coil and the last output of those that remained at that time was 2018's Prodigal Dreamer. He's a bit like coriander I suspect - the world is divided into two camps - those who love Pavlov's Dog complete with Surkamp's strange and wondrous high pitched vibrato, and those who don't. Having been drawn in at an impressionable age, I'm in the former (and coriander!). 

I've posted "Theme from Subway Sue" ad nauseum, methinks, so from At the Sound of the Bell, here's "Standing Here With You (Megan's Song)" ... 

[Music Head]

^^
love that

[Ruby]

Happy Birthday to Steve Upton who was born on this day in 1946, in Wrexham, Wales. He was the drummer for Wishbone Ash from 1970 to 1989. 

From https://www.martinturnermusic.com/steve-upton"Although his tight, precise drumming would be a key element of the Wishbone Ash sound, Steve Upton was more than just the drummer in Wishbone Ash. Steve would also take care of the general day to day running of the band - liasing with managers, agents, road crews, promoters, etc - earning himself the title "The Colonel" in the process!
 

By the eighties Steve had effectively assumed the role of full time band manager and to this day is complimented for his honest and scrupulous approach to business matters.

Summer 1990 saw the departure of Steve Upton from Wishbone Ash. Steve left the music industry and went on to manage Miles Copeland's chateaux in the South of France."

Incidentally he is in illustrious company - fellow celebrators include Bob Dylan, Albert Bouchard, Rosanne Cash and Guy Fletcher, among others. Must have been a conspiracy in the stars!!