. 1497 ~ Johannes Ockeghem, Flemish singer/composer, died at the age of 79

. 1843 ~ The first minstrel show in America, “The Virginia Minstrels”, opened at the Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City.

. 1903 ~ Claudio Arrau, Chilean pianist

. 1917 ~ Arthur Gold, pianist, born in Toronto, Ontario

. 1929 ~ Rudy Vallee and his orchestra recorded Deep Night. It says in the fine print, under the artist’s name, that the tune was written by Vallee, himself.

. 1943 ~ Fabian (Fabian Forte), Singer

. 1943 ~ Frank Sinatra made his debut as a vocalist on radio’s “Your Hit Parade” this night. Frankie had left the Tommy Dorsey Band just four months prior to beginning the radio program. He was described as, “…the biggest name in the business.”

. 1945 ~ Bob Marley, Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter

. 1947 ~ Alan Jones, Saxophone with Amen Corner

. 1950 ~ Natalie Cole, Grammy Award-winning singer, Best New Artist in 1975 with This Will Be, I’ve Got Love on My Mind. She is the daughter of Nat ‘King’ Cole.

. 1966 ~ Rick Astley, Singer, songwriter

. 1976 ~ Vince Guaraldi, jazz pianist and composer (Peanuts TV specials), died at the age of 43

. 1981 ~ Former Beatle, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison teamed up once again to record a musical tribute to John Lennon. The result of that session became All Those Years Ago. The song went to #2 on the pop music charts for three weeks. It was recorded on Harrison’s own Dark Horse label.

. 2005 ~ Lazar Berman, Soviet Russian classical pianist. He was hailed for a huge, thunderous technique that made him a thrilling interpreter of Liszt and Rachmaninoff and a late representative of the grand school of Russian Romantic pianism.

. 2007 ~ Frankie Laine, Italian-American singer, songwriter, and actor (Frankie Laine Show, Rawhide), died of heart failure at the age of 93

. 2024 ~ Toby Keith, Country Singer-Songwriter died at the age of 62. He was battling stomach cancer​,