Throwback: Happy 111th Birthday, Sun Ra!

We’ve somehow made it to May y’all. 5 months in to a brutal slog of a calendar year. I’m exhausted and fed up. And I’m sure most of y’all out there feel the same. The terrible thing is that my sense is that things are going to get a lot worse. We’re in hell. 

But there’s music, art, small pleasures, and every day joys. We’ll cling to that as much as possible. 

• The legendary godfather of soul, the Soul Brother #1, James Brown was born 92 years ago on May 3
• Frankie Valli celebrates his 91st birthday on May 3
• The late and supremely great soul artist Sharon Jones was born on this day 69 years ago on May 4
• The legendary jazz bassist Ron Carter celebrated his 88th birthday on May 4
• Motley Crüe co-founder Mick Mars celebrated his 74th birthday on May 4
• Tammy Wynette, one of the most beloved singer/songwriters in country was born 83 years ago on May 5
• Echo & The Bunnymen‘s Ian McCullouch celebrated his 66th birthday on May 5
• The Talking Heads’ and Tom Tom Club’s Chris Frantz celebrates his 74th birthday today.
• Van Halen co-founder, drummer — and most important Eddie’s brother, Alex Van Halen celebrated his 72nd birthday on May 8 
• Earth, Wind and Fire‘s Philip Bailey celebrated his 74th birthday on May 8
• Depeche Mode frontman Dave Gahan celebrated his 63rd birthday on May 9
• U2‘s Bono celebrated his 65th! — yes, 65th!! — birthday on May 10 
• The Afghan Whigs,’ The Gutter Twins‘ and The Twilight Singers‘  
• Greg Dulli, one of the most criminally underrated rock singer/songwriters celebrates his 60th — yes, y’all 60th! — birthday on May 11 
• One of the British Invasion’s most soulful and distinctive vocalists, The Animals and War frontman Eric Burdon celebrated his 84th birthday on May 11
• Burt Bacharach was born 97 years ago on May 12
• Steve Winwood celebrated his 77th birthday on May 12
• The legendary Stevie Wonder celebrated his 75th birthday on May 13 
• EPMD’s PMD celebrated his 56th birthday on May 13
• Jack Bruce, one of the greatest bassists in rock history was born 82 years ago on May 14
• Talking Heads frontman David Byrne celebrated his 73rd birthday on May 14
• Hip hop pioneer Melle Mel celebrated his 64th birthday on May 15
• Nirvana‘s Krist Novoselic celebrated his 60th — yes, 60th! — on May 16
• The iconic and pioneering Janet Jackson celebrated her 59th birthday on May 16
• Taj Mahal, one of the greatest living bluesman and multi-instrumentalist around, celebrated his 82nd birthday on May 17
• Nine Inch Nails creative mastermind Trent Reznor celebrated his 60th birthday on May 17
• DEVO co-founder, frontman and primary songwriter Mark Mothersbaugh celebrated his 75th birthday on May 18
• Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock‘s Rob Base celebrated his 58th birthday on May 18
• The Ramones‘ Joey Ramone was born 74 years ago on May 19
• The incomparable and legendary Grace Jones celebrates her 77th on May 19
• The Who‘s Pete Townshend celebrated his 80th — yes, y’all, 80th! — birthday on May 19
• Busta Rhymes, one of the most inventive, energetic, charismatic and imitable emcees ever celebrates his 53rd birthday on May 20 
• Mobb Deep‘s Havoc celebrated his 52nd birthday on May 21
• The Notorious B.I.G. was born 53 years ago on May 21
• The legendary Ronald Isley celebrated his 84th birthday on May 21

Sun Ra, one of the most forward-thinking, innovative and oddest characters in jazz — hell of any genre, really — was born 111 years ago today. He’s largely considered one of the pioneers of Afro-futurism, a creative school that tends to focus on Blackness, the African Diaspora and space among other things. 

Happy birthday to you, sir! Happy birthday on Saturn!