Throwback: Happy 61st Birthday, DMC!

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 was born 111 years ago on May 22
• Radiohead’s Philip Selway celebrated his 58th birthday on May 23
• Heavy D was born 58 years ago on May 24
• The iconic and incomparable Bob Dylan celebrates his 84th birthday on May 24
• Patti LaBelle, arguably one of the most unique, powerhouse vocalists to ever do it, celebrated her 81st birthday on May 24
• Hal David was born 104 years ago on May 25
• Sun Ra Arkestra‘s Marshall Allen celebrated his 101st birthday on May 25
• The incomparable Stevie Nicks, an absolute queen, celebrated her 77th birthday on May 26
• Miles Davis was born 99 years ago on May 26
• Lenny Kravitz, one of the most commercially successful rock artists of the past 30 years or so celebrated his 61st birthday on May 26 
• TLC’s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes was born 54 years ago on May 28
• Jadakiss, one of the more underrated emcees out there also celebrated his 50th — yes, 50th! — birthday on May 27
• OutKast‘s Andre 3000, one of the most unique and wildly talented artists in hip-hop celebrated his 50th — yes, 50th! — birthday on May 27
• The incomparable and iconic queen of goth Siouxsie Sioux celebrated her 68th birthday on May 27
• The legendary John Fogerty celebrates his 80th — yes, ya’ll, 80th! — birthday on May 28
• The legendary Gladys Knight, the empress of soul, celebrated her 80th birthday on May 28
• Cameo’s charismatic and imitable frontman Larry Blackmon celebrated his 69th birthday on May 29
• Tom Morello, one of the greatest and most unique guitarists to ever do it celebrates his 61st birthday on May 30
• The Clash‘s Topper Headon celebrated his 70th birthday on May 30

I’ve loved Run DMC since I was very little. Those brothers were a revelation to me: They were cool. They swaggered. They were from Queens — and they looked like me, my family and my neighbors. I could see myself in them. Yes, representation matters, y’all. 

Run DMC‘s DMC celebrates his 61st birthday today. Happy birthday, brother! Thank you for creating music that has transformed my life.