Advertisements
May is an exceptionally busy month in music history:
- The 91st anniversary of the birth of the legendary godfather of soul James Brown was on May 3
- The legendary jazz bassist Ron Carter celebrated his 87th birthday on May 4
- The 68th anniversary of the birth of the great soul artist Sharon Jones was on May 4
- The 82nd anniversary of the birth of one of the most beloved singer/songwriters in country, Tammy Wynette was on May 5
- Echo & The Bunnymen‘s Ian McCullouch celebrated his 65th birthday on May 5
- Van Halen co-founder, drummer — and most important Eddie’s brother, Alex Van Halen celebrated his 71st birthday on May 8
- Depeche Mode frontman Dave Gahan celebrated his 62nd birthday on May 9
- U2‘s Bono celebrated his 64th birthday on May 10
- The Afghan Whigs, The Gutter Twins‘ and The Twilight Singers‘ Greg Dulli celebrated his 59th birthday on May 11
- The great Burt Bacharach was born 96 years ago on May 12
- The legendary Stevie Wonder celebrates his 74th birthday on May 13
- EPMD’s PMD celebrated his 55th birthday on May 13
- Cream‘s Jack Bruce was born 81 years ago on May 14
- The legendary Talking Heads frontman David Byrne celebrated his 72nd birthday on May 14
- Hip hop pioneer Melle Mel celebrated his 63rd birthday on May 15
- Nirvana‘s Krist Novoselic celebrated his 59th birthday on May 15
- The iconic and pioneering Janet Jackson celebrated her 58th birthday on May 16
- Nine Inch Nails creative mastermind and film composer Trent Reznor celebrated his 59th birthday on May 17
- Taj Mahal, one of the greatest living bluesman and multi-instrumentalist around, celebrated his 82nd birthday on May 17
- Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock‘s Rob Base celebrated his 57th birthday on May 18
- The Who‘s Pete Townshend celebrates his 79th birthday today.
The Ramones‘ Joey Ramone was born 73 years ago today. As a Queens-born and-based New Yorker, who grew up less than two miles from where Ramone — born, Jeffrey Hyman — was born and grew up, fills me with a lot of pride.
Plus, The Ramones are among one of the most influential bands ever. And that’s not hyperbole.
Happy birthday, Joey! Happy birthday, wherever you are!