Throwback: Happy 82nd Birthday, Taj Mahal!

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 celebrates his 59th birthday today.

Taj Mahal, one of the greatest living bluesman and multi-instrumentalist around, celebrates his 82nd birthday today. The bluesman’s work has incorporated elements of sounds from across the Caribbean, Africa, India, Hawaii and the South Pacific while being accessible.

Happy birthday, legend! May there be many, many more!