Throwback: Happy 97th Birthday, Miles Davis!

May is a very busy month in music history:

• The 67th anniversary of Sharon Jones was on May 4
• U2′s Bono celebrated his 63rd birthday on May 10
• The Afghan Whigs‘, The Gutter Twins‘ and The Twilight Singers‘ Greg Dullicelebrated his 58th birthday on May 11
• The 95th anniversary of Burt Bacharach‘s birth was on May 12
• Stevie Wonder celebrated his 73rd birthday on May 13
• Talking Heads frontman David Byrne celebrated his 71st birthday on May14
• Nine Inch Nails creative mastermind Trent Reznor celebrates his 58th birthday on May 17
• The legendary bluesman Taj Mahal celebrated his 81st birthday on May 17
• The Who‘s Pete Townshend celebrated his 78th birthday on May 19
• The Ramones‘ Joey Ramone was born 72 years ago on May 19
• Grace Jones celebrated her 75th birthday on May 19
• Biggie was born 51 years ago on May 21
• The Isley Brothers‘ Ronald Isley celebrated his 82nd birthday on May 21
• The 109th anniversary of Sun Ra‘s birth was on May 22
• The 56th anniversary of Heavy D‘s birth was on May 24
• Cameo’s frontman Larry Blackmon celebrated his 67th birthday on May 24
• Sun Ra Arkestra‘s Marshall Allen celebrated his 99th birthday on May 25
• Stevie Nicks celebrates her 75th birthday today.

Adding to the auspiciousness of the day, Miles Davis was born 97 years ago today. His influence on modern music has remained towering — and it’s understandably why. He was a pioneer of both bop and jazz fusion, who recorded some of the most beloved albums ever recorded, while introducing us to a long list of artists, who have become equally beloved as well, including Ron Carter, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, and so many others.

Happy birthday, Miles! Happy birthday, wherever you are!