The first couple of weeks of January are very busy in music history. We start off with the following:
- Led Zeppelin‘s John Paul Jones celebrated his 77th birthday on January 3.
- R.E.M.‘s Michael Stipe celebrated his 63rd birthday on January 4
- Joy Division and New Order founder Bernard Sumner also celebrated his 67th birthday on January 4
- The 70th anniversary of AC/DC co-founder, rhythm guitarist, songwriter and backing vocalist Malcom Young’s birth was on January 6
- The 76th anniversary of David Bowie‘s brith was on January 8
- The Doors‘ Robby Krieger celebrated his 77th birthday on January 8
- Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page celebrated his 79th birthday on January 9
- Steely Dan co-founder, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Donald Fagen celebrated his 75th birthday on January 10.
- Mary J. Blige, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul celebrated her 52nd birthday on January 11
Raekwon celebrated his 52nd birthday on January 12. Raekwon’s work with Wu-Tang and as a solo artist have helped to cement his reputation among the cognoscenti as one of the most gifted and unique emcees in the history of hip-hop.
Although this post is a bit belated, let’s celebrate the man and his legendary work. Happy birthday, Raekwon! May there be many, many more!