On April 20th, 1951, seminal soul singer, 1980's R&B innovator, session vocalist, songwriter, pianist, composer, producer and arranger-Luther (Ronzoni) Vandross Jr. was born in New York City, New York. He’s most known for his hit R&B ballads and uptempo numbers, like Never Too Much, If Only For One Night, Creepin', The Glow Of Love, So Amazing, Bad Boy/Having A Party, A House Is Not A Home, Better Love, Superstar/Until You Come Back To Me, Stop To Love, and so many more. Interesting Fact: When Luther was just three years old, he had his own record player, taught himself how to play piano by ear, and developed a near perfect pitch. He grew up in the Alfred E. Smith Housing Projects, on the lower east side of Manhattan. His pops passed when he was eight, so his family moved to The Bronx when he was nine.
Luther and his sisters started going to the Apollo Theater with his older sisters, and he got his inspiration to become a singer from seeing various acts on stage. Luther started singing with different groups at talent shows and school events during his teens, performed at The Apollo on Amateur Night, and sang on Sesame Street songs and singles during their first year (1969). In the early 1970's, he became a highly sought backup vocalist for the likes of David Bowie, Roberta Flack, Change, New York City Band (an early version of Chic), Donny Hathaway, Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, Bette Midler, Todd Rundergren’s Utopia, Greg Diamond’s Bionic Boogie (he sang lead), Ben E. King, Quincy Jones, Diana Ross, Jocelyn Brown, Carly Simon, and Chic. From there the path was laid for Luther to take the world by storm, as a solo artist. Luther Vandross was 54 when he passed away.
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On April 20th, 1972, actress, singer, dancer, TV personality, model, songwriter and 90's pop culture icon-Carmen Electra (Tara Leigh Patrick) was born in Sharonville, Ohio. Carmen is most known for her association with Prince, as the co-host of Singled Out on MTV, and her marriage to the former Detroit Pistons/Chicago Bulls ‘Bad Boy’ Dennis Rodman. She started off as a dancer during primary & secondary school. After graduating from performing arts high school, she began taking acting classes and modeling. She started performing at King’s Island Amusement Park, right outside of Cincinnati, OH (1990), and then moved to Minneapolis, MN in 1991. Shortly thereafter, she met Prince-and he hooked her up with a record contract on his Paisley Park imprint. This is when Tara became Carmen Electra.
Although her time with Prince was short-lived, it birthed a name that still remains to this day. She rode the minor success of her association with Prince up thru the mid 1990's. While her popularity as a singer was sorely lacking, her appearance was not. She posed for Playboy in 1996, landed a gig at MTV to host Singled-Out (1997), and acted on Baywatch after that. From there she moved into films, including Good Burger (1997), Scary Movie (2000), Starsky & Hutch (2004), and Meet The Spartans (2008). Carmen Electra is 47 today.
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On April 20th, 2017, we lost a pioneering soul vocalist, songwriter, solo artist, father of actors Cuba Gooding Jr & Omar Gooding, and former lead singer of The Main Ingredient-Cuba Gooding Sr. If you’ve heard Biggie’s-Things Done Changed, then you were listening to the intro of The Main Ingredient’s song Summer Breeze featuring Cuba on lead vocal. There’s an interesting story associated with his name-Cuba. His father was from Barbados and moved to Cuba. While there, he married a woman who was associated with Marcus Garvey’s U.N.I.A. She was murdered; but before she died, Cuba’s father promised to name his first son after the country. Hence, Cuba.
Cuba Sr. started off as the backup singer for The Main Ingredient, and didn’t become lead singer until Don McPherson passed away in 1971. After taking over, he worked closely with Stevie Wonder, who produced a lot of their work from the early to mid 1970's. Throughout the decade, the group continued to release hit singles and LPs including Happiness Is Just Around The Bend, Everybody Plays The Fool, and Rolling Down A Mountain Side. He later signed to Motown as a solo artist, and released two LPs (early 80s). His music has been heavily sampled by hip hop, electronic, and urban music producers. Some of his best work can be heard on the albums from the early to mid 70's. After this, it gets a little more ‘trendy’. He has a dynamic vocal style that’s very unique. This Harlem native was 72 when he passed.
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HONORABLE MENTION: On April 20th, 1920, seminal jazz musician, pioneering vibraphonist, swing innovator, pianist, bandleader, drummer, composer, percussionist, arranger, and producer-Lionel Leo Hampton was born in Louisville, KY. He’s one of the major artists that shaped the sound of jazz during the WWI & WWII era. He also introduced the world to the vibraphone as a jazz instrument. He played multiple instruments, composed most of his own music, led a big band, and worked with Quincy Jones, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Teddy Wilson, and Gloria Parker. He was 94 when he passed away.
On April 20th, 1923, celebrated jazz composer, drummer, producer, vibraphonist, songwriter, percussionist, arranger, and timbales player-Tito Puente was born in NYC, NY. Puente put Latin and Afro-Cuban Jazz on the map. Without him, artists like Sergio Mendes, Herb Alpert, Arturo Sandoval, Celia Cruz, and many more would never have been heard by the international world. Tito started off on percussion-then piano-before switching back to percussion. He wrote Oye Como Va, which has been covered by many-most notably-Santana. This Billboard Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award Winner was 77 when he died.
The Story of 4/20-On April 20th, 1971, a group of five teens from San Rafael High School in Northern Cali coined the term 4/20. They were all a part of a click called The Waldos (they got the name because they liked to lean on the walls in the hallway during class changes). They couldn’t smoke in the bathrooms at school, so they’d all meet up after school at 4:20. The term morphed into a code for smoking marijuana. Many urban and musical myths exist claiming Bob Dylan invented the term-others attribute it to the band Boston, Grateful Dead Heads, early 70s Humboldt County growers, that it’s some historical significance from way back when and so on and so on…Truth is, it was the time they could all meet up and chief after school.
On April 20th, 1972, reggae singer, percussionist, songwriter, producer, guitarist, son of Rita & Bob Marley, producer for his brother Damian Marley, and member of Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers-Stephen Robert Nesta Marley was born in Wilmington, Delaware. Stephen has won eight Grammy Awards as a producer (Damian Marley's Welcome To Jamrock & Halfway Tree), solo artist, and as a member of Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers. He started performing with his sibling’s band The Melody Makers when he was just seven years old (1979), and continues to perform to this day. He’s 47.
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