On March 13th, 1972, rapper, actor, writer, activist, philanthropist, and model-Common (Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Lonnie Corant Jaman Shuka Rashid Lynn) was born in Chicago, Illinois. Common’s mother was a teacher, and his father was a former ABA Basketball player. He was into sports and hip hop as youth, and didn’t start rhyming until his early teens. When he got to Luther High School, he formed the rap trio C.D.R. They opened for major label rap acts that appeared in Chicago like Big Daddy Kane and N.W.A. After he graduated high school, he went on to the HBCU-FAMU (Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, FL). He continued to work on music while there for two years. He eventually sent a demo to The Source Magazine, who listed him in the Unsigned Hype column.
As a result, he got a deal with Relativity Records and released his solo debut Can I Borrow A Dollar? in 1992 (produced by No I.D., Twilite Tone, and The Beatnuts). The LP featurs the hit single and video Take It EZ, and did moderately well-good enough for Relativity to allow his sophomore release Resurrection in 1994, which officially put Common on the map. No I.D. produced the entire LP, which features the hit I Used To Love H.E.R., but songs like Communism, Sum Shit I Wrote, and the classic interlude-Another Wasted Night got heavy rotation from Dee Jays and admirers who had the LP. His third LP, One Day It’ll All Make Sense (also the title of his book from 2011), was produced by No I.D. and was a nice follow up to Resurrection. Common dropped several LPs after that, and ventured into acting in the early 2000s. Common is 47 today.
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On March 13th, 1975, Canadian neo-soul singer, songwriter and Juno Award Winner-Glenn Lewis (Glennon Ricketts Jr.) was born in Kitchener, Ontario. His father was Jamaican-a protégé of Donny Hathaway, and the lead singer for the Black-Canadian based late 70s funk outift Crack Of Dawn (his dad also recorded as a solo artist under the name Glen Ricks). His mother was a musician as well, hailing from Trinidad. At the age of eight, Glenn moved to Trinidad and remained there until he was 14. At the start of high school Lewis put his attention towards his music-singing in school events, and won a talent show covering Stevie Wonder’s I Just Called To Say I Love You. After graduation, he started performing in nightclubs and making demos with Alex Greggs (producer and songwriter).
He built a strong local following and released a successful debut single, in 1997, called The Thing To Do (Beat Factory/BMG Music Canada). He released another single in 1998, and was featured on several other artist’s songs, which led to him earning three Juno Award Nominations. Epic Records took notice and signed him in 2000. His full-length solo debut, World Outside My Window, came out in 2002 and featured the hit single Don’t You Forget It (which peaked at #4 on The U.S. R&B Chart & earned him a Juno Award. Lewis' second LP didn’t chart as well; but had some solid songs. The album featured Kardinal Offishall on the track Back For More, and Amel Larrieux on Where Is The Love-which was nominated for a Grammy. Lewis continues to sing, perform, record and write songs. He’s 44 today.
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On March 13th, 1925, jazz musician, Bebop composer, drummer, sideman, arranger, percussionist, bandleader, and former drummer for Charlie Parker’s Quintet-Roy (Owen) Haynes was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Much like the man he played with (Bird), Haynes influenced musicians both within and outside of his genre-especially rock musicians like The Allman Brothers, The Rolling Stones, and Phish. His hard and rapid approach, a staple element of BeBop, meshed well with the energy and rhythms of Rock ‘n’ Roll. He toured and recorded with many notables. Haynes was raised in Roxbury and started playing drums early in his childhood.
In high school, he played with his peers and gigged around town. And by 1944, when he was 19, he he had begun playing professionally. From 1944 to 1946, he worked around the Boston area in various bands and nightclubs. In 1947, Lester Young picked him up, and he remained with him until 1949. From 1949 to 1952, he worked as the drummer for Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Stan Getz, and Wardell Gray. In 1954 he made his debut as bandleader with the release of Busman’s Holiday. Haynes recorded and toured with Sarah Vaughn from 1953 to 1958; and went on to record over 30 LPs between 1954 and 2011. Roy Haynes is one of the last living jazz musicians from the 1940s and 1950s era.
Interesting Fact: Haynes' voice is featured on the video game Grand Theft Auto IV as the radio DJ for station JNR. This Hall Of Fame & NEA Jazz Master is 94 today.
Interesting Fact: Haynes' voice is featured on the video game Grand Theft Auto IV as the radio DJ for station JNR. This Hall Of Fame & NEA Jazz Master is 94 today.
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HONORABLE MENTION: On March 13th, 1998, reggae singer, former wrestler, club bouncer, strong man for Trojan Records, and body guard for The Rolling Stones-Judge Dread (Alexander Minto Hughes) passed away in Canterbury, Kent, England. Judge was the first white Jamaican artist to have a reggae hit; and was known for his raunchy lyrics (long before 2 Live Crew), which led to several radio stations banning his music. He released his first single, Big Six, in 1972-and his first LP, Dreadmania: It’s All In The Mind, later that year. Judge Dread released several albums, between 1972 & 1996; and was 52 years old, when he passed away.
On March 13th, 1994, we lost jazz musician, guitarist, songwriter, composer, singer, arranger, producer, and author-Danny Barker (Daniel Moses Barker). The New Orleans native started playing drums and clarinet with The Boozan Kings New Orleans street jazz band as a child; and moved to ukulele and banjo in his teens. In 1930 Barker moved to NYC, and started playing the guitar. His rep grew quickly; and by 1939 he was recording and touring with Cab Calloway (staying with him until the late 1940s). He was a sideman for most of the 1950s, and returned to New Orleans in the mid 1960s. This NEA Jazz Master was 85 at the time of his death.
On March 13th, 2006, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame held its 21st Annual Induction Ceremony at The Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NYC. A ‘strange’ event took place in regard to one of the inductees. The Sex Pistols were set to be inducted, but replied with a somewhat offensive letter as to why they didn’t want the honor. Miles Davis became one of the first jazz musicians to be inducted-citing that his music and overall persona were very influential to rock music. Blondie, Lynyrd Skynyrd), and Black Sabbath rounded out The Class Of 2006.
On March 13, 2009, singer, actress, educator, author, and activist-Anne (Wiggins) Brown passed away in Olso, Norway. Although she’s very fair-skinned, Brown was not allowed entry into a Roman Catholic elementary school. She was a vocal prodigy, with pitch perfect tone (since the age of nine months). Morgan College (formerly The Centenary, a Baltimore, MD HBCU founded in 1867) took her in. She applied to The Peabody Institute, and was yet again rejected over her ethnicity. Julliard took her in-making her the first Black vocalist admitted to the school in 1928 (she was 16). Anne Brown was 96 years old when she passed away.
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