On August 29th, 1920, One of the most prolific Jazz Saxophonist & Composers-Charlie Parker (Bird) was born in Kansas City, Kansas. His mother was Choctaw & African American. He helped transplant the Kansas City Jazz Sound to the East Coast, New York City to be exact. He’s credited with being an Icon in the original Hipster movement-& later the Beat Generation-
transforming the public view of Jazz musicians as being more aligned with intellect and artistry, rather than just a musician. He innovated the BeBop Jazz sound with Monk, Dizzy, Max Roach, Bud Powell & a young Miles Davis...Davis can be quoted as saying the definition of Jazz consists of four words: Louis Armstrong & Charlie Parker. Parker got the nickname ‘Bird’ because he enjoyed poultry tremendously-not so much for his dope playing. He passed away at age 34 in 1955.
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On August 29th, in 1924, The Queen of the Jukebox-Blues & Jam Sessions-Dinah Washington (Ruth Lee Jones) was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama-Home of the Crimson Tide. She’s the infamous Female Vocalist that’s most known for her single: What a Diff''rence a Day Makes. She was heavily influenced by Lady Day (Billie Holiday).
Making her own name for herself by working with Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Joe Zawinul, Cannonball Adderley, Brook Benton, Kenny Burrell and numerous others. Dinah was and is one of the best female Jazz vocalists to ever do it. Her live performances and recordings represent the true range and talent that she had. She passed away in 1963, she was 39.
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Michael was a part of the Jackson 5, Jacksons, and had his own solo projects, not to mention his sisters’ solo joints (Janet, Rebbie, Latoya), brothers Jermaine and Jackie’s LPs, and their father Joe Jackson’s managing skills. On August 29th, in 1958, The King of Pop-Michael (Joe) Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, just off the Dan Ryan east of Chicago, Illinois. Michael’s siblings, and nuclear family overall were some of the most successful singers, performers, actors and musicians to come from one family.
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Michael was a worldwide superstar that was able to break down ethnic, cultural and spiritual barriers. He also transformed music video formats, by making some dope and innovative videos-more like short films. Everyone clowned Mike in some way in his latter years, over the alleged child scandals, or the plastic surgery, or the androgynous demeanor, but we all couldn’t front on his music…which spans over 50 years, he had hits consistently for 50 years…If you don’t like at least one Michael Jackson song or video, something’s seriously is wrong with you…He passed away on June 25th, of 2009.
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On August 29th, in 1976, Soul & Blues musician, and vocalist Jimmy Reed died in San Francisco. He had a seizure exactly one week before his 51st Birthday. The Dunleith, Mississippi native was well-known outside of the Blues circuit for his music. He could be credited as one of the first African American musicians to receive public credit for his music-
‘Race’ music was forbidden in conventional American Society-it was chic, cool, underground). Reed heavily influenced the Rolling Stones and others (Eri Clapton, Jeff Beck, Eric Burdon, Van Morrison, Grateful Dead). His sound is and was recorded mostly on the Vee Jay imprint and Chess Records. He is one of the few musicians that was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame (1980) & Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1991) posthumously.
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Honorable Mentions: On August 29th, in 1964-Sylvester Stewart-the Radio Disc Jockey, wrote and produced a song for Bobby Freeman called C’Mon and Swim that reached the top 5 slot on the US Pop Chart. Sylvester would later form his own multi-ethnic band called Sly & The Family Stone.
Two things happened on August 29th, in 1998. Missy Elliott, Maze, Mary J. Blige & Mariah Carey all performed at the KMEL-FM All-Star Jam. The Festivities went down at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. Thousands of fans enjoyed the performances by some of the elite in R&B.
On the same day, Janet Jackson received the International Female Artist of the Year Award. The event took place in Olso, Norway at the annual Hit Awards Show. Janet's more than a great female music artist, she's also a great actress: Good Times, Different Strokes, Facts of Life guest appearances, Poetic Justice & more.
On August 29th ,in 2008, The Daptones female lead-Amy Winehouse, was threatened with legal action for cancelling a show in France at the last minute. The Promoters 2008 had Winehouse headlining the three day event (Rock En Seine Festival Paris).
She cancelled about 2-3 hours before she was supposed to go on stage. Reports said she was sick in London at the crib...pause...you cancel two to three hours before the show you're headlining?! I like her music and all, but damn...
On August 29th, in 2011, we lost another Blues Pioneer and innovator-David Honeyboy Edwards. He was a living legend right before his death, being the only surviving Delta Bluesman alive. He has direct ties to Robert Johnson, being one of the few musicians that played and befriended the blues legend. He also was a Grammy Award winning guitarists. Honeyboy died at age 86.
For more information on any musician or event reviewed in posts, or for additional information on The Wandering Eyes Blog overall, use the search bar and search the artist or event using keywords. It’s like a Google search for the site. A wide variety of information, covering several topics exists on this site going back to 2013 when it was created. PEACE