On May 4th, 1937, seminal jazz musician, cool jazz pioneer, hard bop bassist, classical cellist, sideman, Piccolo player, composer, double bassist, producer, arranger, bandleader, electric bassist, and former member of Miles Davis’ Quintet-Ron Carter (Ronald Levin Carter) was born in Ferndale, Michigan (Suburban Detroit). He's the most recorded bassist of all-time, and has been featured on over 2,200 recordings. He’s worked with everyone from Miles Davis to Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest (Verses From The Abstract off The Low End Theory LP, 1991). During the 1950's, he played with Davis. In the 1960's, he recorded as a sideman, and bandleader, for Blue Note Records. In the 1970's and 1980's he played hard bop and fusion for CTI Records, and continued to record as a sideman and bandleader. An he ventured into new ground in the 1990's...
After hearing his basslines being sampled, chopped, and interpolated by hip hop producers, he decided to work with Q-Tip in 1991. In the mid 90's he was featured on several breakbeat and hard bop compilations; and in the late 90's, he started teaching in The Music Department at The City College Of New York (and Juilliard in 2008). Carter went full circle, after starting off as a classically trained cellist, he had become the most recorded bassist of all time, and a professor at Juilliard where classical training is key. His love for the music and circumstances drove him from classical to jazz, and beyond. He’s a true definition of student becoming teacher. He continues to perform and record to this day. Ron Carter is 82 today.
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On May 4th, 1952, legendary reggae musician, vocalist, Rastafarian, musical collaborator with Bob Marley, songwriter, actor, and former lead singer of Inner Circle-Jacob Miller was born in Mandeville, Jamaica. TOV covered the artist’s death in the March 23rd post. Please refer to it for more information. Miller was raised by his grandparents in Kingston. He had a love for music early on, and frequented recording studios as an onlooker during his youth. One such studio, Studio One, was owned by Sir Coxsone Dodd. It is at Studio One that a 16 year old Miller would have his recording debut Love Is A Message (featuring Augustus Pablo & Garth Swaby) in 1968. He got into the reggae and dub sound in the early 1970's, and started recording with Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, and Joe Gibbs.
Songs like False Rasta and Each One Teach One caught the attention of Inner Circle, who made Miller their lead singer. Miller continued to record solo, and appeared in the 1978 film Rockers as a resort performer with Inner Circle. Other musicians in the film included Burning Spear, Big Youth, Horsemouth Wallace, and Gregory Isaacs. He also appeared at Bob Marley’s One Love Peace concert in 1978 (TOV April 22nd post). Fast forward to the days before his death-he had just returned from Brazil with Bob Marley to see Island Records' new South American office. While riding home form the airport, he was hit and killed by another car on Hope Rd. in Kingston, Jamaica. He was 27 when he passed.
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Speaking of Coxsone Dodd-on May 4th, 2004, we lost influential Jamaican music producer, record executive, audio engineer, DJ, Jamaican Sound System innovator, Dancehall pioneer, and owner of Studio One-Sir Coxsone Dodd. He’s most known for produceing reggae, ska, and rock steady during the 1960's and 1970's. His legacy exists even before that however. Coxsone got his nickname as a child, because he played cricket so well that he was named after the best player at the time-Alec Coxon (Yorkshire County Cricket Club). His parents owned a record store, and he’d play choice records for customers. They spent some time in the states, and Dodd got hip to American Soul and Doo Wop in the 1950's. In his early 20's, he started importing records from Miami and New Orleans.
He set up a Sound System (a mobile audio construct consisting of large speakers, amplifiers, and turntables) in 1954-dubbed it The Downbeat Sound System, and employed his mother and Lee Scratch Perry. They would spin in his absence, as he traveled to the states a lot to get new music. Dodd’s DJ operation expanded quickly, and he had five sound systems running at once. This is when he added U-Roy and Prince Buster to run the other ones. It is also the time when toastin’ (rhythmically rhyming over the music being played) became a big part of a sound system DJ’s repertoire. The demand for new music forced Dodd to create Studio One. Without it his sound systems would’ve lost steam. Consequently, they ended up creating two new genres of music: Hip Hop and Dancehall. Sir Coxsone Dodd was 72 when he passed.
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On May 4th, 2012, we lost an iconic punk and hip hop musician, keyboardist, record executive, social activist, Def Jam recording artist, songwriter, bassist, producer, film director/distributor, vocalist, upright bassist, and member of The Beastie Boys-MCA (Adam Nathaniel Yauch). TOV covered the artist’s birthday in the August 5th post. Please refer to it for more information. MCA is most known for his work with The Beastie Boys on their License To Ill and Paul’s Boutique albums. He also was a strong supporter of Tibetan Independence, and spearheaded several organizations and events to raise awareness and revenue for the cause. He was viewed as the bad boy of the group in the 1980's, and the peaceful one in the 1990's (after converting to Buddhism).
All in all, he spit some dope verses, laid some nice basslines and played some tight keys. He started out as a self-taught bassist, in punk rock outfits, during his teens. He co-founded The Beastie Boys with Kate Schellenbach, Michael Diamond (Mike D above c, inset-r) and John Berry when he was in high school. Def Jam Records co-owner and producer Rick Rubin encouraged them to sign to his label and do a rap LP. By this time, John Berry and Kate Schellenbach were gone-being replaced by Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock, above-r, inset-l). They dropped Licensed To Ill in 1986, and shot to stardom. They rounded out the 80's with the sampled based LP Paul’s Boutique; but returned to their punk roots (live instrumentation, merged with hip hop, funk, and soul) in the 90's. This became the signature sound that carried them into the 2000's. Adam Yauch was 47 when he died.
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HONORABLE MENTION: On May 4th, 1938, bluesman, R&B singer, songwriter, and Chicago Soul innovator-Tyrone Davis (Tyrone D. Fettson) was born in Greenville, MS. He’s most known for the singles Can I Change My Mind (1968), Turn Back the Hands Of Time (1970), and In The Mood (1979). His career spanned 30 years, from the 1950's to the 1980's. Davis had a unique style, that merged soulful runs with sultry crooning. He sounded a lot like David Ruffin and Edwin Starr during the 50's and 60's; but in the 70's, he found his own sound & couldn't be compared to any other singer (see In the Mood). Tyrone Davis was 66 years old when he passed away.
On May 4th, 1941, pioneering Motown songwriter, singer, producer, composer, actor, spouse to Valerie Simpson-and one half of the duo Ashford & Simpson-Nickolas Ashford was born in Fairfield, SC. As a child, he started writing and arranging songs for his church choir. As an adult, Nick wrote classics with his musical & romantic partner Valerie. Together they penned hits like: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Reach Out And Touch (Somebody’s Hand), You’re All I Need To Get By, I’m Every Woman (Chaka Khan), Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing, Let’s Go Get Stoned, and Is It Still Good To You (Teddy Pendergrass). Most of their hits were recorded by Motown artists. Ashford also appeared in TV shows, and movies like New Jack City. He was 70 when he passed away.
On May 4th, 1951, singer, dancer, solo recording artist, member of The Jackson Brothers, The Jackson 5, and The Jacksons-Jackie Jackson (Sigmund Esco Jackson) was born in Gary, IN. He’s the original member of The Jackson Brothers trio, which pre-dates The Jackson 5. The lineup included Jackie on vocals, Tito on guitar, and Jermaine on bass. He co-wrote and shared the lead on Can You Feel It with his his brother Michael. He’s also co-lead on ABC, I Want You Back, and Enjoy Yourself. Jackie also wrote the hit Torture, which is featured on their Victory album, and released a solo LP in 1973. Jackie Jackson is 68 today.
On May 4th, 1987, we lost bluesman, harmonica player, singer, bandleader, guitarist, and founder of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band-Paul (Vaughn) Butterfield. The Chicago native is revered among the hip hop producer crowd for breakbeats like I Don’t Want To Go (sampled by Black Sheep for Butt In The Meantime, 1991). He’s known in the blues rock world for his 60's and 70's sound, that was inspired by Chicago Blues musicians Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, and Jimmy Rodgers-all of whom had a hand in mentoring him directly or indirectly. Paul Butterfield was just 44 when he passed.
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