On May 14th, 1966, singer, songwriter, neo-soul pioneer, keyboardist, bassist, producer, guitarist, and original member of The Ummah, Lucy Pearl, Tony Toni Tone & The Soulquarians-Raphael Saadiq (Charles Ray Wiggins) was born in Oakland, California. Raphael Saadiq is most known both for his time with TTT, and solo albums like Instant Vintage (2002), Stone Rollin’ (2011), and Ray Ray (2004). He also has written & produced for, and performed with The Roots, Tupac Shakur, Erykah Badu, Joss Stone, Joi, Q-Tip, Kid Cudi, DJ Quik, Stevie Wonder, D'Angelo, Lucy Pearl, and more. He started playing bass at the age of six, joined his first group when he was nine, and became a member of The Gospel Hummingbirds when he was 12. In his early teens he moved into more secular music & hip hop, and performed with local 'garage bands' in The Bay area.
As the story goes, Saadiq auditioned for Shelia E.’s backing band, who were the opening act for Prince on his Parade Tour. Keeping up with the Prince theme, he changed his name to Raphael, and played well enough to secure the gig. Raphael worked the tour for nearly two years, and learned everything he could during this time. He called it his "music university." He returned to Oakland after the tour ended around 1986, kept his stage name of Raphael (Wiggins), and formed Tony Toni Tone with his brother Dwayne Wiggins. Shortly after this he converted to Islam, and changed his last name to Saadiq-which means ‘man of his word’ or 'Word Is Bond' in Arabic. The 1990's were a great and busy time for him as a member of Tony Toni Tone, Lucy Pearl, The Ummah, and as a solo artist. The 2000's have also been an excellent time for his career, highlighting his production skills and abilities as a bandleader. Raphael Saadiq is 53 today.
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On May 14th, 1943, seminal reggae producer, singer, dancehall innovator, songwriter, rocksteady pioneer, sound engineer, record executive, former lead singer of The Techniques, and the producer of the most sampled reggae song of all time Stalag (Stalag 17-20, Ring The Alarm Quick, Bam Bam, etc) Winston (Delano) Riley was born in Kingston, Jamaica. Riley's biggest claim to fame is for producing Stalag-which is the instrumental used for Sister Nancy’s classic Bam Bam-originally made famous by Ansell & Collins. He produced all three of the artists on his Techniques Records imprint, which was one of the most successful labels on the island. He had his start way before he went behind the scenes to produce and release music.
Winston was a member of a vocal group called The Techniques-who recorded a lot of ska, rocksteady-and to a lesser extent-reggae (it was just starting as a genre/sound in the early 1960's). They were similar to the doo wop groups in the states, with a island twist. The original members of the group were Winston Riley, Franklyn White, Slim Smith, and Frederick Waite. They had ties to Edward Seaga, and were a staple act at his Chocomo Lawn nightclub. In 1963 Columbia Records signed them, and they released their debut single No One (UK only). In 1965 Duke Reid produced their Jamaican debut Don’t Leave Me (Treasure Isle Records). They split in 1966, and Riley established Techniques Records in 1968. Aside from his infamous Stalag riddim, he also produced songs for Ansell & Collins, Buju Banton, Lone Ranger, Cutty Ranks, and Frankie Paul. Winston Riley was 68 when he passed.
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On May 14th, 1943, singer, pianist, composer, harmonica player, producer, double bassist, cellist, songwriter, arranger, Eric Clapton collaborator, former member of the groups Cream, Blues Incorporated, The Graham Bond Organisation, Manfred Mann, Powerhouse, Rocket 88, The Tony Williams Lifetime, John Mayall & The Blues Breakers, The Spencer Davis Group-and the man ranked by Rolling Stone Magazine as The 8th Greatest Bassist Of All Time-Jack Bruce (John Symon Asher Bruce) was born in Bishopbriggs, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Jack also helped pave the way for prog-rock, blues-rock, and jazz-rock.
Jack Bruce started off as a cellist, and double bassist, playing mostly classical music and jazz. He joined Jim McHarg’s Jazzband in his late teens, while studying cello and composition. After graduation he joined Murray Campbell’s Big Band, before moving on to Blues Incorporated in 1962. Members at the time included drummer Ginger Baker, organist Graham Bond, and saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith. Baker and Bruce clashed quite often-enough to cause the group to split up-with members ‘choosing sides’ and going with their preferred musician. Ironically enough, Baker and Bruce would later reconvene musically in the band Cream (with Eric Clapton, 1966). The band only lasted two years (dissolved 1968); but during that short period of time, they produced some highly influential blues and jazz based rock. Jack went on to experiment as a composer of other genres of music, from the 1970's to the current date, including Latin and World Music. Jack Bruce is 72 today.
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HONORABLE MENTION: On May 14th, 1897, composer, saxophonist, Dixieland Jazz pioneer, bandleader, Josephine Baker collaborator, clarinetist, one of the forefathers of jazz music, and the only known jazz musician to die on his/her birthday-Sidney Bechet was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Bechet died on his 62nd birthday in Garches, France. The creole descendant started playing with his brother’s band when he was six (1903), and joined King Oliver’s Olympia Band in 1913. Bechet pioneered the style, sound, and phrasing of jazz soloists. He also influenced the sound of Dixieland and Swing Jazz. Sidney Bechet was 62 at the time of his death.
On May 14th, 1973, 90's R&B starlet, singer, dancer, actress, keyboardist, songwriter, and wife of actor/comedian Flex Alexander-Shanice (Shanice Lorraine Wilson-Knox) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She’s most known for songs like I Love Your Smile, Saving Forever For You, When I Close My Eyes, and Silent Prayer. Shanice also worked closely with Al B. Sure, Tracie Spencer, Tevin Campbell, Karyn White, Tony! Toni! Tone!, Stacy Lattisaw, New Kids On The Block, and Matt Sherrod. Additionally, she appeared in films-and was a regular love interest of Steve Urkel on the sitcom Family Matters. Shanice is 46 today.
On May 14th, 1998, we lost the legendary pop singer, songwriter, multi-label recording artist, actor, original member of The Rat Pack, producer, and one of the best-selling artists of all time-Frank Sinatra (Francis Albert Sinatra). Sinatra did it all (his way)-from pop and jazz music, movies, and swing jazz vocal innovations. Sinatra started singing in 1935, and continued on until to his death. His daughter Nancy Sinatra also had a successful recording career. Frank never learned to read music; but instead would compose and direct the orchestra by ear. Frank Sinatra was 82 when he passed away.
On May 14th, 2015, we lost prominent bluesman, singer, songwriter, producer, one of The Three Kings Of The Blues Guitar (with Freddie King & Albert King), former DJ for WDIA Radio, Memphis Music Pioneer, restaurant/performance venue owner, 15x Grammy Award Winner-and member of The Blues, Grammy, and Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fames-B.B. King (Blues Boy King aka Riley B. King). TOV covered the artist’s birthday in the September 16th post. Please refer to it for more information. King grew up playing guitar and signing blues. He was inspired to change from acoustic to electric guitar after hearing T-Bone Walker., and went on to bless the world with a seemingly unending catalog of classic music. The great B.B. King was 89 at the time of his passing.
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