Chapter 01 — Today in music
On a day like today December 30
1946
Patti Smith is born, punk's poet laureate
Patti Smith is born in Chicago: the factory worker who arrived in New York with a notebook of poems and ended up founding punk from the word outward. “Horses” (1975), with its androgynous Mapplethorpe cover, opened CBGB's door to high art. Half a century later she is still on stage, and her memoir “Just Kids” consecrated her in literature too.
Patti Smith
1928
Bo Diddley is born, the rhythm with its own name
Ellas Otha Bates, the future Bo Diddley, is born in McComb, Mississippi. His “Bo Diddley beat”, a syncopated pattern descended from the Afro-Cuban clave, is one of the few rhythms named after its creator, pulsing through songs by Buddy Holly, the Stones, U2 and George Michael. With his rectangular guitar, he was an essential link between blues and rock.
Bo Diddley
1942
Michael Nesmith is born, heir to correction fluid and inventor of the video album
On December 30, 1942, Michael Nesmith was born in Houston, the Monkee in the wool hat. His mother invented typewriter correction fluid and left him a fortune, so he never depended on music. In 1981 he released "Elephant Parts", the first album conceived entirely as video, and won the first Grammy ever awarded in that category.
Michael Nesmith
The Monkees
1945
Davy Jones is born, the reason David Bowie changed his name
On December 30, 1945, Davy Jones was born in Manchester. He trained as a racing jockey before turning to musical theatre. His fame with the Monkees was such that a young Londoner named David Robert Jones had to find another stage name so as not to be confused with him: he chose David Bowie.
Davy Jones
The Monkees
David Bowie
1947
Jeff Lynne is born, who wanted to carry on where the Beatles had left everything
On December 30, 1947, Jeff Lynne was born in Birmingham. He formed the Electric Light Orchestra with the declared aim of continuing the road the Beatles had abandoned: pop songs with cellos and orchestral arrangements. Decades later he got to close the circle, producing in 1995 the two new songs the Beatles built on John Lennon's demos.
Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra
The Beatles
1969
Jay Kay is born, who sold millions playing seventies funk in the middle of britpop
On December 30, 1969, Jason Kay was born in Manchester, son of a jazz singer. He formed Jamiroquai in 1992, when Britain talked about nothing but guitars, and set about making funk and disco with horn sections and elastic basslines. The video for "Virtual Insanity", with the floor moving under his feet, became one of the most awarded of the decade.
Jay Kay
Jamiroquai
1984
Andra Day is born, whose song became an anthem for hospitals and protests
On December 30, 1984, Cassandra Batie was born in Washington. She took her stage name from Billie Holiday, nicknamed Lady Day. Her song "Rise Up", from 2015, ended up being sung on civil rights marches and in hospital corridors during the pandemic. In 2021 she played Holiday herself on screen and won the Golden Globe for the role.
Andra Day
Billie Holiday
1937
John Hartford is born, who wrote one song and could then do whatever he liked for life
On December 30, 1937, John Hartford was born in New York and raised on the banks of the Mississippi. He wrote "Gentle on My Mind", which Glen Campbell turned into one of the most played songs in the history of American radio. On those royalties he left Nashville, got a riverboat pilot's licence and recorded banjo albums played entirely alone.
John Hartford
Glen Campbell
1939
Felix Pappalardi is born, producer of Cream and founder of Mountain
On December 30, 1939, Felix Pappalardi was born in the Bronx, a classically trained musician who ended up producing "Disraeli Gears" and "Wheels of Fire", the two records that defined Cream. He then formed Mountain, one of the heaviest bands of the early seventies. In 1983 his wife, co-author of several of his songs, shot him dead in their apartment.
Felix Pappalardi
Cream
Mountain
1986
Ellie Goulding is born, who went from playing pubs to singing at a royal wedding
On December 30, 1986, Ellie Goulding was born in Hereford, raised in a rural house with no money and a mother who worked in a supermarket. She learned clarinet at school and guitar on her own. In 2010 she won the BBC's annual new artist poll and the following year was invited to sing at the reception of Prince William's wedding.
Ellie Goulding
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