OCTOBER 27

1933 ~ Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the "Nashville Sound." He popularized the 'slip note' piano style where one note slides effortlessly into the next. This was a major departure from the percussive piano style which was popular in the late 1950s. Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Cramer grew up in the small town of Huttig, Arkansas, teaching himself to play the piano. After finishing high school, he returned to Shreveport, where he worked as a pianist for the Louisiana Hayride radio show.

  Wikipedia Bio | Search Amazon.com for Floyd Cramer 

October 15 birthday of Richard Carpenter

Richard Lynn Carpenter (born October 15, 1946) is an American pop musician, best known as one half of the brother/sister duo The Carpenters, along with his sister Karen Carpenter. He was a producer, arranger, pianist and keyboardist, and occasional lyricist, as well as joining with Karen on harmony vocals. Wikipedia | SHOP: Richard Carpenter

OCTOBER 9

1940 ~ John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles and, with Paul McCartney, formed one of the most successful songwriting partnerships of the 20th century. Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon became involved in the skiffle craze as a teenager, his first band, The Quarrymen, evolving into The Beatles in 1960. As the group began to undergo the disintegration that led to their break-up towards the end of that decade, Lennon launched a solo career that would span the next, punctuated by critically acclaimed albums, including John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, and iconic songs such as "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine".

wikipedia/John_Lennon | Search Amazon.com for John Lennon

OCTOBER 1

André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (born October 1, 1949) is a Dutch violinist, conductor, and composer best known for creating the waltz-playing "Johann Strauss Orchestra". André Rieu was born into a Christian musical family (of French Huguenot origin) in Maastricht in the Netherlands. He began studying violin at the age of five. His father was conductor of the Maastricht Symphony Orchestra. From a very young age he developed a fascination with orchestra. He studied violin at the Conservatoire Royal in Liège and in the Conservatorium Maastricht, (1968–1973). His teachers included Jo Juda and Herman Krebbers. From 1974 to 1977, he attended the Music Academy in Brussels, studying with André Gertler, winning the Premier Prix at the academy. He records both DVD and CD repertoire at his own recording studios in Maastricht in a wide range of classical music as well as popular and folk music plus music from well-known sound tracks and musical theatre. His lively orchestral presentations, in tandem with incessant marketing, have attracted worldwide audiences to this subgenre of classical music.

Wikipedia Bio | Search Amazon.com for André Rieu | http://www.andrerieu.com/site/

OCTOBER 30

1897 or 1900 ~ Agustín Lara aka Augustin Lara, full name Ángel Agustín María Carlos Fausto Mariano Alfonso del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Lara y Aguirre del Pino (October 30, 1897 –November 6, 1970) was a Mexican popular music composer. 
More Wikipedia Bio | MexConnect Bio 
Who can forget such wonderful songs as Solamente Una vez and Granada and even Veracruz? But who can name the composer? Did you know that he was a world renown Mexican composer? Agustin Lara is one of Mexico’s most prolific and famous song writers. He is a favorite son of Veracruz, having lived part of his childhood in the river town of Tlacotalpan, in southern Veracruz, now a World Heritage site. In some versions of his biography it is stated that he was actually born there and not in Mexico City as most report. He was born on Oct 30, 1897 and died in Mexico City on Nov 3, 1969. He lived a world famous life but ended his days all alone. Les Schulman's notes Search Amazon.com for Agustín Lara
Songs include: Piensa En Mi Veracruz, Valencia Mia, Solamente Una Vez, Noche De Ronda, Mujer, Maria Bonita, Granada and many others

OCTOBER 29

1922 Neal Hefti, Hastings, Nebraska, orchestra leader Neal Hefti (October 29, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name. He began arranging professionally in his teens, when he wrote charts for Nat Towles. He became a prominent composer and arranger while playing trumpet for Woody Herman; while working for Herman he provided new arrangements for "Woodchopper's Ball" and "Blowin' Up a Storm," and composed "The Good Earth" and "Wild Root." After leaving Herman's band in 1946, Hefti concentrated on arranging and composing, although he occasionally led his own bands. He is especially known for his charts for Count Basie such as "Li'l Darlin'" and "Cute".

Wikipedia Bio | Search Amazon.com for Neal Hefti ...

OCTOBER 28

1927 ~ Cleo Laine, Middlesex England, Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth, DBE is a jazz singer and an actress, noted for her scat singing and vocal range. Though her natural range is that of a contralto she is able to produce a "G above high C" giving her an overall compass of well over three octaves. She is the only female performer to have received Grammy nominations in the jazz, popular and classical music categories. Laine is the widow of jazz composer Sir John Dankworth.

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