Simply stated, Elvis Aaron Presley was the greatest rock star of all time. He was also the first artist that could be considered a legitimate, mass appeal star when it came to the realms of rock ‘n’ roll. He set the standard all those that followed aspired too; everyone from…

Born January 7, 1948, Kenny Loggins became the poster child for soft rock radio back in the ’70s, both as a solo artist and as a member of the million-selling duo Loggins and Messina. While he never was the hippest performer, his songs still made him a mainstay on the…

At age 58, Malcolm Young is rocking as hard as ever. Born January 6, 1953, the Scottish-born guitarist remains the key component behind one of the world’s most indelible institutions, Australia’s AC/DC. He may not have the swagger of the band’s present vocalist, Brian Johnson, or the zany aging-schoolboy image…

Michael Stipe helped define the sound of college radio’s first big star, the now-retired R.E.M., with a vocal approach that was often all but incomprehensible and decidedly detached. Although he turns 51 today (January 4) and later refined his style somewhat as his lyrics became more socially and politically attuned,…

Most people know John Baldwin — or, rather, his pseudonym, John Paul Jones — as the bassist for Led Zeppelin. Of course, it’s easy to typecast certain individuals, particularly musicians, but Baldwin… err, Jones… has proven himself a man of remarkable diversity and instrumental dexterity. Since Zeppelin’s demise, he’s performed…

Born December 30, 1946, Jeff Lynne is many things – an award winning producer, singer and songwriter, the leader and prime mover of ELO, one of the lynchpins in the Traveling Wilburys, and an unabashed Beatles fan. While that fact is immediately evident in listening to any of ELO’s early…

Patti Smith, born Patricia Lee Smith on December 30, 1946, grew up as an all-American girl whose fascination with rock ‘n’ roll and early affair with artist Robert Mapplethorpe helped her assume the title of high priestess of punk in the mid-’70s. Her 1975 debut album, Horses, is still recognized…

William Alexander Chilton, otherwise known simply as Alex Chilton, was born December 28, 1950, and died unexpectedly on March 17, 2010, only a few days prior to a scheduled appearance at SXSW. Although he wasn’t always appreciated or even recognized by the masses, he became one of the seminal figures…

Born on December 26, 1939, Phillip Harvey Spector, better known to the world as Phil Spector, boasts a reputation as one of the greatest pop producers of all time. He’s also known as one of the flat-out weirdest and wildest men to ever inhabit the rock and roll realms. The…

It seems hard to believe that Eddie Vedder turns 47 today. After all, for the past 20 years or so, he’s maintained a young, vibrant image as one of the most successful veterans of Seattle’s fabled grunge scene, a musician who’s successfully transitioned from those insurgent environs into rock’s mainstream…

In the minds of many, Luther “Luke” Campbell, born 51 years ago today, seems to court controversy. Despite his many guises — performer, entrepreneur, promoter, opinion-maker, politico — his chief role seems to be that of firebrand who’s never backed off when confronting authority. Best known from early on as the…

Bessie Regina Norris, better known to the world as Betty Wright, is a South Florida home girl, one who’s gone from our local environs to international stardom. Born on December 21, 1953, she first started singing at the age of two, joining her siblings in a gospel group called the…

Although he built his later success on the foundation of the Alan Parsons Project, Alan Parsons had a rewarding professional career well before he turned his attention to the ambitious ensemble that would later bear his name. In 1967, at the age of 18, he was hired as an assistant…

The news that the Beach Boys are reuniting for an album, tour and all the general hoopla that’s certain to accompany their 50th anniversary festivities set to start in earnest next year, rings with a certain irony. Not to mention, plenty of marketing manipulation. Anyone who caught Brian Wilson, the…

There’s no mistaking William Frederick — better known as “Billy” — Gibbons as one of two densely bearded front men in that Little Ole’ Band from Texas, ZZ Top, a distinction he shars with bassist Dusty Hill. Never mind that beardless drummer Frank Beard has the appropriate name but lacks…

It can be said without any hesitation whatsoever that no one individual better epitomizes the image of the outlaw rock star than Keith Richards. No one! Keith turns 68 today, December 18, a remarkable accomplishment, not only for the fact that he’s a senior citizen and as irrepressible as ever,…

We can credit Donnie Wayne “Don” Johnson (born December 15, 1949) with a number of things — a checkered acting career, a series of checkered romances, and a checkered music career. Inevitably though, the role for which he will be best remembered is his portrayal of Sonny Crockett, the fashion-conscious,…

Despite the fact that he’s turns 63 today and he’s proceeded past the age of eligibility for Social Security, Ted Nugent remains the manic guitar slinger he was in his younger days, a man still bristling with the unrelenting energy and the unrepentant attitude that became his signature style early…

In some cases, the old axiom “like father, like son” could be expanded to state “like grandfather, like father like son” as well. It might apply in the case of Shelton Hank Williams — better known as Hank 3, the grandson of country music’s most enduring icon. Born December 12,…