Blues Birthdays & Memorials Calendar
Celebrate the lives of the legends who gave us the blues. Every day is a blues holiday. Listen to music 24/7 while you remember them.
January
4
Jan
Muddy Waters
Born 1913, Rolling Fork, MS. Father of Chicago Blues.
Born
8
Jan
Elvis Presley
Born 1935, Tupelo, MS. The King was born in the blues.
Born
15
Jan
Ronnie Van Zant
Born 1948, Jacksonville, FL. Lynyrd Skynyrd. Southern blues-rock.
Born
19
Jan
Janis Joplin
Born 1943, Port Arthur, TX. Blues-rock queen. "Piece of My Heart".
Born
21
Jan
Wolfman Jack
Born 1938, Brooklyn, NY. Radio DJ who championed blues.
Born
26
Jan
Eddie Van Halen
Born 1955, Amsterdam. Blues-rock guitar innovator.
Born
30
Jan
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Died 1929, Chicago, IL. Father of Texas Blues. Found frozen in snow.
Died
February
1
Feb
Big Bill Broonzy
Died 1958, Chicago, IL. "Key to the Highway". Chicago blues pioneer.
Died
10
Feb
Roberta Flack
Born 1937, Black Mountain, NC. "Killing Me Softly" blues-soul legend.
Born
14
Feb
Magic Sam
Born 1937, Grenada, MS. West Side Chicago blues master.
Born
22
Feb
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Died 1965, Helena, AR. Master of blues harmonica.
Died
25
Feb
George Harrison
Born 1943, Liverpool. The Beatles' blues devotee. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".
Born
26
Feb
Fats Domino
Born 1928, New Orleans, LA. "Blueberry Hill". New Orleans R&B-blues.
Born
March
1
Mar
Harry Belafonte
Born 1927, Harlem, NY. Calypso king with deep blues roots.
Born
4
Mar
Blind Willie Johnson
Born 1897, Pendleton, TX. Gospel-blues slide guitar master.
Born
10
Mar
James Cotton
Died 2017, Austin, TX. Superharp. Muddy Waters' harmonica player.
Died
17
Mar
Nat King Cole
Born 1919, Montgomery, AL. Jazz-blues pianist extraordinaire.
Born
22
Mar
Stephen Stills
Born 1945, Dallas, TX. Buffalo Springfield, CSNY. Deep blues influence.
Born
30
Mar
Eric Clapton
Born 1945, Ripley, UK. Slowhand. Cream, Derek and the Dominos.
Born
April
4
Apr
Muddy Waters
Died 1983, Westmont, IL. The Father of Chicago Blues passed at 70.
Died
5
Apr
Kurt Cobain
Died 1994, Seattle, WA. Nirvana. Lead Belly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night".
Died
7
Apr
Billie Holiday
Born 1915, Philadelphia, PA. Lady Day. "Strange Fruit". Blues-jazz legend.
Born
22
Apr
Peter Green
Died 2020, Canvey Island, UK. Fleetwood Mac founder. British blues god.
Died
25
Apr
Albert King
Born 1923, Indianola, MS. "Born Under a Bad Sign". Flying V master.
Born
29
Apr
Duke Ellington
Born 1899, Washington, DC. Jazz master with blues foundation.
Born
May
8
May
Robert Johnson
Born 1911, Hazlehurst, MS. The crossroads legend. 29 songs changed music.
Born
13
May
Stevie Wonder
Born 1950, Saginaw, MI. Soul genius with deep blues roots.
Born
14
May
B.B. King
Died 2015, Las Vegas, NV. The King passed at 89. Lucille fell silent.
Died
19
May
Pete Townshend
Born 1945, London, UK. The Who. Windmill power chords from blues.
Born
24
May
Bob Dylan
Born 1941, Duluth, MN. Folk-blues poet. "Like a Rolling Stone".
Born
26
May
Miles Davis
Born 1926, Alton, IL. Jazz legend with deep blues roots. "Kind of Blue".
Born
June
3
Jun
Curtis Mayfield
Born 1942, Chicago, IL. The Impressions. Soul-blues conscience.
Born
10
Jun
Howlin' Wolf
Born 1910, White Station, MS. The most powerful voice in blues.
Born
12
Jun
Chick Corea
Born 1941, Chelsea, MA. Jazz-fusion with blues foundation.
Born
18
Jun
Paul McCartney
Born 1942, Liverpool, UK. Beatles bass. "Oh! Darling" blues screamer.
Born
24
Jun
Jeff Beck
Born 1944, Wallington, UK. Yardbirds. Blues-rock guitar god.
Born
25
Jun
Carly Simon
Born 1945, NYC. "You're So Vain". Blues-pop storyteller.
Born
July
3
Jul
Jim Morrison
Died 1971, Paris. The Doors. Lizard King blues shaman.
Died
4
Jul
Bill Withers
Born 1938, Slab Fork, WV. "Ain't No Sunshine". Blues-soul master.
Born
6
Jul
Bill Haley
Born 1925, Highland Park, MI. "Rock Around the Clock". Blues to rock pioneer.
Born
22
Jul
Son House
Died 1988, Detroit, MI. Delta blues preacher. Taught Robert Johnson.
Died
26
Jul
Mick Jagger
Born 1943, Dartford, UK. Rolling Stones. Blues student forever.
Born
August
4
Aug
Louis Armstrong
Born 1901, New Orleans, LA. Satchmo. Jazz born from blues.
Born
16
Aug
Robert Johnson
Died 1938, Greenwood, MS. Poisoned at 27. The crossroads took him back.
Died
20
Aug
Robert Plant
Born 1948, West Bromwich, UK. Led Zeppelin. Golden God of blues-rock.
Born
22
Aug
John Lee Hooker
Born 1917, Clarksdale, MS. The Boogie Man. One chord forever.
Born
27
Aug
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Died 1990, East Troy, WI. Helicopter crash at 35. Texas Flood ended too soon.
Died
29
Aug
Charlie Parker
Born 1920, Kansas City, KS. Bird. Bebop from blues changes.
Born
September
5
Sep
Freddie Mercury
Born 1946, Zanzibar. Queen. "Bohemian Rhapsody" has blues DNA.
Born
16
Sep
B.B. King
Born 1925, Itta Bena, MS. The King of the Blues. Real birthday.
Born
18
Sep
Jimi Hendrix
Died 1970, London, UK. Red House forever. 27 years old.
Died
23
Sep
Ray Charles
Born 1930, Albany, GA. Genius of Soul. Blues was his foundation.
Born
23
Sep
John Coltrane
Born 1926, Hamlet, NC. Jazz giant. "Blue Train" runs on blues.
Born
October
3
Oct
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Born 1954, Dallas, TX. Brought blues back to arenas in the 80s.
Born
9
Oct
John Lennon
Born 1940, Liverpool, UK. Beatles. "Yer Blues" was real.
Born
18
Oct
Chuck Berry
Born 1926, St. Louis, MO. Rock and roll started with his blues.
Born
20
Oct
Tom Petty
Born 1950, Gainesville, FL. Heartbreakers. Southern blues-rock.
Born
28
Oct
Charlie Patton
Died 1934, Indianola, MS. Father of the Delta Blues. The first star.
Died
November
6
Nov
John Lee Hooker
Died 2001, Los Altos, CA. The Boogie Man passed at 83. The groove continues.
Died
8
Nov
Bonnie Raitt
Born 1949, Burbank, CA. Slide guitar queen. Blues woman forever.
Born
27
Nov
Jimi Hendrix
Born 1942, Seattle, WA. Voodoo Child. Red House. Changed guitar forever.
Born
27
Nov
Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones
Born 1926, Greenwood, MS. "The Things That I Used to Do".
Born
December
5
Dec
Little Richard
Born 1932, Macon, GA. Tutti Frutti. Gospel, blues, and rock architect.
Born
8
Dec
Jim Morrison
Born 1943, Melbourne, FL. The Doors. Lizard King blues shaman.
Born
21
Dec
Albert King
Died 1992, Memphis, TN. The Velvet Bulldozer laid down his Flying V.
Died
24
Dec
Lemmy Kilmister
Born 1945, Stoke-on-Trent, UK. Motörhead. Born to lose, lived to win. Blues at heart.
Born
30
Dec
Bo Diddley
Born 1928, McComb, MS. The Originator. That beat changed everything.
Born
This calendar grows every month. Know a blues legend we missed?
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