Thin Lizzy are one of my favorite classic rock bands and bassist/vocalist/songwriter Phil Lynott is a big reason. A black Irishmen, he was a composer, singer and poet who grew up in Dublin. He started singing in bands in '65. In the late '60s he learned rhythm guitar and bass, forming Thin Lizzy with ex-members of Them. Thin Lizzy recorded several great albums with their twin lead guitars and Phil's poetic street-wise, yet romantic lyrics. The band mixed hard rock, heavy metal, blues, Irish folk and funk and yielded several lasting hits. Ravaged by drugs, the band called it a...

Born today in 1942: a true soul man, Isaac Hayes! Before his multi-platinum singing career as a psychedelic gospel-soul-jazz artist who would bring Burt Bacharach songs into the extended length stetched-out mind-trip format, he was a crucial foundational member of the Stax operation. He wrote or co-wrote, produced and/or played on many '60s hits for Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Johnnie Taylor, The Soul Children, Judy Clay, Rufus Thomas, Otis Redding, The Mar-Keys, William Bell and others, often times in collaboration with David Porter and Booker T & the MGs. Of particular note are "Soul Man", "Hold On I'm Coming",...

One of the great figures in early psychedelic rock, Sky Saxon and his band The Seeds were very influential on the West Coast garage rock scene. From Salt Lake City (govt name: Richard Marsh), he moved to Los Angeles and started recording doo-wop under the name of Little Richie Marsh in the early '60s before forming a band called The Soul Rockers. The Seeds started in '65 and "Pushin' Too Hard" was a big hit in '67. In the '70s he started hangin' with Father Yod and Source Family, producing music for the cult. Shortly before his death he collaborated with...

Happy birthday to James Ramey aka Baby Huey. He cut a great album with his Babysitters band (produced by Curtis Mayfield) but died at only 26. From Richmond, IN he moved to Chicago after high school and formed Baby Huey & his Babysitters in 1963. They played a mixture of rock and R&B and cut some singles before the classic sampladelic full length album, The Baby Huey Story, which actually came out after he passed. He rapped & rhymed during the well-remembered live shows back in the late '60s. Curtis Mayfield and Donny Hathaway took notice and agreed to put...

Happy birthday to the visionary Cuban trombonist/composer/producer Juan Pablo Torres. He made some very funky Latin jazz both in and outside of Cuba, and some of his albums stand as some of the most "fucked-up" or psychedelic-aligned music you'll ever hear from the island. Aside from his own masterpieces, you can hear him with Paquito D'Rivera, Gilberto Santarosa, Hilton Ruiz, Arturo Sandoval, Tata Güines and others. He also led the groups Estrellas de Areito, Algo Nuevo and played in the groundbreaking Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna.