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Lorenz Hart was born on May 2, 1895. Hart was one of the great lyricists of the 1930s; with his composing partner, Richard Rodgers, he wrote dozens of songs that have become popular standards.
Roy Orbison was born on April 23, 1936. Orbison was a singer/songwriter, most popular in the early 1960s, who specialized in grandly melodramatic ballads of romantic suffering and torment.
In 2000, Congress created the National Recording Preservation Board, an agency of the Library of Congress, to select titles each year for a National Recording Registry.
Bernadette Peters was born on February 28, 1948. For 50 years, Peters has been a star of musical theater, critically praised as one of the best singers and actresses of her era.
This week, we celebrate the birthdays of two of the three members of the country group the Dixie Chicks. Martie Maguire was born on October 12, 1969, and Natalie Maines was born on October 14, 1974.
Giuseppe Verdi was born on October 9, 1813. Verdi was a composer of opera, and many of his works are among the most beloved operas in the repertoire. He had an unusually long career as a composer, spanning almost sixty years.
The career of Jerry Lee Lewis began in a burst of glory before imploding in scandal; a decade later, he made one of the biggest and most unlikely comebacks in pop music.
On September 23, 1926, John Coltrane was born. Coltrane's career was relatively short—about twenty years as a performer, and recordings from only the last decade—but he was one of the most influential saxophone players in jazz history.
B. B. King was born on September 16, 1925. King was a singer, songwriter, and guitarist who was among the most influential blues musicians of all time, particularly for his skill on the electric guitar.
It is an unusual career that crosses paths with Mary Martin, Berry Gordy, Bugs Bunny, and Devo, but they will all make appearances as we look at the life and music of Raymond Scott.