Herbie Hancock

Happy birthday to Herbie Hancock, born this day in 1940! Here's a 1974 performance of "Chameleon."

Sarah Cracknell

Happy birthday to Sarah Cracknell, born this day in 1967! Here's Saint Etienne's fake Scopitone for 1993's "You're In a Bad Way."

Paul "Hezzie" Trietsch

Happy birthday to the late Paul "Hezzie" Trietsch. Here's a circa-1944 clip of the Hoosier Hot Shots playing "She Broke My Heart in Three Places"!

Little Richard

Happy birthday to Little Richard, born this day in 1932! Here's a 1957 performance of "Lucille."

Lisa Stansfield

Happy birthday to Lisa Stansfield, born this day in 1966! Here's the video for her 1989 collaboration with Coldcut, "People Hold On."

Chris Difford

Happy birthday to Chris Difford, born this day in 1954! Here's Squeeze's 1985 video for "Hits of the Year"--not one of their bigger hits, but I always liked it...

Terre Roche

Happy birthday to my favorite guitar teacher, Terre Roche, born this day in 1953! Here are the Roches in 1982, doing "Want Not." A little wobbly on the recording-sound front, but those harmonies...!

Afrika Bambaataa

Happy birthday to Afrika Bambaataa, born this day in 1960! Here's the video for Time Zone's greatest hit, "World Destruction," from 1984.

Margo Smith

Happy birthday to Margo Smith, born this day in 1942! Sadly, I can't embed this clip, but it's worth clicking through here to her mindbending 1986 live performance of "He Taught Me How to Yodel." It heats up a little before halfway through...

Rockin' Sidney

Happy birthday to Rockin' Sidney, born this day in 1938! Here's a 1985 performance with John Fogerty singing (and Sidney playing accordion on) the biggest zydeco crossover record ever, "My Toot Toot."

Tom Lehrer

Happy birthday to Tom Lehrer, born this day in 1928! Here's an early-'60s clip of him on, I think, That Was the Week That Was, singing "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park."

Les Gray

Happy birthday to Les Gray, born this day in 1946. Here he is with Mud in 1974, performing the immortal "Tiger Feet" while wearing really bad glasses!

Larry Norman

Happy birthday to the late Larry Norman, born this day in 1947! Here's his band People's one Top 20 hit, a cover of the Zombies' "I Love You" from 1968.

Jacques Brel

Happy birthday to the late Jacques Brel, born this day in 1929! Here's a 1964 performance of "Jef."

Alan Buck

Happy birthday to Alan Buck, born this day in 1943! Here he is playing drums with the Four Pennies, performing "Black Girl," a.k.a. "In the Pines," in 1964 or '65. That's a pretty Beatles-influenced guitar sound they've got there...

Billie Holiday

Happy birthday to the late Billie Holiday, born this day in 1915! Here's a live performance of "Strange Fruit"; if anybody can tell me when it was filmed, I'd be grateful to know.

Janis Ian

Happy birthday to Janis Ian, born this day in 1951! Here's her famous performance of "Society's Child" on TV in 1967.

Florian Schneider

Happy birthday to Florian Schneider, born this day in 1947! Here he is with Kraftwerk in 1970, performing "Ruckzuck" on German TV.

Michelle Phillips

Happy birthday to Michelle Phillips, born this day in 1944! Here's the 1966 clip for the Mamas and the Papas' "I Saw Her Again," with the famous vocal mistake at 2:46...

Dorothy Donegan

Happy birthday to the late Dorothy Donegan, born this day in 1924. Here she is showing off her pianistic skills for the camera in 1945...

Stan Cullimore

Happy birthday to Stan Cullimore, born this day in 1962! Here he is with the Housemartins, performing the Isley Brothers' "Caravan of Love" circa 1986.