February 20th: Born on this day

February 20th: Born on this day       Kurt Cobain

1941, Born on this day, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer, songwriter who had the 1971 UK No.7 single 'Soldier Blue'. She wrote 'Up Where We Belong' the 1982 US No.1 & UK No.7 for Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes.

1945, Born on this day, Alan Hull, guitarist, singer, songwriter, with English group Lindisfarne who had the 1972 UK No.3 single 'Lady Eleanor'. Hull also worked as a solo artist. Hull died of a heart attack on 17th November 1996.

1946, Born on this day, J Geils, guitarist, with The J. Geils Band who had the 1982 US No.1 & UK No.3 single 'Centerfold', which was taken from their US No.1 1981 album 'Centerfold'.

1950, Born on this day, Walter Becker, bass, guitar, vocals, songwriter with American group Steely Dan who had the 1973 US No.11 single 'Reeling In The Years' and nine other US Top 30 hits. Steely Dan's 'Two Against Nature' won a Grammy in 2001 for Album of the year. Becker has produced records for Rickie Lee Jones, China Crisis and Michael Franks.

1951, Born on this day, Randy California, guitarist, singer with Spirit, who had the 1969 US No.25 single 'I Got A Line On You', and the 1981 UK No.40 album 'Potato Land'). He died on 2nd January 1997 when rescuing his 12 year-old son after he was sucked into a riptide in surf off Hawaii.

1954, Born on this day, Jon Brant from Cheap Trick who had the 1979 UK No.29 & US No.17 single 'I Want You To Want Me', and the 1988 US No.1 single 'The Flame'.

1967, Born on this day, Kurt Cobain, guitarist, singer, songwriter with Nirvana who had the 1991 hit 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. Their 1991 album 'Nevermind' spent over two years on the UK chart. During the last years of his life, Cobain struggled with heroin addiction, illness and depression. Cobain committed suicide on April 5th 1994. Cobain has been remembered as one of the most iconic rock musicians in the history of alternative music.

1972, Born on this day, Neil Primrose, drummer with Scottish group Travis who had the 1999 UK No.1 album 'The Man Who', and the 1999 UK No.10 single 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me' plus over 10 other UK Top 40 singles.

1975, Born on this day, Brian Littrell, singer with Backstreet Boys who had the 1997 US No.2 single 'Quit appearing Games With My Heart' and the 1999 UK No.1 single 'I Want It That Way'.

1977, Born on this day, Edwin Graham, drummer with The Darkness who had the 2003 UK No.2 single ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’, 2003 UK No.1 album ‘Permission To Land’.

1985, Born on this day, Volkova Olegovna, singer, with Russian music duo Tatu who had the 2003 UK No.1 single 'All The Things She Said' which also topped the charts in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Switzerland and other European countries.

1988, Born on this day, Rihanna (Robyn Rihanna Fenty), Barbadian R&B singer who had 2007 world-wide No.1 single 'Umbrella' featuring Jay-Z. 'Umbrella' became the longest running UK No.1 in the 21st Century. The song debuted at No.1 on the chart based on digital sales alone. Rihanna has sold more than 20 million albums and 60 million singles which makes her one of the best selling artists of all time. She is the youngest solo artist in Billboard charts history to achieve eleven number-one singles.  listen to ‘This Day in Music 20th Feb’ on audioBoom