Sam Cooke turns 80

The King of Ska

Desmond Dekker began his career as a welder, singing for his fellow workers. He auditioned for Coxsone Dodd (Studio One) and Duke Reid (Treasure Isle), but neither was impressed by his talents. With the help of Derrick Morgan, Dekker found his place on Leslie Kong's Beverley's record label, but wasn't recorded until 2 years later in 1963. "Honour Your Mother and Father", Dekker's first recorded song became a hit and was soon followed by "Sinners Come Home" and "Labour for Learning". Backed by the Maytals, Dekker's "King of Ska" made way for his recruiting of a back up band dubbed the Aces. Dekker propagated the budding ska and rude boy culture with the now classic "007 Shanty Town" and "Israelites", becoming one of the most internationally acclaimed artists to come out of Jamaica (other than Bob Marley) and influencing bands like the Clash, Operation Ivy, Rancid and hundreds of other ska, punk and reggae bands.

Not as big as his dad in France

Gary Lewis & The Playboys: Gary Lewis, the son of famed comedian Jerry Lewis, formed Gary Lewis & The Playboys who played their first gigs to a sold out crowd in Disneyland. Their single "This Diamond Ring" hit #1 in the charts in '65, though Lewis claimed that producer Snuff Garrett did not let them play their own instruments save for backup tracks on the recording  in order to maximize the success of the album. This created a problem when Gary & the Playboys were asked to perform on the Ed Sullivan Show as musical guest were expected to preform live. Since the song was so over produced, the show was forced to let them play with a pre-recorded backup track. Regardless, Gary went on to win Crash Box's Male Vocalist of the Year award, beating out Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.

Speaking of Jimmy Page

Jackie DeShannon: Best known for her hit love songs "What the World Needs Now Is Love" (written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David) and "Put a Little Love in Your Heart", DeShannon was also the first artist to perform "Needles and Pins" (written by Sonny Bono and Jack Nitzsche) which was later performed by the Searchers and became a hit on the US charts making them the first band since the Beatles to do so. Other collaborations included Randy Newman and one time boyfriend Jimmy Page. "Tangerine" on Zeppelin III is thought to be written about her. She also co-wrote "Betty Davis Eyes" which became a hit for Kim Carnes in 1981.

Jackie DeShannon & George Harrison playing monopoly

Before the Brown Eyed Girl

Them: Fronted by Van Morrison, the Northern Irish band Them (named after the 1954 sci-fi horror movie) burst into the garage rock scene in 1965 with their single "Gloria", a B-side to their cover of Joe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers' "Baby Please Don't Go" (with a then little-known Jimmy Page on rhythm guitar for the studio recording). By the middle of 1966, Van Morrison left Them to pursue his solo career. I personally can't stand Van Morrison's solo career.

Serge Je T´aime

Serge Gainsbourg: Though, in the 70's and 80's Serge is most known for his failed attempt at reggae (enraging Bob Marley when he recruited Rita Marley to sing erotic lyrics for the reggae version of the French National Anthem "La Marseillaise", which is a feat in itself) and his "I want to fuck her" comment in regards to Whitney Houston, who he was appearing with on live French TV; most of us will remember him fondly as the chain smoking, womanizing, incestuous, alcoholic, king of 60's French Pop.