Photo by Tour Bus Live
July 19th has given us many gifts in rock ‘n’ roll history. It is a birthday that is shared by many legendary musicians, some still living and some no longer here. To celebrate this glorious day, we got a fun fact about each of the birthday boys:
- Brian May:
The Queen guitarist was born July 19th, 1947 so we are celebrating his 75th birthday today!
Fun Fact: The rockstar is not only a musical genius, but he also has a PhD in astrophysics.
2. Bernie Leadon:
The co-founding guitarist of the Eagles also turns 75-years-old today.
Fun Fact: Prior to the Eagles, Leadon played with The Flying Burrito Brothers and recorded two albums with the group.
3. Allen Collins:
The Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist would have been 70-years-old today, but sadly he died on January 23rd 1990 from pneumonia, which was a complication of his paralysis caused by a 1986 car accident.
Fun Fact: Collins was extremely passionate about race cars starting in his childhood and owned several collectible and performance cars during his later years.
4. Commander Cody
The Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen leader George Frayne IV (known as “Commander Cody) was born on July 19th, 1944, but passed just last year on September 26th, 2021.
Fun Fact: Commander Cody was a true visual artist and received a bachelor’s in design from the University of Michigan in 1966 and a master’s in Sculpture and Painting from the Rackham School of Graduate Studies of the University of Michigan in 1968. He eventually taught art at multiple universities and his own art was featured in many exhibits throughout the country. He was also passionate about cinematography.
5. Keith Godchaux
The Grateful Dead pianist was born on July 19th 1948 and passed away on July 23, 1980 at only 32-years-old following an auto accident.
Fun Fact: Godchaux’s confident wife Donna Jean Godchaux was the one who approached Jerry Garcia and proposed that her husband should be in the Grateful Dead.
