1947

Geoffrey (Jeff) Arnold Beck
(24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) 

Beck was an English rock guitarist with the Yardbirds and after
fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975,
he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus on
innovative sound, and his releases spanned genres ranging
from blues rock, hard rock, jazz fusion and a blend of guitar-
rock and electronica.

Beck ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone and other magazine’s
list of 100 greatest guitarists. Rolling Stone described him as
"one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock." Beck died
from bacterial meningitis on Tuesday.

The British rock and pop singer and songwriter is 78 today. He
is among the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold
over 250 million records worldwide.

Alan Robert Copeland (October 6, 1926 – December 28, 2022)

(Hollywood Reporter) – Alan Copeland, the songwriter, Grammy-
winning arranger and ultra-smooth vocalist known for his many
years with The Modernaires and performances on Your Hit Parade
and The Red Skelton Hour, died December 28 in an assisted living
facility in Sonora, California. He was 96.

As recently as this fall, Copeland was still singing and playing
keyboards in a quartet called Now You Hazz Jazz.

Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018)

(FOX NEWS) – Aretha Franklin, whose booming vocals and
powerful personal presence made her one of the great
entertainers in global history, became the first woman
inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on this day in
history, Jan. 3, 1987.

"Aretha Franklin was an artist of passion, sophistication
and command, whose recordings remain anthems that
defined soul music," the Rock Hall writes in its biography
of the performer.

She "was only 25 when she clinched the title of Lady Soul
with her unforgettably proud, sexy, candid and confident
1967 version of Otis Redding’s ‘Respect.’"