Today is the birthday of Freddy Fender. He would be 90 today. Freddy Fender of San Benito, Texas, clawed his way from a cotton field into music history. He picked crops as a boy, then picked up a guitar and never looked back. In 1975, his song "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" topped the pop […]
Today is the birthday of Shakey Graves. He would be 40 today. Shakey Graves grew up in Austin, Texas, acting in commercials before he picked up a guitar. That mix of theater training and DIY grit defined his whole career. He built a suitcase kick-drum rig long before loop pedals became trendy. That homemade setup […]
Today is the birthday of Boz Scaggs. He would be 83 today. Boz Scaggs discovered his voice in Plano, Texas, long before Hollywood found him. He arrived as a shy transplant, unsure of the Texas heat. His family moved there from Ohio when he was a boy. At St. Mark's School of Texas in Dallas, […]
Today is the birthday of Frank Beard. He would be 78 today. Frank Beard is the only man in ZZ Top without a beard. That irony still gets bigger laughs than most of his jokes. He grew up in Frankston, Texas, a tiny town east of Tyler. Drumming became his escape from small-town boredom early […]
Today is the birthday of Parker McCollum. He would be 35 today. Parker McCollum grew up in Conroe, Texas, just far enough from Nashville to matter. He cut his teeth playing Texas dance halls before radio ever noticed. Locals still remember him playing bars before he could legally enter them. That grind built a fanbase […]
Today is the birthday of Solange Knowles. She would be 41 today. Solange Knowles grew up in Houston, Texas, in the shadow of a famous older sister. Her father managed Destiny's Child, so music surrounded her from birth. She refused to live only as Beyoncé's sibling. Instead, she carved her own lane in art-pop and […]
Post Malone, born Austin Richard Post on July 4, 1995 in Syracuse, New York, moved to Grapevine, Texas at age 9 and has called it home ever since. A Grapevine High School graduate and lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, he's gone on to become one of the best-selling artists of his generation, blending hip-hop, rock, and […]
Today is the birthday of Leon Bridges. He would be 38 today. Leon Bridges came into the world in Atlanta, but Fort Worth, Texas raised him. He waited tables at a Fort Worth restaurant before music ever paid the bills. That restaurant sat just blocks from the stages where he now headlines shows. A stranger […]
Today is the birthday of Koe Wetzel. He would be 35 today. Koe Wetzel grew up in Pittsburg, Texas, a small East Texas town near the Louisiana line. His college coach kicked him off the football team before music ever paid off. Locals in Pittsburg still tell stories about that locker room blowup. That setback […]
Today is the birthday of Vikki Carr. She would be 87 today. Vikki Carr of El Paso, Texas, turned a Juárez-border childhood into international pop stardom. Born Florencia Bicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona, she changed her name for radio, not her roots. In 1967, "It Must Be Him" climbed to number three on the pop charts. […]
Today is the birthday of DJ Screw. He would be 56 today. DJ Screw slowed down rap music until it felt like syrup pouring. Robert Earl Davis Jr. entered the world in Smithville, Texas, near Austin. He later moved to Houston, Texas, where his sound truly formed. That move happened while he was still a […]
Today is the birthday of Charlie Christian. He would be 111 today. Charlie Christian plugged in a guitar and jazz never sounded the same again. He grew up in Bonham, Texas, chasing his father's street-corner band for spare change. Charlie Christian's Bonham, Texas upbringing taught him rhythm before he owned a real instrument. Then he […]
