Living Rock Star Legends with January Birthdays

The following Rockers answer "What's your sign?" with either Capricorn or Aquarius. Regardless of their astrological makeup, these living legends came into this world in January and are still leaving their mark on it.

Stephen Stills, born January 3, 1945, was one of the core band members of Buffalo Springfield and the "Stills" part of Crosby, Stills and Nash. Buffalo Springfield's 60's hit, "For What it's Worth" has become an anthem for representing turbulent times, and "Love the One You're With" is an enduring classic. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Stills 28th of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2003, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Stills will turn 66 in 2011.

John Michael Stipe, lead vocalist for R.E.M, was born January 4, 1960, and will turn 51 his next birthday. R.E.M. was a popular alternative rock band in the eighties with hits such as "Drive", "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?", and "Losing My Religion." Stipe has been parodied for his delivery of indiscernible lyric content during his early band days. Stipe branched out from music and in 1999 produced the Oscar-nominated movie, "Being John Malcovich," and took a interesting departure from his rocker image when he played the voice of Schnitzel the Reindeer in "Olive, the Other Reindeer."

Shock-rocker vocalist, Marilyn Manson, was born January 5, 1969 as Brian Warner. He is the lead singer of the controversial band of the same name, which was a combination of two cultural icons of the 60's, Marilyn Monroe and infamous mass murderer, Charles Manson. The band has sold 50 million albums worldwide and was ranked 78th best rock band on VH1's "100 Great Artists of Hard Rock". Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka character was reported to have been inspired by Manson's façade. Manson will turn 42 in 2011.

Glam Rock Pioneer, actor and Broadway star, David Bowie, will turn 63 on January 8,^, 2011. Born David Jones in 1947 in Brixton, London, he renamed himself after American frontiersman, Jim Bowie. Bowie's music career began in 1969, but his first number one hit, "Fame," (co-writing credit given to John Lennon) didn't happen until 1975. " Let's Dance ", and "Under Pressure", are other Bowie classics that are as well known today as when they hit the charts in the eighties. In recognition of the influence of his transformative music, Bowie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

Doors guitarist, Robby Krieger, made his earthly arrival January 8, 1946. Krieger was responsible for writing some of this iconic sixties band's biggest hits such as "Light My Fire" and "Love Her Madly." Rolling Stone placed Krieger number 91 on their "100 greatest guitarists of all time." He'll be 65.

Guitar God, Jimmy Page will be blowing out 67 candles on January 9th in 2011. Page became a full-time, much sought after, British session guitarist in the sixties, doing work for music giants, The Who, The Kinks, The Nashville Teens, and the Rolling Stones. In 1964 he joined sixties band, The Yardbirds, replacing Eric Clapton, and eventually founded Iconic rock band, Led Zeppelin. Page was inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once for his work with The Yardbirds and again for Led Zeppelin. Among recognitions too numerous to list, Jimmy Page is ranked second by Gibson Guitar in their "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time" and was awarded Classic Rock Magazine's Living Legend Award in 2007. His guitar solo in "Stairway to Heaven" was voted the greatest guitar solo of all time by readers of Guitar World and Total Guitar.

Female Rocker Pat Benatar will be 58 on January 10, 2011. Four-time Grammy Winner, Benatar has become a legendary rock star, with classic hits like, "Love is a Battlefield," "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" and "Hearbreaker." She was born January 10, 1953, daughter to very strict parents who insisted on classical and theatrical musical training. A job as a singing waitress in a Catch a Rising Star restaurant led to a recording contract with Chrysalis Records in 1979. Benatar was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame October 30, 2008.

Rod Stewart will turn 66 on January 10, 2011. Stewart joined the Jeff Beck Group in 1965 and kicked off his solo career in 1968. Despite dealing with thyroid cancer in 2000, he is still performing his music which has spanned five decades and included a wide variety of music genres. Billboard magazine ranked him 17th on their "Billboard Hot 100 Top All Time Artists", and Stewart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006. Rod Stewart holds the record for the largest concert crowd with 3.5 million fans attending his 1994 concert in Rio de Janeiro on New Year's Eve!

Paul Stanley became a legend in his role as rhythm guitarist and lead wailer for hard rock band, KISS. Stanley was born January 20, 1952, and started playing guitar during his teens. According to IDMb, Stanley's body suffered from his wild rock-concert antics, and in 2005 he had to undergo hip surgery. Stanley co-wrote many of the band's highest charting hits, and he was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006. 2011 will be his last year before the big Six-O.

Steve Perry's birthday is January 22, 1949, which will make him 62 in 2011. Perry's distinctive voice as lead vocalist for progressive-rock band, Journey, helped them earn fifth place in a USA Today poll for "Best American rock band in history." Rolling Stone magazine named Perry the 76th Greatest Singer on their "100 Greatest Singers of All-Time" list. Few music fans can say they don't know who Steve Perry is, with Journey's, "Open Arms" and "Don't Stop Believin'", and solo songs "Oh Sherrie" and "Foolish Heart" still receiving regular rotation on soft-rock radio.

Born January 26, 1955, Eddie Van Halen was lead guitarist and co-founder of the seventies legendary hard rock band, Van Halen. His unique guitar playing style and method of attacking the notes on his fret has earned him accolades for being an innovative guitarist. Van Halen's marriage and eventual divorce involving TV's sweetheart, Valerie Bertinelli, kept this 56-year old rocker's legendary status in the news.

Actor and Musician, Phil Collins, was born January 30, 1951. Collins is best known as drummer and lead vocalist for progressive rock-band, Genesis, and later as a solo artist. His first solo single, "In the Air Tonight" was featured in the Pilot episode for the Miami Vice TV series. His distinctive voice is easily singled out on classic songs like "Follow You, follow me", "Against All Odds", dance favorite "Sussudio" and "Another Day in Paradise". According to Billboard magazine, his total body of work earned the record for most top 40 hits on Billboard Hot 100 chart for the 1980s. Collins was ranked 22nd on "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists." In 2011, Collins will be 61.

Happy birthday to these living music legends who have earned both their fame and rock-star notoriety! Rock-on!

References:

FamousBirthdays.com

IMDb - Michael Stipe

Wikipedia, Stephen Stills

Wikipedia, Marilyn Manson

Wikipedia, David Bowie

Robbie Krieger Website

Wikipedia, Jimmy Page

Gibson website, Lifestyle

Allmusic.com, Pat Benatar

Wikipedia, Rod Stewart

Wikipedia, Paul Stanley

IMDb.com, Steve Perry

Billboard.com, The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists

Wikipedia, Eddie Van Halen

IMDb.com, Phil Collins

AllMusic, Phil Collins