A short but deep list of birthdays today begins with Neal Doughty of REO Speedwagon:

Geddy Lee of Rush (whose last song here should be the theme song of my old high school):

John Sykes of Thin Lizzy:

And from today’s Ironic Death File: Today in 1974, Mama Cass Elliott died, not from drug use or alcoholism, but from choking on a ham sandwich: