February Birthdays

Since it's February, time to say Happy Birthday!

Rod Smallwood

-Birth name: Roderick Charles Smallwood

-DOB: 2/17/1956

-Where: Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England

-He ran such a tight management with Iron Maiden that the band soon dubbed him Rod Smallwallet because he wouldn't let the band spend ANY money unless it was put back towards pushing the band forward

Tony Iommi

-Birth name: Anthony Frank Iommi

-DOB: 2/19/1948

-Where: Aston, Birmingham, England

-He wrote "Paranoid" in under three minutes because their producer said they needed something to fill the last bit of time on their 1970 album Paranoid

Duff McKagan

-Birth name: Michael Andrew McKagan

-DOB: 2/5/1964

-Where: Seattle, Washington

-He invested in Amazon and Starbucks before they got big because they were local, Seattle-based companies

Adrian Smith

-Birth name: Adrian Frederick Smith

-DOB: 2/27/1957

-Where: Hackey, London, England

-Formed a band called Urchin prior to joining Iron Maiden. His good friend, current Maiden guitarist Dave Murray, played in the band for a bit

Andy Taylor

-DOB: 2/11/1956

-Where: Newcastle, England

-He and fellow Trinity student Rod Smallwood founded Sanctuary Records in 1979

Alice Cooper

-Birth name: Vincent Damon Furnier

-DOB: 2/4/1948

-Where: Detroit, Michigan

-His father was a preacher

Alan Rickman

-Birth name: Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman

-DOB: 2/21/1946

-Where: London, England

-DOD: 1/14/2016

-Where: London, England (pancreatic cancer)

-He was not the original choice to play Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films. The original choice was Tim Roth, who had chosen to star in the 2001 film Planet of the Apes.

Steve Irwin

-Birth name: Stephen Robert Irwin

-DOB: 2/22/1962

-Where: Essendon, Victoria, Australia

-DOD: 9/4/2006

-Where: Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia (sting ray attack)

-He was known for his extraordinary love of animals and wildlife

Matt Groening

-Birth name: Matthew Abram Groening

-DOB: 2/15/1954

-Where: Portland, Oregon

-Best known as the creator of animated series The Simpsons

George Harrison

-DOB: 2/25/1943

-Where: Liverpool, England

-DOD: 11/29/2001

-Where: Los Angeles, California (throat cancer)

-He got the reputation of "the quiet one" because when The Beatles went to America, he was sick and had laryngitis and couldn't talk

Vince Neil

-Birth name: Vince Neil Wharton

-DOB: 2/8/1961

-Where: Los Angeles, California

-He and Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley were in a car crash in 1984. Neil was going to the liquor store and was driving drunk when they got into a crash. The wreck killed Razzle

Rachel Bolan

-Birth name: James Richard Southworth

-DOB: 1/9/1966

-Where: Point Pleasant, New Jersey

-Two of his favorite bands are The Ramones and The Sex Pistols

Henry Rollins

-Birth name: Henry Lawrence Garfield

-DOB: 2/13/1961

-Where: Washington, D.C.

-His best friend, Joe Cole, was murdered during a robbery attempt. His murder remains unsolved to this day

Ricky Medlocke

-DOB: 2/17/1950

-Where: Jacksonville, Florida

-He was the former vocalist/guitarist for fellow Southern rockers Blackfoot

Billie Joe Armstrong

-DOB: 2/17/1972

-Where: Piedmont, California

-The song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" is about the death of his father and how he manages to deal with the grief

Johnny Van Zandt

-Birth name: John Roy Van Zandt

-DOB: 2/27/1960

-Where: Jacksonville, Florida

-His brother Ronnie was the former frontman Lynyrd Skynyrd and his other brother Donnie is the current front man for .38 Special

Paul Wight aka "Big Show"

-Birth name: Paul Randall Wight Jr.

-DOB: 2/8/1972

-Where: Aiken, South Carolina

-He shares a birthday with Jim Neidhart (The Hart Foundation) and "Classie" Freddie Blassie