 | April 2nd-
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has released many albums and singles that have topped the music industry charts, and she has won 12 Grammys and numerous other awards.
In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists, including Gram Parsons, The Band, Linda Ronstadt, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Mark Knopfler, Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Rodney Crowell and Neil Young.
Recent Grammy Awards Harris has won include 2005 Best Female Country Vocal Performance ("The Connection"), 2001 Album of the Year (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) and 2000 Best Contemporary Folk Album (Red Dirt Girl). A recent Country Music Association Award she won is the 2001 Album of the Year (O Brother, Where Art Thou?). In 2002, Harris was ranked #5 as the CMT's 40 Greatest Women of Country Music. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on February 12, 2008.
In 1997 and 1998, Harris performed in Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair, which promoted feminism in music. Harris has organized an annual benefit tour called Concerts for a Landmine Free World since 1999. All proceeds from the tours support the Veterans for America to assist innocent victims of conflicts around the world and to raise America's awareness of the global landmine problem.
|  | April 12th -
David Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. He has held a seat in the late-night line-up since 1982 with the debut of NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman. Letterman recently surpassed his good friend and mentor, Johnny Carson, as having the longest late-night hosting career in the United States.
Letterman is also a television and film producer. His company Worldwide Pants produces his show as well as the show that follows it each night, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Worldwide Pants has also produced several prime-time comedies, including the successful Everybody Loves Raymond, currently in syndication.
In 1996, David Letterman was ranked #45 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time. Because of his abilities as a writer, producer and performer, Letterman is among the most nominated people in Emmy Award history with 52 nominations, winning two Daytime Emmys and five Primetime Emmys since 1981. Letterman has been nominated every year since 1984, when he first appeared on late-night television as the host of Late Night with David Letterman. In addition, he has won four American Comedy Awards. In 2011, Letterman was the first recipient of the Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence at The Comedy Awards.
|  | April 16th-
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr., is a retired professional basketball player for the NBA. At birth, he weighed 12 pounds, 10 ounces, and was twenty-two and a half inches long. As an NBA player, his stats showed him as 7 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 265 pounds.
While in high school, his team won 71 consecutive games, and at college at UCLA, he played on three consecutive national championship teams. As a professional player, Abdul-Jabbar played the center position and is regarded as one of the best players of all time. He is the all-time leading NBA scorer with 38,387 points, having collected six titles; six regular season MVP and two Finals MVP awards; fifteen NBA First or Second Teams; a record nineteen NBA All-Star call-ups; and averaging 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.6 blocks per game.
At the time of his retirement from the NBA, Abdul-Jabbar was the NBA's all-time leader in points scored, games played, minutes played, field goals made, field goal attempts, blocked shots, defensive rebounds and personal fouls.
Abdul-Jabbar also has been an actor, basketball coach and an author. In 2012, he was selected as a U.S. cultural ambassador.
|  | April 21st-
Iggy Pop born James Newell "Jim" Osterberg, Jr., is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. His music embraces many styles such as pop, heavy metal, jazz and the blues, but he is considered an innovator of punk rock.
Pop became known as ”Iggy” in high school when he served as drummer for local blues band The Iguanas. He was the lead vocalist of influential protopunk band The Stooges. Pop and the other surviving members of the group reunited in 2003. Pop is known since the late 1960s for his outrageous stage antics.
JPop has recorded a number of well-known songs over his career, including "Lust for Life"; "Real Wild Child"; "Candy," which is a duet with Kate Pierson of The B-52's; "China Girl"; "Nightclubbing"; "Search and Destroy;, and "The Passenger."
In March 2010, the Stooges and Iggy Pop were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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