Music Monday ~~ 4 Born on 9 January

9 January, through the years, seems to have been a propitious day for the birth of singers and musicians. Wikipedia's details of births for this day has more musically inclined people than I usually notice. Some names are familiar, some not universally well-known. I've picked four from the many; four for whom Astrodatabank has times of birth. It could be interesting to compare the charts, because initially one might not expect a glut of musical talent to be aligned with Sun in Capricorn.

Natal charts, with data from Astrodatabank are shown later and together, for ease of comparison.

In date order:


Born 9 January in 1928, a name possibly unfamiliar to anyone not "of a certain age" : Domenico Modugno, Italian singer and songwriter of the late 1950s and 1960s who co-wrote, sang and had a huge hit with Volare ("nel blu dipinto di blu"). His rendition of Piove (Ciao Ciao Bambina) is still, for me, the definitive. I shed many a tear over it back in my Italian-tinged youth. Later in life Modugno got into Italian politics, by the way.



Piove (sniffle!). It was Italy's entry in the Eurovison Song Contest, 1959.










Born 9 January 1941 ~ Joan Baez - surely familiar to all - almost iconic in fact: American folk singer , recorded over 30 albums; songwriter, musician and human rights activist, campaigner for peace.


Here she is, not a protest song this time, but with Bob Dylan's Forever Young - still sounding great!







Born 9 January 1943: Scott Walker, American lead guitarist, singer, keyboarder and composer, member of the Walker Brothers trio. 1960s and 70s hits included My Ship Is Coming In, The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore, No Regrets. His songs were often filled with melancholy. Scott Walker is the most under-appreciated singer of the 20th century. He has sung straight-ahead pop, wonderful renditions of works from The Great American Song Book which compare admirably with any of the biggest name vocalists; superb versions of movie theme songs, interpretations of Jacques Brel's songs- very difficult to do I'd guess; and many self-penned songs, poetry filled with angst but showing off that creamy smooth voice, instantly recognisable as Scott Walker. Yep, after a trawl through YouTube - I'm a fan -all over again! (PS: Bingo! His Mercury and Venus conjoin my natal Sun!)

Singing his favourite Jacques Brel song Alone









Born 9 January 1944:
Jimmy Page, English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer, member of The Yardbirds band from 1966 to 1968, later founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.One of the most influential guitarists and songwriters in rock music.

Jimmy Page with Robert Plant ~ Since I've Been Loving You









THE CHARTS









General similarities:

All four have a Capricorn Sun, of course, which indicates a certain serious, common sense attitude to things in general, including business matters - which, though not an essential part of the musical arts, has to be a help in ensuring some level of worldly success.

3 of the 4 charts have Sun/Mercury conjoined = powerful drive to communicate.

3 of the 4 have Venus (the art and music planet) in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is Jupitarian in character and expansive; we could interpret Venus in Sagittarius, then as indicating a powerful draw towards some sphere of the arts.

(Odd one out in both cases = Scott Walker, who has Venus/Mercury conjoined in Aquarius.)

Other than the above, key to Domenico Modugno's chart, I'd say, is a limelight-loving Leo Moon and communicative Gemini rising. His later draw into politics is likely reflected in Saturn's position in Sagittarius, alongside Venus....providing a "second string to his bow".

Important in Joan Baez' chart, are a series of wide-ish harmonious trines: Sun/Mercury trine Moon/Uranus trine Neptune forming a loose Grand Trine in Earth with a slightly Airy overtone. It's that link of rebellious Uranus to her Sun/Mercury that powers her draw towards social activism; the link to Neptune powers creativity.

For Scott Walker, a post from my archives gives more astro information
see http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2010/11/music-monday-scott-walker-jacques-brel.html From that post

What stands out for me: Grand trine in Air signs which he shares with many of his age group (including moi). In Scott's case the generational trine between Neptune and Uranus links to personal planets Mercury and Venus in Aquarius - connecting this Airy circuit of mavericky creativity to art and communication, so it becomes extra- specially relevant in his personality and in his music.

Sun in Capricorn reflects a serious nature, though not necessarily morbid, or reclusive. To pinpoint that side of Scott's nature we go back to the Grand Trine and note that Saturn lay conjunct Uranus as he was born, and Pluto lay in opposition to Mercury/Venus. The presence of these two potential dampers (Saturn and Pluto) on an otherwise positive configuration explains Scott's early retreat from the spotlight, and his draw to darker, melancholic themes. While Saturn/Uranus conjoined explains how Scott's music can be categorised by the opposing terms "experimental" and "Baroque" (as at Wikipedia). Saturn hooked up to Uranus -the old hooked up to the new!

Watery Pisces Moon and Cancer rising underscore a deeply emotional and sensitive character, which I think can be seen from his young face, and sensed from many of his vocals.

Jimmy Page's Sagittarius Venus is opposed by Uranus and Mars in Gemini - which describes a balancing of Venus's intrinsic artistic beauty with the rebellious, avant garde Uranus and dynamic, aggressive Mars. Sagittarius Venus sextiles creative Neptune in Libra and trines Uranus/Mars in Gemini....superbly configured for a rock musician! Cancer Moon and Scorpio rising add emotional depth.