Born on October 19, 1946, in Welwyn Garden City, England, Keith Reid co-founded Procol Harum with Gary Brooker and wrote the lyrics for nearly every song in the band's catalog, despite never playing an instrument or singing on a single recording. He was credited as an official band member who attended nearly every session and most live shows, shaping the group's literary, often surreal lyrical identity from behind the scenes. His words paired with Brooker's music on "A Whiter Shade of Pale," the band's 1967 debut single, which topped the UK charts and went on to sell more than six million copies worldwide, becoming one of the most recognizable songs of its era. Reid kept writing for the band through its 1977 breakup and returned for reunion albums The Prodigal Stranger in 1991 and The Well's on Fire in 2003.

Born on October 19, 1976, Pete Loeffler co-founded Chevelle in 1995 near Chicago with his brothers Sam on drums and Joe on bass, naming the band after their father's favorite car. As lead singer and guitarist, Loeffler has remained one of the band's two constant members alongside Sam since Joe's 2005 departure, when brother-in-law Dean Bernardini took over on bass. The band broke through with 2002's Wonder What's Next, which went platinum behind singles "The Red" and "Send the Pain Below," cementing Chevelle's heavy, melodic alternative metal sound on rock radio. Loeffler has written most of the band's catalog across ten studio albums, even producing 2025's Bright as Blasphemy alone. Despite selling over six million records, he's said the band never saw royalties from its early sales due to a bad initial contract.

On October 19, 1979, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released Damn the Torpedoes, the album that turned them into a top tier rock act after a bruising fight with their own record label. When Petty's contract was sold to MCA without his consent, he refused the deal and filed for bankruptcy just to void it, eventually landing on MCA subsidiary Backstreet Records instead. Producer Jimmy Iovine pushed the band's sound harder and cleaner, powering tracks like "Refugee," "Here Comes My Girl," and "Even the Losers," while lead single "Don't Do Me Like That" became their first Hot 100 top ten entry. Damn the Torpedoes spent seven weeks stuck at No. 2, blocked only by Pink Floyd's The Wall, and went on to sell triple platinum. Produced by Tom Petty and Jimmy Iovine.