Brian John "B. J." Cole is an English pedal steel guitarist. Coming to prominence in the early 1970s with the band Cochise, Cole has played in many styles of music, ranging from mainstream pop and rock, to jazz and eclectic experimental music. He played and is heavily featured with Deke Leonard's Help Yourself band at the legendary live concert/recording 'Christmas at the Patti,. The resultant album was issued as an unusual 10" double LP and at a budget price of only �1.43 due to vinyl shortages at the time of the 1970s energy crisis. He later played with Marc Bolan / T.Rex on their 1974 album Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow, as well as with Elton John on his albums Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across The Water, specifically on the songs "Country Comfort" and "Tiny Dancer". For a few select appearances in 1998, Cole joined R.E.M. for live performances of the latter's "Daysleeper", "Country Feedback", "Man on the Moon", and a cover of Iggy Pop's "The Passenger", which closed out the band's appearance on Later with Jools Holland. [More at Wikipedia]

June 17th, 1946 in (Age 77)