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Shorty Long

Shorty Long, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 1969)

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Born
May 20, 1940
Died
June 29, 1969
Zodiac sign
Taurus
Birth year
1940

About Shorty Long

Frederick Earl "Shorty" Long was an American soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer for Motown's Soul Records imprint. He was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1980. Frederick Earl "Shorty" Long (May 20, 1940 – June 29, 1969) was an American soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer for Motown's Soul Records imprint. His first release, "Devil with the Blue Dress On" (1964), written with William "Mickey" Stevenson, was the first recording issued on Motown's Soul label, a subsidiary designed for more blues-based artists such as Long. Long's 1966 single "Function at the Junction" was his first popular hit, reaching No. 42 on the US Billboard R&B chart. Long was the only Motown artist besides Smokey Robinson who was allowed to produce his own recordings in the 1960s.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Shorty Long timeline

  1. Frederick Earl "Shorty" Long (May 20, 1940 – June 29, 1969) was an American soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer for Motown's Soul Records imprint.
  2. His first release, "Devil with the Blue Dress On" (1964), written with William "Mickey" Stevenson, was the first recording issued on Motown's Soul label, a subsidiary designed for more blues-based artists such as Long.
  3. Long's 1966 single "Function at the Junction" was his first popular hit, reaching No. 42 on the US Billboard R&B chart.

The world when Shorty Long was born

Shorty Long was born in 1940. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1940

  • #1 song"In the Mood" – Glenn Miller
  • Top movieRebecca
  • Best-selling bookFor Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst televised college basketball game
  • Top headlineWinston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister
  • Technology milestoneFirst McDonald's restaurant opens
  • Defining fadSwing music hits its peak
  • Notable inventionJeep (military vehicle)
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championCincinnati Reds (World Series)
  • U.S. population132.2M

1940 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Shorty Long's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19402026
Gas$0.18$3.45/gal
Average home$5,300$435,000
Average income$3,100$67,500
Minimum wage$0.30$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population132.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.