Portrait of Zigaboo Modeliste

Birthday profile

Zigaboo Modeliste

Ziggy Modeliste, American drummer

Born
December 28, 1948
Age in 2026
78
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1948

About Zigaboo Modeliste

Joseph "Ziggy" Modeliste (born December 28, 1948), also known as Zigaboo Modeliste, is an American drummer best known as a founding member of the funk band the Meters. He is widely considered an innovator in the funk genre and New Orleans style drumming. The Meters' music had a defining role and set the stylistic tone of New Orleans funk. Due to his work with the band, Modeliste is credited as an integral part of bringing New Orleans second-line grooves into popular music. As a songwriter and session musician Modeliste's work is featured in numerous albums by various artists. His drum grooves appear in hundreds of hip hop samples, television and film. He has released four solo albums. He resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and continues to perform and tour. His first drum set was a three-piece paid for by Blouin.

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

The world when Zigaboo Modeliste was born

Zigaboo Modeliste was born in 1948. 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 1948

  • #1 song"Twelfth Street Rag" – Pee Wee Hunt
  • Top movieHamlet
  • Top TV showTexaco Star Theater (Milton Berle)
  • Best-selling bookThe Naked and the Dead – Norman Mailer

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentCleveland Indians win the World Series
  • Top headlineState of Israel declared
  • Technology milestoneLong-playing vinyl record (LP) introduced
  • Defining fadTelevision sets in homes
  • Notable inventionVelcro
  • World population2.50 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championCleveland Indians (World Series)
  • Also wonBaltimore Bullets (BAA)
  • U.S. population146.6M

1948 versus 2026

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

Measure19482026
Gas$0.26$3.45/gal
Average home$8,300$435,000
Average income$5,000$67,500
Minimum wage$0.40$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.40$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population146.6M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz. 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.