Grandmaster Flash - American hip hop recording artist and DJ. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of hip hop DJing, cutting, scratching and mixing. Marshall Jones - Founding member and bassist of the funk, soul music and R&B band Ohio Players. Bruce Nazarian - American funk and rock musician, recording artist and […]
Arthur Prysock - American jazz and R&B singer best known for his live shows and his deep baritone, influenced by Billy Eckstine. Nathan Heathman - He was a child prodigy in music playing various instruments like the piano, clarinet, and the saxophone. Nathan starred as 'Purlie Victorious', the lead role in the off-Broadway production of […]
Willie Mitchell - American trumpeter, bandleader, soul, R&B, rock and roll, pop and funk record producer and arranger who ran Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Sir George Martin - English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, audio engineer, and musician. He was referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" in reference to his extensive involvement on each […]
Arthur Conley - American soul singer, best known for the 1967 hit "Sweet Soul Music". Denise Katrina Matthews "Vanity" - Canadian singer, songwriter, dancer, model, and actress who turned away from her music and acting career to concentrate on evangelism.
Johnny Adams - American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. Wilbert Harrison - American rhythm and blues singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player.
Doris Troy - American R&B singer and songwriter, known to her many fans as "Mama Soul". Her biggest hit was "Just One Look", a top 10 hit in 1963. Shirley Brown - American R&B singer, best known for her million-selling single "Woman to Woman", which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1975. Van McCoy […]
Kenny Loggins - American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977.
David Bowie - English singer-songwriter and actor. He was a leading figure in the music industry and is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.
Barbara Carr - Â American blues singer. Roy Head - American singer, best known for his hit record "Treat Her Right".
Daryl I. Cameron - American musician and singer. Captain Sky’s funk-based musical style, futuristic costumes, and psychedelic imagery are similar to those of George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and other Parliament/Funkadelic projects. Fayette Pinkney - American singer and one of the original members of musical group The Three Degrees. Donald Fagen- American musician best known as […]
Mary J Blige - Â American singer-songwriter, actress, and philanthropist. Her career began in 1991 when she was signed to Uptown Records. She went on to release 13 studio albums, eight of which have achieved multi-platinum worldwide sales. Lee Ritenour - American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Rahsaan Patterson - American […]
George Duke - American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a professor of music. Phil Perry - American R&B singer, songwriter, musician and a former member of the soul group, The Montclairs, from 1971 to 1975. He was also […]
C.P. Spencer - American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Detroit, Michigan. Best known for being a member of the Motown quartet The Originals.
Allen Toussaint - American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer, who was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, described as "one of popular music's great backroom figures". Clarence Carter - Â American blues and soul singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. His most successful […]
George Brown - Founding member of Kool & the Gang which became one of the most inspired and influential funk units during the '70s, and one of the most popular R&B groups of the '80s after their breakout #1 hit "Celebration" in 1979. They released 7 Gold and Platinum albums. Fonce Mizell - American record producing team in the […]
Aaliyah - American singer, actress and model. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop". Sade - British singer, songwriter, and actress, known as the lead singer of her eponymous band. She has been credited as […]
Cedar Walton - American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band before establishing a long career as a bandleader and composer. Eartha Kitt - American singer, actress, dancer, voice actress, comedienne, activist, author, and songwriter known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings […]
David Ruffin - American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations during the group's "Classic Five" period as it was later known. He was the lead voice on such famous songs as "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." Frankie Knuckles - American […]
Booker Newbury - American singer and keyboardist, who was a member of the mid 1970s soul groups Sweet Thunder, and Impact, before pursuing a solo career. He is probably best remembered for his 1983 hit "Love Town". Harry McGilberry - American R&B and soul singer and latter-day bass singer for The Temptations between 1995 and […]
Ron Townson - American vocalist. He was an original member of The 5th Dimension, a popular vocal group of the late 1960s and early 1970s; he is the only original member of the group who is no longer living. Billy Powell - Founding member of the R&B group The O'Jays.
Edwin Starr - American singer and songwriter. Starr was famous for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-one hit "War". Richie Havens - American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul, and rhythm and blues. Snooks Eaglin - American guitarist and singer based in New Orleans. In […]
Nolan Strong - Detroit based singer of the R&B group The Diablos. Sam Cooke - American singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He was also influential as a composer and producer, and is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocals and significance in popular music.
Anita Pointer - American singer–songwriter, best known as a founding member of the vocal group the Pointer Sisters.
Aaron Neville - American R&B and soul vocalist and musician. He has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits in the United States, including three that went to #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. His debut single, from 1966, was #1 on the Soul chart for five weeks.
Etta James - American singer who performed in various genres, including blues, R&B, soul, rock and roll, jazz and gospel. Barbara Carroll- American jazz pianist and vocalist. Edmund Sylvers - American singer–songwriter, actor and musician. Sylvers was best known as the lead singer of the American family disco/soul music vocal group The Sylvers, which had […]
Bettye Lavette - American soul singer-songwriter who made her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, with her album I've Got My Own Hell to Raise. Her eclectic musical style combines elements of soul, blues, rock and roll, funk, gospel, and country music. Anita Baker - American singer-songwriter. She is regarded […]
Bobby Blue Bland - American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. L. J. Reynolds - Powerful baritone voiced singer L.J. Reynolds is best known as the lead singer of the Dramatics, a role he has held for more than three decades. Bobby Hutcherson - American jazz vibraphone and marimba […]
Phil Flowers - Washington area singer and composer who performed in the United States and abroad since the 1950's. He was sometimes described as "The Black Elvis" and "Skip Manning."
Pauline Henry - Jamaican-British recording artist. She was the vocalist in the Scottish band The Chimes, best known for their 1990 cover version of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", between 1988 and 1991.
Jackie Ross - American soul singer. Jody Watley - American singer, songwriter, record producer, and artist whose music crosses genres including pop, R&B, jazz, dance, and electronic soul. Hank Marr - American jazz musician known for his work on the Hammond B-3 organ. Buddy Montgomery - American jazz vibraphonist and pianist. Ruth Brown - American singer-songwriter […]
Chuck Willis - American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter. Marvin Junior Sr.- American singer from R&B vocal group The Dells. Harry Wayne "KC" Casey - American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his band, KC and the Sunshine Band, as a producer of several […]
