Don Cornelius - American television show host and producer who was best known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance and music show Soul Train, which he hosted from 1971 until 1993. Cornelius sold the show to MadVision Entertainment in 2008. Allan Barnes -  American jazz musician, based in Detroit for the majority of […]

Ben E. King - American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by me" a US Top 10 hit. Keni Burke - American singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist who began his career with four siblings in the 1970s band the Five Stairsteps. Sean […]

Jean Luc Ponty - French jazz violinist and composer. Tommy Tate - American soul singer and songwriter, who had three hits on the R&B chart in the 1970s.

Donny Hathaway - American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom Rolling Stone described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include "The Ghetto", "This Christmas", "Someday We'll All Be Free", and "Little Ghetto Boy". Howard Hewett - Grammy Award-winning American singer–songwriter. Hewett rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the Grammy winning […]

Walter Bishop Jr. - American jazz pianist. Nona Hendrix - American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, author, and actress. Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady Marmalade." Her music has ranged from soul, funk, and R&B […]

Arlene Smith - American singer and former lead singer of The Chantels. Darondo - American soul singer from the San Francisco Bay Area. Richard Street - American soul and R&B singer, most notable as a member of Motown vocal group The Temptations from 1971 to 1993.

Thomas McClary - American musician, guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer best known as the founder and lead guitarist of The Commodores. McClary is credited with having created the signature sound of The Commodores' original music.

Toni Braxton - American singer, songwriter, pianist, actress, and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female R&B artists in history. Larry Young - American jazz organist and occasional pianist. Young's early work was strongly influenced by the soul jazz of Jimmy Smith, but he later […]

Joshie Jo Armstead - American soul singer and songwriter. Armstead began her career singing backing vocals for blues musician Bobby "Blue" Bland before becoming an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the early 1960s. Robert "Kool" Bell - American musician, singer and songwriter. He is one of the founding members of the […]

Billy Higgins - American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Lester Bowie - American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and co-founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.  

Nappy Brown - American R&B singer. His hits include the 1955 Billboard chart No. 2 "Don't Be Angry", "Little By Little", and "Night Time Is the Right Time". Sam Moore - American vocalist who was a member of the soul and R&B group Sam & Dave from 1961 to 1981. He is a member of […]

Shirley Caesar - American gospel singer, songwriter and recording artist whose career has spanned seven decades. Dorothy Moore - American blues, gospel, and R&B singer best known for her 1976 hit song, "Misty Blue". Pharaoh Sanders - American jazz saxophonist. A member of John Coltrane's groups of the mid-1960s, Sanders is known for his overblowing, […]

Karyn White - American singer who was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She is known for several hit singles including "Superwoman", "Love Saw It", "Secret Rendezvous", "The Way You Love Me", and the US Hot 100 No. 1 single "Romantic". Robert Parker - American R&B singer and musician, best known for his […]

Tito Jackson - American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Jackson was an original member of The Jackson 5, who rose to fame in the late 1960s and 1970s with the Motown label, and later had continued success with the group on the Epic label in the late 1970s and 1980s. Marv Johnson - American R&B singer, songwriter […]

Laura Nyro - American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession and New York Tendaberry, and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and the 5th Dimension recording her songs. Wynton Marsalis - American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director […]

Wilbert Hart - American soul singer, songwriter, and producer, best known as a founding member of the musical group The Delfonics. George McCrae - American soul and disco singer, most famous for his 1974 hit "Rock Your Baby". Jennifer Holiday - American singer and actress. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as […]

Eddie Harris - American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-known compositions are "Freedom Jazz Dance", popularized by Miles Davis in 1966, and "Listen Here." David Mancuso - American disc jockey who created the popular […]

Steve Cropper - American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas and Johnnie Taylor. Dizzy Gillespie - American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a […]

Bobby Fuller - American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for "Let Her Dance" and his cover of the Crickets' "I Fought the Law", recorded with his group The Bobby Fuller Four. Curtis Womack - American rhythm and blues vocalist.

Speech Hoopla - American rapper. Don Davis - American composer, conductor, orchestrator and trombonist known for his film and television scores. He has also composed opera, concert and chamber music. Bert Reid - American saxophonist, singer, songwriter and producer.  

Bootsy Collins - American musician, singer and songwriter. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins's driving basslines and humorous vocals established him as one of the leading names in funk. Eddie Henderson - American jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player. He came to prominence in the early 1970s […]

Weldon Irvine - American composer, playwright, poet, pianist, organist, and keyboardist.  

Cleo Laine - English jazz and pop singer and an actress, known for her scat singing and for her vocal range. Though her natural range is that of a contralto, she is able to produce a G above high C, giving her an overall compass of well over three octaves.

King Errisson - American solo artist and composer Melba Moore - American singer, and actress. Randy Jackson - American singer-songwriter, musician, and dancer. Randy is best known as a former member of his family band the Jacksons. Randy is the youngest Jackson brother and the second-youngest Jackson sibling before his sister Janet Jackson. He is […]