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 in each […]
Arthur Conley - American soul singer, best known for the 1967 hit "Sweet Soul Music". Vanity - Canadian singer, songwriter, model, and actress. Known for her image as a sex symbol in the 1980s, she became an evangelist and renounced her career as Vanity in the 1990s.
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. His biggest hits were his versions of "Release Me" and "Reconsider Me" in the late 1960s. Wilbert Harrison - American rhythm and blues singer, pianist, guitarist and […]
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. She was also one of the four female back up singers on The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. Shirley Brown - American R&B […]
Kenny Loggins - American musician, singer and songwriter. 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.
Daryl I. Cameron -Â American musician and singer. Fayette Pinkney - American singer and one of the original members of musical group The Three Degrees. Donald Fagen - American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. […]
Mary J. Blige - American singer, songwriter and actress. 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 certifications. Lee Ritenour - American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Rahsaan Patterson - American singer […]
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. He was also an original member of both The Spinners and The Voice Masters.
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 - American blues and soul singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. His most successful […]
Cedar Walton - American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and composer. Eartha Kitt - American singer, actress, comedian, dancer, and activist known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of […]
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 - Â American […]
Booker Newbury III - 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 […]
William "Will" Powell - American singer and founding member of 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". Starr was born in Nashville and raised in Ohio, and later lived in Detroit while singing for Ric-Tic and Motown Records. Richie Havens - American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music […]
Aaron Neville - American R&B and soul vocalist, musician and actor. 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. "Tell It Like It Is", 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 […]
Anita Baker - American singer-songwriter. She is one of the most popular singers of soulful ballads during the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s. Starting her career in the late 1970s with the funk band Chapter 8, Baker released her first solo album, The Songstress, in 1983. Jazzie B - British DJ […]
Bobby Blue Bland - American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. L.J. Reynolds - American singer/songwriter lead singer of R&B group, The Dramatics. Bobby Hutcherson - American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note album Components, is one of his best-known […]
Chuck Willis - American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter. His biggest hits, "C. C. Rider" and "What Am I Living For", both reached No.1 on the Billboard R&B chart. He was known as The King of the Stroll for his performance of the 1950s dance the stroll. Marvin Junior […]
Rick James - American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in his teen years. Sadao Watanabe - Japanese jazz musician who plays alto saxophone, sopranino saxophone, and flute. He is known for his bossa nova recordings, although his work encompasses many styles, with collaborations […]
Sonny Stitt - American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Alphonso Jonhnson - American jazz bassist active since the early 1970s. Stan Getz - American jazz saxophonist. Al Mackey - American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He is a former member of The Watts 103rd Rhythm Street Band and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Dennis Edwards - American soul and R&B singer who was best known as the frontman in The Temptations, on Motown Records. John Handy - American jazz musician most commonly associated with the alto saxophone. Johnny Bristol - American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s […]
Kae Williams - American DJ, record label owner and producer. Florence LaRue - Â American singer and actress, best known as an original member of the 5th Dimension.
