Long John (John William Baldry)
01/12/1941 - 07/21/2005
John "Long John" William Baldry was an English and Canadian blues singer and a voice actor. He sang with many British musicians, with Rod Stewart and Elton John appearing in bands led by Baldry in the 1960s.
05/03/1933 - 12/25/2006
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. Eventually referred to as "The Godfather of Soul",
Brown started singing in gospel groups and worked his way on up. He...
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07/03/1952 - 08/26/2004
Laura Ann Frances Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-cer...
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05/08/1911 - 08/16/1938
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) was an American blues singer and musician. His landmark recordings from 1936–1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced generat...
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02/21/1933 - 04/21/2003
Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), also known by her stage name Nina Simone, was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music.
Simone aspired to...
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04/22/1927 - 07/17/2005
Lorenzo Aitken (April 22, 1927 – July 17, 2005), better known as Laurel Aitken, was a singer and one of the originators of Jamaican ska music . He is often referred to as the "Godfather of ska
09/22/1929 - 12/26/2003
Hugh Cecil Bean, who died at the age of 74, was for more than half a century one of Britain's most distinguished and versatile violinists.
From recording with the bands of Geraldo and Billy Cotton, he went on to lead the Philharmonia Orche...
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Jim Marshall (James Charles Marshall)
07/29/1923 - 04/05/2012
James Charles "Jim" Marshall, OBE (July 29, 1923 – April 5, 2012), known as The Father of Loud or The Lord of Loud, was an English businessman, and pioneer of guitar amplification. His company, Marshall Amplification, has created k...
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05/21/1917 - 01/06/1993
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993 was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise
08/25/1918 - 10/14/1990
Leonard Bernstein (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim....
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Buddy Holly (Charles Hardin Holley)
09/07/1936 - 02/03/1959
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959) known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll. Although his success lasted only a year and a half before his death in a...
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02/13/1921 - 05/25/1955
Wardell Gray (1921–1955) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods. Today often overlooked, Gray's playing displays a unique style, an unmatched tone and a strong presence.
08/03/1946 - 07/06/2004
Syreeta Wright Muhammad (August 3, 1946 – July 6, 2004), who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was a Grammy-nominated American singer-songwriter most notably known for her work with Stevie Wonder...
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12/25/1893 - 04/29/1957
Belle Baker (25 December 1893, New York City, New York – 29 April 1957, Los Angeles, California) was an American singer and actress. Popular throughout the 1910s and 1920s, Baker introduced a number of ragtime and torch songs including Irvin...
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Art Blakey (Arthur Blakey)
10/11/1919 - 10/16/1990
Arthur "Art" Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990), known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader.