08/04/1901 - 07/06/1971
Louis Daniel Armstrong nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana.
Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an "inventive" cornet an...
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06/03/1906 - 04/12/1975
Josephine Baker (June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress. Nicknamed the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and even the "Créole Goddess" in anglophone nation...
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Sandy Courage (Alexander Mair Courage)
12/10/1919 - 05/15/2008
Alexander "Sandy" Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919 –May 15, 2008) was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film.
01/31/1921 - 10/07/1959
Mario Lanza (January 31, 1921 - October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s.The son of Italian immigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 15.
08/22/1917 - 06/21/2001
John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist, born near Clarksdale, Mississippi. Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing...
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Jimi Hendrix (James Marshall Hendrix)
11/27/1942 - 09/18/1970
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix, November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is widely considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in musical histo...
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06/14/1936 - 07/01/2005
Renaldo "Obie" Benson (June 14, 1936 – July 1, 2005) was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was best known as the bass of Motown group the Four Tops, which he joined in 1953 and continued to perform with for ove...
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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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05/13/1926 - 07/02/2002
Raymond Matthews Brown (October 13, 1926 – July 2, 2002) was an American jazz double bassist.
12/28/1903 - 04/22/1983
Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983) was "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz
01/30/1928 - 11/17/2006
Ruth Brown (January 30, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, composer and actress noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music...
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Freddie Hubbard (Frederick Dewayne Hubbard)
04/07/1938 - 12/29/2008
Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008)was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from...
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09/09/1941 - 12/10/1967
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American soul singer. Often called the "King of Soul", he is renowned for an ability to convey strong emotion through his voice.
Redding's...
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05/27/1971 - 04/25/2002
Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper, singer, dancer, and songwriter, best known as a member of the R&B girl group TLC.
Lopes contributed her self-written...
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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.