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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Duke Ellington (Edward Kennedy Ellington)
04/29/1899 - 05/24/1974
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (born April 29, 1899, Washington, D.C., U.S.—died May 24, 1974, New York, N.Y.) American pianist who was the greatest jazz composer and bandleader. One of the originators of big-band jazz, Elli...
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09/23/1926 - 07/17/1967
John William Coltrane (sometimes abbreviated "Trane"; September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was prolific, organizing at least fifty recording sessions as a leader during his reco...
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Teena Marie (Mary Christine Brockert)
03/05/1956 - 12/26/2010
Mary Christine Brockert, better known by her stage name Teena Marie, (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter and producer. She was known as Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie; she later acquired the...
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03/20/1937 - 09/01/2008
Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country music singer, innovative guitarist, songwriter, and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films.His song "When You...
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Sammy Kaye (Samuel Zarnocay)
03/13/1910 - 06/02/1987
Sammy Kaye (March 13, 1910–June 2, 1987), born Samuel Zarnocay, Jr., was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the...
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12/17/1942 - 05/04/1987
Paul Butterfield (17 December 1942 – 4 May 1987) was an American blues vocalist and harmonica player, who founded the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the early 1960s and performed at the original Woodstock Festival.
01/27/1885 - 11/11/1945
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove...
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05/21/1972 - 03/09/1997
Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997) was an American rapper. He was popularly known as Biggie Smalls (after a character in the 1975 film Let's Do It Again), Big Poppa, Frank White (after the main character of...
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Jim Morrison (James Douglas Morrison)
12/08/1943 - 07/03/1971
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was the lead singer and lyricist of American band The Doors. Morrison was ranked number 47 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Singers of All Time...
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09/28/1928 - 06/03/2009
Koko Taylor sometimes spelled KoKo Taylor (September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American blues musician, popularly known as the "Queen of the Blues." She was known primarily for her rough, powerful vocals and traditional blues...
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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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05/23/1910 - 12/30/2004
Arthur Jacob Arshawsky (May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004), better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writ...
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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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