02/27/1897 - 04/08/1993
Marian Anderson was an American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century.An African-American, Anderson became an important figure in the struggle for black artists to overcome racial prejudice in the Unit...
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07/22/1941 - 02/11/2009
Estelle Bennett (July 22, 1941 – February 11, 2009) was a member of the girl group The Ronettes, along with her sister Ronnie Spector (the 'Ronnie' of the band's name) and cousin Nedra Talley.
08/13/1951 - 12/16/2007
Daniel Grayling "Dan" Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American singer-songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, whose music was inspired by sources as diverse as folk, pop, rock, classical, jazz, and b...
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09/26/1898 - 07/11/1937
George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known. Among his best known works are...
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11/21/1904 - 05/19/1969
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, ...
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Woody Guthrie (Woodrow Wilson Guthrie)
07/14/1912 - 10/03/1967
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie (July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ball...
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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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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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09/23/1930 - 06/10/2004
Ray Charles Robinson, better known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm & blues,gospel, and blues styles...
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10/02/1938 - 04/17/1960
Eddie Cochran (October 2, 1938 – April 17, 1960), was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C...
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10/23/1949 - 07/09/2011
Michael Burston (23 October 1949 – 9 July 2011) commonly known by the stage name Würzel, was an English musician and formerly a guitarist in the British heavy metal band, Motörhead.
Stevie Vaughan (Stephen Ray Vaughan)
10/03/1954 - 08/27/1990
Stephen "Stevie" Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was one of the most influential American guitarists of the late 20th century.
Vaughan was an important figure in Texas blues, a loud, swing-driven fusion of blues...
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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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Elvis Presley (Elvis Aaron Presley)
01/08/1935 - 08/16/1977
Elvis Aaron Presley began his career as first performer of rockabilly, an up-tempo fusion of country and rhythm and blues with a strong back beat. Presley had a versatile voice and had unusually wide success encompassing other genres, including go...
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04/25/1917 - 06/15/1996
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996), also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist. With a vocal range spanning three octaves (Db3 to Db6), she was noted...
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