06/28/1902 - 12/30/1979
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partner...
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10/10/1926 - 05/29/2005
Oscar Brown, Jr (October 10, 1926 – May 29, 2005) was not a man easily defined. He was known as songwriter, composer, actor, singer, director, producer and playwright. He was also an activist, a visionary, and a social commentator...
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Benny Goodman (Benjamin David Goodman)
05/30/1909 - 06/13/1986
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing
11/05/1931 - 12/12/2007
Ike Wister Turner (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer.
04/04/1913 - 04/04/1983
McKinley Morganfield, known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the Father of modern Chicago blues. A major inspiration for the British blues explosion in the 1960s, Muddy was ranked #17...
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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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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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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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08/10/1928 - 06/13/2010
Jimmy Ray Dean (August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010) was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. Although he may be best known today as the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand, he became a national televisio...
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Guy Lombardo (Gaetano Alberto Lombardo)
06/19/1902 - 11/05/1977
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.
Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and oth...
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10/20/1874 - 05/19/1954
Charles Edward Ives (October 20, 1874 – May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer. He is widely regarded as one of the first American composers of international renown. Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of...
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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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Teddy Pendergrass (Theodore DeReese Pendergrass)
08/17/1950 - 01/13/2010
Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass (August 17, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American R&B/soul singer and songwriter. Pendergrass first rose to fame as lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue No...
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04/13/1919 - 11/07/2004
Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919 – November 7, 2004), known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer. He starred in many film musicals of the 1950s. He is best known to...
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06/03/1941 - 12/26/1999
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation ...
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