People And Biographies

Ray Charles (1930-2004), American pianist and singer, one of the most influential figures in the history of popular music. In the 1950s Charles—often called simply The Genius—fused gospel music with rhythm and blues (R&B) to pioneer a distinctive style that came to be known as soul music. He also recorded in and helped shape a [...]

I  INTRODUCTION
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), German composer, considered one of the greatest musicians of all time. Having begun his career as an outstanding improviser at the piano and composer of piano music, Beethoven went on to compose string quartets and other kinds of chamber music, songs, two masses, an opera, and nine symphonies. His [...]

Marvin Gaye (1939-1984), American singer and songwriter, a recording artist for Motown Records, and one of the most popular and influential singers of rhythm-and-blues music (R&B) in the 1960s and 1970s. His songs were notable for their brooding, introspective qualities.
Gaye was born in Washington, D.C., where he sang in church as a child. The [...]

Diana Ross, born in 1944, American popular singer, one of the most influential recording artists of the Motown era (1960s) and the disco period of rhythm-and-blues (R&B) music (late 1970s to early 1980s). Known for her seductive vocal style and glamorous appearance, Ross helped her vocal group the Supremes become one of the most successful [...]

Maria Callas (1923-1977), American-born Greek operatic soprano, the preeminent prima donna (lead female opera singer) of her day, and the first modern soprano to revive forgotten operas of the 19th-century bel canto repertoire. Callas revolutionized opera performances through her vocal and dramatic intensity, transforming what had traditionally been empty display pieces into serious drama. She [...]

Count Basie (1904-1984), American jazz pianist and bandleader, a leading musician of the swing era (1930s and early 1940s). Basie led one of the foremost jazz big bands, which featured a number of outstanding soloists and arrangers and became an enduring musical institution. The Basie band was famous for its rhythm section, composed of guitarist [...]

Frank Sinatra (1915-1998), Italian American singer and motion-picture actor, one of the most famous American entertainers of his generation.
Francis Albert Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, the only child of Italian immigrant parents. Though his parents wanted him to become an engineer, young Sinatra preferred athletics to academics and participated in a variety [...]

Bob Marley (1945-1981), Jamaican singer, guitarist, and songwriter, a pioneer of reggae music. Considered one of the greatest artists of the genre, he was the first reggae performer to achieve significant international stardom.
Robert Nesta Marley was born in Rhoden Hall, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. Marley was learning the welding trade in Kingston when he [...]

Elvis Presley (1935-1977), American singer and actor, one of the most popular and influential entertainers of the 20th century. Presley is renowned as an early pioneer of rock music, fusing the sounds of country music and rhythm-and-blues influences with what was then the new rock-and-roll style. His unprecedented, electrically charged performances also helped make Presley [...]