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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03/13/1942 - 12/03/1999
John Paul Larkin (March 13, 1942 – December 3, 1999), better known by his stage name Scatman John, was an American jazz musician and singer who created a fusion of scat singing and dance music, best known for his 1994 hit "Scatman (Ski-...
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1949 - 09/09/2009
Michael John Galasso (1949, Hammond, Louisiana - September 9, 2009, Paris) was an American composer, violinist, and music director.
Jackie Wilson (Jack Leroy Wilson)
06/09/1934 - 01/21/1984
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement". He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in...
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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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02/27/1923 - 04/25/1990
Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor (Round Midnight, Warner Bros, 1986). He is regarded as one of the first and most importan...
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05/03/1933 - 12/25/2006
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. Eventually referred to as "The Godfather of Soul",
Brown started singing in gospel groups and worked his way on up. He...
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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.
04/25/1960 - 02/02/2002
Paul Baloff (April 25, 1960–February 2, 2002) was an American singer, most notable for his time in thrash metal band Exodus.
Paul was one of the founding members of Exodus in 1981, singing on their 1982 Demo and their first official albu...
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04/23/1936 - 12/06/1988
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer-songwriter and musician, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. His greatest success came with Monument...
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01/15/1909 - 05/16/1973
Gene Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an influential American jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.
02/07/1864 - 08/03/1933
Arthur Francis Collins (February 7, 1864 – August 3, 1933) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was an American singer who recorded a significant number of early records. With tenor singer Byron G. Harlan, Collins recorded the first song...
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Patsy Cline (Virginia Patterson Hensley)
09/08/1932 - 03/05/1963
Patsy Cline (September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963), born Virginia Patterson Hensley, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s. Since her death in 1963...
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Bill Evans (William John Evans)
09/16/1929 - 10/15/1980
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans (August 16, 1929–September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmica...
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04/22/1922 - 01/05/1979
Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.