05/08/1911 - 08/16/1938
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) was an American blues singer and musician. His landmark recordings from 1936–1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced generat...
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05/21/1917 - 01/06/1993
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993 was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise
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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1949 - 09/09/2009
Michael John Galasso (1949, Hammond, Louisiana - September 9, 2009, Paris) was an American composer, violinist, and music director.
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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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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09/27/1909 - 03/15/1959
Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959),nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums.
08/20/1942 - 08/10/2008
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American songwriter, musician, singer, and occasionally an actor. Hayes was one of the creative geniuses behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he...
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08/19/1915 - 03/15/2007
Herman Stein (August 19, 1915 – March 15, 2007) was an American composer who wrote music for many of the 1950s science-fiction and horror films from Universal Studios
Elliot Smith (Steven Paul Smith)
08/08/1969 - 10/21/2003
Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided...
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01/09/1939 - 03/07/2009
Jimmy Boyd (January 9, 1939 – March 7, 2009) was an American singer, musician, and actor. He was best known for his recording of the novelty song "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Jeff Healey (Norman Jeffrey Healey)
03/25/1966 - 03/02/2008
Norman Jeffrey "Jeff" Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a blind Canadian jazz and blues-rock vocalist and guitarist who attained musical and personal popularity, particularly in the...
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08/10/1928 - 09/22/2010
Edwin John Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010), better known as Eddie Fisher, was an American singer and entertainer, who was one of the world's most famous and successful singers in the 1950s, selling millions of records and h...
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06/25/1925 - 12/12/1987
Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 - December 12, 1987), a Creole French-speaking native of Opelousas, Louisiana, was an eminent performer and recording artist of Zydeco, which arose from Cajun and Creole music, with R&B, jazz, and blues influence...
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Tommy Newsom (Thomas Penn Newsom)
02/25/1929 - 04/28/2007
Thomas Penn "Tommy" Newsom (February 25, 1929 – April 28, 2007) was a saxophone player in the NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, for which he later became assistant director.