R. KELLY

R. Kelly

Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Often referred to as the King of R&B, Kelly is recognized as one of the most successful R&B artists of all-time. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play. He is known for a collection of major hit singles including "Bump n' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", "I Believe I Can Fly", "Gotham City", "Ignition (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time", "The World's Greatest", "I'm a Flirt", and the hip-hopera "Trapped in the Closet". In 1998, Kelly won three Grammy Awards for "I Believe I Can Fly".

Kelly has written, produced, and remixed songs for many artists including The Winans, The Isley Brothers, Charlie Wilson, Quincy Jones, K-Ci & JoJo, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, Michael Jackson, Hi-Five, Nivea, Ciara, Mary J. Blige, Luther Vandross, Gerald LeVert, Raheem DeVaughn, Ruben Studdard, Jaheim, Kelly Price, Tamia, Maxwell, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Usher, B2K, Twista, Tyrese, Jennifer Lopez, Trey Songz, and others in the U.S. and abroad.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), has recognized R. Kelly as one of the best-selling music artists in the United States with 38.5 million albums sold as well as only the fifth Black artist to crack the top 50 of the same list. In March 2011, R. Kelly was named the most successful R&B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard. Kelly has released 10 studio albums, sold 38.5 million albums in the U.S., 15 million singles, and over 54 million albums worldwide making him the most successful R&B male artist of 1990s

Birth name: Robert Sylvester Kelly

Born: January 8, 1967 (age 45), Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Genres: R&B, soul, gospel, hip hop, neo soul, pop, hip hop soul

Occupations: Singer-songwriter, record producer, actor

Instruments: Vocals, piano, keyboard, guitar

Years active: 1989–present

Labels: Jive (1991–2011), RCA (2011–present)

Associated acts: Public Announcement, Ronald Isley, Jay-Z, Fat Joe, Aaliyah, Usher, Snoop Dogg, Ja Rule, Twista, Ashanti

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R.Kelly - Write Me Back 

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RAY CHARLES

Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004), 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 and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records. He also helped racially integrate country and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, most notably with his Modern Sounds albums. While with ABC, Charles became one of the first African-American musicians to be given artistic control by a mainstream record company. Frank Sinatra called Charles “the only true genius in show business.”

The influences upon his music were mainly jazz, blues, rhythm and blues and country artists of the day such as Art Tatum, Nat King Cole, Louis Jordan, Charles Brown, Louis Armstrong. His playing reflected influences from country blues and barrelhouse, and stride piano styles.

Rolling Stone ranked Charles number ten on their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" in 2004, and number two on their November 2008 list of "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In honoring Charles, Billy Joel noted: "This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley. I don't know if Ray was the architect of rock & roll, but he was certainly the first guy to do a lot of things . . . Who the hell ever put so many styles together and made it work?"

Birth name: Ray Charles Robinson

Born: September 23, 1930. Albany, Georgia, United States

Origin: Greenville, Florida, United States

Died: June 10, 2004 (aged 73), Beverly Hills, California, U.S.

Genres: Rhythm and blues, soul, blues, soul blues, rock and roll, jazz, vocal jazz, country, pop, gospel

Occupations: Composer, musician, arranger, bandleader

Instruments: Vocals, piano, keyboards, alto saxophone, trombone

Years active: 1947–2004

Labels: Atlantic, ABC, Warner Bros., Swing Time, Concord, Columbia, Flashback

Associated acts: The Raelettes

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Ray Charles Live At Montreux JAZZ FESTIVAL

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Ray Charles - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962) 

NINA SIMONE

 Nina Simone

Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), better known by her stage name Nina Simone (/ˈniːnə sɨˈmoʊn/), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music. Simone aspired to become a classical pianist while working in a broad range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop.

Born the sixth child of a preacher's family in North Carolina, Simone aspired to be a concert pianist as a child. Her musical path changed direction after she was denied a scholarship to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, despite a well-received audition. Simone was later told by someone working at Curtis that she was rejected because she was black. She then began playing in a small club in Philadelphia to fund her continuing musical education to become a classical pianist and was required to sing as well. She was approached for a recording by Bethlehem Records, and her rendition of "I Loves You Porgy" became a smash hit in the United States in 1958. Over the length of her career, Simone recorded more than 40 albums, mostly between 1958 — when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue — and 1974.

Her musical style arose from a fusion of gospel and pop songs with classical music, in particular with influences from her first inspiration, Johann Sebastian Bach, and accompanied with her expressive jazz-like singing in her characteristic low tenor. She injected as much of her classical background into her music as possible to give it more depth and quality, as she felt that pop music was inferior to classical. Her intuitive grasp on the audience-performer relationship was gained from a unique background of playing piano accompaniment for church revivals and sermons regularly from the early age of six years.

After 20 years of performing, she became involved in the civil rights movement and the direction of her life shifted once again. Simone's music was highly influential in the fight for equal rights in the US.

Birth name: Eunice Kathleen Waymon

Born: February 21, 1933. Tryon, North Carolina, United States

Died: April 21, 2003 (aged 70), Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Genres: Jazz, blues, R&B, folk, gospel

Occupations: Singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, activist

Years active: 1954–2003

Labels: Bethlehem, Colpix, Philips, RCA Victor, CTI, Legacy Recordings.

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Nina Simone - Live at Ronnie Scott's 1985 full concert

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NINA SIMONE the second album Side One

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KATY PERRY

Katy Perry

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Perry grew up with gospel music, and during her first year of high school she pursued a music career as Katy Hudson, releasing her first studio album called Katy Hudson which failed to chart. She recorded a solo album later, which was never released. After signing with Capitol Music Group in 2007, her fourth record label in seven years, she adopted the stage name Katy Perry.

She first gained recognition with the release of her first mainstream album, One of the Boys in 2008, which spawned three Billboard Hot 100 top-ten songs—"I Kissed A Girl", "Hot n Cold" and "Waking Up In Vegas". Perry supported the album with her Hello Katy Tour. In 2010, her third studio album, Teenage Dream (2010), which topped the Billboard 200 chart, and spawned five number one singles—"California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", "E.T." and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"—Teenage Dream was the only album (after Michael Jackson's Bad)—to do so, and the first female in history to achieve this milestone. She embarked on the California Dreams Tour, which grossed nearly $60 million worldwide. Perry re-released the album under the name of Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection on March 26, 2012, and the re-release has already spawned the number-one single "Part of Me".

Perry is the only artist to spend over 52 consecutive weeks in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, and has since heightened this to 69 weeks. As of 2012, Perry has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards. She was named 2011's "Artist of the Year" by MTV. She has sold 37.6 million digital tracks in the United States and 11 million albums worldwide. Perry was a guest judge on the seventh series of The X Factor UK and the ninth season of American Idol. She has released fragrances "Purr" and "Meow". She ventured into film, voicing Smurfette in the 2011 film The Smurfs. Perry was married to British comedian Russell Brand from 2010 to 2012.

Birth name: Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson

Also known as: Katy Hudson

Born: October 25, 1984 (age 27),Santa Barbara, California, U.S.

Genres: Pop, rock, dance, gospel

Occupations: Singer-songwriter, actress

Instruments: Vocals, guitar, piano

Years active: 2001–present

Labels: Red Hill, Island, Columbia, Capitol

Associated acts: The Matrix

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Rock In Rio 2011: Katy Perry. Live Full Concert 23/09/2011

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Katy Perry - Teenage Dream full album Part 1

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JOHNNY CASH

Johnny Cash

John R. "Johnny" Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003), was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Although he is primarily remembered as a country music artist, his songs and sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll—especially early in his career—as well as blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal led to Cash being inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Late in his career, Cash covered songs by several rock artists.

Cash was known for his deep, distinctive bass-baritone voice; for the "boom-chicka-boom" sound of his Tennessee Three backing band; for his rebelliousness, coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor; for providing free concerts inside prison walls; and for his dark performance clothing, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black". He traditionally started his concerts by saying, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." and usually following it up with his standard "Folsom Prison Blues."

Much of Cash's music, especially that of his later career, echoed themes of sorrow, moral tribulation and redemption. His signature songs include "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", "Get Rhythm" and "Man in Black". He also recorded humorous numbers, including "One Piece at a Time" and "A Boy Named Sue"; a duet with his future wife, June Carter, called "Jackson"; as well as railroad songs including "Hey, Porter" and "Rock Island Line".

Cash, a troubled but devout Christian, has been characterized as a "lens through which to view American contradictions and challenges." A Biblical scholar, he penned a Christian novel titled Man in White, and he made a spoken word recording of the entire New King James Version of the New Testament. Even so, Cash declared that he was "the biggest sinner of them all", and viewed himself overall as a complicated and contradictory man. Accordingly, Cash is said to have "contained multitudes", and has been deemed "the philosopher-prince of American country music".

 Birth name:John R. Cash

Born:February 26, 1932. Kingsland, Arkansas, United States

Origin: Kingsland, Arkansas, United States

Died:  September 12, 2003 (aged 71), Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Genres: Country, rock and roll, folk, americana, gospel, blues, rockabilly

Occupations: Singer-songwriter, musician, actor

Instruments: Vocals, guitar, harmonica, mandolin

Years active: 1955–2003

Labels: Sun, Columbia, Mercury, American, House of Cash, Legacy Recordings

Associated acts: The Tennessee Three, The Highwaymen, June Carter Cash, The Statler Brothers, The Carter Family, The Oak Ridge Boys, Area Code 615, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

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BOB DYLAN

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, and painter. He has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly reluctant figurehead of social unrest. A number of Dylan's early songs, such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'", became anthems for the US civil rights and anti-war movements. Leaving his initial base in the culture of folk music behind, Dylan revolutionized perceptions of the limits of popular music in 1965 with the six-minute single "Like a Rolling Stone". However, his recordings employing electric instruments attracted denunciation and criticism from others in the folk movement.

Dylan's lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social, philosophical, and literary influences. They defied existing pop music conventions and appealed hugely to the then burgeoning counterculture. Initially inspired by the songs of Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, and Hank Williams, as well as the music and performance styles of Buddy Holly and Little Richard, Dylan has both amplified and personalized musical genres. His recording career, spanning fifty years, has explored numerous distinct traditions in American song—from folk, blues and country to gospel, rock and roll, and rockabilly to English, Scottish, and Irish folk music, embracing even jazz and swing.

Dylan performs with guitar, keyboards, and harmonica. Backed by a changing line-up of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s on what has been dubbed the Never Ending Tour. His accomplishments as a recording artist and performer have been central to his career, but his greatest contribution is generally considered to be his songwriting.

Since 1994, Dylan has published three books of drawings and paintings, and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries. As a songwriter and musician, Dylan has received numerous awards over the years including Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Awards; he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2005, the street on which Dylan grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota, was formally re-named Bob Dylan Drive. In 2008, a road called the Bob Dylan Pathway was opened in the singer's honor in his birthplace of Duluth, Minnesota. The Pulitzer Prize jury in 2008 awarded him a special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

Birth name: Robert Allen Zimmerman

Also known as: Robert Dylan, Rob Dylan, Elston Gunnn, Blind Boy Grunt, Bob Landy, Robert Milkwood Thomas, Tedham Porterhouse, Lucky/Boo Wilbury, Jack Frost, Sergei Petrov

Born: May 24, 1941 (age 70),Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.

Origin: Hibbing, Minnesota, U.S.

Genres: Rock, folk, folk rock, blues, country, gospel, country rock

Occupations: Musician, singer-songwriter, producer, visual artist, poet, writer, director, screenwriter

Instruments: Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, keyboards, harmonica

Years active: 1959–present

Labels: Columbia, Asylum

Associated acts: Joan Baez, The Band, The Byrds, Grateful Dead, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Traveling Wilburys.

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