Ella Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald, Ella, 1917–96, American jazz singer, b. Newport News, Va. Probably the most celebrated jazz vocalist of her generation, Fitzgerald was reared in Yonkers, N.Y., moving after her mother’s death (1932) to Harlem, where two years later she won an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater. Thereafter she performed with Chick Webb’s band. After he died in 1939 she managed the band herself until 1942, when she began to make solo appearances in supper clubs and theaters. Principally a jazz and blues singer of remarkably sweet and effortless style, Fitzgerald was noted for her sophisticated interpretation of songs by George Gershwin and Cole Porter and for her scat singing, an extremely inventive form of vocal jazz improvisation.

Fitzgerald, whose superb voice, wide repertoire, and accessible singing style appealed to both jazz and pop audiences, scored her first recording hit with “A-Tisket A-Tasket” (1938) and went on to become a perennially popular artist with such performances as the million-selling “I’m Making Believe” (1944, with the Ink Spots), the historic scat “Flying Home” (1945), the be-bop “Lady Be Good” (1947), and many hundreds more. She also wrote a number of songs and made numerous concert tours of the United States, Europe, and Asia. She appeared in several films, including Pete Kelly’s Blues (1955) and St. Louis Blues (1958). Despite ill health, Fitzgerald continued performing into the early 1990’s.

Etta James

Etta James is a Grammy Award-winning singer known for hit songs like “I’d Rather Go Blind” and “At Last.”

Born in Los Angeles, California, on January 25, 1938, Etta James was a gospel prodigy. In 1954, she moved to Los Angeles to record “The Wallflower.” Her career had begun to soar by 1960, due in no small part to songs like “I’d Rather Go Blind” and “At Last.” Despite her continued drug problems, she earned a Grammy Award nomination for her 1973 eponymous album. In 2006, she released the album All the Way. James died in Riverside, California, on January 20, 2012, and continues to be is considered one of the most dynamic singers in music.

Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938, in Los Angeles, California, to a 14-year-old mother, Dorothy Hawkins, who encouraged her daughter’s singing career. James would later say, “My mother always told me, even if a song has been done a thousand times, you can still bring something of your own to it. I’d like to think I did that.” James never knew her father.By the age of 5, James was known as a gospel prodigy, gaining fame by singing in her church choir and on the radio. At age 12, she moved north to San Francisco, where she formed a trio and was soon working for bandleader Johnny Otis. Four years later, in 1954, she moved to Los Angeles to record “The Wallflower” (a tamer title for the then-risqué “Roll with Me Henry”) with the Otis band. It was that year that the young singer became Etta James (an shortened version of her first name) and her vocal group was dubbed “the Peaches” (also Etta’s nickname). Soon after, James launched her solo career with such hits as “Good Rockin’ Daddy” in 1955.

After signing with Chicago’s Chess Records in 1960, James’s career began to soar. Chart toppers included duets with then-boyfriend Harvey Fuqua, the heart-breaking ballad “All I Could Do Was Cry,” “At Last” and “Trust in Me.” But James’s talents weren’t reserved for powerful ballads. She knew how to rock a house, and did so with such gospel-charged tunes as “Something’s Got a Hold On Me” in 1962, “In The Basement” in 1966 and “I’d Rather Go Blind” in 1968.James continued to work with Chess throughout the 1960s and early ’70s. Sadly, heroin addiction affected both her personal and professional life, but despite her continued drug problems she persisted in making new albums. In 1967, James recorded with the Muscle Shoals house band in the Fame studios, and the collaboration resulted in the triumphant Tell Mama album.

James’s work gained positive attention from critics as well as fans, and her 1973 album Etta James earned a Grammy nomination, in part for its creative combination of rock and funk sounds. After completing her contract with Chess in 1977, James signed on with Warner Brothers Records. A renewed public profile followed her appearance at the opening ceremony of the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. Subsequent albums, including Deep In The Nightand Seven Year Itch, received high critical acclaim.

Etta James was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993, prior to her signing a new recording contract with Private Records.

Lena Horne

She began performing at age six, and by 16 was singing and dancing at Harlem’s Cotton Club, where she became an acolyte of Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington. She performed with Noble Sissle’s Orchestra and Teddy Wilson’s big band.

Horne’s movie career began in 1938, when she appeared in The Duke Is Tops. She won critical acclaim for her performance in Stormy Weather (1943), and for singing the movie’s title song. Although she was the first African-American woman to sign a long-term movie contract with a major studio (MGM), Horne’s films were shot so that her scenes could be cut out before been shown in the South.

An outspoken foe of discrimination, Horne was blacklisted in the 1950s for condemning racism, as well as for her association with Paul Robeson, a performer with Communist ties.

Her recordings include More Than You Know (1946), Lena Horne Sings Your Requests (1963), and An Evening with Lena Horne (1994). She was a 1984 Kennedy Center honoree.

Sarah Vaughan

Jazz vocalist Sarah Vaughan performed with big bands before becoming a solo artist. She is known for singing "Send in the Clowns" and "Broken-Hearted Melody."

QUOTES
“I don't think I ever modeled myself after a singer. I've more or less copied the styles of horn-tooters right from the start.”
—Sarah Vaughan

Synopsis

Born on March 27, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey, Sarah Vaughan grew up with a love of music and performing. Winning a talent competition held at Harlem's Apollo Theater launched her singing career. She worked with bandleaders Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine before becoming a successful solo performer who commingled pop and jazz. At age 66, Vaughan died in Hidden Hills, California, on April 3, 1990.

Early Life

Sarah Lois Vaughan was born in Newark, New Jersey, on March 27, 1924. Outside of their regular jobs—as a carpenter and as a laundress—her parents were also musicians. Growing up in Newark, a young Sarah Vaughan studied the piano and organ, and her voice could be heard as a soloist at Mount Zion Baptist Church.

Vaughan's first step toward becoming a professional singer was taken at a talent contest held at Harlem's Apollo Theater, where many African-American music legends made their name. After being dared to enter, she won the 1942 competition with her rendition of "Body and Soul." She also caught the attention of another vocalist, Billy Eckstine, who persuaded Earl Hines to hire Vaughan to sing with his orchestra.

Singing Success

In 1944, Vaughan left Hines to join Eckstine's new band. Also working with Eckstine were trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and saxophonist Charlie Parker, who introduced the group to a new form of jazz, known as bebop. An inspired Vaughan brought bebop into her singing, which can be heard in the 1945 recording of "Lover Man" that she made with Parker and Gillespie.

After performing with Eckstine's orchestra for a year, Vaughan briefly worked with John Kirby before leaving big bands behind to become a solo artist (though she often reunited with Eckstine for duets). Having already been given the nickname "Sassy" as a commentary on her onstage style, it was while striking out on her own that she was dubbed "The Divine One" by a DJ in Chicago. In the late 1940s, her popular recordings included "If You Could See Me Now" and "It's Magic."

The next decade saw Vaughan produce more pop music, though when she joined Mercury Records she also recorded jazz numbers on a subsidiary label, EmArcy. She sang hits like "Whatever Lola Wants" (1955), "Misty" (1957) and "Broken-Hearted Melody" (1959), which sold more than a million copies. Vaughan gave concerts in the United States and Europe, and her singing was also heard in films such as Disc Jockey (1951) and Basin Street Revue (1956).

Later Career

After the 1950s, shifting musical tastes meant that Vaughan no longer produced huge hits. However, she remained a popular performer, particularly when she sang live. In front of an audience, her emotional, vibrato-rich delivery, three-octave vocal range and captivating scat technique were even more appealing. Though her voice took on a deeper pitch as Vaughan got older—likely due in part her smoking habit—this didn't impact the quality of her singing, as could be heard on "Send in the Clowns," a staple in her repertoire.

Vaughan's later recordings include interpretations of Beatles songs and Brazilian music. Over the years, she collaborated with people like producer Quincy Jones, pianist Oscar Peterson and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. Vaughan won her first Grammy thanks to her work with Thomas and the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Gershwin Live! (1982).

Legacy

Vaughan's final concert was given at New York's Blue Note Club in 1989. She passed away from lung cancer on April 3, 1990, at age 66, in Hidden Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles, California. Married and divorced four times, she was survived by her adopted daughter.

Throughout her career, Vaughan was recognized as a supremely gifted singer and performer. She was invited to perform at the White House and at venues like Carnegie Hall, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 1989 and was selected to join the Jazz Hall of Fame in 1990. She also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Billie Jo Spears

Billie Jo Spears landed a few big country hits during the '70s, thanks to a sultry, bluesy voice that made her a perfect torch balladeer; while she never quite edged her way into stardom in the U.S., she earned a devoted following in Great Britain and toured there frequently.

Spears was born in Beaumont, TX, in 1937 and made her professional debut at age 13 in an all-star country concert in Houston; not long after, she recorded the single "Too Old for Toys, Too Young for Boys" as Billie Joe Moore for Abbott Records.

After high school, she sang in nightclubs and looked for a record deal, recording some demos with producer Pete Drake. She got a contract with United Artists in 1964 and moved to Nashville, where she worked with producer Kelso Herston.

Her initial singles fared poorly, and when Herstonmoved to Capitol two years later, Spears followed. Success continued to elude her until 1969, when "Mr. Walker, It's All Over" climbed into the country Top Five.

She charted several more times through 1972 but was forced to have surgery on her vocal cords twice over the next two years in order to remove nodules and polyps that could have robbed her of her voice entirely.

Spears made a full recovery, however, and returned to United Artists in 1975. She scored her first number one hit with the sensual "Blanket on the Ground" that year, and two of her 1976 singles -- "Misty Blue" and "What I've Got in Mind" -- reached the Top Five. She had several other minor hits that year and also cut an album of duets with Del Reeves. "If You Want Me" made the Top Ten in 1977, the last time Spears would visit that territory; several more singles reached the Top 20 by decade's end, but songs like "'57 Chevrolet" and "Lonely Hearts Club" were much bigger hits in Britain, and Spearsbegan to devote more of her touring attention to the overseas market.

Her last Top 20 single was 1981's "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad," after which she and United Artists parted ways. Spearsrecorded sporadically for independent labels, usually based in the U.K. or Ireland, during the '80s and early '90s. She recovered from triple bypass surgery in 1993 and continued to tour, traveling regularly to the U.K. to perform for a still-affectionate fan base.

June Christy

Though she was the epitome of the vocal cool movement of the 1950s, June Christy was a warm, chipper vocalist able to stretch out her impressive voice on bouncy swing tunes and set herself apart from other vocalists with her deceptively simple enunciation. From her time in Stan Kenton's Orchestra, she inherited a focus on brassy swing from arranger friends like Pete Rugolo. Rugolo would become a consistent companion far into her solo days, too, arranging most of her LPs and balancing her gymnastic vocal abilities with a series of attentive charts.

Born Shirley Luster in Springfield, IL, she began singing early on and appeared with a local society band during high school. She moved to Chicago in the early '40s, changed her name to Sharon Leslie, and sang with a group led by Boyd Raeburn. In 1945, after hearing that Anita O'Day had just left Stan Kenton's Orchestra, she auditioned for the role and got it early that year. Despite an early resemblance (physically and vocally) to O'Day, the singer -- renamed June Christy -- soon found her own style: a warm, chipper voice that stretched out beautifully and enlivened Kenton's crossover novelties ("Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy," the million-selling "Tampico") as well as the leader's intricately arranged standards ("How High the Moon"). As she became more and more popular within the Kentonband, arranger Pete Rugolo began writing charts with her style especially in mind. After the Kentonorchestra broke up in 1948, Christy worked the nightclub circuit for awhile before reuniting withKenton for his 1950 Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra, a very modern 40-piece group that toured America. She had already debuted as a solo act the year before, recording for Capitol with a group led by her husband, Kenton tenor saxophonist Bob Cooper.

Christy's debut LP for Capitol, 1954's Something Cool, was recorded with Rugolo at the head of the orchestra. The album launched the vocal cool movement and hit the Top 20 album charts in America, as did a follow-up, The Misty Miss Christy. Her 1955 Duet LP paired her voice with Kenton's piano, while most of her Capitol LPs featured her with variousKenton personnel and Rugolo (or Bob Cooper) at the head of the orchestra. She reprised her earlier big-band days with 1959's June Christy Recalls Those Kenton Days, and recorded a raft of concept LPs before retiring in 1965. Christyreturned to the studio only once, for 1977's Impromptu on Musicraft.

Mary Ann McCall

Mary Ann McCall was a fine singer who started out singing middle-of-the-road pop, yet grew as a well-respected jazz singer during her episodic career. She began as a singer and dancer with Buddy Morrow's Orchestra in her native Philadelphia and was with Tommy Dorsey briefly in 1938.

McCall had her first stint with Woody Herman in 1939 and she was Charlie Barnet's vocalist during a period of time (1939-40) when his band was attracting attention. McCall then dropped out of music, but when she returned it was for a high-profile position with Woody Herman's First Herd in 1946 and Second Herd from 1947-50.

McCall was married to Al Cohn for a time, had a solo career and sang with Charlie Ventura from 1954-55. She gradually faded away from the scene, singing in Detroit from 1958-60 and then moving to Los Angeles where she was active on a part-time basis.

McCall re-emerged to sing and record with Jake Hanna in 1976 and Nat Pierce in 1978, still sounding close to prime form. As a leader,McCall recorded four songs for Columbia in 1947, six for Discovery in 1948, four for Roost in 1950; she recorded albums for Regent in 1956, Jubilee in 1958 and Coral in 1959.

Irene Kral

Irene Kral (January 18, 1932 – August 15, 1978) was an American jazz singer who was born to Czechoslovakian parents in Chicago, Illinois and settled in Los Angeles in the early 1960s. She died from breast cancer in Encino, California.

Kral's older brother, Roy Kral, was developing his own career as a musician when she began to sing professionally as a teenager. She sang with bands on tours led by Woody Herman and Chubby Jackson, the Herman's bass player. She joined Maynard Ferguson's band in the late 1950s and sang with groups led by Stan Kenton, Terry Gibbs, and Shelly Manne. She had a solo career until her death at 46 years of age. She was a ballad singer who said Carmen McRae was one of her inspirations. She became better known posthumously when Clint Eastwood used her recordings in his 1995 movie The Bridges of Madison County.

Her style has been compared to that of Carmen McRae (the two singers were friends). Dana Countryman quotes from Linda Dahl's 1984 book on women in jazz, Stormy Weather: "Irene Kral had a lovely, resonant voice with a discreet vibrato, flawless diction and intonation, and a slight, attractive nasality and shaping of phrases that resembled Carmen McRae's. But where McRae's readings tend to the astringent, Kral's melt like butter. She was a master of quiet understatement and good taste."

Margaret Little

Margaret Little was born in Detroit on August 7th 1945. She was the oldest of 3 children. Her parents divorced when she was very young and her father, a member of the Four Kings who recorded for Fortune Records, was absent for most of her formative years.

Her early years were no different to her peers; she attended Central High School in Detroit. Her first son was born in 1961; Margaret was only 16 years old and had to drop out of school for a year. She graduated, aged 19, in 1964.

She moved to Flint in 1965 but only stayed for a year or so before returning to Detroit in 1966.

Margaret had always been surrounded by music but had no great aspirations to make it her career. One day she was overheard singing along to some records by a guy she knew called Bobby. He asked her to do something a capella and impressed with what he heard persuaded to audition for Motown.

Bobby was friendly with some of the artists and promoters at Motown and soon arranged an audition that took place at the Graystone Ballroom. The details of what songs she sang, which Bobby chose for her, or who was there are long forgotten. She was told that vocally she wasn’t what that were looking for and was “a little plain” in the looks department. Downhearted but no defeated she returned home.

Soon after Margaret was introduced to ‘Gene’, who lived in the 6 mile area, by Bobby, she thinks they might have been relatives of some sort. Gene, who was older then her, was keen to do something with her music wise so took her to meet Richard ‘Popcorn’ Wylie. She cannot recall how they knew each other, he might have been Popcorn’s barber, but when she first met Gene he didn’t seem to have a job and she was never clear about what his normal occupation was.

She recalls meeting Popcorn on two occasions. At the first meeting Popcorn gave her the sheet music and lyrics for the two tracks he thought she should record. As Margaret couldn’t read music Popcorn ran through the songs with her and showed her how it wanted them to go. After some practice she went back, on her own, to a house on the West side that had a recording studio set up in the basement. After some further rehearsal Margaret put her vocals on the band tracks that had already been recorded. As she recalls Popcorn and her were the only people present for the majority of the night. At one point some girls dropped in to add some backing vocals but they were not there for too long.

After the session she went home and waited for Gene to let her know what would happen next. Margaret had no details of what the business arrangement between Gene and Popcorn was or any clear idea about what Gene was planning to do to launch her career.

Margaret heard nothing from Gene for a few weeks so decided to visit him. Gene had already pressed the records up and agreed to give her one copy from the stock that he had. He said he’d be in touch.

She gave that copy of the record to her mother which was the last time she saw it. After her mother died she went with her sister back to the family home to search for the record but it could not be found. Nothing seemed to be happening at all. She listened out to see if the song got any radio play but it would appear that it never did.

She went back to Gene and asked if she could have another copy of the record for herself but he wouldn’t let her have one. She recalls that he said he didn’t want any copies “getting out there” until it was promoted but that never happened. In essence nothing happened.

Sometime after Margaret left Detroit, to move once again to Flint, and lost contact with him. She has never seen him since.

When I contacted Margaret it was probably the first time she’s spoken about her ill-fated recording career for more than 40 years. Her parents, and siblings, were aware of what she’d done but she had never told her husband, who she met after leaving Detroit, or her children. In truth she really had forgotten about it to the point where she only vaguely recalled ‘Love Finds A Way’ and had no recollection of ‘I Need Some Loving’.

After my initial call she told her family who were shocked to hear her story. I sent her copies of the tracks over. She said it was wonderful to hear them again.

Margaret was really thrilled that people liked her songs. She considered it a “decent record” and reflected that the reason she didn’t do anything further was because she was not "hungry enough" to want that kind of lifestyle. She took the view that it wasn’t her time and wasn’t meant to be. She had no regrets about this whatsoever.

Margaret has worked hard all of her life and at times things have been rough but she has come through it all and has had “a happy life”. She doesn’t think that going after stardom would have been the right thing for her. She had many enjoyable years working for General Motors, has a large extended family and is happy with her lot. Knowing her work is recognised and appreciated just adds another layer of happiness.

Margaret had a small stroke a few years ago which has had some effect on her long- term memory so it has taken some time for us to work through the chronology of events. Margaret now spends time with her family and works as a Church secretary three days a week.

Andy Rix

 

Nanette Workman

Nanette Joan Workman is a singer-songwriter, actress and author, who has been based in Quebec, Canada, during much of her career. She holds dual citizenship of both the United States and Canada.

Gloria Lynne

Gloria Lynne recorded many albums for Everest in her early days, slipped away into obscurity, and then in the 1990s made a comeback. An excellent singer whose style fell between bop, 1950s middle-of-the-road pop, and early soul, Lynne was always capable of putting on a colorful show. Her mother was a gospel singer and Lynne started out singing in church. She had five years of concert training and in 1951 won the legendary amateur competition at the Apollo Theater. Lynne sang with some vocal groups, became a solo artist, and in 1958 was discovered by Raymond Scott, who at the time was a top A&R man at Everest. During her busy period with Everest (at least ten records were cut between 1958-1963), Lynne had hits in "I Wish You Love" (a song she virtually made a standard) and "I'm Glad There Is You." She recorded with both orchestras and jazz combos, becoming quite popular for a period. However, with the rise of rock and the change in the public's musical tastes, Lynne was forgotten for a time. Only a commercial record in 1975 for ABC broke the silence. But starting in the early '80s, Lynne started working regularly again, regained some of her earlier fame, and in the early '90s recorded a couple of CDs for Muse; her initial Everest date also reappeared as an Evidence CD. Lynne remained active into the 21st century, and issued one of her strongest albums in decades, From My Heart to Yours, on the Highnote label in 2007. In October of 2013, she died of heart failure in Newark, New Jersey; Gloria Lynne was 83 years old.

Toni Aubin

Toni Aubin was an American jazz vocalist who sang with big bands in the 1940s

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She was known for her vocal delivery and improvisational skills.^[1]

After a turbulent childhood, Holiday began singing in nightclubs in Harlem, where she was heard by producer John Hammond, who liked her voice. She signed a recording contract with Brunswick in 1935. Collaborations with Teddy Wilson produced the hit "What a Little Moonlight Can Do", which became a jazz standard. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Holiday had mainstream success on labels such as Columbia and Decca. By the late 1940s, however, she was beset with legal troubles and drug abuse. After a short prison sentence, she performed at a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall. She was a successful concert performer throughout the 1950s with two further sold-out shows at Carnegie Hall. Because of personal struggles and an altered voice, her final recordings were met with mixed reaction but were mild commercial successes. Her final album, Lady in Satin, was released in 1958. Holiday died of cirrhosis on July 17, 1959, at age 44.

Holiday won four Grammy Awards, all of them posthumously, for Best Historical Album. She was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. In 2000, she was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as an early influence; their website states that "Billie Holiday changed jazz forever".^[2] She was named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR; and was ranked fourth on the Rolling Stone list of "200 Greatest Singers of All Time" (2023).^[3] Several films about her life have been released, most recently The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021).

Kitty Wells

Kitty Wells, the "Queen of Country Music", was born Ellen Muriel Deason, in Nashville, Tennessee on August 30, 1919. She created the role for all other female country singers. "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" recorded in 1952, was her first number one song nand she was the first female to sell a million records and reach number one in the country field. For 14 consecutive years she was voted the nation's number one "Country Female Artist" by all of the trade publications such as: Billboard, Cashbox , Record World and Downbeat Magazine. No other Country female artist has ever topped her achievements.

Bonnie Guitar

Bonnie Buckingham, better known as Bonnie Guitar, was an American singer, musician, producer, and businesswoman. She was best known for her 1957 country-pop crossover hit "Dark Moon"

Chris Calloway

Chris Calloway was born on September 21, 1945 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for The Importance of Being Earnest (1992), The Landlord (1970) and The Doctors (1963). She was previously married to Rupert Crosse and Hugh Masekela. She died on August 7, 2008 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.

Tina Turner

The legendary soul singer and showstopper who went from Ike's partner in the 1960s to solo pop stardom in the '80s.

Ruth Brown

A major pioneer of R&B in the 1950s and beyond, bore a rich and expressive singing voice

Sue Carson

Sue Carson is a classically trained multi-genre singer and violinist who has performed as a professional musician for over 30 years, in genres including opera, musical theatre, pop, rock, country, folk, bluegrass, and jazz. She is a musical whirlwind, a musical explorer and a musical all-rounder.

Madelin Quebec

American soul singer, mother of Carolyn Dennis, former member of the Raelets. Also member of Bob Dylan's background singers The Queens Of Rhythm in the 1980s and as a name of the back of LPs such as "Knocked Out Loaded".

Gale Landis

Stage Name: Gail Landis

Birth Name: Gail Bunn née Gail Sherwood

American vocalist who sang with the orchestra of her brother, Bobby Sherwood, in the 1940s. She also had her own radio show on CBS, where she was accompanied by Stan Kenton, and she was the first singer of Kenton's orchestra under the name Gail Bradley.

The stage name "Landis" was derived from her married name at the time, Landeros. She was also known as Gail Saunders and Gail Sherwood. She is the mother of jazz trumpeter Carl Saunders.

Born: 27 October 1919 in Indianapolis, Indiana, US

Gladys Knight

Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul",^[1][2] is an American singer, songwriter, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner,^[3] Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins William Guest and Edward Patten.

Knight has recorded two number-one Billboard Hot 100 singles ("Midnight Train to Georgia" and "That's What Friends Are For" which she did with Dionne Warwick, Sir Elton John and Stevie Wonder), eleven number-one R&B singles and six number-one R&B albums. She has won seven Grammy Awards (four as a solo artist and three with the Pips) and is an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame along with The Pips. Two of her songs ("I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight Train to Georgia") were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "historical, artistic and significant" value.^[4][5] She also recorded the theme song for the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Knight among the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.^[6] She is also a recipient of the National Medal of Arts and Kennedy Center Honors.

Anne Murray

Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a Canadian singer of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career.^[1][2][3] Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1979.

Murray was the first Canadian female solo singer to reach No. 1 on the U.S. charts and also the first to earn a Gold record for one of her signature songs, "Snowbird" (1970).^[4] She is often cited as one of the female Canadian artists who paved the way for other international Canadian success stories such as k.d. lang, Céline Dion, and Shania Twain.^[5][6] Murray is well known for her Grammy Award-winning 1978 number-one hit (in several countries) "You Needed Me", and is the first woman and the first Canadian to win Album of the Year at the 1984 Country Music Association Awards for her Gold-plus 1983 album A Little Good News.

Besides four Grammys, Murray has received a record 24 Juno Awards, three American Music Awards, three Country Music Association Awards, and three Canadian Country Music Association Awards. She has been inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, the Juno Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame.^[7] She is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame Walkway of Stars in Nashville and has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles and on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto.^[8]

In 2011, Billboard ranked her 10th on their list of the 50 Biggest Adult Contemporary Artists Ever.^[9]

Barbara George

Born Barbara Ann Smith at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States,^[2] she was raised in the 9th ward New Orleans, and began singing in a church choir. She was discovered by singer Jessie Hill,^[3] who recommended her to record producer Harold Battiste.^[4] Her first record on Battiste's AFO (All For One) record label, the certified gold single "I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)" (composed by her) was issued in late 1961 and topped the R&B chart and made number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[3] It was later recorded by many other artists, including Freddie King, Paul Revere & the Raiders (1966), the Merseybeats, Ike and Tina Turner, and Bonnie Raitt (1972).^[5]

Her only album, 1961's I Know (You Don't Love Me No More) contains 12 tracks, 11 of which credit George as the writer.^[6]

Two subsequent self-penned singles, "You Talk About Love" (on AFO) and "Send For Me (If You Need Some Lovin')" (on Sue Records), reached the Billboard Hot 100 later in 1962, but failed to match the national success of her first hit.^[3][7]

Later recordings such as the 1979 Senator Jones-produced "Take Me Somewhere Tonight", met with more limited success, and George largely retired from the music industry by the early 1980s, with subsequent singles never achieving the success of "I Know".^[3] She sang on the Willy DeVille album Victory Mixture (1990).^[8]

George had three sons, Tevin, Albert, and Gregory. Tevin trained as a professional boxer and is listed as the United States 1986 winner of the Golden Gloves award,^[9] subsequently going on to perform in the Olympic Trials.

George died in August 2006 in Chauvin, Louisiana, where she had spent the last ten years of her life, six days before her 64th birthday.^[2]

Sue Thompson

Sue Thompson was an American pop and country music singer. She is best known for the million selling 1961 hits "Sad Movies " and "Norman", "James ", and "Paper Tiger

The Three Rays

Male vocal R&B group best known for the 1957 mega-hit "Silhouettes.

Big Mama Thornton

Willie Mae Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984), better known as Big Mama Thornton because of her height (nearly 6 feet), and weight (200 pounds), was an American singer and songwriter of the blues and R&B. She was the first to record Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog", in 1952,^[2] which was written for her and became her biggest hit, staying seven weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B chart in 1953.^[3] According to Maureen Mahon, a music professor at New York University, "the song is seen as an important beginning of rock-and-roll, especially in its use of the guitar as the key instrument".^[4]

Thornton's other recordings include the original version of "Ball and Chain", which she wrote.