Male Musicians

William "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years. Many notable musicians came to prominence under his direction, including tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison and singers Jimmy Rushing and Joe Williams. Basie's theme songs were "One O'Clock Jump" and "April In Paris". Early life William James Basie was born to Harvey Lee Basie, and Lillian Ann Childs, who lived on Mechanic Street in Red Bank, New Jersey. His father worked as a coachman and caretaker for a wealthy jud…

Leonard Norman Cohen,(born 21 September 1934) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often deals with the exploration of religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships. Famously reclusive,having once spent several years in a Zen Buddhist monastery, and possessing a persona frequently associated with mystique,he is extremely well-regarded by critics for his literary accomplishments, for the richness of his lyrics, and for producing an output of work of high artistic quality over a five-decade career. Musically, Cohen's earliest songs (ma…

Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, and jazz fusion. Many well-known musicians rose to prominence as members of Davis' ensembles, including saxophonists Gerry Mulligan, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, George Coleman, Wayne Shorter, Dave Liebman, Branford Marsalis and Kenny Garrett; trombonist J. J. Johnson; pianists Horace Silver, Red Garland, Wynton Kelly, Bill Evan…

Creedence Clearwater Revival (often abbreviated CCR) was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums. The group consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, his brother and rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook, and drummer Doug Clifford. Their musical style encompassed rock and roll and swamp rock genres. Despite their San Francisco Bay Area origins, they are sometimes also cited as southern rock stylists. CCR's music is still a staple of American and worldwide radio airplay and often figures in various media. The band has sold 2…

Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game". Rawls released more than 70 albums, sold more than 40 million, appeared as an actor in motion pictures and on television, and voiced-over many cartoons. Rawls is the subject of an upcoming biopic, tentatively titled Love Is a Hurtin' Thing: The Lou Rawls Story. Rawls' son, Lou Rawls Jr., is the author of the script. Rawls will reportedly be portrayed by the actor Isaiah Washington. Rawls' favorite expression was "Yeah buddy!…

Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Ludacris has won the Screen Actors Guild, Critic's Choice, MTV, and Grammy Awards during his career. Personal background Ludacris was born Christopher Brian Bridges in Champaign, Illinois. He is of African American and Native American descent. Bridges wrote his first rap song at age nine when moving to Atlanta and joined an amateur rap group three years later. He attended Banneker High School in Atlanta, Georgia.Fro…

Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1985, the band's original lineup featured Perry Farrell (vocals), Dave Navarro (guitar), Eric Avery (bass) and Stephen Perkins (drums). After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001; both times with Avery declining to participate. In 2008, the band's "classic" line-up, featuring Avery, reunited and embarked on a world tour. Avery subsequently left the band in early 2010 as the group began work on new material. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands to emerge from the early 1990s alternative rock movement to gain mainstream media atte…

The Cult are an English rock band, formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love Removal Machine". The band fuses a "heavy metal revivalist" sound with the "pseudo-mysticism ... of The Doors and the guitar-orchestrations of Led Zeppelin while adding touches of punk". Since their earliest form in Bradford during 1981, the band has had various line-ups, and the longest serving members are vocalist Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy, the band's two songwriters. After…

Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal / progressive metal band formed in 1981 in Bellevue, Washington. The band has released eleven studio albums and several EPs and DVDs and continues to tour and record. Queensrÿche has been relatively successful in the progressive scene, having sold over 20 million albums worldwide including over 6 million albums in the United States. From The Mob to Queensrÿche (early 1980s) The foundations for Queensrÿche began in the early 1980s. Guitarist Michael Wilton and drummer Scott Rockenfield were members of a band called Cross+Fire, who covered songs from popular heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Before long Cross+Fire…

Frankie Valli (born Francis Stephen Castelluccio, May 3, 1934, First Ward, Newark, New Jersey) is an American musician, most famous as frontman of The Four Seasons. He is well-known for his unusually powerful falsetto singing voice. Valli, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi, and Bob Gaudio, (the original members of The Four Seasons), were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. Valli scored 29 Top 40 hits with The 4 Seasons, one Top 40 hit under The 4 Seasons' alias 'The Wonder Who?', and nine Top 40 hits as a solo artist. As a member of The 4 Seasons, Valli's number one hits included "Sherry", "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Walk Like…

Suicidal Tendencies is a band that was founded in Venice, Los Angeles, California, in 1981 by the leader and only permanent member, singer Mike Muir. The band is credited as one of the "the fathers of crossover thrash". To date, Suicidal Tendencies have released ten studio albums (one of which is composed of never-before released material and the other is a re-recording of their first album), two compilation albums, four split albums, one VHS, and one EP. Suicidal Tendencies rose to fame with their 1983 self-titled debut album, which spawned the single "Institutionalized". That single was one of the first hardcore punk videos to receive substantial airplay on MTV. Suicida…

Biography Earl Simmons is the first of three children. He grew up in the housing projects on School Street, in Yonkers, New York. He began rapping around the age of 14[citation needed]. Simmons took the professional name DMX, after the Oberheim DMX, an early drum machine. He later adapted the name to mean "Divine Master of the Unknown [X]" and later changed it again to mean "Dark Man X" [1]. He honed his skills during a stint at a group home. As a teenager, Simmons was diagnosed with bipolar disorder [2]. He spent much of his adolescence and early adulthood in and out of jail. On his BET show DMX: Soul of a Man he admitted that he had in fact became addicted to crack af…

The Wu-Tang Clan is a New York City-based hip-hop group, which consists of: RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group. They were formed in (and are associated with) the New York City borough of Staten Island (referred to by members as "Shaolin"), though some of their members are from Brooklyn. They have introduced and launched the careers of affiliated artists and groups, often collectively known as the Wu-Tang Killa Bees. In 2007, MTV ranked Wu-Tang the fifth greatest hip-hop group of all time, and in 20…

Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1963 – March 26, 1995), better known by his stage name Eazy-E, was an American rapper, producer, and record executive from Compton, California. Widely regarded as one of the founders of the gangsta rap subgenre, he rose to fame as the founder and member of the group N.W.A., and later achieved critical and commercial success as a solo artist. Eazy-E's vocal style was marked by his youthful, high-pitched voice and his lyrics focusing on the elements of urban street life such as guns, drugs, relations between residents and the police, and sexual activity. He had also for some time hosted a hip-hop radio show on Los Angeles-based radio station K…

Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records, also having produced albums for and overseeing the careers of many rappers signed to those record labels, such as Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent. As a producer he is credited as a key figure in the popularization of West Coast G-funk, a style of rap music characterized as synthesizer-based with slow, heavy beats. Dr. Dre began his career in music as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru and he later …

Public Enemy, also known as PE, is an American hip hop group consisting of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff and his S1W group, and DJ Lord, who replaced Terminator X in 1999. Formed on Long Island, New York in 1982, they are known for their politically charged lyrics and criticism on the American media, with an active interest in the frustrations and concerns of the African American community. After hearing a recording of Chuck D's rapping on "Public Enemy No. 1," Def Jam co-founder Rick Rubin signed him onto his label, who was initially reluctant but later agreed after recruiting his friend Flavor Flav as part of the group, while Professor Griff brought Terminator X…

Tracy Marrow (born February 16, 1958), better known by his stage name Ice-T, is an American rapper and actor. He was born in Newark, New Jersey and moved to Los Angeles, California when he was in the 7th grade. After graduating from high school he served in the United States Army for four years. He began his career as a rapper in the 1980s and was signed to Sire Records in 1987, when he released his debut album Rhyme Pays. The next year, he founded record label Rhyme Syndicate and released another album, Power. He became the lead vocalist in heavy metal band Body Count, which he introduced in his 1991 album O.G.: Original Gangster. Body Count released its self-titled debu…

Steve Miller (born October 5, 1943, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. Beginning his career in blues and blues rock, Miller's music later changed to a more popular-oriented sound which earned him success with a series of singles and albums from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s. Biography Miller was born to Dr. George "Sonny" Miller, a pathologist, jazz enthusiast, hat salesman and amateur recording engineer, and his wife Bertha, a jazz-influenced singer. Miller was taught his first guitar chords at age five by his godfather, Les Paul, pioneer of the electric guitar and multitrack recording. Les Paul and his wife Mary Ford were regul…

Biography from RollingStone.com Originally formed in 1989, this Philadelphia supergroup is finally getting the recognition it deserves. Pioneers of the live-rap movement, the Roots use traditional instrumentation in lieu of samples and drum machines. Their distinctly jazzy sound is the direct result of highly skilled musicianship, as demonstrated on their high-quality albums and always impressive live performances. In addition to their signature, organic sound, they are also known for their positive and conscious lyricism. Emcees Black Thought and Malik B always give you something to think about, dropping verses on such heavy topics as politics, equality and respect for …

W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982. They emerged from the same Los Angeles scene that spawned Mötley Crüe, Ratt, Quiet Riot and others. The band's popularity peaked in the 1980s, yet they continue to record and tour, making them one of the most enduring of the West Coast heavy metal bands. W.A.S.P. gained notoriety for their shock rock themed image, lyrics and live performances. They have sold over 12 million albums. The band was a prominent target in the mid-1980s of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) led by Tipper Gore, wife of then-Senator Al Gore (D-TN), an organization that pushed for warning labels on recorded music. The band immortalized…

Bad Company are an English hard rock supergroup founded in 1973, consisting of band members from Free (Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke), Mott the Hoople (Mick Ralphs), and King Crimson (Boz Burrell). Bad Company enjoyed great success throughout the 1970s. They were managed by Peter Grant, who had also guided Led Zeppelin to massive success. The original Paul Rodgers era (1973–1982) Singer Paul Rodgers was so enamoured of the film Bad Company that he chose to name his band after it.[1] The film was also purportedly the inspiration for the band's eponymous album and breakthrough single. The 1974 debut album Bad Company was an international hit, with the group considered one of th…

Scorpions is a German heavy metal[1][2][3][4]/hard rock[5][6][7] band from Hannover, Germany, known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and their singles "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel, "Still Loving You", and "Wind of Change". The band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide,[8] and they were ranked #46 on VH1's Greatest Artists of Hard Rock program.[9] "Rock You Like a Hurricane" is also #18 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.[10] On January 24, 2010, after 45 years of performing, the band announced that they will be retiring after touring in support of their new album Sting in the Tail.[11][12] The Scorpions sold between 100[…

Otis Ray Redding, Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American soul singer. Often called the "King of Soul", he is renowned for an ability to convey strong emotion through his voice. According to the website of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (where he was inducted in 1989), Redding's name is "synonymous with the term soul, music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm and blues into a form of funky, secular testifying." In addition, rock critic Jon Landau said in 1967, "Otis Redding is rock & roll". Redding died in a plane crash at the age of 26, one month before his biggest hit, "(Sittin' On) The…

The Cars were an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson. The band originated from Boston, Massachusetts, and were signed to Elektra Records in 1977. The Cars were at the forefront in merging 1970s guitar-oriented rock with the new synth-oriented pop that was then becoming popular and which would flower in the early 1980s. Robert Palmer, music critic for The New York Times and Rolling Stone described The Cars' musical style by saying: "they have taken some i…

William Martin "Billy" Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to the RIAA. Joel had Top 10 hits in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s and has 33 Top 40 hits in the United States, all of which he wrote singlehandedly. He is also a six-time Grammy Award winner, a 23-time Grammy nominee and has sold over 100 million records worldwide. He was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame (1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), the …