Nina Simone was a great pianist, a riveting vocalist, and an uncompromising personality. Her sociopolitical consciousness and eclecticism set her apart from the pack. Her interpretations of soul, jazz, blues, and standards are both striking and uniqu…

Marvin Gaye began his career in the late 1950s, singing with various R&B vocal groups. Soon he moved on to work as a session drummer and vocalist at Motown. Gaye's own '60s albums are marked by propulsive, high-energy R&B, and duets with Mary Wells a…

From 12-year-old multi-instrumentalist prodigy to groundbreaking adult songwriter and producer, Stevie Wonder is one of the handful of pop musicians who just about everybody agrees is possessed of genius. His 1960s recordings were great straight-up R…

The unrelenting intensity of James Brown's music has made him one of the most recognizable and influential performers since the 1950s. Starting out as a gospel singer, Brown soon switched to R&B and started scoring hits. As the '60s progressed, the s…

Though Californian belter Etta James is widely known as one of the greatest blues singers, famed for her '60s Chess recordings and '70s Muscle Shoals work, her story is bigger than that. She started out with the Johnny Otis band in the '50s as a hard…

After leaving his position as leader of the Impressions, one of the most successful black vocal groups of the 1960s, Curtis Mayfield made progressive and highly influential funk/R&B records, most notably the soundtrack to the cult movie SUPERFLY. His…

A semi-successful Motown vocal group in the early '60s, The Isley Brothers' historical importance would be assured if only for their original version of "Twist and Shout," and the fact that they provided Jimi Hendrix with one of his first big breaks.…

b. 1 May 1934, Washington, DC, USA. After studying piano formally, Horn continued her musical education at Howard University. She began leading her own group in the mid-50s, and in the early 60s recorded several sessions for Mercury Records, often in…

With a startling five-octave vocal range, Minnie Riperton was one of the most technically accomplished singers in R&B history. Unfortunately, with the exception of the delicate 1975 single "Loving You," Riperton never achieved the commercial success …

Though Roy Ayers was originally a pianist, his career took off after he picked up the vibraphone in the 1960s. With his group Ubiquity--which featured heavyweights such as Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter--Ayers made some of the finest jazz/funk fusion …

b. 20 February 1937, Chillicothe, Ohio, USA. Wilson began singing in clubs in and around Columbus, Ohio. She attracted attention among jazz musicians, made her first records in 1956, and in the late 50s toured with a band led by Rusty Bryant. At the …

In the early 1970s, Bill Withers created a completely fresh mixture of southern R&B, folk, singer/songwriter pop, and soul music, which he employed to great effect on several classic hit singles. Several of Withers' songs have become pop standards, c…

Jamaican singer and actress Grace Jones started out as a model, but her outrageous attitude and unforgettable look transferred well to the pop music arena. Beginning in the late 1970s, Jones made a series of highly regarded albums mixing torch songs,…

Aretha Franklin is one of the most important and influential female soul singers of the 20th century. The daughter of famed preacher Rev. C.L. Franklin, Memphis-born Aretha started out singing gospel while still in her teens in the 1950s, subsequentl…

Kool & The Gang were one of the most popular outfits to emerge from the '70s funk/R&B movement. They began as a hard-grooving funk band, hitting big with "Jungle Boogie," but they later incorporated disco and pop into their sound. Their greatest succ…

These New York art shock-rockers, formed in 2003, take camp icons like Elton John, the Bee Gees, and Billy Joel as their musical foundation for a sound that's rooted in the dance clubs of their hometown. On their debut, self-titled album they reinter…

Originally known as Betty Bebop from her work with Parker and Gillespie in the 1940s, the singer worked with Miles Davis and Max Roach in the 1950s, but often had trouble finding work due to her complex, demanding style. In the 1970s she started her …

Led by the flamboyant Jason "Jay" Kay, Jamiroquai is a U.K.-based funk group that emerged from London in the early 1990s. By combining bouncy soul rhythms with acid jazz, hip-hop, and world music, the group created a distinctive sound that elevates J…

Al Green's passionately regal voice, flying over the supple grooves of the Willie Mitchell-led Hi Records house band, was the very definition of both Memphis soul and early-1970s R&B. Green was a virtual hit machine for the first half of that decade,…