Top Ten Soul Artists
Franklin is listed in at least two all-time lists on Rolling Stone magazine, including the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time; and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
Stevie Wonder is a much-beloved American icon and an indisputable genius not only of R&B but popular music in general. Blind virtually since birth, Wonder's heightened awareness of sound helped him create vibrant, colorful music teeming with life and ambition.
Gaye helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of hits, including "Ain't That Peculiar", "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", and duet recordings with Mary Wells, Kim Weston, Diana Ross and Tammi Terrell, later earning the titles "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul".
With some 800 songs in his repertoire, James Brown has influenced contemporary artists from virtually every popular music genre — rock, soul, jazz, R&B. His polyrhythmic funk vamps virtually reshaped dance music, and his impact on hip-hop, in particular, was huge; in the music's early years, Brown was by far the most sampled artist.
Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. Influential as both a singer and composer, he is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocals and importance within popular music.
Al Green was the first great soul singer of the '70s and arguably the last great Southern soul singer. With his seductive singles for Hi Records in the early '70s, Green bridged the gap between deep soul and smooth Philadelphia soul.
In the same year, Michael Jackson won three American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Album (Dangerous), Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Remember the Time"), and was the first to win the International Artist Award of Excellence, for his global performances and humanitarian concerns.
Otis Ray Redding Jr. was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, and talent scout. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. Redding's style of singing gained inspiration from the gospel music that preceded the genre. His singing style influenced many other soul artists of the 1960s. During his lifetime, his recordings were produced by Stax Records, based in Memphis, Tennessee.
Ray Charles was the musician most responsible for developing soul music. Singers like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson also did a great deal to pioneer the form, but Charles did even more to devise a new form of black pop by merging '50s R&B with gospel-powered vocals, adding plenty of flavor from contemporary jazz, blues, and (in the '60s) country.
Whitney Houston was born on August 9, 1963, in what was then a middle-income neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. She was the daughter of Army serviceman and entertainment executive John Russell Houston, Jr. (September 13, 1920 – February 2, 2003), and gospel singer Emily "Cissy" (Drinkard) Houston.
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he also served as the group's chief songwriter and producer.
Similar honorific nicknames have been given in other genres, including Aretha Franklin, who was literally crowned "Queen of Soul" by disk jockey Pervis Spann on stage in 1968. Michael Jackson and Madonna have been closely associated with the terms "King and Queen of Pop".
Studio albums during the "Classic Five" period apart from Meet the Temptations include The Temptations Sing Smokey (1965), The Temptin' Temptations (1965), Gettin' Ready (1966), The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul (1967), and The Temptations Wish It Would Rain (1968).
Etta James (born Jamesetta Hawkins; January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012) was an American singer who performed in various genres, including blues, R&B, soul, rock and roll, jazz and gospel.
Although the singles "It's Good for the Soul", "Funky Music (Is a Part of Me)", and "The Second Time Around" were relatively successful, their two albums, the self-titled Luther (1976) and This Close to You (1977), which Vandross produced, didn't sell enough to make the charts.
While influenced by the Supremes' and Motown's music, the songs in the play are a broader mix of R&B/soul and Broadway music. Mary Wilson loved the musical, but Diana Ross was reportedly angered by it and refused to see it.
Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.
Gladys Maria Knight, known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, songwriter and actress. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight is best known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s and 1970s, for both the Motown and Buddah Records labels, with her group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and her cousins Edward Patten and William Guest.
The Isley Brothers (/ ˈ aɪ z l iː /) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that started as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley, Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley.
Chaka Khan (born Yvette Marie Stevens, March 23, 1953) is an American recording artist whose career has spanned five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist and focal point of the funk band Rufus. Known as the Queen of Funk, Khan was the first R&B artist to have a crossover hit featuring a rapper, with "I Feel for You" in 1984.
Patricia Louise Holt-Edwards (born May 24, 1944),[1] better known under the stage name Patti LaBelle, is an American singer, author, actress, and entrepreneur. LaBelle began her career in the early 1960s as lead singer and front woman of the vocal group, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles.
The minute you start talking about any type of “greatest” list, the notion immediately invites loud debate. Billboard’s tally of the 35 greatest R&B artists of all time is no exception.
In 1996, Hayes began hosting The Isaac Hayes and Friends Radio Show on WRKS in New York City. While there, Hayes became a client of young vegan raw food chef Elijah Joy and his company Organic Soul, Inc. Hayes also appears in the Scientology film Orientation.
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Ross rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group The Supremes, which, during the 1960s, became Motown's most successful act, and is to this day the United States' most successful vocal group, as well as one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time.
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Find The Miracles bio, music, credits, awards, & streaming links on AllMusic - Smokey Robinson's legendary Motown band, played…
Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100.
SAM (Software Asset Management) is the process and procedures backed by industry standards to manage software as you would any other valuable company asset to provides economic, security and performance benefits.
Donny Hathaway was one of the brightest new voices in soul music at the dawn of the '70s, possessed of a smooth, gospel-inflected romantic croon that was also at home on fiery protest material. Hathaway achieved his greatest commercial success as Roberta Flack's duet partner of choice, but sadly he's equally remembered for the tragic circumstances of his death -- an apparent suicide at age 33.
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, and author. Turner rose to international prominence as a featured singer with Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm before recording hit singles both with Ike and as a solo performer.
Erykah Badu’s role in neo-soul made her a visionary of the modern soul revival, and it’s an influence that reverberates still through Janelle Monàe, Solange, D.R.A.M., and many more.
Womack continued to record albums with United Artists through 1975 and 1976 but with less success than previous albums. ... The Soul of Bobby Womack.
On December 9, 2006, Richie hosted and performed live on the British television show An Audience with Lionel Richie. Two months later, he performed "Hello" on the 49th Grammy Awards show. On May 2, 2008, Richie was the 21st recipient of the George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Achievement Award at UCLA's annual Spring Sing.
Barry White (born Barry Eugene Carter; September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and composer.
In 1971, Flack was a member of the legendary 1971 Soul to Soul concert film by Denis Sanders, which was headlined by soul singer Wilson Pickett along with R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner, the Santana band featuring electric guitarist and Mexican-American Carlos Santana, gospel, soul, and R&B group The Staple Singers, soul pianist/vocalist Les McCann and saxophonist Eddie Harris, and The Voices of Harlem among others.
Pendergrass received several nominations for the American Music Awards between 1979 and 1981 for Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Album, and Favorite Disco Artist. He won the AMA for Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist in 1979, tied with singer Lou Rawls.
Commodores are an American funk/soul band, which was at its peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972, having first caught the public eye opening for The Jackson 5 while on tour.
Learn more about the life and work of Mary J. Blige, the 'Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,' at Biography.com. Grammy award-winning artist Mary J. Blige is ... A Mary Christmas ...
Song information for Walk on By - Dionne Warwick on AllMusic ... With so many artists -- especially Dionne Warwick ... Original Soul of Dionne Warwick.
William Harrison Withers Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. He recorded several major hits, including "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's Hands". Withers won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for four more. His life was the subject of the 2009 documentary film Still Bill. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
Along with artists like Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Maxwell, and collaborator Angie Stone, D'Angelo became part of the Neo soul movement. Following this D'Angelo went on a hiatus before releasing Voodoo in January 2000, which debuted at number one.
Carey also developed an animated Christmas film, titled Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You, for which soundtrack she recorded an original song called "Lil' Snowman." The film was released direct-to-video on November 14, 2017.
Overhyped by some as the "savior of Soul music" and unfortunately (and pejoratively) lumped by others with Christina Aguilera and other lesser young female singers, Alicia Keys is a very talented young songwriter, pianist, singer and producer who has effectively bridged old school and new school over her short career, and who has the potential to be an important artist for years to come.
Jillian "Jill" Scott ... Scott was the first artist signed to Steve ... and hip hop among other genres to create a distinct style, that many refer to as neo soul.
An exhibit of Winehouse's personal items, co-curated by her brother and sister-in-law, entitled Amy Winehouse: A Family Portrait, was on display at the Jewish Museum London from 3 July 2013 until 15 September 2013. Display items, such as books and music, were featured together with captions written by Winehouse's brother.
However, under the helm of producer and songwriter Thom Bell, the Spinners charted five Top 100 singles (and two Top Tens) from their first post-Motown album, Spinners (1972), and went on to become one of the biggest soul groups of the 1970s.
Adele gets away with being mediocre in the music industry because she is stellar and soulful by white standards. And we have 10 performances as proof. Adele gets away with being mediocre in the music industry because she is stellar and soulful by white standards.
On August 17, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio, Jackie Wilson was inducted into the Official R&B Music Hall of Fame. In 1985, the Commodores recorded "Nightshift" in memory of Wilson and soul singer Marvin Gaye, who had both died in 1984.
Gerald Maxwell Rivera better known by his stage names Maxwell and Musze, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Along with fellow musicians D'Angelo and Erykah Badu, Maxwell has been credited with helping to shape what has been termed the "neo soul" movement that rose to prominence during the late 1990s.
the movie pairs a sly, dissembling ex-con with an upstanding, straight-arrow cop. why, you sly fellow! I had no idea you were planning my birthday party
Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF) is an American band that has spanned the musical genres of R&B, soul, funk, jazz, disco, pop, rock, Latin, and African. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1970s.