Portal:R&B and Soul Music/Selected biography

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[edit] Selected biographies list

[edit] Biographies 1–20

Portal:R&B and Soul Music/Selected biography/1

James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933[1][2] – December 25, 2006), commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul" and "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business", was an American entertainer recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th century popular music. He was renowned for his shouting vocals, feverish dancing and unique rhythmic style.

As a prolific singer, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer, Brown was a pivotal force in the evolution of gospel and rhythm and blues into soul and funk. He left his mark on numerous other musical genres, including rock, jazz, disco, dance and electronic music, reggae and hip hop.[3] Brown's music also left its mark on the rhythms of African popular music, such as afrobeat, jùjú and mbalax,[4] and provided a template for go-go music.[5]

Brown began his professional music career in 1953, and rose to fame during the late 1950s and early 1960s on the strength of his thrilling live performances and string of smash hits. In spite of various personal problems and setbacks he continued to score hits in every decade through to the 1980s. In addition to his acclaim in music, Brown was a presence in American political affairs during the 1960s and 1970s, noted especially for his activism on behalf of fellow African Americans and the poor. During the early 1980s, Brown's music helped to shape the rhythms of early hip-hop music, with many groups looping or sampling his funk grooves and turning them into what became hip hop classics and the foundations of this music genre.

Brown was recognized by a plethora of (mostly self-bestowed) titles, including Soul Brother Number One, Sex Machine, Mr. Dynamite, The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk, Mr. Please Please Please, The Boss, and the best-known, the Godfather of Soul.

Portal:R&B and Soul Music/Selected biography/2 The Supremes were a successful American female singing trio. Active from 1959 until 1977, the Supremes performed, at various times, doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, and disco.

One of Motown Records' signature acts, The Supremes were the most successful African American musical act of the 1960s,[6] recording twelve American number-one hits between 1964 and 1969.[6] Many of these singles were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland-Dozier-Holland. The crossover success of the Supremes during the mid-1960s paved the way for future black soul and R&B acts to gain mainstream audiences both in the United States and overseas.

Founded in Detroit, Michigan in 1959, The Supremes began as a quartet called The Primettes. Founding members Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross and Betty McGlown, all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit,[7] were the sister act to The Primes (later known as The Temptations).[7] In 1960, Barbara Martin replaced McGlown, and the group signed with Motown in 1961 as The Supremes. Martin left in early 1962, and Ross, Ballard and Wilson carried on as a trio. Achieving success in the mid-1960s with Ross as lead singer, Motown president Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes in 1967 and replaced Ballard with Cindy Birdsong. Ross left the group for a successful solo career in 1970 and was replaced by Jean Terrell. After 1972, the lineup of the Supremes changed frequently, with Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne and Susaye Greene all becoming members before the group ended its eighteen-year existence in 1977.

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LeToya Nicole Luckett (born March 11, 1981), known professionally as LeToya, is an American actress, R&B singer and songwriter. She is a founding member of the R&B female group, Destiny's Child with whom she won two Grammy Awards and after several commercially successful releases with the group, she was forced to leave.[8][9][10]

After signing a record deal with Capitol Records, she pursued a successful solo career. Her solo debut album, LeToya (2006), topped the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart in July 2006 and was certified platinum by the RIAA in December 2006. The single, "Torn", achieved records on BET's top ten countdown show 106 & Park. She was also named "One of the Best New Artists of 2006" by AOL and the "Top Songwriter of 2006" by ASCAP.[11] Luckett's second album, Lady Love, is scheduled for a Spring 2008 release.[12]

Luckett was born and raised in Houston, Texas and grew up singing in her local Brentwood Baptist Church where she had vocal lessons to become an opera singer. Her father, who was also a singer, was very proud of his daughter's vocal talents and tried to promote her into the music business. Luckett is the eldest of two children; she has a younger brother Gavin.[13] Luckett was given the opportunity to sing her first church solo at the age of five (5). "The lady just gave me the mic one Sunday and I sang", she recalls.[14] Shortly thereafter, she joined the children's choir and began performing in plays at her elementary school. One day, she walked to her desk in class to find a girl sitting in her seat. Luckett asked her teacher to remove the girl from her assigned seat, who turned out to be Beyoncé Knowles. Knowles and Luckett later became best friends and was invited to join Beyoncé's group.[15].

Portal:R&B and Soul Music/Selected biography/4 Eunice Kathleen Waymon, better known by her stage name Nina Simone (IPA: ninɐ sʌmɞnɑ) (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), was a Grammy Award-nominated American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger and civil rights activist.

Although she disliked being categorized, Simone is generally classified as a jazz musician. She preferred the term "Black Classical Music" herself. Simone originally aspired to become a classical pianist, but her work covers an eclectic variety of musical styles besides her classical basis, such as jazz, soul, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop music. Her vocal style (with a rich alto vocal range[16]) is characterized by intense passion, breathiness, and tremolo. Sometimes known as the High Priestess of Soul, she paid great attention to the musical expression of emotions. Within one album or concert she could fluctuate between exuberant happiness or tragic melancholy. These fluctuations also characterized her own personality and personal life, worsened by a bipolar disorder with which she was diagnosed in the mid-sixties, but was kept secret until 2004.[17]

Simone recorded over 40 live and studio albums, the biggest body of her work being released between 1958 (when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue) and 1974. Songs she is best known for include "My Baby Just Cares for Me", "I Put a Spell on You", "I Loves You Porgy", "Feeling Good", "Sinner Man", "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", "Strange Fruit", "Ain't Got No-I Got Life" and "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl". Her music and message made a strong and lasting impact on African-American culture[18], illustrated by the numerous contemporary artists who cite her as an important influence (among them Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Jeff Buckley, and Lauryn Hill), as well as the extensive use of her music on soundtracks and in remixes.

Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina, one of eight children. She began playing piano at her local church and showed prodigious talent on this instrument. Her concert debut, a classical piano recital, was made at the age of ten. During her performance, her parents, who had taken seats in the front row, were forced to move to the back of the hall to make way for white people. Simone refused to play until her parents were moved back.[19][20] This incident contributed to her later involvement in the civil rights movement.

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[edit] Biographies 21–40

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[edit] Nominations

Feel free to add top or high importance biographies to the above list. Other R&B and Soul Music-related biographies may be nominated here.