Jazz trumpeter and singer, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. His melodic inventiveness, expressed with uninhibited tone and range on the trumpet, established the central role of the improvising soloist in jazz, especially in a series of recordings known as the ‘Hot Fives’ and ‘Hot Sevens’ (1925–8).
English pop band The Beatles became the best-known group in popular music in the 1960s. If greatness is measured in terms of commercial success and popularity, The Beatles are the greatest popular musicians of the century.
Born in Accrington, Lancashire, he began his career as a clarinettist. While in Manchester he formed, with other young musicians including Peter Maxwell Davies and John Ogdon, the New Manchester Group for the performance of modern music.
Musician, born in Barnwell, South Carolina, USA. One of the most significant figures in black pop music, he began his singing career in Macon, GA with the Gospel Starlighters.
A leading figure in the musical avant-garde from the late 1930s, he attended Pomona College and later studied with Arnold Schoenberg, Adolph Weiss, and Henry Cowell.
Musician, born in Kingsland, Arkansas, USA. A singer, guitarist, and songwriter, he was born into a poor cotton-farming family and became one of the greatest stars of country music.
Singer, pianist, and composer, born in Albany, Georgia, USA. A major influence on popular black music during his early years, he influenced both white musicians and audiences.
Rock guitarist and singer, born in Ripley, Surrey, SE England, UK. In the 1960s he was in British rhythm-and-blues bands The Yardbirds and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, then ‘supergroups’ Cream and Blind Faith. He has since played and recorded with most of the great names of rock music.
Musician, born in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. By 1950 he had become the first black male to attain mainstream acceptance as a popular singer, and he released a continual series of hit records over the remainder of his career.
Popular singer and actor, born in Tacoma, Washington, USA. Became one of the earliest crooners who established a clear split between classical and popular singing.
Jazz trumpeter, born in Alton, Illinois, USA. During 1949–69, he was at the forefront of jazz, developing or advancing several significant and contrasting styles and trends, all of which highlighted his intensely personal sensibilities.
Musician, born in McComb, Mississippi, USA. He became one of the earliest black stars of rock ’n’ roll, making many television appearances and touring widely through the mid-1960s
Born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, on May 24, 1941, singer and songwriter Bob Dylan is best known as the author of such anthems about modern injustice as “Blowin' in the Wind,”“Hard Rain's Gonna Fall,”“The Times They Are A-Changin',” and “Masters of War.”
From The Columbia Encyclopedia: American jazz musician and composer, b. Washington, D.C. Ellington made his first professional appearance as a jazz pianist in 1916. By 1918 he had formed a band, and after appearances in nightclubs in Harlem he became one of the most famous figures in American jazz.
A pioneer synthesizer player with Roxy Music, Eno later earned a reputation as a leading avant-garde figure in rock-music circles, and explored the potential of ambient music in such albums as Music for Airports (1979).
Soul singer, born in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Although she began recording at age 18, it was at Atlantic Records (1966) that she worked with experienced rhythm-and-blues musicians and was encouraged to use her gospel roots.
US guitarist, songwriter, and leader of the group the Grateful Dead. Closely involved with the San Francisco hippie movement and the use of drugs such as LSD, the band first played ‘psychedelic’ rock but moved on to a more diverse repertory of rock styles in the 1970s
Jazz trumpeter and composer, born in Cheraw, South Carolina, USA. He worked in prominent swing bands (1937–44), including those of Benny Carter and Charlie Barnet.
Singer, musician, and songwriter, born in Liverpool, Merseyside, NW England, UK. He played lead guitar and sang with the Beatles, and developed an interest in Indian music and Eastern religion.
Rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter, born in Seattle, Washington, USA. He learned basic blues licks as a sideman for Little Richard and the Isley Brothers.
Billie Holiday is considered one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Her inimitable phrasing – singing slightly behind the beat – gave her songs an air of wistfulness that was purely instinctive, for she had no training or technical knowledge.
Singer and film actress, born in Newark, New Jersey, USA. In 1988 she broke a US chart record with seven consecutive number 1 hits, overtaking the previous record of six achieved by The Beatles and The Bee Gees.
Dubbed the King of Pop, he was widely regarded as the most successful entertainer of all time, and had been preparing for a new concert series "This Is It" at the time of his death.
Singer, born in Dartford, Kent, SE England, UK. He attended the London School of Economics, but left to form his own rock group, The Rolling Stones, together with Keith Richard, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, and Brian Jones.
Pop star, composer, songwriter, and recording artist, born in Liverpool, Merseyside, NW England, UK. He was the Beatles rhythm guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist, and a partner in the Lennon–McCartney song-writing team.
Trombonist and bandleader, born in Clarinda, Iowa, USA. He achieved a distinctive sound with a saxophone–clarinet combination, his many successes including ‘Moonlight Serenade’ (his theme song), ‘Little Brown Jug’, and ‘In the Mood’ (1939).
Country-pop singer and songwriter, born in Vernon, Texas, USA. Had a succession of smash hits including ‘Cryin’’ (1961), ‘Blue Bayou’, ‘In Dreams’ (both 1963), and ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ (1964).
Popular singer and film actor, born in Tupelo, Mississippi, USA. As a boy he sang with his local Assembly of God church choir, which emulated the style of African-American psalm singing.
Popular singer and film actress, born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Lead singer of the extremely successful trio, the Supremes, she went solo in 1969, recording the hits ‘Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand’ and ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ in 1970.
Pop singer, born in London, UK. Her debut solo single ‘I Only Want To Be With You’ (1964) was a UK hit, and marked a move towards a Motown-influenced style; it was the first record to be played on BBC’s television show ‘Top Of The Pops’.
Musician, born in Freehold, New Jersey, USA. Promoted as the new Bob Dylan, his highly-anticipated debut album was released in 1973, but not until his third album, Born to Run (1975), did he enjoy widespread commercial success.
Irish rock group formed in Dublin in 1977. U2 became one of the most popular and successful rock bands of the 1980s and 1990s, managing to sustain their fan base throughout two decades by clever reinvention
One of the last of the great country blues singers and a primary innovator of modern Chicago blues, he was raised on the Stovall Plantation in Clarksdale, MS, where he began playing harmonica and guitar while working as a sharecropper.
Popular music has evolved over many decades and has now divided and sub-divided into hundreds of different styles and genres. Blues music has influenced popular music through its style, mood, lyrics, and structure.
Genre of pop music, the 1980s offspring of soul music, funk, hip hop, and disco music. The term ‘dance’ has come to cover music made by and for disc jockeys (DJs) and played to club audiences on vinyl records as a component of live sets.
A form of music consisting of sounds produced by oscillating electric currents either controlled from an instrument panel or keyboard or prerecorded on magnetic tape.
Music which is played on traditional instruments or sung in the tradition style, handed down from generation to generation, and relating to the music of a particular area or group of people.
A type of commercial modern music with wide popular appeal, especially among the young, and usually being tuneful, repetitive and having an insistent rhythmic beat.
First staged in Switzerland in 1956, the event is now transmitted in over 40 countries. Eurovision is actually the name given to the Europe-wide TV distribution network run by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
The Woodstock music festival was held in Bethel, New York, on August 15, 16, and 17, 1969. Performers such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Grateful Dead, The Who, and Jefferson Airplane were among the many who appeared on stage at the event.
Hungarian pianist and composer whose works, including the music for the opera Duke Bluebeard's Castle (1911) and Concerto for Orchestra (1943), combine Eastern European folk music with dissonant harmonies.
One of the most famous composers of all time, Beethoven was born into a family of musicians who had served at the Bonn court of the Elector of Cologne since 1733.
Italian composer. His work, usually involving electronic sound, combines serial techniques with commedia dell'arte and antiphonal practices, as in Alleluiah II (1958) for five instrumental groups.
Conductor and composer, born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA. He played piano from childhood, and studied at Harvard and the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia.
Czech composer. His Romantic music extends the classical tradition of Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms and displays the influence of Czech folk music.
US composer, conductor, and pianist. His stylistically varied works, including the cantata The Prairie (1944) and Time Cycle for soprano and orchestra (1960), express an ironic view of tradition.
Norwegian nationalist composer. Much of his music is written on a small scale, particularly his songs, dances, sonatas, and piano works, and strongly identifies with Norwegian folk music.
English composer, b. Halle, Germany. Handel was one of the greatest masters of baroque music, most widely celebrated for his majestic oratorio Messiah.
Austrian composer, one of the greatest masters of classical music. He established the basic forms of symphonic music and string quartet, which were to be a model and inspiration for the works of Mozart, and of Beethoven, who studied under Haydn
German composer and teacher. His operas Cardillac (1926, revised 1952) and Mathis der Maler/Mathis the Painter (1933-35) are theatrically astute and politically aware.
Hungarian pianist and composer. His expressive, romantic, and frequently chromatic works include piano music (Transcendental Studies, 1851), Masses and oratorios, songs, organ music, and a symphony.
Austrian composer and conductor. He composed nine large-scale symphonies incorporating folk music and pastoral imagery, with many using voices, including Symphony No 2, the ‘Resurrection’ (1884-86).
French composer and pianist. A member of the group of composers known as Les Six, he was extremely prolific in a variety of styles and genres, influenced by jazz, the rhythms of Latin America, and electronic composition.
Austrian child prodigy and one of the world's most famous composers of all time, Wolfgang demonstrated his musical ability at the age of 4, playing pieces from his sister’s clavier lessons.
Composer, born in Vienna, Austria.His major works include the Trout Piano Quintet (1819), his C major symphony (1825), and his B minor symphony (1822), known as the ‘Unfinished’.
Brazilian composer and conductor. He absorbed Russian and French influences in the 1920s to create neo-baroque works in Brazilian style, using native colours and rhythms.
Romanian-born French composer of Greek parentage. He evolved a method of ‘stochastic’ composition using the mathematics of chance and probability and also employing computers.
Music in which deliberate use is made of chance or indeterminacy; the term chance music is preferred by many composers. The indeterminate aspect may affect the act of composition, the performance, or both.
Elaborate and often lengthy solo song with instrumental accompaniment. In the 16th cent. it was a melody improvised over a strophic bass line, and a distinction was made between instrumental, vocal, and dance arias.
In music, systematic avoidance of harmonic or melodic reference to tonal centers (see key). The term is used to designate a method of composition in which the composer has deliberately rejected the principle of tonality.
A musical composition employing chorus, orchestra, and soloists and usually, but not necessarily, a setting of a sacred libretto without stage action or scenery.
A musical instrument made of brass or other metal, in which air is made to vibrate by means of the player’s lips and breath, usually through a narrow mouthpiece.
Any of a family of single-reed woodwind instruments of cylindrical bore. It is one of the four main orchestral woodwinds, but did not join the orchestra until after the middle of the 18th century.
Side-blown woodwind instrument with a long history, capable of intricate melodies and a wide range of expression. The player holds the flute horizontally, and to the right, and blows across an end hole. The air current is split by the opposite edge of the hole, causing the air column inside the instrument to vibrate and produce a sound.
Woodwind instrument of conical bore, its mouthpiece having a double reed. The instruments possessing these general characteristics may be referred to as the oboe family, which includes the English horn, the bassoon, and the contrabassoon or double bassoon. The oboe was developed in the mid-17th century in France from various older double-reed instruments.
A musical wind instrument in which sound is produced by one or more sets of pipes controlled by a keyboard, each pipe producing only one pitch by means of a mechanically produced or electrically controlled wind supply.
Brass wind musical instrument of cylindrical bore, twice bent on itself, having a sliding section that lengthens or shortens it and thus regulates the pitch.
Brass wind musical instrument of part cylindrical, part conical bore, in the shape of a flattened loop and having three piston valves to regulate the pitch.
A descendant of ancient Asian instruments such as the rebab (Arabia), sarinda (India) and the erhu (China), the violin is a small, usually wooden stringed instrument played with a bow.
