200 Notable Icons of African American History

Louis Armstrong

The leading trumpeter and one of the most influential artists in jazz history.

Count Basie

American jazz musician noted for his spare, economical piano style and for his leadership of influential and widely heralded big bands.

Chuck Berry

Musician. Born Charles Edward Anderson Berry on October 18, 1926 in St Louis, Missouri.

James Brown

American singer, songwriter, arranger, and dancer, who was one of the most important and influential entertainers in 20th-century popular music and whose remarkable achievements earned him the sobriquet "the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business.��"

Cab Calloway

Singer, bandleader, dancer. Born Cabell Calloway III on December 25, 1907, in Rochester, New York.

Ray Charles

American pianist, singer, composer, and bandleader, a leading black entertainer billed as "the Genius."��

Chubby Checker

Singer. Born October 3, 1941, in Spring Gulley, South Carolina, the son of a tobacco farmer.

Nat King Cole

American musician hailed as one of the best and most influential pianists and small-group leaders of the swing era.

John Coltrane

American jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and composer, an iconic figure of 20th-century jazz.

Sean "Puffy" Combs

Singer, songwriter, producer. Born in 1971, in Harlem, New York.

Miles Davis

American jazz musician, a great trumpeter who as a bandleader and composer was one of the major influences on the art from the late 1940s.

Fats Domino

Musician. Born February 26, 1928 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Duke Ellington

American pianist who was the greatest jazz composer and bandleader.

Ella Fitzgerald

Singer. Born Ella Jane Fitzgerald on April 25, 1917 in Newport News, Virginia.

Aretha Franklin

Soul singer. Born Aretha Louise Franklin on March 25, 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Marvin Gaye

Singer, composer. Born Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. on April 2, 1939 in Washington, D.C. Composer of 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' (1968) and other soul classics, he sang gospel music in his father's church before joining a 'doo-wop' group, the Rainbows, when he was 15.

Jimi Hendrix

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Born Johnny Allen Hendrix (later changed to James Marshall) on November 27, 1942, in Seattle, Washington.

Lena Horne

Horne left school at age 16 to help support her ailing mother and became a dancer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City.

Whitney Houston

Singer, actress. Born Whitney Elizabeth Houston on August 9, 1963 in Newark, New Jersey.

Michael Jackson

Singer, songwriter. Born August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, as the seventh of nine children. Jackson and his brothers Jackie, Tito, Marlon, and Jermaine were assembled into a singing group when Michael was only five years old.

Etta James

Singer. Born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938 in Los Angeles.

Al Jarreau

Singer, songwriter. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 12, 1940.

Quincy Jones

Composer, record producer. Born Quincy Delight Jr. on March 14, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois.� A multifaceted jazz and pop figure, he began with his Seattle teenage friend Ray Charles, who interested him in arranging.

Beyoncé

Born Beyoncé Giselle Knowles on September 4, 1981, in Houston, Texas,� she began singing with the original members of the popular R&B group Destiny's Child -- LaToya Luckett, Kelly Rowland and LaTavia Roberson -- as a pre-teen.

Wynton Marsalis

Jazz musician, composer. Born October 18, 1961 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Jelly Roll Morton

American jazz composer and pianist who pioneered the use of prearranged, semiorchestrated effects in jazz-band performances.

Thelonious Monk

American pianist and composer who was among the first creators of modern jazz.

Prince

Singer, composer. Born Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Ma Rainey

Pioneer blues vocalist. Born Gertrude Pridgett on April 26, 1886, in Columbus, Georgia, to minstrel troupers Thomas Pridgett, Sr. and Ella Allen-Pridgett.

Smokey Robinson

Singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born on February 19, 1940, in Detroit, Michigan.

Diana Ross

Singer and actress. Born on March 26, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan.

Tupac Shakur

Rapper, actor. Born on June 16, 1971, in New York, New York. Shakur has become a legend in hip-hop and rap circles for his talent, his violent behavior, and his brutal death.

Nina Simone

Jazz singer, pianist, composer. Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina.

Snoop Dogg

Rapper, actor. Born Calvin Broadus on October 20, 1972, in Long Beach, California. Broadus got the nickname "Snoop" from his mother because she thought he looked like the character in the Peanuts cartoon.

Tina Turner

Singer. Born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939 in Nutbush, Tennessee.

Stevie Wonder

American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, a child prodigy who developed into one of the most creative musical figures of the late 20th century.

Luther Vandross

Singer, songwriter. Born April 20, 1951, in New York City.

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