Famous Musicians a to z

Horace Andy is a Jamaican singer-songwriter known for his breakthrough single, "Skylarking," and for his long association with British trip-hop band Massive Attack.

Adam Ant came to fame in the early 1980s as the lead singer of the New Wave band Adam and the Ants.

Actor and director Alan Arkin is a three-time Academy Award nominee, whose notable films include Catch-22 and Wait Until Dark.

Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born actor and musician who is remembered for his marriage to Lucille Ball and their TV show, I Love Lucy.

Kevin Bacon is known for numerous movies (especially Footloose), his marriage to Kyra Sedgwick and the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Buju Banton is a controversial Jamaican dancehall singer who is best known for his notorious single "Boom Bye Bye," which advocated violence against gays and inspired worldwide protest.

Guitarist Syd Barrett helped found the psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd. After a mental break forced his departure, he spent 30 years as a painter and recluse.

Harry Belafonte has achieved lasting fame for such songs as "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)," and for his humanitarian work.

Andy Bell is an English musician best known as the lead singer of the pop duo Erasure. 

Jim Belushi, younger brother of the late John Belushi, starred on his own TV sitcom, According to Jim, as well as in several theater and film productions.

Tony Bennett is an American jazz vocalist, best known for performing standards and his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."

Art Blakey was an influential jazz drummer associated with the modern bebop style. He played with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious monk and countless other jazz greats.

Mel Blanc was a voice actor and entertainer who provided voices for Bugs Bunny and over 400 other cartoon characters.

Musician and politician Sonny Bono was once wed to singer Cher and in 1994 was elected to U.S. Congress as a representative from California.

Reggae artist Dennis Brown began his career at the age of 12, when he recorded the hit single "No Man is an Island."

Jackson Browne is a folk singer-songwriter who released numerous hit records in the 1970s and '80s, including Late for the Sky. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Reggae musician Burning Spear, also known as Winston Rodney, OD, is a Bob Marley protégé whose hits include "Door Peep" and "Slavery Days."

Sammy Cahn was a U.S. lyricist who composed songs for romantic films and Broadway musicals, including the hit “Three Coins in the Fountain” (1954, Oscar).

Anita Carter is best known for singing with Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters, a family band of early country music.

Vince Clarke is best known for his membership in the snythpop group Erasure and the technopop group Depeche Mode.

Patsy Cline was a celebrated country singer best known for her crossover hits, including "Crazy" and "Walking After Midnight."

Singer Perry Como is best known for his warm baritone crooning which came to characterize popular music in the 40s and 50s.

Sam Cooke, commonly known as the King of Soul, was an African-American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer and songwriter. He had 29 top-40 hits from 1957-1964.

American illustrator and artist Robert Crumb is best known for his distinctive style and satirical tone and creating the cartoon character Fritz the Cat.

Billy Ray Cyrus is a country singer/songwriter who is perhaps now more famous for his TV and film roles than for his music.

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian painter and a genius in many realms of science. He is best known for two paintings: the "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper."

Gotye is a Belgian-Australian pop-music sensation. His eclectic music, which draws from a variety of sources, has topped charts and won awards worldwide.

Jamaican born singer Desmond Dekker was best known for creating several musical hits in the ska and reggae genres.

A member of the Beastie Boys, Mike D has demonstrated his talents as a rapper, crafting clever quirky and often humorous lyrics.

Howard Dietz was a songwriter and the creator of the famous MGM lion mascot.

African American poet Rita Dove is the youngest person and the first African American to be appointed Consultant in Poetry at the Library of Congress.

The music of British singer-songwriter Nick Drake wasn't a hit during his lifetime, but his albums Fruit Tree and Pink Moon have gained fans over the years.

Actress and musician Haylie Duff is Hillary Duff’s older sister. Haylie earned national fame as Summer Wheatley in the 2004 cult classic Napoleon Dynamite.

Alton Ellis was a Jamaican singer and songwriter with a smooth vocal style, known widely as the "Godfather of Rocksteady," a slow, soulful Jamaican music genre.

Hortense Ellis, younger sister of the "Godfather of Rock Steady" Alton Ellis, was a pop singer who was regarded as Jamaica’s first locally based female singing star.

Pianist Leon Fleisher is best known for his compositions and performances of classical music.

English musician Peter Frampton began his career with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd. He is best known for his hit album Frampton Comes Alive!.

James Galway is an internationally renowned flutist who includes both classical and contemporary works in his repertoire.

Australian singer and political activist Peter Garrett is best known for his considerable contributions to both the environment and the music industry.

Lyricist Ira Gershwin wrote for popular musicals like Porgy and Bess in the 1920s and '30s. He was in the first writing team to win a Pulitzer for songwriting.

Stan Getz was an American jazz saxophonist best known for his popularization of the bossa nova sound.

David Gilmour was the guitarist and singer for the British rock band Pink Floyd. He is also an aviator and philanthropist.

Philip Glass is an American composer often associated with minimalism. He has composed numerous film and theatrical scores, including "Koyaanisqatsi" and "The Hours."

Keith Godchaux is known for his tenure as a keyboardist with the Grateful Dead in the 1970s.

Kim Gordon is the bass player for the band Sonic Youth as well as an artist and clothing designer.

Greg Graffin is the frontman of the punk group Bad Religion, which created albums like How Could Hell Be Any Worse? and Into the Unknown.

Adrian Grenier is an American actor recognized for his roles in independent films like The Adventures of Sebastian Cole, as well as for his longtime the popular cable television series Entourage.

Daryl Hall is a musician whose group Hall & Oates burned up the charts in the 1970s and early 1980s.

George Harrison was lead guitarist of The Beatles as well as a singer-songwriter on many of their most memorable tracks.

Issac Hayes was an American musician. His hit song "Soul Man" and the musical score for the 1971 film Shaft are legendary contributions to modern music.

Ed Helms is an actor, comedian, singer and musician known for his work on The Daily Show, The Office and The Hangover films.

Taylor Hicks is an American singer-songwriter who rose to fame after his win on the fifth season of American Idol.

Dexter Holland is the lead singer of the punk band The Offspring.

Buddy Holly was a singer/songwriter whose records, conveying a sense of the wide-open spaces of West Texas and unstoppable joie de vivre, remain vital today.

Robert Hunter is a writer and lyricist chiefly known for the songs he has written for the Grateful Dead.

Musical rebel Waylon Jennings is best remembered for helping to popularize a grittier and more rock-influenced style of outlaw country music.

James Weldon Johnson was an African-American writer, politician, educator and lawyer. He was also an early civil rights activist and leader of the NAACP.

Linton Kwesi Johnson is a Jamaican poet, journalist and author based in London. He is widely considered to be the father of reggae dub poetry, a precursor to rap music.

Musician and actor Jon Bon Jovi is best known as the lead singer and founder of the rock band Bon Jovi.

Reggae and ska musician Judge Dread produced a string of hits in the 1970s, such as Big Six and several others that were banned by the BBC for their sexual innuendo.

Stan Kenton was an American pianist, composer and bandleader associated with the swing movement in jazz.

King Yellowman is a Jamaican dancehall reggae performer whose stage name references his white skin due to albinism, a genetic defect causing an absence of the pigment melanin.

Steve Lacy was a jazz soprano saxophonist known for his work with Thelonius Monk and other jazz greats.

Cyndi Lauper is a singer who rose to fame in the 1980s with a string of pop hits such as "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."

Jon Lord is best known for his membership in the hard-rock band Deep Purple in the late 1960s, performing songs like "Demon's Eye" and "Space Truckin'." He later joined the band Whitesnake, which gained wide fame in the 1980s.

Chris Lowe is a British musician best known as half of the electronic dance music duo the Pet Shop Boys.

Yo-Yo Ma is an acclaimed cellist and songwriter who has produced dozens of albums and won more than 15 Grammy Awards.

Taj Mahal is a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music blends various folk traditions and was influential in the creation of the world music genre.

Nick Mason was a founding member and drummer of the British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd.