Bobby Womack, American musician and soul singer, was born on March 4, 1944, to Friendly and Naomi Womack in Cleveland, Ohio. Bobby was the middle child of five siblings who were all boys: Friendly Jr., Curtis, Bobby, Harry, and Cecil. Bobby started playing with his … Read MoreBobby Womack (1944-2014)
Born February 12, 1956, in Cleveland, Ohio, Arsenio Hall is a comedian, talk show host, writer, producer, and actor. He hosted the late night show Arsenio Hall Show from 1989 to 1994. A Baptist preacher’s son, Hall he grew up in a poor East Cleveland … Read MoreArsenio Hall (1956- )
Gladys Maria Knight is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, actress, and humanitarian. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 28, 1944, to Sarah and Merald Knight Sr. and began singing in church as a child. At age seven, she gained minor fame after … Read MoreGladys Knight (1944- )
Dorothy Love Coates was an American gospel singer, songwriter, and composer. She was born Dorothy McGriff on January 30, 1928, in Birmingham, Alabama. Her minister father, Lillar McGriff, moved to the North when Coates was six, and her parents soon divorced. Thereafter, Lillar McGriff raised … Read MoreDorothy Love Coates (1928-2002)
Bessie Smith was a jazz and blues vocalist whose powerful, soulful voice won her countless fans and earned her the title “Empress of the Blues.” Smith’s songs stressed classic blues subjects: poverty and oppression; love and betrayal; independence, sexual freedom, and stoic acceptance of defeat … Read MoreBessie Smith (1894-1937)
Robert Louis Johnson, founder, chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Black Entertainment Television (BET), is also the majority owner of the Charlotte (North Carolina) Bobcats of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the first African American billionaire. He was born in Hickory, Mississippi in … Read MoreRobert Louis Johnson (1946- )
Carmen McRae, a jazz singer and songwriter, was born on April 8, 1920 in Harlem, New York. Her father Osmond Llewelyn McRae was born in Santa Cruz, Jamaica in 1891; he moved from Jamaica to Costa Rica to Cuba and then to New York City, … Read MoreCarmen McRae (1920-1994)
Dexter Gordon was a pioneering jazz saxophonist who made a career of expertly blending rhythm and romance on the bandstand and the silver screen. Nicknamed “Long Tall Dex” for his 6-foot 5-inch frame, the Los Angeles, California native was born on Feb. 27, 1923. Gordon’s … Read MoreDexter Gordon (1923-1990)
Singer, songwriter, and record producer William “Smokey” Robinson was born on February 19, 1940 in Detroit, Michigan. Best known for his association with Motown Records, Robinson served as vice president of the legendary label from 1961 until 1988. During that period Robinson, either with his … Read MoreWilliam “Smokey” Robinson (1940- )
Stax Records is an American record company known for its talented, and often integrated, rhythm and blues (R&B) musicians. Founded by Estelle Axton and her brother Jim Stewart in 1957 as Satellite Records, in 1960 the company moved into the Capitol Theater in Memphis, Tennessee. … Read MoreStax Records (1957- )
