The Moonglows were one of the early influential groups in rhythm and blues. Formed as a duo in Cleveland, Ohio in 1949 by Harvey Fuqua and Bobby Lester as the two friends returned from the U.S. Army, they were later joined by Ed Wiley. The trio began making what was then … Read MoreThe Moonglows (1949-1957)
En Vogue was conceived by Oakland, California record producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy in 1989 with Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones as the original four-member girl group. They were chosen after auditions given by Foster and McElroy who named them En Vogue after … Read MoreEn Vogue (1989- )
Donny Hathaway—singer, pianist, producer, composer, and one of R&B’s strongest talents—was born Donny Edward Pitts on October 1, 1945, in Chicago, Illinois. Hathaway was raised in the Carr Square Housing Projects of St. Louis, Missouri by his grandmother Martha Pitts. At the age of three, Hathaway began singing in … Read MoreDonny Hathaway (1945-1979)
Ivorian–French pop singer John William was born Ernest Armand Huss on October 9, 1922 in the coastal town of Grand-Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). He was born to a Frenchman, Ernest Charles Huss, and an Ivorian woman, Henriette Amoussan, with whom he never had much acquaintance. At … Read MoreJohn William, a.k.a Ernest Armand Huss (1922-2011)
On August 7, 1930, a mob of ten to fifteen thousand whites abducted three young black men from the jail in Marion, Indiana, lynching Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith. Sixteen-year-old James Cameron narrowly survived after being beaten by the mob. Lawrence Beitler’s photograph of the two victims’ hanging bodies … Read MoreMarion, Indiana Lynching (1930)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Taraji Penda Henson is an American actress and singer. She was born on September 11, 1970, in Washington, D.C., to Bernice Henson, a corporate manager at Woodward and Lothrop clothing store, and Boris Lawrence Henson, a janitor and metal fabricator. Henson … Read MoreTaraji Penda Henson (1970– )
“Image Ownership: Myles Kalus Anak Jihem” Janelle Monae Robinson, known professionally as Janelle Monae, is an African American singer, songwriter, actress, and model. Born on December 1, 1985, in Kansas City, Kansas, she is the daughter of a woman (whose name is unknown) who worked … Read MoreJanelle Monae Robinson (1985– )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Bertha Lee Pate Patton was an African American blues singer from the Mississippi Delta who came to prominence during the 1920s and 1930s. She was born to Ella Johnson and Nels Pate on June 17, 1902, in Flora, Madison County, Mississippi, … Read MoreBertha Lee Pate Patton Joiner (1902–1975)
“Image Ownership: Benjamin Baker” Charles Decatur (C.D.) Brooks, field secretary for the Seventh-day Adventist World Church, was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, on July 24, 1930, the tenth child of Marvin and Mattie Brooks. Brooks was raised on a 40-acre farm outside of Greensboro where … Read MoreCharles Decatur Brooks (1930–2016)
Rhythm and blues artist Sharon Lafaye Jones was born in Augusta, Georgia, on May 4, 1956. She was the youngest of six children born to Ella Mae Price Jones and Charlie Jones. The family moved to the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, in 1960. … Read MoreSharon Lafaye Jones (1956–2016)
