The Isley Brothers were a band on the Billboard Top 40 charts for fifty years. Their ability to synthesize R&B, soul, funk, disco, and rock & roll elements into their discography made the group electrifying and interesting. The band was important to the creation of the soul … Read MoreThe Isley Brothers (1957-1984)
Usher Raymond IV, commonly known by his stage name Usher, is an award-winning singer, songwriter, and actor. Usher rose to superstardom as a rhythm and blues/ pop musician and has established himself as one of the most successful R&B artists of his era and one … Read MoreUsher (1978- )
The Coasters began on September 28, 1955, in Los Angeles, California after four of six members from another singing group, The Robins, broke off to start this new group. Bobby Nunn and Carl Gardner, leading vocalists of The Robins, were convinced by the up-and-coming composing/managing … Read MoreThe Coasters (1955- )
Hank Ballard and the Midnighters was a rhythm and blues band that were a major influence on the rock and roll genre beginning in the 1950s. They recorded a number of hugely popular songs and were known as the most risqué R&B group of their … Read MoreHank Ballard and the Midnighters (1950-1965); (Hank Ballard 1927-2003)
The Platters was one of the most successful rhythm and blues vocal groups during the rock and roll era. They began in Los Angeles, California and were initially managed by Ralph Bass at Federal Records. The original band consisted of Alex Hodge, Cornell Gunter, David … Read MoreThe Platters (1953- )
Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers began in 1954 as a singing group founded at Edward W. Stitt Junior High School in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan (New York City, New York) by second tenor Jimmy Merchant and bass Sherman Garnes. They initially called themselves the Earth Angels. Eventually they added lead singer, Herman Santiago, and … Read MoreFrankie Lymon and The Teenagers (1954-1957)
Al Green, born on April 13, 1948 in Forrest City, Arkansas, is known as one of the great rhythm and blues singers of the 1970s. He was born Albert Greene to Cora and Robert Greene who were sharecroppers and parents of ten other children. Greene and some of his … Read MoreAl Green (1948- )
The Chi-Lites is an R&B and Soul vocal group from Chicago, Illinois who rose up to fame in the early 1970s. The group was formed at Hyde Park High School in Chicago in 1959 by its original members, Eugene Record, Robert Lester, and Clarence Johnson. The group originally went … Read MoreThe Chi-Lites (1959- )
The Shirelles, an all-girl singing pop and rhythm and blues group that was active from 1956 to 1982, was the first African American female group to top any charts. They were formed in 1956 at New Jersey’s Passaic High School. Shirley Owens, Beverly Lee, Doris Kenner, and Addi “Mickey” Harris … Read MoreThe Shirelles (1956-1982)
Tammi Terrell is best known as one of Motown’s great talents although her short life was full of tragedy. Romantic and physically abusive relationships with James Brown and David Ruffin may have cut short a career that included many classic duets with Marvin Gaye. Brain cancer took her life only a month … Read MoreTammi Terrell (1945-1970)
