Soul Singer Wilson Pickett was born on March 18, 1941, in Prattville, Alabama, as the fourth of eleven children. Throughout his childhood, he sang in Baptist church choirs and was trained as a gospel singer. During this period, he began to develop a soulful tone … Read MoreWilson Pickett (1941-2006)
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)
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- )
Don Carlton Lemon is a prominent, award-winning black television anchor in the United States. In 2011, he publicly came out as a gay man. In so doing, he became the most prominent African American journalist to announce his sexual orientation and was immediately considered a … Read MoreDon Lemon (1966- )
Image Ownership: BeeCeePhoto (CC BY-SA 4.0) Harold “Hal” Jackson, legendary broadcaster, radio station owner, and philanthropist was born November 3, 1915 in Charleston, South Carolina to Eugene and Laura Jackson. Eugene Jackson owned a successful tailor shop in Charleston allowing the family to live in … Read MoreHal Jackson (1915-2012 )
Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Charles Edward Anderson “Chuck” Berry was considered a pioneer of rock and roll and a significant influence on 20th-century popular music. His songs, such as “Johnny B. Goode” and “Roll Over Beethoven,” are rock and roll standards. Chuck Berry was born … Read MoreChuck Berry (1926-2017)
Chubby Checker, the man credited with inventing “The Twist,” was born Ernest Evans in Spring Gully, South Carolina. He moved to Philadelphia with his parents and two brothers and attended South Philadelphia High School. Evans aspired to become a performer from a young age and … Read MoreChubby Checker (Ernest Evans) (1941- )
Image Ownership: Public Domain Louis Jordan, alto saxophonist, vocalist, and recording artist is considered by many to be an under-recognized trailblazer in the early foundations of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Jordan was one of the first African American musicians in the 1940s to crossover from the … Read MoreLouis Jordan (1908-1975)
Billy Preston, singer and musician, was born William Everett Preston in 1946 in Houston, Texas. He lived in Houston, Texas until his family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1949. Working as Victory Baptist Church’s organist, his mother, Robbie Preston Williams, supported Preston, his sister … Read MoreWilliam Everett “Billy” Preston (1946-2006)
Taliaferro, the first black talk show host on a major American radio station, was born on February 7, 1939 and grew up in the Hunters Point district of San Francisco. His talk radio career began in 1967 at San Francisco’s KNEW station and shortly thereafter … Read MoreRaphael “Ray” Taliaferro (1939-2018)
