The Clark Sisters, an African American gospel ensemble comprising five daughters, was established in 1966 is the highest selling female gospel group in United States history. The singers are Jackie, born in 1948 in Selma, Alabama, from the first marriage of Leo H. Cullum, Sr. … Read MoreThe Clark Sisters (1966- )
The Ohio Players who first called themselves the Ohio Untouchables, was a pioneering vocal and instrumental funk ensemble out of Dayton, Ohio. Established in 1959, the group comprised its organizer, pianist/principal vocalist Walter Morrison, trumpeters Bruce Napier and Marvin Pierce, vocalist/bass player Marshall Jones, saxophonist/guitarist … Read MoreThe Ohio Players (1959-1980)
Beginning as the Chesters in 1957, Little Anthony and the Imperials are a legendary Doo-Wop rhythm and blues/soul vocal ensemble founded in Brooklyn, New York by tenor Clarence Collins, Countertenor/Falsetto and principal singer Jerome Anthony “Little Anthony” Gourdine, Ernest Wright, bass Glouster “Nate” Rogers, and … Read MoreLittle Anthony and the Imperials (1958- )
The Soul Stirrers were one of the most popular and influential gospel groups of the 20th century. The group was formed by countertenor/falsetto Silas Roy Crain, baritone Reubert H. Harris, baritone Thomas L. Brewster, tenor Edward Allen Rundless, Jr., and bass O.W. Thomas on September … Read MoreThe Soul Stirrers (1926-1990)
In 1939 during the Jim Crow era, baritone Clarence Fountain, bass Johnny Fields, baritone and guitarist George Scott, baritone Ollice Thomas, and tenor Velma Trayler, all elementary school students attending the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind and singing in its glee club, formed an … Read MoreThe Blind Boys of Alabama (1939 – )
Honey Cone was an R&B female vocal ensemble based in Los Angeles, California, in 1968. The co-founders were principal singer Edna Wright along with, Carolyn Willis, and Shelly Clark. They were influenced by the doo-wop style of the late 1950s and early 1960s but with … Read MoreHoney Cone (1968 – 1973)
In 1967, Edwin Reuben Hawkins—who was born on August 19, 1943, in Oakland, California and had been playing the piano at the age of five and accompanying the Hawkins family gospel group since he was seven—joined his church pianist and soprano Betty Watson of the … Read MoreEdwin Hawkins Singers (1967 – 2018)
Jodeci is an R&B group founded in the late 1980’s by members Mr. Dalvin (Dalvin Ertimus DeGrate), DeVante’ Swing (Donald Earle DeGrate Jr.), JoJo (Joel Hailey) and K-Ci (Cedric Renard Hailey). The group name is derived from an abbreviation of all the members names – … Read MoreJodeci (1989- )
For over thirty years Sylvia Luz del Villard Güilbert gave global lectures and performances on the African influence in Puerto Rico (PR) as an activist, actress, artist, ballerina, choreographer, coloratura, dancer, declamadora, folklorist, lecturer, orator, painter, teacher, singer, and writer. Reared by Paula Moreno Herrera, … Read MoreSylvia del Villard (1927-1990)
For the last thirty years, the name Mariah Carey has been synonymous with stellar singing and unmatched musical talent. As one of modern music’s most powerful voices, Carey holds the record for third-best-selling female artist of all time, after Madonna and Rhianna, and the most … Read MoreMariah Carey (1969- )
