| A Flock of Seagulls | Rock | 1980 |
Genre: Rock | Formed: 1980 As well-known for their bizarrely teased haircuts as their hit single "I Ran (So Far Away)," A Flock of Seagulls were one of the infamous one-hit wonders of the new wave era. Growing out of the synth- See Also: |
| A Static Lullaby | Rock | 2001 |
Genre: Rock | Formed: 2001 Post-hardcore/alternative rock outfit A Static Lullaby came together after a casual high school jam session led its members to quit their existing bands and come together as one. Formed in 2001 in Ora See Also: |
| A Tribe Called Quest | Rap | 1988 |
Genre: Rap | Formed: 1988 Without question the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s, A Tribe Called Quest jump-started and perfected the hip-hop alternative to hardcore and gangsta rap. In essence, they abando See Also: |
| A., Stephen | Gospel | |
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| A-1 Swift | Rock | |
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| Aaberg, Philip | New Age | 1953 |
Genre: New Age | Born: zz/zz/1953 This Montana-born keyboardist and composer studied music at Harvard on a Leonard Bernstein scholarship before paying his dues on the San Francisco blues scene. Aaberg's wide range of abilities led to See Also: |
| Abbott, Gregory | Rhythm & Blues | |
Genre: Rhythm & Blues Gregory Abbott's roots stem from Venezuela, his mother's homeland, and the island of Antigua, his father's homeland; making him a dual citizen of the small tropical island and the U.S., where he was b See Also: |
| AC/DC | Rock | 1973 |
Genre: Rock | Formed: 1973 AC/DC's mammoth power-chord roar became one of the most influential hard rock sounds of the '70s. In its own way, it was a reaction against the pompous art rock and lumbering arena rock of the early ' See Also: |
| Acapulco Tropical | Latin | |
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| Accept | Rock | 1978 |
Genre: Rock | Formed: 1978 With their brutal, simple riffs and aggressive, fast tempos, Accept was one of the top metal bands of the early '80s, and a major influence on the development of thrash. Led by the unique vocal stylin See Also: |
| Acceptance | Rock | 1998 |
Genre: Rock | Formed: 1998 Acceptance's sparkling rock themes unveil not only their previous musical experience, mostly coming from punk rock ground, but also the crossbred musical wishes shared by each member of the lineup. Fo See Also: |
| Accused | Rock | 1981 |
Genre: Rock | Formed: 1981 Fusing hardcore punk and heavy metal into a furiously thrashing hybrid, Seattle's the Accused invariably described to their style as "splattercore," a reference to their chief lyrical inspirations -- See Also: |
| Ace of Base | Rock | 1990 |
Genre: Rock | Formed: 1990 Comprised of vocalists Jenny Berggren and Linn Berggren, and keyboardists Jonas "Joker" Berggren and Ulf "Buddah" Ekberg, the Swedish quartet Ace of Base became a phenomenally popular international ac See Also: |
| Aceves, Miguel | Latin | |
Genre: Latin Known as "The Golden Falsetto," Miguel Aceves Mejia achieved the peak of his success as a ranchera and film star in the late '50s. His early career breaks were in radio, where he got a gig singing on See Also: |
| Acid Bath | Rock | |
Genre: Rock While they didn't gain much more than a cult following during their existence, Louisiana's Acid Bath has since attained a somewhat legendary status in the darker corners of the rock/metal underground. See Also: |
| Ackerman, Will | New Age | 1949 |
Genre: New Age | Born: 11/1949 William Ackerman has gained prominence both as a musician and a businessman, and at least one of those occupations seems to have been unintentional. Though Ackerman has played guitar since the age of See Also: |
| Acuff, Roy | Country | 1903 |
Genre: Country | Born: 09/15/1903 Roy Acuff was called the King of Country Music, and for more than 60 years he lived up to that title. If any performer embodied country music, it was Roy Acuff. Throughout his career, Acuff was a cham See Also: |
| Adams, Yolanda | Gospel | 1964 |
Genre: Gospel | Born: 1964 Another in the line of gospel artists putting the soul and fervor back in R&B music, Yolanda Adams was a school teacher in Houston during the mid-'80s and occasionally did modeling work. Her mother ha See Also: |
| Adams, Greg | Jazz | |
Genre: Jazz Once Greg Adams picked up a trumpet, his course was set. He earned the first trumpet chair as a freshman at his Bay Area high school, and was writing arrangements for various school ensembles by the t See Also: |
| Adderley, Cannonball | Jazz | 1928 |
Genre: Jazz | Born: 09/15/1928 One of the great alto saxophonists, Cannonball Adderley had an exuberant and happy sound (as opposed to many of the more serious stylists of his generation) that communicated immediately to listeners. See Also: |
| Adema | Rock | |
Genre: Rock Adema formed in the California Central Valley that spawned Korn and Videodrone. The melodic hard rock band consists of guitarist Mike Ransom, guitarist Tim Fluckey, bassist Dave DeRoo, drummer Kris Ko See Also: |
| Adkins, Hasil | Rock | 1937 |
Genre: Rock | Born: 04/29/1937 Hasil Adkins was a one of a kind rockabilly lunatic whose life and music were bizarre enough that if they had been a work of fiction, no one with any sense would have ever believed it. A frantic one-m See Also: |
| Aerosmith | Rock | 1970 |
Genre: Rock | Formed: 1970 Aerosmith was one of the most popular hard rock bands of the '70s, setting the style and sound of hard rock and heavy metal for the next two decades with their raunchy, bluesy swagger. The Boston-base See Also: |
| Ago | Electronica | |
Genre: Electronica See Also: |
| Aguilar, Luis | Latin | 1917 |
Genre: Latin | Born: 1917 Admired for his singing as well as his acting, Luis Aguilar, a.k.a. el Gallo Giro, went down in history as one of the great stars of the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. Aguilar wasn't as prolific a reco See Also: |
| Aguilera, Christina | Rock | 1980 |
Genre: Rock | Born: 12/18/1980 After Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera was the most popular female singer of the late-'90s teen pop revival. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Aguilera was a technically skilled singer with a genui See Also: |
| Aiello, Danny | Vocal Music | |
Genre: Vocal Music Oscar-nominated actor Danny Aiello, best known for his roles in Moonstruck and Do the Right Thing, grew up in the Bronx, where singing on the street corners was a common thing, and Aiello took his sha See Also: |
| Aiken, Clay | Rock | 1978 |
Genre: Rock | Born: 11/30/1978 As the runner-up to Fox TV's second American Idol: The Search for a Superstar competition, vocalist Clay Aiken wowed television audiences in 2003 with his Southern charm, sweet demeanor, and bright, g See Also: |
| Air Supply | Rock | 1976 |
Genre: Rock | Formed: 1976 With their heavily orchestrated, sweet ballads, the Australian soft rock group Air Supply became a staple of early-'80s radio, scoring a string of seven straight Top Five singles. Air Supply, for most See Also: |
| Al, Weird | Comedy | 1959 |
Genre: Comedy | Born: 10/23/1959 The foremost song parodist of the MTV era, "Weird Al" Yankovic carried the torch of musical humor more proudly and more successfully than any performer since Allan Sherman. In the world of novelty rec See Also: |
| Alabama | Country | 1977 |
Genre: Country | Formed: 1977 Before Alabama, bands were usually relegated to a supporting role in country music. In the first part of the century, bands were popular with audiences across the country, but as recordings became ava See Also: |
| Alabama State Mass Choir | Gospel | |
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| ALARM, THE | Rock | 1981 |
Genre: Rock | Formed: 1981 With idealistic spirit, a powerhouse live show, and bigger than big hair, the Alarm were part of an early-'80s wave of bands (the Call, Big Country, and the Waterboys among them) who dealt in soaring See Also: |
| Alcazar | Rock | |
Genre: Rock Producers Alexander Bass and Anders Hansson teamed up with former solo singer Andreas Lundstedt (born 1972) to assemble a club/house-oriented outfit. The Swedish dance-pop project was joined by Annika See Also: |
| Alfredo, José | Latin | 1926 |
Genre: Latin | Born: 01/09/1926 José Alfredo (born José Alfredo Jiménez) was born to be a musician. Singing from earliest memory, he composed his first tunes at the age of nine. Within two years, he had begun recording. Although suc See Also: |
| Alice in Chains | Rock | 1987 |
Genre: Rock | Formed: 1987 In many ways, Alice in Chains was the definitive heavy metal band of the early '90s. Drawing equally from the heavy riffing of post-Van Halen metal and the gloomy strains of post-punk, the band develo See Also: |
| All That Remains | Rock | 1998 |
Genre: Rock | Formed: 1998 Formed by guitarist Oli Herbert and ex-Shadows Fall vocalist Phil Labonte in 1998, Massachusetts' All That Remains debuted in 2002 with Behind Silence and Solitude on Metal Blade. Rounded out by drumm See Also: |
| Allan, David | Country | 1939 |
Genre: Country | Born: 09/06/1939 A life-long renegade, singer/songwriter David Allan Coe was one of the most colorful and unpredictable characters in country music history. One of the pioneering artists of the outlaw country movement See Also: |
| Allen, Peter | Vocal Music | 1944 |
Genre: Vocal Music | Born: 02/10/1944 In the 1970s, Peter Allen gained recognition both as a composer of romantic ballads such as "I Honestly Love You" and "Don't Cry Out Loud" and, contrastingly, as a flamboyant stage performer. He learn See Also: |
| Allen & Allen | Gospel | |
Genre: Gospel Allen & Allen are a contemporary gospel group who released their self-titled debut album in 1994. They followed it in 1995 with A-Blazing Grace. After recording Christmas Like Never Before, they relea See Also: |
| Allman, Gregg | Rock | 1947 |
Genre: Rock | Born: 12/08/1947 Gregg Allman's most visible contribution to rock music is as lead singer, organist, and songwriter within the Allman Brothers Band, founded by his brother Duane (d. 1971) in 1969. He has never threate See Also: |
| Allure | Rhythm & Blues | |
Genre: Rhythm & Blues The New York-based urban soul vocal group Allure was the first band to be signed to Mariah Carey's Crave Records. Such connections ensured that Allure would be promoted well and that their eponymous 1 See Also: |
| Alpert, Herb | Easy Listening | 1935 |
Genre: Easy Listening | Born: 03/31/1935 One of the most successful instrumental performers in pop history, trumpeter Herb Alpert was also one of the entertainment industry's shrewdest businessmen: A&M, the label he co-founded with partner J See Also: |
| Alter Bridge | Rock | 2004 |
Genre: Rock | Formed: 01/zz/2004 Alter Bridge resurrected the music-making portion of Creed. After that band's 2004 dissolution, guitarist Mark Tremonti and drummer Scott Phillips tapped ousted bassist Brian Marshall for the new proj See Also: |
| Altered Images | Rock | 1979 |
Genre: Rock | Formed: 1979 Scottish new wavers Altered Images formed in early 1979, consisting of vocalist Clare Grogan, guitarist Tony McDaid, drummer Tich Anderson, and bassist Johnny McElhone. The teenagers cut a demo and se See Also: |
| Alvarez, Marcelo | Classical | |
Genre: Classical Operatic tenor Marcelo Alvarez is a native of Cordoba, Argentina, and achieved international success in the late '90s, becoming one of opera's great success stories. Alvarez went to college in Argenti See Also: |
| Amahl & The Night Visitors | Soundtrack | |
Genre: Soundtrack See Also: |
| Amante, Michael | Classical | |
Genre: Classical Growing up as one of five children in an Italian-American family in Syracuse, NY, Michael Amante knew from early childhood that he wanted to be a singer. His first performances ranged from the choirs See Also: |
| Amenabar, Alejandro | Soundtrack | |
Genre: Soundtrack See Also: |
| American Juniors | Rock | |
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| Ames, Ed | Vocal Music | 1927 |
Genre: Vocal Music | Born: 07/09/1927 Pop vocalist Ed Ames was born Ed Urick in 1927. The youngest of four brothers, he began to sing with Joe, Gene, and Vic in the late '40s. The Ames Brothers hit the Top Ten three times between 1954 and See Also: |
| Amici Forever | Rock | |
Genre: Rock Billed as the world's first "opera band," Amici Forever consists of five photogenic, classically trained opera singers who blend contemporary pop with traditional opera. Sopranos Jo Appleby (England) See Also: |
| Amigo, Vicente | Latin | 1967 |
Genre: Latin | Born: 1967 |