March 18, 1970 Dana Elaine Owens (Queen Latifah), rapper, singer and actress, was born in Newark, New Jersey. Latifah started rapping in 1987 with the group Ladies Fresh and released her first album, “All Hail the Queen,” in 1989. Other rap albums include “Nature of a Sista” (1991) and “Order in the Court” (1998). In […]
Archive | Music RSS feed for this section
March 17th in African American History – Elizabeth Louise “Betty” Allen
March 17, 1927 Elizabeth Louise “Betty” Allen, operatic mezzo-soprano, was born in Campbell, Ohio. Allen earned a bachelor’s degree from the Hartford School of Music in vocal performance and her first major performance came in 1951 as the soprano soloist in “Jeremiah Symphony” with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She made her opera debut the following […]
March 16th in African American History – Aaron Thibeaux “T-Bone” Walker
March 16, 1975 Aaron Thibeaux “T-Bone” Walker, blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, died. Walker was born May 28, 1910 in Linden, Texas and learned his craft as a teenager. He made his debut recordings in 1929 with “Wichita Falls Blues” and “Trinity River Blues.” Much of his output was recorded between 1946 and 1948, including […]
March 15th in African American History – Lester Willis Young
March 15, 1959 Lester Willis Young, jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist, died. Young was born August 27, 1909 in Woodville, Mississippi and played in his family’s band on the vaudeville and carnival circuit. He left the family band in 1927 because he refused to play in the South where Jim Crow Laws were in effect. […]
March 13th in African American History – Anne Wiggins Brown
March 13, 2009 Anne Wiggins Brown, soprano and the first African American vocalist admitted to the Juilliard School, died. Brown was born August 9, 1912 in Baltimore, Maryland. She studied at Morgan College and applied to the Peabody Institute, but was rejected because of her race. In 1928, she was admitted to the Juilliard School […]
March 12th in African American History – Charles “Bird” Parker, Jr.
March 12, 1955 Charles “Bird” Parker, Jr., jazz saxophonist and composer, died. Parker was born August 29, 1920 in Kansas City, Kansas. He began playing the saxophone at age 11 and by 1938 was touring nightclubs and other venues in the southwest. In 1939, he moved to New York City where on November 26, 1945, […]
March 10th in African American History – LaVern Baker
March 10, 1997 LaVern Baker, rhythm and blues singer, died. Born Delores LaVern Baker on November 11, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois. She began singing in Chicago clubs under various names around 1946 before settling on LaVern Baker in 1952. Baker had her first hit, “Tweedlee Dee,” in 1955 and had a succession of hits over […]