December 19, 2000 Roebuck “Pops” Staples, gospel and R&B musician, died. Staples was born December 28, 1914 on a cotton plantation near Winona, Mississippi. He dropped out of school after the eighth grade. In 1935, he moved to Chicago, Illinois where he sang with the Trumpet Jubilees. In 1948, he formed The Staple Singers with [...]
Tag Archives | musician
August 9th in African American History – Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr.
August 9, 2008 Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr., musician, songwriter, singer and actor, died. Hayes was born August 20, 1942 in Covington, Tennessee. He began his career in the early 1960s as a session player, songwriter, and producer at Stax Records. Along with his partner David Porter, Hayes wrote a string of hits for the artists [...]
June 7th in African American History – Prince Rogers Nelson (Prince)
June 7, 1958 Prince Rogers Nelson (Prince), singer, songwriter, and musician, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Prince’s first album, “For You,” was released in 1978. He composed, produced, arranged, and played all 27 instruments on the recording. In 1979, he had his first major hit album, “Prince,” which contained the single “I Wanna Be Your [...]
June 6th in African American History – William Everett “Billy” Preston
June 6, 2006 William Everett “Billy” Preston, rhythm and blues singer and musician, died. Preston was born September 2, 1946 in Houston, Texas. He began playing the piano at age three and by the age of ten was performing in the bands of gospel greats Mahalia Jackson, James Cleveland, and Andrae Crouch. At the age [...]
May 25th in African American History – Roy James Brown
May 25, 1981 Roy James Brown, pioneering R&B singer, songwriter, and musician, died. Brown was born September 10, 1925 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He started singing gospel music in the church choir. In 1947, he wrote and recorded “Good Rocking Tonight” which was a hit, reaching number 13 on the Billboard R&B charts. That song [...]
May 25th in African American History – Lauryn Noel Hill
May 25, 1975 Lauryn Noel Hill, recording artist, musician, producer, and actress, was born in South Orange, New Jersey. Hill began her acting career at a young age, appearing in the television soap opera “As the World Turns.” In 1993, she co-starred in “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit” and other films in which [...]
April 1st in African American History – Jesse Stone
April 1, 1999 Jesse Stone, rhythm and blues musician and songwriter, died. Stone was born November 16, 1901 in Atchison, Kansas. By 1926, Stone had formed a group, the Blue Serenaders, and cut his first record, “Starvation Blues.” Beginning in 1936, he worked as the bandleader at the Apollo Theater for a few years and [...]