December 12, 2007 Ike Wister Turner, bandleader and record producer, died. Turner was born November 5, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. His music career began in the late 1940s when he formed a group called The Kings of Rhythm. In 1951, the band recorded “Rocket 88” which many historians recognize as the first rock and roll […]
Tag Archives | record producer
November 4th in African American History – Sean John “Diddy” Combs
November 4, 1969 Sean John “Diddy” Combs, rapper, record producer, fashion designer, and entrepreneur, was born in Harlem, New York. Combs attended Howard University but dropped out after becoming a top executive at Uptown Records. In 1993, he established Bad Boy Records where he signed and produced The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Mariah Carey, and […]
October 3rd in African American History – India Arie Simpson (India.Arie)
October 3, 1975 India Arie Simpson (India.Arie), singer, songwriter and record producer, was born in Denver, Colorado. Arie’s mother moved the family to Atlanta, Georgia when she was 13. She attended Savannah College of Arts and Design to study jewelry making and, while there, gained an interest in the guitar. Arie eventually formed an independent […]
July 6th in African American History – Harvey Fuqua
July 6, 2010 Harvey Fuqua, singer, songwriter, record producer, and executive, died. Fuqua was born July 27, 1929 in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1951, he formed a vocal group called the Crazy Sounds. Later they moved to Cleveland, Ohio and were renamed The Moonglows. The group recorded their first single in 1953 and their 1954 single […]
July 4th in African American History – Barry White
July 4, 2003 Barry White, singer, songwriter, and record producer, died. White was born Barrence Eugene Carter on September 12, 1944 in Galveston, Texas. He began his musical career in the early 1960s in singing groups before going out on his own in the mid-1960s. He got his big break producing a female group he […]
June 20th in African American History – Lionel Brockman Richie
June 20, 1949 Lionel Brockman Richie, singer, songwriter and record producer, was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. Richie went to Tuskegee Institute on a tennis scholarship and graduated in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. In 1968, he became a singer and saxophonist with the Commodores who became popular with albums such as “Natural High” […]
June 8th in African American History – Kanye Omari West
June 8, 1977 Kanye Omari West, rapper and record producer, was born in Atlanta, Georgia. West attended the American Academy of Art and Chicago State University but dropped out to focus on his music career. He first gained recognition for producing hit singles for artists such as Jay-Z, Common, Alicia Keys, and John Legend. In […]