SAM AND DAVE
Sam & Dave were an American soul and rhythm and blues (R&B) duo who performed together from 1961 through 1981. The tenor (higher) voice was Samuel David Moore (born Samuel David Hicks on October 12, 1935 in Winchester, Georgia), and the baritone/tenor (lower) voice was Dave Prater (May 9, 1937, Ocilla, Georgia – April 9, 1988, Sycamore, Georgia). Sam & Dave are members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and are Grammy Award and multiple gold record award winning artists. According to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Sam & Dave were the most successful soul duo, and brought the sounds of the black gospel church to pop music with their call-and-response records. Recorded primarily at Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, from 1965 through 1968, these included "Soul Man", "Hold On, I'm Comin", "I Thank You", "When Something is Wrong with My Baby", "Wrap It Up", and many other Southern Soul classics.
NEIL SEDAKA
Neil Sedaka (born March 13, 1939) is an American pop singer, pianist, and songwriter. His career has spanned over 50 years, during which time he has written many songs for himself and others, often working with lyricists Howard Greenfield and Phil Cody.
SERGIO MENDEZ AND BRAZIL 66
Sérgio Santos Mendes; born February 11, 1941 in Niterói, Brazil) is a Brazilian musician. He has released over thirty-five albums, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. When sales were tepid, he replaced his Brazilian born vocalist Wanda de Sá with the distinctive voice of Chicago native Lani Hall (who learned Mendes' Portuguese material phonetically), switched to Herb Alpert's A&M label, and released Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas Que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured regularly. The original lineup of Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall and Janis Hansen (singer), Bob Matthews (bass), Jose Soares (percussion) and Joao Palma (drums). John Pisano guested as guitarist. This line-up recorded three albums between 1966-1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill.
DEL SHANNON
Del Shannon (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990) was an American rock and roll singer-songwriter who had a No. 1 hit, "Runaway", in 1961. Shannon followed with "Hats Off to Larry", which peaked at #5 (Billboard) and #2 on Cashbox in 1961, and the less popular "So Long, Baby," another song of breakup bitterness. "Runaway" and "Hats Off to Larry" were recorded in a day. "Little Town Flirt", in 1962 (with Bob Babbitt), reached #12 in 1963, as did the album of the same name. After these hits, Shannon was unable to keep his momentum in the U.S., but continued his success in England, where he had always been more popular. In 1963, he became the first American to record a cover version of a Beatles song. "From Me to You" charted in the US before the Beatles.
BOBBY SHERMAN
Robert Cabot "Bobby" Sherman, Jr. (born July 22, 1943) is an American singer, actor and occasional songwriter, who became a popular teen idol in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Sherman was born in Santa Monica, California. He graduated in 1961 from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley and received his vocal training from Georgia Massey's School Of Song And Dance also located in the San Fernando Valley.
SIMON & GARFUNKEL
Simon & Garfunkel are an American singer-songwriter duo consisting of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957, and had their first taste of success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon & Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, backed by the hit single "The Sounds of Silence". Their music was featured in the landmark film The Graduate, propelling them further into the public consciousness. They are well known for their close vocal harmonies and sometimes unstable relationship. Their last album, Bridge over Troubled Water, was delayed several times due to artistic disagreements. They were among the most popular recording artists of the 1960s; among their biggest hits, in addition to "The Sounds of Silence", were "I Am a Rock", "Homeward Bound", "A Hazy Shade of Winter", "Mrs. Robinson", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "The Boxer", "Cecilia", and "Scarborough Fair/Canticle". They have received several Grammys and are inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2007). They have reunited on several occasions since their 1970 breakup, most famously for 1981's The Concert in Central Park, which attracted about 500,000 people.
FRANK SINATRA
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (pronounced /sɨˈnɑːtrə/; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers." His professional career had stalled by the 1950s, but it was reborn in 1954 after he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (for his performance in From Here to Eternity).
He signed with Capitol Records and released several critically lauded albums (such as In the Wee Small Hours, Songs for Swingin' Lovers, Come Fly with Me, Only the Lonely and Nice 'n' Easy). Sinatra left Capitol to found his own record label, Reprise Records (finding success with albums such as Ring-A-Ding-Ding, Sinatra at the Sands and Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim), toured internationally, was a founding member of the Rat Pack and fraternized with celebrities and presidents, including President John F. Kennedy. Sinatra turned 50 in 1965, recorded the retrospective September of My Years, starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, and scored hits with "Strangers in the Night" and "My Way".
He signed with Capitol Records and released several critically lauded albums (such as In the Wee Small Hours, Songs for Swingin' Lovers, Come Fly with Me, Only the Lonely and Nice 'n' Easy). Sinatra left Capitol to found his own record label, Reprise Records (finding success with albums such as Ring-A-Ding-Ding, Sinatra at the Sands and Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim), toured internationally, was a founding member of the Rat Pack and fraternized with celebrities and presidents, including President John F. Kennedy. Sinatra turned 50 in 1965, recorded the retrospective September of My Years, starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, and scored hits with "Strangers in the Night" and "My Way".
THE SKYLINERS
The Skyliners are an American doo-wop group from Pittsburgh fronted by Jimmy Beaumont. The original lineup also included Wally Lester, Jack Taylor, Joe Verscharen, and Janet Vogel. While this quintet constituted the formal group of vocalists, they were backed by a variety of Pittsburgh musicians including Joe Dalu, a drummer from Pittsburgh's Manchester neighborhood who also played with local favorites Ray and The Furys (COED Label, 1959). The Skyliners were best known for their 1958 hit "Since I Don't Have You." Popular covers by Trini Lopez, Chuck Jackson, Don McLean, Guns N' Roses, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Ronnie Milsap, and Buckaroo Banzai have helped keep the song in the public consciousness. They also hit the Top 40 with "This I Swear" and "Pennies From Heaven." Other classics include "It Happened Today"(1959), "Close Your Eyes" (1961), and "Comes Love" (1962). The original group dissolved in 1963 but reunited 11 years later (without Jack Taylor) for what would become their last charted record, "Where Have They Gone?"
PERCY SLEDGE
Percy Sledge (born November 25, 1940) is an American R&B and soul performer who recorded the hit "When a Man Loves a Woman" in 1966. Sledge was an inaugural Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award honoree in 1989. He won the W.C. Handy Blues Awards in 1996 for best Soul/Blues album of the year with his record Blue Night In 2005, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In May 2007, Percy Sledge was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame for his contributions to the state's music. Sledge is also an inductee of the Delta Music Museum in Ferriday, Louisiana. In November 2004, Percy Sledge was inducted into the Carolina Beach Music Hall Of Fame.
HANK SNOW
Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian-American country music artist. He charted more than 70 singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980. This total includes the number 1 hits "I'm Moving On," "The Golden Rocket", "I Don't Hurt Anymore," "Let Me Go, Lover!," "I've Been Everywhere," and "Hello Love" as well as other top ten hits. He is a member of both the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and the Music Hall of Fame.
SONNY & CHER
Sonny & Cher were an American pop music duo, actors, singers and entertainers made up of husband-and-wife team Sonny and Cher Bono in the 1960s and 1970s. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. The pair first achieved fame with two hit songs in 1965, "Baby Don't Go" and "I Got You Babe". Signing with Atco/Atlantic Records, they released three studio albums in the late 1960s, as well as the soundtrack recording for an unsuccessful movie, Good Times. In 1972, after four years of silence, the couple returned to the studio and released two other albums under the MCA/Kapp Records label. In the 1970s, they also positioned themselves as media personalities with two top ten TV shows in the US, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and The Sonny & Cher Show. The couple's career as a duo ended in 1975 following their divorce. In the decade they spent together, Sonny and Cher sold 80 million records worldwide.
DUSTY SPRINGFIELD
Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien, OBE (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. Of all the female British pop artists of the 1960s, she made one of the biggest impressions on the American market. Owing to her distinctive sensual sound, she was one of the most notable white soul artists. Born to an Irish Roman Catholic family that loved music, Mary O'Brien learned to sing at home. Springfield began her solo career in 1963 with the upbeat pop hit, "I Only Want To Be With You". Her following hits included "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself", "Wishin' and Hopin'" and "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me". A fan of American pop music, she campaigned to bring the little-known soul singers to a wider British audience by devising and hosting the first British performances of the top-selling Motown Records artists in 1965. Her rendition of "The Look of Love", written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, was included on the soundtrack of the James Bond movie Casino Royale (1967) and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. The marked changes of pop music in the mid-1960s left many female pop singers out of fashion. To boost her credibility as a soul artist, Springfield went to Memphis, Tennessee, to record an album of pop and soul music with the Atlantic Records main production team. Dusty in Memphis earned Springfield a nomination for the Grammy Award and it received the Grammy Hall of Fame award. International polls list the album among the greatest of all time. Its standout track "Son of a Preacher Man" was an international Top 10 hit in 1969.
BARBRA STREISAND
Barbra Streisand born Barbara Joan Streisand, April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, director and songwriter. She has won two Academy Awards, nine Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, and a Peabody Award. She is one of the most commercially and critically successful female entertainers in modern entertainment history, with more than 71.5 million albums shipped in the United States and 140 million albums sold worldwide. She is the best-selling female artist on the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) Top Selling Artists list and the only female recording artist in the top ten. Her achievement is all the more remarkable, as she is the only artist who was not a part of the rock n roll genre. Along with Frank Sinatra, Cher, Jamie Foxx and Shirley Jones, she shares the distinction of being awarded an acting Oscar and also recording a #1 pop single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. According to the RIAA, Streisand holds the record for the most Top 10 albums of any female recording artist; a total of 31 to her credit since 1963. Streisand also has the widest span (46 years) between first and latest Top 10 albums of any female recording artist. With her 2009 album, Love Is the Answer, she became the only artist to achieve number 1 albums in five consecutive decades. Her RIAA tally shows she has released 51 Gold albums, 30 Platinum albums, and 13 Multi-Platinum albums in the United States.
THE STYLISTICS
The Stylistics were one of the best-known Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. They formed in 1968, and were composed of lead Russell Thompkins, Jr., Herbie Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads, graced by the soaring falsetto of Russell Thompkins, Jr. and the lush yet graceful productions of Thom Bell, which helped make the Stylistics one of the most successful soul groups of the first half of the 1970s." During the early 1970s, the band had twelve straight U.S. R&B top ten hits, including "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)", "You Are Everything", "Betcha by Golly, Wow", "I'm Stone in Love with You", "Break Up to Make Up", and "You Make Me Feel Brand New".
THE SUPREMES
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco. They were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and are, to date, America's most successful vocal group with 12 number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. At their peak in the mid-1960s, The Supremes rivaled The Beatles in worldwide popularity, and their success made it possible for future African-American R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success. Founding members Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit, formed The Primettes as the sister act to The Primes (with Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, who would go on to form The Temptations). Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1960, and the group signed with Motown the following year as The Supremes. Martin left the act in early 1962, and Ross, Ballard, and Wilson carried on as a trio. During the mid-1960s, The Supremes achieved mainstream success with Ross as lead singer. In 1967, Motown president Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes, and replaced Ballard with Cindy Birdsong. Ross left to pursue a solo career in 1970 and was replaced by Jean Terrell, at which point the group's name reverted to The Supremes. After 1972, the lineup changed more frequently; Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne, and Susaye Greene all became members of the group during the mid-1970s. The Supremes disbanded in 1977 after an 18-year run.
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