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American singer and songwriter, Stevie Wonder, is one of most influential and the best-selling musicians of all time. That Girl, Gotta Have You, I Just Called to Say I Love You, Part-Time Lover and Happy Birthday are some of his chartbuster songs. He has won many awards and accolades, including 25 Grammy Awards.
Nigerian-British singer Helen Folasade Adu, or Sade Adu, often blends Afro-Cuban tunes with soul and smooth jazz in her music. The Grammy Award winner had initially studied fashion designing and been a model. The founder of the band Sade, she has released iconic tracks such as No Ordinary Love.
A passion for acting and singing since his early life, made Leslie Odom Jr an accomplished artist of stage, television, films and music industry. Debuting at the age of seventeen, his best performance came with the role of Aaron Burr in Broadway musical Hamilton. The talented artist also has three solo jazz albums and a published book in his resume.
Ella Fitzgerald was an American jazz singer. Referred to as the Queen of Jazz, First Lady of Song, and Lady Ella, Fitzgerald was renowned for her impeccable diction, purity of tone, timing, and intonation. The winner of Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Arts, Fitzgerald's legacy lives on several years after her death.
Grammy-winning singer-actor Harry Connick Jr. was born to a lawyer mother and an attorney father, who also owned a record store. He mastered the piano as a child and formed his first jazz band at 10. He later soared to fame with the multi-platinum soundtrack of When Harry Met Sally...
Jeff Healey was a Canadian blues-rock and jazz vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist. Apart from establishing his own career, Jeff Healey also helped develop the careers of several other musicians, including Philip Sayce, Terra Hazelton, and Amanda Meta Marshall. For his contribution to music, Jeff Healey was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame and the Terry Fox Hall of Fame.
Johnny Mathis is an American singer and songwriter. Best known for his contribution to popular music, Mathis has been honored with many awards including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award. Johnny Mathis is also renowned for his philanthropic efforts; he has supported such organizations as the American Cancer Society and Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Bessie Smith was an American singer who gained popularity during the Jazz Age. Dubbed the Empress of the Blues, Smith was one of the most famous blues singers of the 1920s and 1930s. Counted among the greatest singers of her generation, Bessie Smith was a major influence on several other singers. Her life and work inspired the TV film Bessie.
Jazz singer and dancer, Cab Calloway, was a famous vocalist of the swing era. From the early 1930s to the late 1940s, he led a very popular band that included musicians like Dizzy Gillespie, Jonah Jones, and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham. A man of color, he became the first African-American musician to sell a million records from a single song.
Diana Krall is a Canadian jazz singer and pianist. With several gold and multi-platinum albums under her belt, Krall is regarded as one of the best-selling artists of her generation. In 2009, Billboard called her the second-greatest jazz artist of the 2000–09 decade. In 2004, she was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.
With 10 Grammy Awards, Panamanian musician, singer, and composer Rubén Blades didn’t just soar to international fame but also redefined the Latin jazz and salsa genres. A qualified lawyer from Harvard, he came to be known as the Latin Bruce Springsteen for his music that mirrored social issues.
Tony Hadley is a British singer-songwriter and radio presenter. He is best known for his association with the New Romantic band Spandau Ballet where he was the lead singer. Tony Hadley is also well-known for his humanitarian efforts; he is a patron of many charitable organizations like Shooting Star Chase, The Huntington's Disease Association (HDA), and The Lowe Syndrome Trust.
Widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Nina Simone was a pioneering recording artist whose career was characterized by improvisational genius and fits of outrage. Nina continues to be an important musician and has influenced several artists like Elton John, Adele, David Bowie, Madonna, and Aretha Franklin. She was also a civil rights activist.
Astrud Gilberto is a Brazilian singer best known as an exponent of bossa nova and samba. She achieved international recognition in the 1960s after the release of her song The Girl from Ipanema. In 1992, she was honored with the Latin Jazz USA Award. In 2002, Astrud Gilberto was made an inductee of the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.
David Knopfler is a British singer and songwriter. He is credited with founding the popular rock band Dire Straits. David Knopfler embarked upon a solo career after leaving Dire Straits in the early 1980s. He then went on to release albums like Release, Behind the Lines, and Lips Against the Steel.
Antônio Carlos Jobim was a Brazilian pianist, guitarist, composer, arranger, singer, and songwriter. He is credited with popularizing a style of samba called bossa nova by merging it with jazz with the help of American artists in the 1960s. He played an important role in creating the bossa nova style and is referred to as the father of bossa nova.
Don Francks was a Canadian actor, singer, and musician. He is best remembered for his portrayal of David Brook in the 1980 TV series, The Phoenix Team, which earned him the ACTRA Award for Best Dramatic Performance in 1981. Don Francks was also a voice actor; apart from voicing TV characters, Francks also voiced the popular video game character, Sabretooth.
