Famous American Singers

American singers hailing from different cultural heritages undoubtedly play a major role in the development of world music. The Americans’ love for music is well known and it comes as no surprise that the country has produced some of the finest singers over the past centuries. Flora Batson, nicknamed "The Double-Voiced Queen of Song" because of her soprano-baritone range, was a 19th century black concert singer who overcame racism to become an internationally well-known star. In the 20th century the American music industry developed a series of new forms of music, and styles such as heavy metal, punk, soul, and hip hop. Louis Armstrong was one of the pivotal and most influential figures in jazz music and became one of the first truly popular African-Americans in the racially divided society. Another one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century was Frank Sinatra who was called "the greatest singer of the 20th century" by a music critic. The mid 20th century in American music was dominated by Elvis Presley often referred to as "the King of Rock and Roll", while the later part of the century saw the emergence of singers like Aaliyah, Lance Bass, and Sonny Curtis. Read on to discover about the life and works of famous American singers.