Author : joe bodego

Art Blakey, also called Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, (born October 11, 1919, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died October 16, 1990, New York, New York), American drummer and bandleader...

Sonny Stitt, by name of Edward Stitt, (born February 2, 1924, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.—died July 22, 1982, Washington, D.C.), American jazz musician, one of the...

A trio of sisters with a strong gospel base, the Emotions (based in Chicago) were one of the leading female R&B acts of the ’70s....

Born on January 11, 1935, in Chicago, Chuck Barksdale is one of the original members of the R&B group the Dells. The Dells (originally known...

The Dells were one of the finest and longest-lived R&B vocal groups in history, and what’s most amazing is that they did it with nearly...

Bo Diddley, original name Ellas Bates, later Ellas McDaniel, (born December 30, 1928, McComb, Mississippi, U.S.—died June 2, 2008, Archer, Florida), American singer, songwriter, and...

Minnie Julia Riperton-Rudolph, aka Minnie Riperton, was born on November 8, 1947, the youngest of eight children to Thelma and Salleh Riperton, and grew up...

Singer/drummer/songwriter/producer Maurice White founded the ’70s supergroup Earth, Wind & Fire. White, a former session drummer for legendary Chicago-based labels OKeh Records and Chess Records...

World-famous jazz musician and composer Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. was first given piano lessons at age four. He was born in Chicago on May 27,...

In 1950s Chicago, two Polish Jewish brothers founded the hugely influential Chess Records label. Working with artists like Chuck Berry and Howlin’ Wolf, they released...