Curated playlist
20th-century African-American male singers
- Louis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong fired a blank from his stepfather's gun and spent the night in juvenile court.
- Michael JacksonMichael Jackson bought a music catalog with most of the Beatles's material in 1985. He paid 47.5 million dollars.
- Jimi HendrixJimi Hendrix's first guitar was a one-string ukulele found in the garbage. He learned by ear to Elvis songs.
- Kanye WestKanye West recorded "Through the Wire" with his jaw still wired shut. A 2002 car accident had shattered it.
- Prince (musician)Prince once changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol to protest his record label.
- Marvin GayeMotown boss Berry Gordy refused to release Marvin Gaye's What's Going On.
- Sam CookeSam Cooke walked into a recording session and began singing Gershwin. His label's head, Art Rupe, was furious.
- Pharrell WilliamsPharrell Williams, the American musician, songwriter, record producer and fashion designer, was once behind a startling share of the songs on the radio. An August 2003 survey cited by The Age found that his production duo, the Neptunes,…
- Chuck BerryChuck Berry was buried with a cherry-red guitar bolted inside his coffin lid. The rock and roll pioneer died in 2017.
- George Clinton (funk musician)George Clinton says a flying metallic object once hit his car. The funk musician was riding with Bootsy Collins.
- Lil WayneLil Wayne left school in tenth grade after his mother found a gun in his bag.
- Will SmithWill Smith turned down the lead role in The Matrix to make Wild Wild West. He later called that choice a mistake.
- D'AngeloD'Angelo, born Michael Eugene Archer, released only three studio albums in his lifetime. Rolling Stone still placed him 75th on its 2023 list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. The same magazine ranked his second album, Voodoo, 28th…
- Snoop DoggSnoop Dogg bought Death Row Records, the label that launched his career, in February 2022. It took nearly three decades.
- Bill CosbyBill Cosby holds the record for the most Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album, with seven wins. To a vast television audience, he was also Cliff Huxtable, the father at the center of The Cosby Show. That role earned him a reputation as…
- Usher (musician)Usher, the American singer, songwriter, dancer and actor, drew 123 million viewers within the United States to his Super Bowl LVIII halftime show in 2024. Very few performers ever stand in front of a crowd that size. Fewer still get there…
- R. KellyBeneath the Chicago "L" tracks, at the Jackson stop on the Red Line in the Loop, a young school dropout named Robert Kelly sang for passing commuters. Decades later, as R. Kelly, he had sold more than 75 million albums and singles…
- Lenny KravitzLenny Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance four years in a row, from 1999 to 2002. That run broke the record for wins in the category. It also set a record for consecutive wins in one category by a male…
- Bo DiddleyBo Diddley ignored his orders on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1955. Asked for "Sixteen Tons", he played his own hit.
- Billy PrestonBilly Preston got his name on a Beatles single. The 1969 "Get Back" was credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston."