His reign as King of the Blues has been as long as that of any monarch on earth. Yet B.B. King continues to wear his crown well. At age 76, he is still light on his feet, singing and playing the blues with relentless passion. Time has no apparent effect on B.B., other than to …
Arrived at Welfare Office in Limousine, Arrested Repeatedly, New ODB Albums Cobbled Together, Selected discography 1968-2004 Rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard, photograph. AP/Wide World Photos. After rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard died of cardiac arrest in a Manhattan recording studio in 2004, an autopsy revealed a dangerous mixture of cocaine and prescription drugs in his system. To some …
Luther Vandross was one of the most successful R&B artists of the 1980s and ’90s. Not only did he score a series of multi-million-selling albums containing chart-topping hit singles and perform sold-out tours of the U.S. and around the world, but he also took charge of his music creatively, writing or co-writing most of his songs …
The son of Reverend Charles Cook, Sr, a Baptist minister and Annie May Cook, Sam Cooke was born on January 22, 1931, in Clarksdale, Mississippi; two years later the family moved to Chicago, Illinois. He had four brothers and three sisters – Willie, Charles Jr, L.C., David, Mary, Hattie, and Agnes. Sam graduated from Wendell Phillips High …
Soul and R&B singer Betty Wright was born December 21, 1953 in Miami, Florida. She started out as a member of her family’s own gospel group The Echoes of Joy and began working as a backup vocalist for other singers at age thirteen. She recorded her 1968 debut album “My First Time Around” when she …
Dorothy Dandridge, born on November 9, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio, was a superb actress, singer and dancer who became a national and international star, and the first African American female actor nominated for both an Academy Award for Best Actress (Carmen Jones) and later a Golden Globe for her performance in Porgy and Bess. She also showcased her singing and dancing talent …