James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by various nicknames, among them “Mr. Dynamite”, “the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business”, “Minister of New Super Heavy Funk”, “Godfather of Soul”, “King of Soul”, and “Soul Brother No. 1”.[1] In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres.[2] Brown was one of the first ten inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 23, 1986. His music has been heavily sampled by hip-hop musicians and other artists.[3]

Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia.[4] He rose to prominence in the mid-1950s as the lead singer of the Famous Flames, a rhythm and blues vocal group founded by Bobby Byrd.[5][6] With the hit ballads “Please, Please, Please” and “Try Me“, Brown built a reputation as a dynamic live performer with the Famous Flames and his backing band, sometimes known as the James Brown Band or the James Brown Orchestra. His success peaked in the 1960s with the live album Live at the Apollo and hit singles such as “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag“, “I Got You (I Feel Good)” and “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World“.–read more–

Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation,[7] Prince was known for his flamboyant, androgynous persona,[8][9] wide vocal range, which included a far-reaching falsetto and high-pitched screams, as well as his skill as a multi-instrumentalist, often preferring to play all or most of the instruments on his recordings.[10] His music incorporated a wide variety of styles, including funk, disco, R&B, rock, new wave, soul, synth-pop, pop, jazz, blues, and hip hop. Prince produced his albums himself, pioneering the Minneapolis sound.

Born and raised in Minneapolis, Prince signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records at the age of 18, soon releasing the studio albums For You (1978) and Prince (1979). He went on to achieve critical success with the influential albums Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982). In 1984, Prince became the first singer to simultaneously have a number-one film, album and single in the US, with the film Purple Rain, its soundtrack and his first Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping single “When Doves Cry“. The album, recorded with his new backing band the Revolution, spent six consecutive months atop the US Billboard 200 chart[11] and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. The movie grossed $70.3 million worldwide and it has been regarded as one of the greatest musical films.[12][13] After disbanding the Revolution, Prince released the album Sign o’ the Times (1987), widely hailed by critics as the greatest work of his career.

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Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the “King of Pop“, he is regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his music achievements broke racial barriers in America and made him a dominant figure across the world. Through songs, stages, and fashion, he proliferated visual performance for artists in popular music; popularizing street dance moves including the moonwalk, the robot, and the anti-gravity lean. Jackson is often deemed the greatest entertainer of all time based on his acclaim and records.[1]

The eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his public debut in 1964 at age six, as a member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons). After signing with Motown in 1968, the band achieved worldwide success with him as its lead singer. Jackson achieved solo stardom with the release of his fifth album Off the Wall (1979). He followed it up with Thriller (1982), the best-selling album of all time, which catapulted him to a rare level of fame,[2] whilst aiding in the popularization of MTV and revolutionizing the music video medium with the videos for its title track along with “Beat It” and “Billie Jean“. Jackson furthered his position as a global superstar with Bad (1987), the world’s best-selling album of both 1987 and 1988, as well as the first album to produce five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You“, “Bad“, “The Way You Make Me Feel“, “Man in the Mirror“, and “Dirty Diana“. Dangerous (1991) marked a new era for Jackson, lauded as his most artistic and socially conscious album. HIStory (1995) produced “You Are Not Alone“, the first song to debut at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. His final album, Invincible, was released in 2001. —read more—