Tex Beneke (Gordon Lee Beneke)
02/12/1914 - 05/30/2000
Gordon Lee Beneke (February 12, 1914 - May 30, 2000), professionally known as Tex Beneke, was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers wh...
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05/26/1928 - 06/03/2011
Jack Kevorkian commonly known as "Dr. Death", was an American pathologist, euthanasia activist, painter, composer and instrumentalist. He is best known for publicly championing a terminal patient...
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07/29/1916 - 03/02/1942
Charles Henry "Charlie" Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist. He was one of the first to produce improvised masterpieces using electrically amplified equipment.
04/02/1939 - 04/01/1984
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr., better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a four-octavevocal range. Starting as a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows...
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Duke Ellington (Edward Kennedy Ellington)
04/29/1899 - 05/24/1974
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (born April 29, 1899, Washington, D.C., U.S.—died May 24, 1974, New York, N.Y.) American pianist who was the greatest jazz composer and bandleader. One of the originators of big-band jazz, Elli...
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Woody Guthrie (Woodrow Wilson Guthrie)
07/14/1912 - 10/03/1967
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie (July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ball...
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01/21/1878 - 03/16/1938
Egon Friedell born Egon Friedmann, 21 January 1878, in Vienna, died 16 March 1938, in Vienna, was a prominent Austrian philosopher, historian, journalist, actor, cabaret performer (Kabarettist) and theatre critic.
05/21/1917 - 01/06/1993
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993 was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise
03/21/1940 - 10/10/2010
Solomon Burke (March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer-songwriter, entrepeneur, mortician, and an archbishop of the The House of God for All People. Burke was known as "King Solomon", the "King of Rock ...
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04/22/1927 - 07/17/2005
Lorenzo Aitken (April 22, 1927 – July 17, 2005), better known as Laurel Aitken, was a singer and one of the originators of Jamaican ska music . He is often referred to as the "Godfather of ska
06/18/1829 - 02/17/1909
Geronimo (Chiricahua: Goyaałé, "one who yawns"; often spelled Goyathlay or Goyahkla in English) (June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico a...
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Bud Freeman (Lawrence Freeman)
04/13/1906 - 03/15/1991
Lawrence "Bud" Freeman (April 13, 1906 - March 15, 1991) was a U.S. jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing the tenor saxophone, but also able at the clarinet. He was one of the most influential and important ja...
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04/09/1916 - 07/21/2011
Elliot Handler (April 9, 1916 – July 21, 2011) was the co-founder of Mattel and with his wife a developer of the biggest-selling toys in American history, including Barbie dolls, Chatty Cathy, Creepy Crawlies and Hot Wheels.
05/13/1918 - 05/08/2008
Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008), known professionally as Eddy Arnold, was an American country music singer who performed for six decades.