Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer, actress, film producer, and philanthropist. Known as "the Voice", she was ranked second on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest singers of all time and is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold worldwide. Houston influenced many singers in the recording industry and was known for her powerful, soulful vocals, vocal improvisation skills, as well as popularizing the use of gospel singing techniques in pop music, and live performances. She had 11 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and is the only artist to have seven consecutive number-one singles on the chart. Houston also enhanced her popularity by entering the film industry. Her accolades include eight Grammy Awards, 22 American Music Awards, two Emmy Awards, and 30 Guinness World Records. Houston's inductions include the Grammy Hall of Fame (twice), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, the BET Walk of Fame, the Soul Train Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the New Jersey Hall of Fame, and the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.
Albert Leornes Greene, known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including "Take Me to the River", "Tired of Being Alone", "I'm Still in Love with You", "Love and Happiness", and his signature song, "Let's Stay Together". After his girlfriend died by suicide, Green became an ordained pastor and turned to gospel music. He later returned to secular music.
Patricia Louise Holt, known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Godmother of Soul".
Lee Ann Womack Liddell is an American country music singer. Her 2000 single, "I Hope You Dance" was a major crossover music hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country chart and the top 15 of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her signature song.
Yvette Marie Stevens, better known by her stage name Chaka Khan, is an American singer. Known as the "Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. With the band she recorded the notable hits "Tell Me Something Good", "Sweet Thing", "Do You Love What You Feel" and the platinum-certified "Ain't Nobody". Her debut solo album featured the number-one R&B hit "I'm Every Woman". Khan scored another R&B charts hit with "What Cha' Gonna Do for Me" before becoming the first R&B artist to have a crossover hit featuring a rapper, with her 1984 cover of Prince's "I Feel for You". More of Khan's hits include "Through the Fire" and a 1986 collaboration with Steve Winwood that produced a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "Higher Love".
Mary Esther Wells was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s.
June Deniece Williams is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs "Free", "Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two Billboard Hot 100 No.1 singles "Let's Hear It for the Boy" and "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late". Williams has won four Grammys with twelve nominations altogether. She is also known for recording “Without Us”, the theme song of Family Ties.
Angela Laverne Brown known professionally as Angie Stone, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as member of the hip hop trio The Sequence. In the early 1990s, she became a member of the R&B trio Vertical Hold. Stone would later release her solo debut Black Diamond (1999) on Arista Records, which was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and spawned the single "No More Rain ".
Kelly Cherelle Price is an American R&B and gospel singer. Beginning her career in 1992, Price originally performed backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including her Billboard Hot 100-number one singles "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and "Fantasy." She rose to wider prominence in 1997 following her uncredited performances on the number-one single "Mo Money Mo Problems" by the Notorious B.I.G. and the top-five single "Feel So Good" by Mase, prompting her to record as a lead artist. Her debut studio album, Soul of a Woman (1998) received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); its lead single, "Friend of Mine" peaked within the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla label, a division of Motown. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and became a hit again in 1970 when recorded by former Supremes frontwoman Diana Ross. The song became Ross's first solo number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Tramaine Aunzola Richardson, known professionally as Tramaine Hawkins, is an American award-winning Gospel singer whose career spans over five decades. Since beginning her career in 1966, Hawkins has won two Grammy Awards, two Doves, and 19 Stellar Awards.
Sounds of Blackness is a vocal and instrumental ensemble from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota who perform music from several genres music including gospel, R&B, soul, and jazz. The group scored several hits on the Billboard R&B and Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts in the 1990s. Cynthia Johnson of Lipps Inc. and Ann Nesby are the group's most prominent alumni.
Vernessa Ann Mitchell is an American contemporary Christian and gospel recording artist whose vocal versatility has been heralded by R&B and House audiences.
Cloud Nine is the ninth studio album by American musical group The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1969.
Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith(sources differ) known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress.
Chrisette Michele Payne is an American R&B and soul singer. She won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2009 for her song "Be OK".
Vanessa Williams is an American actress and singer. In 1988, Williams released her debut album, The Right Stuff. The first single, "The Right Stuff", found success on the R&B chart, while the second single, "He's Got the Look", found similar success on the same chart. The third single, "Dreamin'", was a pop hit, becoming Williams's first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 8, and her first number one single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album reached gold status in the US and earned her an NAACP Image Award and three Grammy Award nominations, including one for Best New Artist.
Kendrick Jevon Dean is an American record producer, songwriter and entrepreneur. He has produced or written for 7 GRAMMY Nominated albums to date. Some of his hits include Chris Brown's "Say Goodbye", Mariah Carey's "I Stay In Love" and Trey Songz "Last Time". Kendrick began his music career in 2004 when he was first credited as a producer on mega group Destiny's Child final album Destiny Fulfilled. A former high school history teacher, and University of Florida graduate; Dean used his classical, jazz and gospel music background to make a seemingly seamless transition into the music business. Dean is often incorrectly credited for compositions from Swizz Beatz, both of which being credited as "K. Dean". He is a member of Iota Phi Theta fraternity.
Anita M. Wilson is an American gospel music singer, songwriter, and music producer.
James Quentin "Big Jim" Wright was an American musician, composer, songwriter, film score and record producer. A member of the vocal and instrumental ensemble Sounds of Blackness, Wright became a frequent collaborator of production duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and an in-house producer for their company, Flyte Tyme Productions, in the 1990s.
