Suzanne Nadine Vega is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered the Top 40 charts in the UK during the 1980s and 1990s, including "Marlene on the Wall", "Left of Center", "Luka" and "No Cheap Thrill". "Tom's Diner", which was originally released as an a cappella recording on Vega's second studio album, Solitude Standing (1987), was remixed in 1990 as a dance track by English electronic duo DNA with Vega as featured artist, and it became a Top 10 hit in over five countries. The original a cappella recording of the song was used as a test during the creation of the MP3 format. The role of her song in the development of the MP3 compression prompted Vega to be given the title of "The Mother of the MP3".
Harold Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs. He achieved worldwide success in the 1970s. Chapin, a Grammy Award-winning artist and Grammy Hall of Fame inductee, has sold over 16 million records worldwide.
Roberta Cleopatra Flack is a retired American singer who topped the Billboard charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like Makin' Love", "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", the latter two duets with Donny Hathaway. Flack influenced the subgenre of contemporary R&B called quiet storm, and interpreted songs by songwriters such as Leonard Cohen and members of the Beatles.
Samantha Brown is an English singer, songwriter and musician.
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 produced a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "Higher Love".
Fantasia Monique Barrino-Taylor, known professionally by her mononym Fantasia, is an American R&B singer. She rose to prominence in 2004 for her performance of the Porgy and Bess standard "Summertime" during the third season of American Idol, and eventually became that season's winner. Following her victory, Barrino became the second woman to have their first single debut at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, following Lauryn Hill, when her debut single "I Believe", launched atop the chart.
Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American country and folk music singer-songwriter. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C.-area clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records. Carpenter's first album, 1987's Hometown Girl, did not produce any charting singles. She broke through with 1989's State of the Heart and 1990's Shooting Straight in the Dark.
Mary Christine Brockert, known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, composer, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie and later acquired the nickname Lady T, given to her by her collaborator and friend Rick James.
Patrice Louise Rushen is an American jazz pianist and R&B singer. She is also a composer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director.
Gary Hoey is an American hard rock and latterly blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has recorded over 20 albums.
Penny Ford is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, she rose to fame in the 1980s after signing a recording contract with Total Experience Records and releasing her debut solo album Pennye. The album spawned the singles "Change Your Wicked Way" and "Dangerous", which were produced and written by Ford.
Sara Hickman is an American singer, songwriter, and artist.
Stephen Chapin is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known as the youngest of the four Chapin brothers, which include Harry Chapin and Tom Chapin and is son of drummer Jim Chapin and Elspeth Burke Chapin Hart, editor, artist and matriarch of the Burke, Leacock, Chapin clan. He is the father of Christina Chapin, Frankie Chapin, and Jonathan Chapin. He is the uncle of Jen Chapin and The Chapin Sisters. He has toured nationally and internationally, with his own band; The Harry Chapin Band; and with his late brother Harry Chapin as his band leader, musical director, arranger, producer, piano player/multi instrumentalist and singer. He continues to perform concerts all over the world with The Harry Chapin Band which includes the original members of the band: Steve Chapin, Big John Wallace, and Howard Fields, and new members since 2005, Clark Wallace and Jonathan Chapin.
Dana Nicole Amma Williams, is known professionally as YahZarah, is a Ghanaian American singer and music producer. She is known for radio hits "Wishing" and "Why Dontcha Call Me No More". In 1997, she began her career as a background singer for Erykah Badu.
Grace Evelyn Potter is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has released five solo albums: Red Shoe Rebel (2002), Original Soul (2004), Midnight (2015), Daylight (2019), and Mother Road (2023). She has also released four studio albums with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, a band she formed in 2002, which disbanded in 2015 upon her divorce from her bandmate: Nothing but the Water (2005), This Is Somewhere (2007), Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (2010), and The Lion the Beast the Beat (2012).
Noelle Scaggs is an American musician and singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, known as the co-lead singer of the pop group Fitz and the Tantrums. Scaggs has also had numerous collaborations with the Black Eyed Peas, Dilated Peoples, Quantic, Mayer Hawthorne, and Damian Marley.
Rebecca Ann Loebe is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. She has performed and toured with such recording artists as Shawn Colvin, The Civil Wars, Gregory Alan Isakov, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Ellis Paul amongst others. In 2011 she made her international broadcast television debut on The Voice . In addition to being a solo singer she is a founding member of Austin-based band Nobody's Girl.
Suzanna Choffel is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has appeared on national television and in film. Known for her distinct voice and reggae-inspired guitar technique, her music has been described as "a unique sound equal parts Beat poetry, smoky soul grooves and indie-pop eccentricity."
Laurie Antonioli is an American jazz singer and record producer.
Victoria Monét McCants is an American singer-songwriter. Monét became involved in performing arts at a young age and later pursued a career in music. She soon took to songwriting and began working with music producer Rodney Jerkins. Previously signed to Atlantic Records, Monét released a series of EPs throughout the mid-late 2010s. In 2020, she released her fifth EP Jaguar, along with its single "Experience", to rave reviews from music critics. Her debut album Jaguar II (2023), included the hit single "On My Mama"; and earned her seven nominations at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, including Record Of The Year and Best New Artist.
