Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "the Voice", she is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold worldwide. In 2023, Rolling Stone named her the second-greatest singer of all time. Houston influenced many singers in popular music, and was known for her powerful, soulful vocals, vocal improvisation skills, and use of gospel singing techniques in pop music. 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. Her accolades include eight Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, two Emmy Awards, and 28 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 Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the New Jersey Hall of Fame, and the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.
John Robert "Joe" Cocker was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright?" and "Unchain My Heart", were recordings of songs written by other song writers, though he composed a number of songs for most of his albums as well, often in conjunction with songwriting partner Chris Stainton.
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.
Earth, Wind & Fire is an American musical group. Their style and sound span various music genres such as jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin, and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 90 million records worldwide.
The Delfonics were an American R&B/soul vocal group from Philadelphia. The Delfonics were most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their most notable hits include "La-La ", "Didn't I ", "Break Your Promise", "I'm Sorry", and "Ready or Not Here I Come ". Their hit songs were primarily written by lead vocalist and founding member William "Poogie" Hart, and arranger and producer Thom Bell. Wilbert Hart is the last surviving member.
Anita Denise Baker is an American singer-songwriter. She is known for her soulful ballads, particularly from the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s.
Leon Russell was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and roll, country, gospel, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, southern rock, blues rock, folk, surf and the Tulsa sound. His recordings earned six gold records and he received two Grammy Awards from seven nominations. In 2011, he was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Sade are an English band, formed in London in 1982 and named after their lead singer, Sade Adu. Three members, Paul Anthony Cooke, Stuart Mathewman, and Paul Spencer Denman, were originally from Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Its music features elements of soul, quiet storm, smooth jazz and sophisti-pop. All of the band's albums, including compilations and a live album, have charted in the US Top Ten.
Deborah Cox is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before becoming a professional backing vocalist for Celine Dion. In 1994, Cox relocated to the United States and was signed to Arista Records by Clive Davis, releasing her self-titled debut album the following year. Her second studio album, One Wish (1998), was certified platinum in the United States. It was marked by the commercial success of the pop crossover single "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here", which would become her most successful entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number two and remaining there for eight consecutive weeks. Cox signed with J Records for her third studio album The Morning After (2002), which saw moderate commercial success.
Frederick Anthony Jackson is an American singer. Originally from New York, Jackson began his professional music career in the late 1970s with the California funk band Mystic Merlin. Among his well–known R&B/soul hits are "Rock Me Tonight " (1985), "Have You Ever Loved Somebody" (1986), "Jam Tonight" (1986), "Do Me Again" (1990), and "You Are My Lady" (1985). He contributed to the soundtrack for the 1989 film, All Dogs Go to Heaven with the Michael Lloyd-produced duet "Love Survives" alongside Irene Cara. He also appeared in the movie King of New York.
I'm Your Baby Tonight is the third studio album by American singer Whitney Houston. It was released on November 6, 1990, by Arista Records. The album has been certified quadruple platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The Emotions are an American soul/R&B vocal group from Chicago. The group started out in gospel music but transitioned into R&B and disco music. The Emotions were named by VH1 as one of the 18 most influential girl groups of all time.
Bessie Regina Norris, better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s as a teenager, Wright rose to fame in the 1970s with hits such as "Clean Up Woman" and "Tonight Is the Night". Wright was also prominent in her use of whistle register.
Caron Melina Wheeler is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and musician. Born and raised in London, she performed in various singing competitions as a teenager and began her recording career as one of the founding members of Brown Sugar. She was also one of the founding members of the female backing vocalist group Afrodiziak. She officially rose to fame in the late 1980s as lead singer of R&B group Soul II Soul. Managed by her bandmate, Jazzie B, the group became one of the London's best-selling groups in the 1990s. Their debut album, Club Classics Vol. One (1989), which established them as a global success worldwide, earned two Grammy Awards and featured the UK and Billboard number-one singles "Keep on Movin'" and "Back to Life ".
Contemporary R&B is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music.
Roger Davies is an Australian artist manager, business manager, and music producer in the global music industry. Davies was born in 1952, and his career spans more than half a century.
Thomas Michael "T. M." Stevens is an American bass guitarist from New York City. He has recorded and toured with an array of rock, R&B, and pop acts as a session musician and also works as a solo performer.
Charlie Midnight is an American songwriter, record producer, and founder of Midnight Production House. He has been nominated for the 1987 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song, two Golden Globes, and has been a producer and/or writer on several Grammy-winning albums, including The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album, Joni Mitchell's Turbulent Indigo, and Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long. He also is a writer on the Barbra Streisand Grammy-nominated, Platinum-selling Partners album having co-written the Barbra Streisand and Andrea Bocelli duet "I Still Can See Your Face."
Ledisi Anibade Young, better known simply as Ledisi, is an American R&B and jazz recording artist, songwriter, music producer, author and actress. Her name means "to bring forth" or "to come here" in Yoruba.
"Gimme Your Love" is a song recorded as duet between American singers Aretha Franklin and James Brown in 1989. The two singers' only collaboration, it is the lead track on Franklin's album Through the Storm and also appeared on Brown's Soul Session Live. It was written by Narada Michael Walden and Jeffrey Cohen, and produced by the former. It was released as the album's third and final single on September 18, 1989, by Arista Records and peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. The song was poorly received by critics, with Rolling Stone describing it as "a series of whoops and grunts as challenging to [the singers] as yawning". Nevertheless, it was nominated for the 1990 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
