Sir Richard Starkey, better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame during the 1960s as the drummer for the Beatles. He occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, usually for one song on each album, including "Yellow Submarine", "With a Little Help from My Friends" and their cover of "Act Naturally". He also wrote and sang the Beatles' songs "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden", and is credited as a co-writer of others.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk, punk rock and psychedelic rock. The band consists of vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. With over 80 million records sold worldwide, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the best-selling bands of all time. They are the most successful band in the history of alternative rock, with the records for most number-one singles (13), most cumulative weeks at number one (85) and most top-ten songs (25) on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. They have won six Grammy Awards, and in 2012 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City in 1992, originally composed of RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. An important act in the East Coast hip hop and hardcore hip hop styles, Wu-Tang Clan are regarded as a highly influential group in hip hop. Their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang , released in 1993, is considered one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.
Blur are an English rock band. Formed in London in 1988, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure (1991) incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
Prince Rogers Nelson, better known as Prince, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation. A multi-instrumentalist who was considered a guitar virtuoso, he was well known for his eclectic work across multiple genres, flamboyant and androgynous persona, and wide vocal range which included a far-reaching falsetto and high-pitched screams.
Donnie Darko is a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle, Stu Stone, Daveigh Chase, and James Duval. The film follows the adventures of the troubled title character as he seeks to find meaning behind his doomsday-related visions.
Manoj Nelliyattu "M. Night" Shyamalan is an American filmmaker, philanthropist, and actor. He is known for making original films with contemporary supernatural plots and twist endings. He was born in Mahé, Pondicherry, India, and raised in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania. The cumulative gross of his films exceeds $3 billion globally.
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. The band's discography has grown to 40 albums, including 16 studio albums, 13 live albums, four EPs, and seven compilations.
The Ronettes were an American girl group from Spanish Harlem, New York. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett, her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. They had sung together since they were teenagers, then known as "The Darling Sisters". Signed first by Colpix Records in 1961, they moved to Phil Spector's Philles Records in March 1963 and changed their name to "The Ronettes".
Kristoffer Kristofferson is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are the songs "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night", all of which were hits for other artists. Kristofferson composed his own songs and collaborated with Nashville songwriters such as Shel Silverstein.
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record executive, entrepreneur, and actor. He is regarded by many contemporaries as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, and often cited as one of the greatest rappers of all time. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label. For many years, Lil Wayne was the flagship artist of Cash Money Records, before ending his association with the company in June 2018.
Cornell Iral Haynes Jr., better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, investor, and occasional actor from St. Louis, Missouri. Nelly embarked on his music career with Midwest hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in the year 2000, with his debut album Country Grammar, of which the featured title-track and the single "Ride wit Me" were top ten hits. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and went on to peak at number one. Country Grammar is Nelly's best-selling album to date, selling over 8.4 million copies in the United States. His following album, Nellyville, produced the number-one hits "Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma". Other singles included "Work It", "Air Force Ones", "Pimp Juice" and "#1".
John Anthony Frusciante is an American musician best known as the guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. He has also released 12 solo albums and seven EPs.
Samuel Timothy McGraw is an American singer, actor, and record producer. McGraw has released fifteen studio albums. 10 of those albums have reached number 1 on the Top Country Albums charts, with his 1994 breakthrough album Not a Moment Too Soon being the top country album of 1994. All of these albums have produced 65 singles, 25 of which have reached number 1 on the Hot Country Songs or Country Airplay charts. Three of these singles — "It's Your Love", "Just to See You Smile", and "Live Like You Were Dying" — were respectively the top country songs of 1997, 1998, and 2004 according to Billboard Year-End. He has also won three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards, and three People's Choice Awards. His Soul2Soul II Tour, which was done in partnership with his wife, Faith Hill, is one of the highest-grossing tours in country music history, and one of the top 5 among all genres of music. He has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
Daniel Dumile, best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom, was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and "supervillain" stage persona, Dumile became a major figure of underground hip hop in the 2000s. After his death, Variety described him as one of the scene's "most celebrated, unpredictable and enigmatic figures".
Jonathan H. Smith, better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, songwriter, DJ, and record producer based in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the frontman of the multi-platinum selling rap group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz and was instrumental in the emergence of the hip/hop subgenre crunk. He is credited with bringing the genre into mainstream success, producing Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 singles "Get Low," "Goodies," "Cyclone," "Freek-a-Leek," and "Yeah!". "Yeah!" won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Performance. Lil Jon is also a frequent collaborator with friend and fellow rapper Pitbull. In 2013, Lil Jon collaborated with DJ Snake and released the EDM multi-platinum hit, "Turn Down for What," that won Billboard Music Award for Top Dance/Electronic Song. The music video for the single, released in 2014, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, and has been viewed over 900 million times on YouTube as of October 2019. As of 2016, Lil Jon is listed as one of the Top Billboard Music Award Winners of All Time. In 2019, Lil Jon achieved his 8th #1 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Chart as a songwriter on the song "My Type" by Sacramento rapper Saweetie.
The Kinks are an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1964 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat, and were briefly part of the British Invasion of the United States until their touring ban in 1965. Their third single, the Ray Davies-penned "You Really Got Me", became an international hit, topping the charts in the United Kingdom and reaching the Top 10 in the United States. Their music was influenced by a wide range of genres, including American R&B and rock and roll initially, and later adopting British music hall, folk, and country. They gained a reputation for reflecting English culture and lifestyle, fuelled by Ray Davies' wittily observational writing style.
Marshall Bruce Mathers III, known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Credited with popularizing hip hop in Middle America, he is considered one of the greatest rappers of all time.
Brian Patrick Carroll, known professionally as Buckethead, is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who has received critical acclaim for his innovative electric guitar playing. His music spans many genres, including progressive metal, funk, blues, bluegrass, ambient, and avant-garde music. He performs primarily as a solo artist, though he has collaborated with a wide variety of artists such as Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, Iggy Pop, Les Claypool, Serj Tankian, Bill Moseley, Mike Patton, Viggo Mortensen, That 1 Guy, and Bassnectar, and was a member of Guns N' Roses from 2000 to 2004. He has released 314 studio albums, four special releases, and one EP. He has also performed on more than 50 other albums by other artists.
Steven Patrick Morrissey, known mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer, songwriter, and author. He came to prominence as the frontman of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then, he has pursued a successful solo career. Morrissey's music is characterised by his baritone voice and distinctive lyrics with recurring themes of emotional isolation, sexual longing, self-deprecating and black humour, and anti-establishment stances.
