Anita Belle Colton, known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appearances that shattered the traditional image of the "girl singer". Refusing to pander to any female stereotype, O'Day presented herself as a "hip" jazz musician, wearing a band jacket and skirt as opposed to an evening gown. She changed her surname from Colton to O'Day, pig Latin for "dough", slang for money.
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American singer, songwriter, musician, political activist and actor. He was one of the main figures of outlaw country, a subgenre of country music that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound. The critical success of his album Shotgun Willie (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger (1975) and Stardust (1978), made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music. Nelson has acted in over 30 films, co-authored several books, and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana.
John Alvin Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music, and his animated stage personality. Tony Bennett called Ray the "father of rock and roll", and historians have noted him as a pioneering figure in the development of the genre.
George Hege Hamilton IV was an American country musician. He began performing in the late 1950s as a teen idol, switching to country music in the early 1960s.
John Allan Jones is an American singer and actor.
Charles Arthur Feathers was an American musician most associated with the rockabilly scene of the 1950s. Although not initially recognized for his contributions to rockabilly, over time his presence would become greatly elevated and he has been cited as an influence by a number of musicians.
Mickey Leroy Gilley was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1980s, bringing him further success on not just the country charts, but the pop charts as well.
Roselea Arbana "Rose" Maddox was an American country singer-songwriter and fiddle player, who was the lead singer with the Maddox Brothers and Rose before a successful solo career. Her musical styles blended hillbilly music, rockabilly and gospel. She was noted for her "reputation as a lusty firebrand", and her "colorful Western costumes"; she was one of the earliest clients of Hollywood tailor, Nathan Turk.
Jane Morgan is an American former singer of traditional pop. Morgan initially found success in France and the UK before achieving recognition in the US, receiving six gold records. She was a frequent nightclub and Broadway performer, and also appeared numerous times on American television, both as a singer and as a dramatic performer.
David Peel was a New York City–based musician who first recorded in the late 1960s with Harold Black, Billy Joe White, George Cori and Larry Adam performing as David Peel and The Lower East Side Band. His raw, acoustic "street rock" with lyrics about marijuana and "bad cops" appealed mostly to hippies and the disenfranchised.
Clyde Julian "Red" Foley was an American musician who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II.
Robert George Pickett, also known by the name Bobby "Boris" Pickett, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, and comedian known for co-writing and performing the 1962 hit novelty song "Monster Mash". Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, Pickett watched many horror films as a result of his father's position as a local movie theater manager. He started improvising impressions of Hollywood film stars at a young age. At a turning point in his career, Pickett was a vocalist for local swing band Darren Bailes and the Wolf Eaters. He would later serve from 1956 to 1959 in the United States Army, stationed in Korea for a period of time.
"You Don't Know Me" is a song written by Eddy Arnold and Cindy Walker in 1955. "You Don't Know Me" was first recorded by Arnold that year and released as a single on April 21, 1956, on RCA Victor. The best-selling version of the song is by Ray Charles, who took it to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1962, after releasing the song on his number 1 album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. The first version of the song to make the Billboard charts was by Jerry Vale in 1956, peaking at number 14 on the pop chart. Arnold's version charted two months later, released as an RCA Victor single, 47–6502, backed with "The Rockin' Mockin' Bird", which reached number 10 on the Billboard country chart. Cash Box magazine, which combined all best-selling versions at one position, included a version by Carmen McRae that never appeared in the Billboard Top 100 Sides listing.
"You Are So Beautiful" is a song written by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher that was first released in 1974 on Preston's ninth studio album, The Kids & Me. It was also the B-side of his single "Struttin'". Later that same year, English singer Joe Cocker released a slower version of the song on his album I Can Stand a Little Rain. Cocker's version was produced by Jim Price, and released as a single in November 1974. It became Cocker's highest charting solo hit, peaking at number five on the United States' Billboard Hot 100, and at number four on Canada's Top Singles chart.
Charles Henry "Casey" Anderson was an American blues and folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. From 1959 to 1976, he recorded ten albums and some fifteen singles on various labels, most notably Elektra and Atco.
"Okie from Muskogee" is a song recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers, which Haggard co-wrote with drummer Roy Edward Burris. "Okie" is a slang name for someone from Oklahoma, and Muskogee is the 11th largest city in the state. The song was released in September 1969 as first single and title track from the album Okie from Muskogee, and was one of the most famous songs of Haggard's career.
Kenneth F. Nelson was an American record producer and A & R man for Capitol Records.
John Joseph Maus, known professionally as John Walker, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the founder of the Walker Brothers, who had their greatest success in the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom.
Roberta Sherwood was an American singer, notable in part for her sudden rise to fame at the age of 43.
Willie "Jay" Lee Webb was an American country music singer. He is known for his 1967 song, "I Come Home A-Drinkin' ", which was written as an "answer song" to his older sister Loretta Lynn's #1 1967 hit "Don't Come Home A Drinkin'".
