Benjamin Rogers

Music Legends

Gerald Levert (July 13, 1966 - November 10, 2006) was an R&B singer, one of several from the musical Levert family. His father, Eddie Levert, is the lead singer of the 1970s soul group The O'Jays. Gerald Levert sang with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon in the R&B trio LeVert. He was also a part of LSG, an R&B musical group comprising Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, and Levert.Levert was born to The O'Jays frontman Eddie Levert and his wife Martha in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Due to his father's career, Levert was exposed to music from a young age and would travel with the band regularly.
   
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006), commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul" and "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business", was an American entertainer recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th century popular music. He was renowned for his shouting vocals, feverish dancing and unique rhythmic style.As a prolific singer, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer, Brown was a pivotal force in the evolution of gospel and rhythm and blues into soul and funk. He left his mark on numerous other musical genres, including rock, jazz, disco, dance and electronic music, reggae and hip hop. Brown's music also left its mark on the rhythms of African popular music, such as afrobeat, jùjú and mbalax, and provided a template for go-go music.Brown began his professional music career in 1953 and skyrocketed to fame during the late 1950s and early 1960s on the strength of his thrilling live performances and string of smash hits. In spite of various personal problems and setbacks, he continued to score hits in every decade through to the 1980s. In addition to his acclaim in music, Brown was a presence in American political affairs during the 1960s and 1970s, noted especially for his activism on behalf of African Americans and the poor. During the early 1980s, Brown's music helped to shape the rhythms of early hip hop music, with many groups looping or sampling his funk grooves and turning them into what became hip hop "classics" and the foundations of this music genre.James Brown was recognized by a plethora of (mostly self-bestowed) titles, including Soul Brother Number One, Mr. Dynamite, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk, Mr. Please Please Please, The Boss, and the best-known, the Godfather of Soul.
   
Alwyn Lopez Jarreau, known popularly as Al Jarreau, is an, Grammy Award Winning jazz singer. Versatile in his singing style, Jarreau is a six-time Grammy-nominated vocalist and the only vocalist in history to win a Grammy Award in three separate categories: jazz, pop, and R&B.Cassandra Wilson is an jazz singer and songwriter from Jackson, Mississippi. In 1996 she won the Grammy award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for New Moon Daughter. Two of her albums, Blue Skies and New Moon Daughter, have topped the US jazz charts.Wilson's repertoire includes both jazz and blues standards and renditions of pop and rock songs. Her alto voice is bluesy and sultry, and the style of her music ranges from swing to funk to bossa nova. Many of her songs have been covered by artists who usually record in other genres.
     
  
David Benoit, is an jazz fusion / contemporary jazz pianist, composer and producer. He has been nominated for five Grammy Awards.His debut album Freedom at Midnight was his biggest seller and most popular album. Benoit also says that it was his favorite album to produce, because it was when "everything came together," as he stated in an interview on smoothviews.com.Out of respect for one of his main influencers, Bill Evans, he dedicated his 1992 album Letter to Evan to him.Many of his songs employed a string section, most notably on his American Landscape and Orchestral Stories albums in 1997 and 2005, respectively. He has said that it is his dream to release a symphonic album.In 2000, after the death of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, he released a memorial album entitled Here's To You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years. Collaborators included the chorus group Take 6, guitarist Mark Antoine and trumpeter Chris Botti. He also did the music for "Peanuts" in the later specials.
   
Etta James is an Blues, R&B and Gospel singer. In the 1950s and 60s, she had her biggest success as a Blues and R&B singer. She is best-known for her 1961 ballad "At Last", which has been classified as a "timeless classic" and has been featured in many movies and television commercials since its release
   
Joseph Leslie "Joe" Sample is an pianist, keyboard player and composer. He was one of the founding members of the Jazz Crusaders, the band which became simply The Crusaders in 1971, and remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991.Sample played the piano since he was five years old. Since the late 1980s, he has enjoyed a successful solo career and has guested on many recordings by other performers and groups, including Miles Davis, George Benson, Jimmy Witherspoon, B.B. King and Steely Dan. Although it received less radio airplay than several of his other releases, many consider Invitation to be his finest solo recording to date.Some of his works are featured on The Weather Channel's Local On The 8s.