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Jazz pianist and composer Erroll Garner (June 15, 1923 – January 2, 1977) was known for his distinctive orchestral approach to swing, but open to the innovation of bop. His most well known composition is a ballad titled "Misty" (1954) that has since become a standard. Originally composed as an instrumental, lyrics were later added by songwriter Johnny Burke and became a signature song for Johnny Mathis. The song plays a key role in the plot of the movie Play Misty for Me (1971). Clint Eastwood and Universal paid $25,000 to use the song in the film.
Ice Cube (born O'Shea Jackson), during the course of his career that spans more than 20 years, he continues to reinvent himself. Starting off as a rapper in the group C.I.A., he would later join N.W.A. After a contract dispute, he left the group to pursue a solo career and start producing some of his own material. Eventually, he turned to acting, directing, became a movie producer and screenwriter.
Gloria Gaynor singer best known for the disco era hits; "I Will Survive" (Hot 100 number 1, 1979), "Never Can Say Goodbye" (Hot 100 number 9, 1974), "Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (Hot 100 number 42, 1980) and "I Am What I Am" (R&B number 82, 1983).
Her first real success came in 1975 with the release of her album Never Can Say Goodbye, which established her as a disco artist. The first side of this album consisted of three disco songs ("Honey Bee", "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "Reach Out, I'll Be There"), with no breaks in between the songs. This 19-minute dance marathon proved to be enormously popular, especially at dance clubs. All three songs were released as singles via radio edits, and all of them became hits. The album was instrumental in introducing disco music to the public, "Never Can Say Goodbye" becoming the first song to top Billboard magazine's dance chart.
In the next few years, Gloria Gaynor released the albums Glorious and Park Avenue Sound, but would only enjoy a few moderate hits. However, in late 1978, with the release of her album Love Tracks, she climbed the pop charts again because of her song "I Will Survive". The lyrics of this song are written from the point of view of a woman, recently dumped, telling her former lover that she can cope without him and does not want anything more to do with him. The song has become something of an anthem of female emancipation, and is still a staple of office parties and karaoke nights.
Interestingly, "I Will Survive" was originally the B-side when Polydor Records released it in late 1978. The A-side, a song called "Substitute", then a recent worldwide hit for South African girl-group Clout, was considered more "radio friendly". Boston Disco Radio DJ Jack King turned the record over and recalls being stunned by what he heard. "I couldn't believe they were burying this monster hit on the B-side", says King. "I played it and played it and my listeners went nuts." This audience response forced the record company to flip the songs, so that subsequent copies of the single listed the more popular song on the A-side. King was honored at New York's "Disco Masters Awards Show" for 3 consecutive years (1979–1981) in recognition of his relentless push of the song. The song was awarded the only Grammy Award ever for Best Disco Recording in 1980.
Eric Lynn Wright a.k.a. Eazy-E (September 7, 1963 – March 26, 1995)
In 1987 Eazy-E used the profits from his drug sales (allegedly earning $250,000 USD) to co-found Ruthless Records with Jerry Heller, after he decided that he could make a better living in the Los Angeles hip-hop scene. When Ruthless signees Dr. Dre and Ice Cube wrote "Boyz-n-the-Hood", Eazy-E formed the group N.W.A with Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. DJ Yella, MC Ren, and Arabian Prince were later added to the group. The compilation album N.W.A. and the Posse was released on November 6, 1987, and would go on to be certified Gold in the United States. The album featured N.W.A collaborating with the Fila Fresh Crew, a West Coast rap group originally based in Dallas, Texas.
Eazy-E's debut album, Eazy-Duz-It, was released on September 16, 1988, and featured twelve tracks. It featured the musical genres West Coast hip hop, Gangsta rap, and Golden age hip hop. It has sold over 2.5 million copies in the United States and reached number forty-one on the Billboard 200. The album was produced by Dr. Dre and DJ Yella and largely written by Ice Cube, with contributions from MC Ren and The D.O.C.. Eazy-Duz-It was said by several critics to have "paved the way" for N.W.A's debut album, Straight Outta Compton. Eazy-E's only solo recording was a remix of the song "8 Ball", which originally appeared on N.W.A and the Posse. The album featured Eazy-E's writing and performing; he performed on eight songs and helped write four songs.
Ice Cube, born O'Shea Jackson (June 15, 1969) is an American rapper, actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer, who started his music career with the west coast rap group C.I.A. After meeting producer Dr. Dre of the World Class Wreckin' Cru, Ice Cube would later join him, Eazy E, MC Ren and DJ Yella to form N.W.A.
In 1989, Ice Cube left N.W.A. to pursue a solo career after legal battles over royalties. His solo debut being titled AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, produced by The Bomb Squad would launch a successful solo career and his first movie role cast as "Doughboy" in John Singleton's "Boyz In The Hood" (1991). The starring role would also take him in the direction of starring in other films, writing, directing and producing many other films, as well as him starting his own film company, Cubevision. Word has it there's a 4th installation of the Friday series titled Last Friday in production and set to be released in 2012.
Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), known by his stage names 2Pac (or simply Pac) and Makaveli, was an American rapper and occasional actor. Shakur had sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. Rolling Stone Magazine named him the 86th Greatest Artist of All Time.
In addition to his career as a rap artist, he was also an actor. The themes of most of Tupac's songs are the violence and hardship in inner cities, racism, other social problems, and conflicts with other rappers during the East Coast – West Coast hip hop rivalry. Shakur began his career as a roadie and backup dancer for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground.
Dr. Dre (born Andre Romelle Young on February 18, 1965) is one of my top 5 Hip-Hop producers and is also a key pioneering figure for the "g-funk" sound. He's the CEO of Aftermath Entertainment which hosts acts such as Eminem and 50 Cent, where he has also contributed to production of their albums, and formerly a co-owner and artist on Death Row Records.
Having begun his music career with Compton, California based World Class Wreckin' Cru, Dr. Dre later found fame as part of the gangster rap group N.W.A. He helped launch the careers of Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Eminem. Also doing production for Mary J. Blige, Truth Hurts, Raekwon, Eve, The Game and a host of others.
Dr. Dre has released a series of headphones called Beats By Dr. Dre. He has also teamed up with computer company HP to release a special edition Beats by Dr. Dre laptop pc, which includes a pair of the signature headphones. There are plans to launch an alcoholic beverage in April 2011, around the date he plans to release the long awaited Detox album.
