Artist Index How to use Artist INDEX

Bob Marley　

Reggae’s most transcendent and iconic figure, Bob Marley was the first Jamaican artist to achieve international superstardom, in the process introducing the music of his native island nation to ..more

Edith Piaf　

Edith Piaf is almost universally regarded as France’s greatest popular singer. Still revered as an icon decades after her death, the Sparrow served as a touchstone for virtually every chansonn ..more

Astor Piazzolla　

It’s not hyperbole to say that Astor Piazzolla is the single most important figure in the history of tango, a towering giant whose shadow looms large over everything that preceded and followed h ..more

Serge Gainsbourg　

Serge Gainsbourg was the dirty old man of popular music; a French singer/songwriter and provocateur notorious for his voracious appetite for alcohol, cigarettes, and women, his scandalous, taboo ..more

Fela Kuti　

It’s almost impossible to overstate the impact and importance of Fela Anikulapo (Ransome) Kuti (or just Fela as he’s more commonly known) to the global musical village： producer, arranger, music ..more

Antonio Carlos Jobim　

It has been said that Antonio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim was the George Gershwin of Brazil, and there is a solid ring of truth in that, for both contributed large bodies of songs to the ..more

Amalia Rodrigues　

The unrivaled queen of the Portuguese fado, singer Amalia Rodrigues was born in Lisbon’s Alfama district in 1920; one of ten children, she was abandoned by her mother at the age of one and raise ..more

Lee Perry　

Some call him a genius, others claim he’s certifiably insane, a madman. Truth is, he’s both, but more importantly, Lee Perry is a towering figure in reggae -- a producer, mixer, and songwriter w ..more

Gilberto Gil　

A leader of the tropicalia movement in Brazil in 1967 and 1968, along with artists like Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil and other musicians mixed native styles with rock and ..more

Tito Puente　

By virtue of his warm, flamboyant stage manner, longevity, constant touring, and appearances in the mass media, Tito Puente is probably the most beloved symbol of Latin jazz. But more than that, ..more

Harry Belafonte　

An actor, humanitarian, and the acknowledged King of Calypso, Harry Belafonte ranked among the most seminal performers of the postwar era. One of the most successful African-American pop stars ..more

Julio Iglesias　

Julio Iglesias was the most popular Latin singer of the ’70s and ’80s, selling over 100 million albums around the world. Iglesias was a smooth, romantic crooner and his appeal translated to m ..more

Dalida　

In the course of a career lasting just over 30 years, Dalida earned 45 gold record awards and a pair of platinum records for her sales in Europe, the Middle East, and Japan. A superstar in France a ..more

UB40　

Named after a British unemployment benefit form, pop-reggae band UB40 were formed in a welfare line in 1978, and their multiracial lineup reflected the working-class community their members came fr ..more

Ravi Shankar　

Born on April 7, 1920, in Varanasi into an orthodox, well-off Brahmin family, Rabindra Shankar Chowdery’s father, ShyAEm Shankar, was employed as a diwan (minister) by the Maharajah of Jhalawar. ..more

Caetano Veloso　

A true heavyweight, Caetano Veloso is a pop musician/poet/filmmaker/political activist whose stature in the pantheon of international pop musicians is on a par with that of Bob Dylan, Bo ..more

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Sergio Mendes　

For most of the second half of the ’60s, Sergio Mendes was the top-selling Brazilian artist in the United States, charting huge hit singles and LPs that regularly made the Top Five. His records wit ..more

Nana Mouskouri　

Globally speaking, Nana Mouskouri is the biggest-selling female artist of all time. Her fluency in multiple languages -- Greek, French, English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese -- enabled her to reach ..more

Henri Salvador　

Henri Salvador enjoyed one of the longest careers of any French cabaret artist, debuting professionally in the mid-’30s and recording -- with satisfying results -- all the way into the new mille ..more