Today is the 20th day of Black History Month. As we go through the month, I’m going to talk about a collection of Black artists. It’ll be fairly comprehensive and eclectic list — although it won’t be a complete list.
So far I’ve talked about:
- Rick James, who was born 76 years ago on February 1
- OutKast‘s Big Boi, who celebrated his 49th birthday on February 1
- Sister Rosetta Tharpe
- John Lee Hooker
- Patti LaBelle
- The Temptations‘ second and longest tenured lead vocalist Dennis Edwards, who was born 81 years ago on February 4
- Tina Turner
- Aretha Franklin
- Bobby Brown, who celebrated his 55th birthday on February 5
- Bob Marley, who was born 79 years ago on February 6
- The Supremes
- J. Dilla, who was born 50 years ago on February 7
- Queen Latifah
- Black Moon, DJ Evil Dee and Buckshot
- Dionne Warwick
- Big Mama Thornton
- Evelyn “Champagne” King
- Bad Brains
- Fishbone
- Grace Jones
- TLC
- Maceo Parker, who celebrated his 81st birthday on February 14
- SWV
- Meshell Ndegeocello
- Ice T, who celebrated his 66th birthday on February 16
- Dr. Dre, who celebrated his 59th birthday on February 18
- Seal, who celebrated his 61st birthday on February 19
- The great Smokey Robinson also celebrated his 84th birthday on February 19
John Coltrane is arguably one of the most influential figures in jazz. Over the past 60 years or so, almost every saxophonist has cited Coltrane as an influence on their sound and their work. His work has also influenced musicians from across a wide spectra of genres and styles.
But most important, Coltrane wrote and recorded what may be one of the most gorgeous and sincere albums ever — A Love Supreme.
