Musicians: Julia Perry
Julia Perry (1924-1979) was a prolific composer whose music combined a career’s worth of study in European classical training with her own African American heritage.History classes can get a bad wrap,...
14 Feb 20226min
Musicians: Odetta
Odetta (1930-2008) was a folk icon whose songs were the soundtrack of the protest movement of the 50s and 60s. She influenced a generation of musicians then and now.History classes can get a bad wrap,...
11 Feb 20226min
Musicians: Mabel Mercer
Mabel Mercer (1900-1984) was a famous cabaret performer and an inspiration to some of the most famous voices of music.History classes can get a bad wrap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were st...
10 Feb 20226min
Musicians: Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle (1944-present) has had a long career pushing boundaries in soul and gospel music. In fact, she’s known as ‘The Godmother of Soul.'History classes can get a bad wrap, and sometimes for go...
9 Feb 20225min
Musicians: Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight (1944-present) is a legend known as the “Empress of Soul.” Her repertoire boasts no fewer than seven Grammys, two number-one Billboard Hot 100 Singles, eleven number-one R&B hits, and an...
8 Feb 20227min
Musicians: Etta James
Etta James (1938-2012) had one of the strongest voices in the history of blues, R&B, and soul music.History classes can get a bad wrap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’...
7 Feb 20228min
Musicians: Alberta Hunter
Alberta Hunter (1895-1984) was a singer with one of the longest, and most unconventional, careers in music. By the time she was in her 30s, she’d played Broadway, toured countless European cabarets, a...
4 Feb 20226min
Musicians: Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston (1963-2012) was one of the best selling musical artists of all time whose singles repeatedly topped the charts.History classes can get a bad wrap, and sometimes for good reason. When w...
3 Feb 20226min
