| By Gale Staff |
Without the influence of black musicians, the sound of modern music would be unrecognizable.
Rock riffs, for example, owe a debt to Chuck Berry, whose fast-paced style set the tempo for guitarists like Keith Richards.
Throughout Kendrick Lamar’s critically acclaimed 2015 album, we hear the unmistakable influence of Miles Davis. Further, Lamar’s use of lyrics as a form of political activism has seen him called a modern-day Nina Simone.
In some cases, direct samples make their way into hits, like when J. Cole sampled Billie Holiday’s “My Man” on his song “Cost Me a Lot.”
But it would be a disservice for students to only encounter this incredible artistry as passing references in contemporary music, where its origins and significance may not be fully understood. Educators can incorporate the biographies of Berry, Simone, Cole, and other iconic figures into their Black History Month curriculum this February, celebrating their talent and analyzing the cultural and social contexts in which these artists created their work.
Gale In Context: Biography provides students with reliable, age-appropriate resources for conducting research without the risk of encountering misleading or inappropriate materials. Your learners can rely on a trustworthy collection of educator-vetted periodicals, reference articles, and scholarly journals for in-depth research.
Along with text-based materials, we feature engaging multimedia content—audio files, photos, and recorded performances—that brings the artists and their work to life.
Louis Armstrong (1901–1971)
When Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong got his hands on a trumpet, he didn’t just play it. He made it sing, laugh, shout, and thunder—filling the room with a warmth that few could match. This emotional approach to solo improvisations saw Armstrong shake jazz out of its reliance on the ensemble style typical in the genre’s early days.
Perhaps Armstrong’s most enduring legacy is his development of the “swing” play style. He gave jazz musicians more room for creative expression, bringing in elements like syncopation—playing on the off-beats—to add unexpected melodic shifts to communicate the mood of a song to listeners.
Billie Holiday (1915–1959)
Billie Holiday’s voice was captivating, deeply personal, and, at times, haunting. She didn’t just sing a melody—she deconstructed it, stretching notes and manipulating rhythms until they were inimitable.
This raw emotional vulnerability, a willingness to pour her pain into her music, proved that jazz artistry is just as much about emotional vulnerability as it is a technical ability.
Rosetta Tharpe (1915–1973)
Long before rock and roll, there was Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who introduced gospel’s soul-stirring energy to the guitar’s rhythmic intensity. Always precise, Tharpe plucked riffs that would inspire some of the most celebrated rock musicians of later generations, including Chuck Berry and Little Richard.
Tharpe’s performances were passionate affairs that verged on gospel revivals and that paved the way for the showmanship and aggressive rhythms that defined early rock.
Ella Fitzgerald (1918–1996)
Ella Fitzgerald’s influence on music is evident not just through her talent, but also in the monikers she acquired, such as “The First Lady of Song” and “The Queen of Jazz.” These titles were well-earned, given Fitzgerald’s standard-setting diction, pure tone, and ability to move through vocal registers effortlessly.
An ever-joyful performer, Fitzgerald possessed a boundless well of technical brilliance that she used as a launchpad for her playful interpretations of genre standards. She popularized scatting in jazz music, using her voice as a versatile instrument to create nonsense syllables and onomatopoeia during her improvisational solos.
Miles Davis (1926–1991)
Miles Davis was a trailblazing trumpet player and composer with a remarkable talent for merging seemingly discordant styles into genre-defying musical masterpieces.
Never content to stay in one place, Davis preferred to chase the next frontier and redefined the boundaries of jazz several times throughout his career. Listening to his discography means journeying from the cool, spacious tones of Kind of Blue to the electric moodiness of On the Corner. Regardless of the album, however, he never hesitated to showcase his instinct for pulling different worlds together—jazz, rock, and funk, in particular.
James Brown (1933–2006)
In his songs and on stage, explosive energy defined James Brown’s award-winning music career. Known as the “Godfather of Soul” and the “hardest working man in show business,” he was lauded for his ability to turn a live performance into a spectacle, breaking away from the traditional verse-chorus-verse structure with electrifying rhythms and a prominent bass line.
Over time, Brown stripped away complex melodies, instead emphasizing groove, rhythm, and repetition to pioneer the funk genre. This groundbreaking style laid the foundation for hip-hop, where his influence is felt in the raw energy and percussive beats that define the genre.
Nina Simone (1933–2003)
A force of musical defiance, Nina Simone turned her classical training and jazz-rooted sound into a style that refused to be limited by the confines of any single genre. She possessed an urgency to her rich, earthy voice, while her masterful piano playing anchored her rebellious lyrics.
Simone’s music often raged against a world she saw as broken, relying on unorthodox harmonies and abrupt tempo shifts to reflect that dissonance.
Marvin Gaye (1939–1984)
The “Prince of Motown,” Marvin Gaye, had a voice that could caress any melody, whether in breathy falsetto or deep baritone notes.
Gaye mastered Motown’s polished sounds early in his career, but as his artistry matured, his music increasingly reflected the urgency of pressing social and political issues. His later music meditated on America’s struggles with inequality and poverty, wrapped in Gaye’s signature lush, layered arrangements, transforming poetry into a protest that made him one of his generation’s most distinctive social voices.
Aretha Franklin (1942–2018)
Aretha Franklin’s mellifluous voice was a force of nature, capable of moving silkily from soft, intimate coos to soul-shaking power. This ability to adapt her delivery to the song’s mood distinguished her from any other vocalist, earning her a reputation as the “Queen of Soul.”
Franklin’s commanding presence in the music industry made her the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She was also a frequent guest at the White House, performing during three presidents’ inaugurations—Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama—and receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush for “revolutionizing American music.” Her influence lives on in generations of singers, from Natalie Cole and Whitney Houston to Lauryn Hill.
Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970)
Best described as an innovator of controlled chaos, Jimi Hendrix broke every rule on his electric guitar. He leaned into pushing the instrument beyond its conventional sound with the creative use of feedback, distortion, and the wah-wah pedal, turning Hendrix into a mad scientist who forever altered what rock and blues could be. He set a new technical standard while embracing his knack for unorthodox showmanship—performing with his teeth, with his guitar upside down, and even with both hands behind his back.
Stevie Wonder (1950–Present)
It seems as if Stevie Wonder was born to defy expectations. From mastering multiple instruments despite being blind since infancy to introducing synthesizers that forever altered the sound of modern music, he was sophisticated yet experimental, creating compositions that played along the fringes of soul and R&B.
With unpredictable melodies and a rhythm that broke free from convention, Wonder’s influence runs deep in the very architecture of modern music production. His penchant for complex soundscaping is still appreciated in the shifting keys of neo-soul and the electronic textures of contemporary hip-hop.
Prince (1958–2016)
Prince was a musical provocateur with an audacious style that was as fearless as his genre-transcending talent for funk, rap, pop, and R&B sounds. One moment, he would dazzle with a blistering guitar solo; the next, he would slip into a silky falsetto that glided over hypnotic basslines.
Refusing to be restricted by any social norm, Prince’s performances were demonstrations of virtuosity served alongside his boisterous experimentation with gender and fashion.
Connecting the Past to the Present With Gale In Context: Biography
Contemporary music wouldn’t be the same without the influence of pioneering black musicians. Artists like Hendrix, Holiday, Gaye, and Wonder have left such a ubiquitous mark on the industry that your students likely already have an appreciation for their contributions without realizing where they came from.
Encourage your students to dig deeper and go beyond today’s hits to trace the lineage of their favorite musical styles with the support of Gale In Context: Biography, a database designed to introduce learners to history’s most influential figures and those currently shaping the future. With built-in tools to make searching and navigation easy, your students can easily find the biographies, periodicals, and multimedia content they need to appreciate these black musicians’ cultural impact.
Transform how research is conducted in your classroom with a subscription to Gale In Context: Biography. Reach out to your local sales representative to request a trial.