Count Basie (William Basie)
09/21/1904 - 04/26/1984
William "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
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Jimmy Dorsey (James Dorsey)
04/29/1904 - 06/12/1957
James "Jimmy" Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was a prominent American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, and big band leader. He was known as "JD". He c...
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03/01/1904 - 12/15/1944
Alton Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 – missing in action December 15, 1944) was an American jazz musician (trombone), arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leadi...
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12/28/1903 - 04/22/1983
Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983) was "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz
Bing Crosby (Harry Lillis Crosby)
05/03/1903 - 10/14/1977
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billi...
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06/28/1902 - 12/30/1979
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partner...
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Guy Lombardo (Gaetano Alberto Lombardo)
06/19/1902 - 11/05/1977
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.
Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and oth...
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08/04/1901 - 07/06/1971
Louis Daniel Armstrong nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana.
Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an "inventive" cornet an...
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06/29/1901 - 03/06/1967
Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 - March 6, 1967) was an American singer and movie star who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. He was one...
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11/14/1900 - 12/02/1990
Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was an American classical composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly A...
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06/24/1900 - 01/24/1972
Gene Austin (June 24, 1900 – January 24, 1972) was an American singer and songwriter, one of the first "crooners". His 1920s compositions "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" and "The Loneso...
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Duke Ellington (Edward Kennedy Ellington)
04/29/1899 - 05/24/1974
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (born April 29, 1899, Washington, D.C., U.S.—died May 24, 1974, New York, N.Y.) American pianist who was the greatest jazz composer and bandleader. One of the originators of big-band jazz, Elli...
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09/26/1898 - 07/11/1937
George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known. Among his best known works are...
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05/11/1897 - 12/18/1961
Leo (F.) Reisman (October 11, 1897 - December 18, 1961) was a violinist and bandleader in the 1920s and 1930s. Born and reared in Boston, Reisman studied violin as a young man, and formed his own band in 1919. He became famous for having...
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02/27/1897 - 04/08/1993
Marian Anderson was an American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century.An African-American, Anderson became an important figure in the struggle for black artists to overcome racial prejudice in the Unit...
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