The Greatest Singers of All Times
by SteelKeez | created - 22 Aug 2011 | updated - 19 Mar 2012 | Public
1. Teddy Pendergrass
Soundtrack | The Nutty Professor
Teddy Pendergrass was born on March 26, 1950 in Kingstree, South Carolina, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for The Nutty Professor (1996), Undercover Brother (2002) and 40 Days and 40 Nights (2002). He was married to Joan Pendergrass and Karen Still. He died on January 13, 2010 in Bryn ...
2. Freddie Mercury
Soundtrack | Flash Gordon
Freddie Mercury was born on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar. His parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, sent him off to a private school in India, from 1955 til 1963. In 1964, he and his family flew to England. In 1966 he started his education at the Ealing College of Art, where he graduated in 1969. He ...
3. Aretha Franklin
Actress | The Blues Brothers
Grammy-winning Queen of Soul and the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Aretha Louise Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Barbara Vernice (Siggers) and C. L. Franklin, a Baptist minister, who preached at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit for over thirty ...
4. Ray Charles
Actor | The Blues Brothers
A tragic fate may have given this visionary a heightened sensitivity, perception, awareness, even expansion to his obvious musical gifts that he may have never touched upon had he not suffered from his physical affliction. Whatever it was, Ray Charles revolutionized American music and was ...
5. Michael Jackson
Soundtrack | Michael Jackson: Thriller
Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, and entertained audiences nearly his entire life. His father, Joe Jackson (no relation to Joe Jackson, also a musician), had been a guitarist, but was forced to give up his musical ambitions following his marriage to Michael's ...
6. Prince
Soundtrack | Under the Cherry Moon
Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Mattie Shaw, a jazz singer and social worker, and John L. Nelson, a lyricist and pianist. His father's stage name was "Prince Rogers". His parents were both from African-American families from Louisiana. They separated during his youth, ...
7. Marvin Gaye
Soundtrack | High Fidelity
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr. (known professionally as Marvin Gaye; April 2, 1939 - April 1, 1984) was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of successes, earning him the nicknames ...
8. Al Green
Soundtrack | Scrooged
Al Green was born on April 13, 1946 in Forrest City, Arkansas, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Scrooged (1988), Hellboy (2004) and He's Just Not That Into You (2009). He was previously married to Shirley Kyles.
9. Barry Gibb
Soundtrack | Grease
If you were to try and summarize Barry Gibb's forty-five year career in the music industry in a single phrase you would probably come up with something such as "versatile". Barry Gibb continues to remain an important, relevant figure in the music industry due to his willingness to adapt his music, ...
10. Burton Cummings
Soundtrack | Almost Famous
Burton Cummings got his start in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada performing in a number of bands. Ultimately, the Guess Who became one of the most popular of all rock bands in the 1970s. Cummings came into contact with several other Winnipeg musicians. Randy Bachman was part of the Guess Who for many ...
11. Steve Perry
Soundtrack | Independent Lens
Steve Perry was born on January 22, 1949 in Hanford, California, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Independent Lens (1999), The Losers (2010) and Tron: Legacy (2010).
12. Luther Vandross
Soundtrack | The Goonies
Designated the "heartbeat" of R&B during the 1980s and 1990s, Luther Vandross led a productive singing and songwriting life before to this preeminence. The soul balladeer's strong commitment to the art of music continued on its Grammy-winning course, even after an acute stroke in 2003 left him ...
13. Sade
Soundtrack | A Wrinkle in Time
Sade was born on January 16, 1959 in Ibadan, Nigeria. She is a music artist and composer, known for A Wrinkle in Time (2018), True Lies (1994) and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). She was previously married to Carlos Scola.
14. Little Richard
Actor | Last Action Hero
Richard Wayne Penniman, better known as Little Richard, the self-proclaimed "Architect of Rock 'n' Roll", traveled in his early days with the legendary vaudeville star Spencer "Snake" Anthony. One of Richard's early bands had the young, then unknown singer James Brown (the Godfather of Soul), a ...
15. Lenny Williams
Actor | 3 Ways to Get a Husband
Lenny Williams was born on February 16, 1945 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is an actor, known for 3 Ways to Get a Husband (2010), Rock Concert (1973) and Soul Alive (1977). He has been married to Deborah Williams since 1983. They have one child. He was previously married to Pearl and Dorothy.
16. Patti LaBelle
Soundtrack | Miami Vice
Patti LaBelle was born Patricia Louise Holte on May 24, 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Patti began her career in the early 1960s as lead singer of the band Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. A decade later the group changed their name to Labelle and recorded the hit song "Lady Marmalade". Patti...
17. Teena Marie
Soundtrack | Top Gun
Teena Marie was born on March 5, 1956 in Santa Monica, California, USA. She was an actress and composer, known for Top Gun (1986), The Goonies (1985) and Maid in Manhattan (2002). She died on December 26, 2010 in Pasadena, California, USA.
18. Smokey Robinson
Soundtrack | Big Time
Multi-talented performer/writer/producer Smokey Robinson's career, and life, is inextricably tied up with Motown Records' founder Berry Gordy (his first two children are named Tamla, for the Gordy-owned label Smokey recorded for, and Berry, for Gordy himself). He and Gordy have had a professional ...
19. Janis Joplin
Soundtrack | Watchmen
Janis Lyn Joplin was born at St. Mary's Hospital in the oil-refining town of Port Arthur, Texas, near the border with Louisiana. Her father was a cannery worker and her mother was a registrar for a business college. As an overweight teenager, she was a folk-music devotee (especially Odetta, ...
20. Sammy Davis Jr.
Actor | The Cannonball Run
Sammy Davis Jr. was often billed as the "greatest living entertainer in the world".
He was born in Harlem, Manhattan, the son of dancer Elvera Davis (née Sanchez) and vaudeville star Sammy Davis Sr.. His father was African-American and his mother was of Cuban and African-American ancestry. Davis Jr....
21. Otis Redding
Soundtrack | Top Gun
Otis Redding was born on September 9, 1941 in Dawson, Georgia, USA. He was a music artist and composer, known for Top Gun (1986), Hamburger Hill (1987) and Road House (1989). He was married to Zelma Redding. He died on December 10, 1967 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
22. Frankie Lymon
Soundtrack | American Graffiti
Frankie Lymon was born on September 30, 1942 in Harlem, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for American Graffiti (1973), October Sky (1999) and The Big Fix (1978). He was married to Emira Lymon, Zola Taylor and Elizabeth Waters. He died on February 28, 1968 in New ...
23. Stevie Wonder
Soundtrack | Wild Wild West
Born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, United States, to Calvin Judkins and Lula Mae Hardaway. Due to being born six weeks premature, Stevie Wonder was born with a condition called retinopathy of prematurity, which made him blind. Stevie Wonder, even with this disability, made his ...
24. Frank Sinatra
Actor | From Here to Eternity
Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants Natalina Della (Garaventa), from Northern Italy, and Saverio Antonino Martino Sinatra, a Sicilian boxer, fireman, and bar owner. Growing up on the gritty streets of Hoboken made Sinatra determined to work hard to get ahead. ...
25. B.B. King
Actor | Blues Brothers 2000
Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 - May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimmering vibrato and staccato picking that influenced many ...
26. Sly Stone
Soundtrack | Stealth
Sly Stone was born on March 15, 1943 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Stealth (2005), A Knight's Tale (2001) and Zodiac (2007). He was previously married to Kathy Silva.
27. Sting
Actor | Dune
Sting was born Gordon Matthew Sumner on 2 October, 1951 in Wallsend, North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, the eldest of four children of Audrey (Cowell), a hairdresser, and Ernest Matthew Sumner, an engineer and milkman. He received his name from a striped sweater he wore which looked like a bee...
28. Frankie Valli
Soundtrack | Grease
Frankie Valli was born on May 3, 1934 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Grease (1978), Free Guy (2021) and Bumblebee (2018). He has been married to Jackie Jacobs since June 26, 2023. He was previously married to Randy Clohessy, MaryAnn Hannigan and Mary Mandel.
29. David Ruffin
Soundtrack | I Want You Back
The man most of us know by his unmistakable, calming yet disturbed raspy voice was born Davis Eli Ruffin on January 18, 1941, in Whynot, Mississippi. His father, Eli Ruffin, was a Baptist minister. Only months after his birth his mother Ophelia Ruffin died, and his father later remarried, to a ...
Temptations lead singer
30. The Dells
Soundtrack | Original Gangstas
The Dells is known for Original Gangstas (1996), Dinner Rush (2000) and No Way Back (1976).
31. El DeBarge
Soundtrack | Short Circuit
El DeBarge was born on June 4, 1961 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Short Circuit (1986), Snake Eyes (1998) and The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005). He is married to Monique DeBarge. They have one child. He was previously married to Tracey Ferguson.
32. Chaka Khan
Actress | The Blues Brothers
Chaka Khan was born on March 23, 1953 in Great Lakes, Illinois, USA. She is a music artist and actress, known for The Blues Brothers (1980), Mission: Impossible III (2006) and Hollywood Homicide (2003). She has been married to Doug Rasheed since 2001. She was previously married to Richard Holland ...
33. Russell Thompkins Jr.
Soundtrack | The Hunting Party
Russell Thompkins Jr. was born on March 21, 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
The Stylistics lead singer
34. Johnnie Taylor
Soundtrack | Bedazzled
Johnnie Taylor is a three-time Grammy-nominated American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco.
Johnnie Taylor was born in Crawfordsville, Arkansas. He grew up in West Memphis, Arkansas, ...
35. Gladys Knight
Actress | Hollywood Homicide
Gladys Knight was born on May 28, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She is an actress and composer, known for Hollywood Homicide (2003), The Butler (2013) and Licence to Kill (1989). She has been married to William McDowell since April 12, 2001. She was previously married to Les Brown, Barry Hankerson...
36. Little Anthony and the Imperials
Soundtrack | Peggy Sue Got Married
Little Anthony and the Imperials is known for Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), The Secret Life of Bees (2008) and Crank: High Voltage (2009).
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