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Josephine Baker (or Joséphine Baker (June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975) was an American born French expatriate entertainer and singer. She became a French citizen in 1937. Baker was most noted as a singer, while in her early career she was a celebrated dancer. She was given the nicknames the "Black Venus" or the "Black Pearl", as well as the "Créole Goddess" in anglophone nations, while in France she has always been known in the old theatrical tradition as "La Baker". Josephine Baker is noted for being the first woman of African descent to star in a major motion picture, to integrate an American concert hall, and to become a world famous entertainer. She is also noted for her contributions to the civil rights movements in the us, and for being an inspiration to generations of African American female entertainers.
Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross on March 26, 1944) is a twelve-time Grammy and Oscar-nominated American singer, record producer and actress, whose musical repertoire spans R&B, soul, pop, disco, and jazz. During the 1960s, she shaped the sound of popular music and Motown Records as front women of The Supremes before leaving for a solo career in the beginning of the following decade. During the 1970's and into the early to mid 1980's, Ross became the most successful female artist of the rock era, while crossing over into film, television and Broadway winning a Tony Award for her one-woman show, An Evening with Diana Ross in 1977, and being nominated for twelve Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for Best Actress for her 1972 role as Billie Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues. She was also recently honored by The Kennedy Center. In 1976, BILLBOARD magazine named her the female entertainer of the century. GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLDS RECORD declared Diana Ross as the most successful female music artist of the 20th century with a total of eighteen American number-one singles: twelve as lead singer of The Supremes and six as a solo artist. Ross was the first female solo artist to score six number-ones. She is also one of the few artists to have two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—one as a solo artist and the other as a member of the Supremes. Including her work with the Supremes, Ross has recorded over thirty studio albums. In 1999, as a solo artist, she was ranked #38 on VH1's "The 100 Greatest Women in Rock and Roll", while The Supremes ranked #16.
Queen of Disco Donna Summer was the Queen of Disco in the 1970s with a pop/dance/rock sound that was a hybrid of American soul and European synthesizer based music. Summer's musical career was launched on stage in Munich, Germany, in productions of Hair and Porgy & Bess. In Germany, she hooked up with producers, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and delivered the orgasmic "Love to Love You Baby" which brought her worldwide fame. Summer was the first female artist to garner back-to-back multi-platinum double albums and the first female artist to incorporate synthesizers as well as the first artist to create an extended play song. Musically, she diversified into pop and rock, while career-wise, she appeared in the disco dud, THANK GOD ITS FRIDAY (1978), for which the song, "LAST DANCE" won a Best Song Oscar, as well as numerous American TV music specials. Her career its zenith in 1980 with the release of the critically-acclaimed record, "The Wanderer", a diverse fusion of rock and dance which is still considered to be the forerunner of such range of artists as Billy Idol, Whitney Houston and Alanis Morissette. But soon after 1980, Summer announced that she was a born-again Christian. She was then accused of making anti-gay comments, which were later proved to be false, which brought a worldwide boycott of her music in dance clubs. Summer returned to the Top of the Pop charts in in the late 80s and early 90s with various dance hits. She recently ended her longtime association with Polygram and moved to Nashville to work on country music and to pursue her other passion, painting. In 1998, she won a Grammy for Best Dance Single and has plans to launch a Broadway musical, Ordinary Girl, based on her life.
Chaka Khan (born
March 23, 1953) is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American singer known for hit songs such as "I'm Every Woman",
"I Feel for You" and "Through the Fire". Khan was first featured as a member of the funk band Rufus before
beginning her solo career. Though regarded as an R&B singer, she has performed numerous musical genres including funk,
disco, jazz, ballads, hip hop, adult contemporary, pop and blues standards.In 1978,
Khan recorded the album Chaka featuring the Arif Mardin-produced disco hit "I'm Every Woman" (#1 R&B
and #21 Pop) later covered by Whitney Houston. Chaka proved to be a significant hit on the strength of the single
written by Ashford & Simpson, however Khan's success was somewhat tempered by her public rivalry with the remaining
members of Rufus, to whom she was contractually bound for two more LPs.Khan
recorded backing vocals for Ry Cooder's 1979 effort "Bop Till You Drop," then cut her second album, 1980s Naughty,
a minor hit on the R&B charts, which featured 'Clouds' (also by Ashford & Simpson), 'Move Me No Mountain',
and other songs that displayed Khan's range as a singer. The 'Naughty' album also featured Luther Vandross, Cissy
Houston, and a young Whitney Houston singing background vocals. Her
next album, What Cha' Gonna Do for Me ?, was a gold seller and included at two hit singles on Billboard's
R&B Singles chart including the title song (which topped the R&B chart and made #53 Pop). The album also featured
the song "And The Melody Still Lingers On (Night In Tunisia)" with Dizzy Gillespie & Herbie Hancock, which has
Chaka hitting "notes that aren't in the book" according to producer Arif Mardin.[citation needed] In 1982, Warner Brothers released Khan's eponymous album, Chaka Khan, again produced
by Arif Mardin. This album featured the single "Tearin It Up", as well as Chaka's reading of Michael Jackson's
"Got To Be There". "Slow Dancin" (a duet with Rick James) was also featured, but her "Be Bop Medley"
won a Grammy Award, as well as praise from jazz singer Betty Carter, who praised Khan for her improvisational skills. Chaka
Khan received positive reviews but was not the commercial success that Warner Brothers wanted. Reviewer David Bertrand
Wilson (of warr.org) said, "This [album] didn't generate any hits, but it's a lot of fun...her singing here is
phenomenal". The song "Got to be There", from the album, became an R&B top 5 hit. Chaka Khan is
a rare collector's item because Warner Brothers refuses to release it in the United States and fans must acquire CDs imported
from Japan. In 1981, she appeared on two songs on Rick Wakeman's
thematic album 1984. According to the 'Chaka's World'
website, Khan was originally scheduled to duet on Tom Browne's hit "Funkin' For Jamaica" and Dennis Edwards'
hit "Don't Look Any Further" (which he went on to perform with Siedah Garrett). She also recorded the song "Addicted
to Love" with Robert Palmer. Her vocals were later removed after her management refused to allow its release.
also exemplify the "Flat Top", a late 80’s popular hairstyle for African Americans, in which she displayed on the cover of her first non disco 1980 album Warm Leatherette. She maintained parallel recording and acting careers, and modeling work often overshadowed her musical output. Her strong visual presence extended to her concert tours. In her performances, she adopted various personas and wore outlandish costumes, particularly during her years with Goude. One such performance was at the Paradise Garage in 1985, wherein she collaborated with visual artist Keith Haring for her costume. Haring painted her body in tribal patterns and fitted her with wire armor. The muralist also painted her body for the video to "I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You)".
Destiny's Child was an American Grammy Award-winning R&B group. Originally a quartet,
the group eventually became a trio consisting of Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. According to
Time magazine, Destiny's Child is the best selling girl group of all time worldwide.Billboard also ranked the
group one of the greatest musical trios of all time.During their singing career, according to their label World Music/Columbia
Records, they sold An estimated 100 million records worldwide according to a BET Special. On June 12, 2005, the group announced in Barcelona that they would no longer be performing
together after completing their tour, and that they would be pursuing their own individual careers in music, theater, television
and film.In 1990, Beyoncé Knowles met LaTavia Roberson while auditioning
a girl musical group.Manned by Knowles' father, Mathew Knowles, the initial group was formed after her cousin, Kelly Rowland,
joined them in 1992.]Originally named Girl's Tyme,the group began performing in Houston, Texas of combined
singing and rapping, eventually debuting publicly when they contested in Star Search. However, they lost the competition
for what Knowles admitted a wrong choice of song,who were actually rappinG instead of singing. Not
long after the inclusion of Rowland, the group's original lineup was completed when LeToya Luckett auditioned to them
in 1993, turning them into a quartet. Rehearsing in Knowles' mother's salon and their backyards, they continued performing
as openings for R&B groups such as SWV, Dru Hill and Immature. In
order to manage the burgeoning career of the group, Mathew Knowles resigned in 1995 from his job who was then a medical-equipment
salesman; Tina Knowles helped design their attires.[The move hit Knowles family, cutting half of their income.
Same that year, they were signed to Elektra Records, but were dropped before they could release an album. After four years
on the road, they were signed to Columbia Records in 1997.Taken from a passage
in the Book of Isaiah, Girl's Tyme changed their name to the present Destiny's Child. The same year they were signed
to Columbia, the group recording their first song, "Killing Time", which appeared on the soundtrack for the 1997
film Men in Black.Destiny's Child released their self-titled debut
album in the United States on February 17, 1998, who found working with producers Jermaine Dupri, Wyclef Jean and Corey Rooney.[
Destiny's Child sold three million copies worldwide, and was certified platinum. The album released its lead
single, "No, No, No"; its "remix" version, featuring The Fugees member Wyclef Jean, reached number one
on the Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
Domestically, the single sold over one million copies. Its follow-up singles, "With Me Part 1" and "Get on
the Bus" failed to reproduce the success of "No, No, No".Destiny's
Child garnered three Soul Train Lady of Soul awards in 1998.They won for Best R&B/Soul Single for Group, Band or Duo,
Best R&B/Soul or Rap, New Artist for the single "No, No, No", and Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year, Group,
Band, or Duo.After the success of their debut album, Destiny's Child re-entered
the studio quickly,[ bringing in a new lineup of producers, including Kevin "Shakespeare" Briggs, Rodney
Jerkins, Dwayne Wiggins, Chad Elliot, Daryl Simmons and Missy Elliott,andghostwriters/songwriters Leli and Zimmerman. The
group released The Writing's on the Wall in July 27, 1999, debuting on the Billboard 200 at number six.
In the summer of 1999, they released the album's lead single, "Bills, Bills, Bills", becoming their first U.S.
number-one single. The second single, "Bug a Boo", hit the Top 40 pop charts, giving them their crossover success
and establishing them a viable group. The appearance of Michelle Williams and Farrah
Franklin in the music video of "Say My Name" led to the eventual departure of LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson.Buoyed by the group's breakout success, Luckett and Roberson attempted in late 1990 to split with the
group's manager, charging that he kept a disproportionate share of the band's profits and unfairly favored to Knowles
and Rowland. While they never intended to leave the group, when the video for "Say My Name" surfaced in February
2000, Roberson and Luckett were surprised to find two new members—Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin—joining
Knowles and Rowland. Roberson and Luckett took legal action in March, suing both Knowles and their former band mates for breach
of partnership and fiduciary duties. The opposite sides were disparaging their selves over the media.
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actress. Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, she is the youngest member of the Jackson family, which has produced several musicians. After initially performing on stage with her family at the age of seven at the MGM Casino, Jackson began her career as an actress with the television series THE JACKSONS a variety show staring herself and seven of her eight older siblings—which debuted in 1976, and went on to star in other television shows including GOOD TIMES, A NEW KIND OF FAMILY, DIFFERENT STOKES, and FAME After launching her recording career in 1982, Jackson found record-breaking success, producing five consecutive number one studio albums, beginning with the release of CONTROL(1986) and followed by RHYTHM NATION(1989), JANET (1993), THE VELVET ROPE(1997), and ALL OF YOU(2001). Jackson's tenth studio album, DISCIPLINE (2008) became her sixth number one album, tying her in second place alongside Madonna among female artists with the most number one albums behind Barbra Streisand eight chart-toppers. Jackson’s Control, Rhythm Nation 1814, and Janet. led her to become the only recording artist to ever score five or more top ten singles from three consecutive albums, which include "Control," "Rhythm Nation," "Black Cat," "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" and "Again." Rhythm Nation 1814 also enabled Jackson to become the first recording artist to ever achieve seven top five hit singles from a single album. ROLLING STONE magazine named Rhythm Nation 1814 and The Velvet Rope as two of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, while Jackson's Control and Janet. Were listed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as two of the Definitive 200 Albums of All Time. Though Jackson is listed by the Recording Industry Association of America as the eleventh top-selling female artist in the United States with 26 million certified albums, according to BILLBOARD magazine, she is one of the top ten selling artists in the history of contemporary music; ranked as the ninth most successful act in the history of rock and roll and the second most successful female artist in pop music history, selling over 100 million albums worldwide. 8.Alicia Keyes Alicia Keys
(born Alicia J. Augello-Cook on January 25, 1981) is an American R&B musician and film actress who has
sold over 25 million albums worldwide as of 2007, and has won numerous awards, including eleven Grammy Awards, eleven Billboard
Music Awards, three American Music Awards, and fourteen NAACP Image Awards.
Kelis was born and raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, New York. Her first name, pronounced /kəˈlis/, is a combination of her father's name, Kenneth, and her mother's name, Eveliss. Kenneth is an African American jazz musician, Pentecostal minister, and professor at Wesleyan University. Eveliss is a Chinese-Puerto Rican fashion designer, who inspired Kelis to pursue her singing career.As a child, she sang in church choirs and played violin, piano, and saxophone while attending Manhattan Country School, a private school. Kelis left home at age sixteen, but continued her education at age sixteen when she went to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she formed the R&B trio BLU (Black Ladies United). After graduation, she formed a band with The Neptunes and, with their support, landed herself a record deal.Kelis has since worked with a variety of musicians including Gravediggaz, Busta Rhymes, Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim, OutKast, P. Diddy, Mondo Grosso, Usher, LFO, Moby, Richard X, Timo Maas, Björk, No Doubt, Enrique Iglesias, Sean Paul, Too Short, and her husband, Nas. Her most notable duets were popular singles and music videos, even in the U.S., during 1999 and the early 2000s decade. These include the following: "What It Is" with Busta Rhymes, "Candy" with Foxy Brown, and "Got Your Money" with Ol' Dirty Bastard, with who she was initially discovered beatboxing in a video of his.
Lisa Bonet (born November
16, 1967) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying the character Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show
and its spinoff A Different World.Bonet was born Lisa Michelle Boney in San Francisco, California.African American
father is Allen Boney and her Jewish American mother is Arlene Litman Bonet . Her parents divorced when she
was young. She lived most of her life in New York and Los Angeles, where she attended Reseda High School in Reseda, California,
and Celluloid Actor's Studio in North Hollywood where she majored in actingOn her 20th birthday,
she eloped with singer Lenny Kravitz in Las Vegas. Bonet recalled of their relationship:"It was
interesting when we were first finding out about each other, that our backgrounds were so similar. When I first told him my
mom was Jewish, and he said 'So's my dad,' I thought that was both unusual and enchanting. I felt like, 'Okay,
here's someone who really knows how it is.' And I think I trusted him a little more with my feelings and let him inside
a little more than I ordinarily would have." She gave birth to daughter
Zoe Isabella on December 1, 1988. She and Kravitz separated and eventually divorced in 1993. In 1992, Lisa started dating yoga instructor Bryan Kest. They began living together and had a child in the mid '90s
(son Desikachar). It was around this time that Lisa legally changed her name to Lilakoi Moon, although she still uses the
name Lisa Bonet for her entertainment career. Lisa has said that she has deliberately cut back on acting so that she could
spend more time with her family.Bonet gave birth on July 23, 2007, to her third child,
daughter Lola Iolani Momoa. This is her first child with Jason Momoa,an actor noted for his roles in the television shows
Baywatch and Stargate Atlantis . Bonet is also noted for her
close friendship with actress Cree Summer.She gave birth to daughter Z In
1992, Lisa started dating yoga instructor Bryan Kest. They began living together and had a child in the mid '90s (son
Desikachar). It was around this time that Lisa legally changed her name to Lilakoi Moon, although she still uses the name
Lisa Bonet for her entertainment career. Lisa has said that she has deliberately cut back on acting so that she could spend
more time with her family.Bonet gave birth on July 23, 2007, to her third child, daughter
Lola Iolani Momoa. This is her first child with Jason Momoa, an actor noted for his roles in the television shows Baywatch
and Stargate Atlantis . Bonet is also noted for her close friendship
with actress Cree Summer.
Kimora Lee Simmons (born Kimora Lee Perkins on May 4, 1975is model, author, the head of design for Baby Phat, KLS and an occasional actress. Simmons is half African
American, one quarter Korean, and one quarter Japanese. Simmons was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She is of Korean, Japanese, and African
American descent. Her mother is Korean-Japanese American Joanne Perkins (who was adopted by an American serviceman during
the Korean War and renamed Joanne Perkins), who now goes by the Japanese name "Kyoko", which she asserts was her
"full blooded Japanese mother's name.Her father is African American Vernon Whitlock Jr., who previously worked as
a federal marshal, a social security administrator, and then a barber in St. Louis. He served three years for drug charges
while Simmons was in grade school. Growing up in the north St. Louis suburb of Florissant, Simmons was very self-conscious
about being a "geek." Other children called her "chinky giraffe" because of her height and Asian ancestry.
By the time she was 10 years old, she was 5-foot 8-inches tall, and became the target of schoolyard taunts and teasing. With
no Asian population in her community, she had difficulty fitting in with the mostly black student body who shunned her because
of her Asian ancestry. Hoping to boost her confidence, Simmons' mother enrolled her daughter in a modeling class when
she was eleven years old. She was soon signed by Irene Marie Models. Two years later, at the age of thirteen, Simmons was
awarded an exclusive modeling contract with Chanel and just after her fourteenth birthday, she left for Paris to work under
the tutelage of famed Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld. She quickly gained attention in the fashion world when Lagerfeld
closed his haute couture show with Simmons, who strutted down the runway decked out as a child bride. "Everything people
thought was weird about me before," Simmons told People Weekly, "was now good". By age 14, her stature
had grown to a height of six foot, and she became a self-professed muse for Lagerfeld. She and three other Lagerfeld models
(Bernadette Jurkowski, Shoshanna Fitzgerald and Olga Sobolewska) were dubbed "the four Karlettes". Simmons
is a graduate of Lutheran North High School in St. Louis, Missouri. She has appeared in Ginuwine's video for "In
Those Jeans" with model Devon Aoki and Usher's video for "Nice & Slow". Kimora Lee is also a playable
character in the fighting game Def Jam: Fight for NY. It is Simmons' goal to fashion Baby Phat, launched
in 1999, into an "aspirational lifestyle brand." She was one of the judges in America's Next Top Model
for season one. Simmons has also been a co-host Sony Television's syndicated talk show Life & Style. A
book written by Simmons, Fabulosity: What It Is and How to Get It, was published by HarperEntertainment in February
2006. The book is set to function as a 'lifestyle manual' on everything from spirituality and finances to fashion
and beauty. She established the Kimora Lee Simmons Scholarship Fund at her high school alma mater in St. Louis to provide
college tuition support for academically successful girls with financial needs and is an active member of youth advocacy organizations
including Amfar, The G&P Foundation, Keep a Child Alive, Hetrick-Martin Institute and Rush Philanthropic where she is
on the Board of Directors. In February 2007 Kimora Lee Simmons Barbie doll was launched, created under the direction
of Simmons.She has also launched three perfumes for women: Goddess, Golden Goddess and recently, Baby
Phat Fabulosity. On August 5, 2007 her reality TV show premiered on Style Network. Kimora: Life in the Fab
Lane chronicles her daily life and routine, along with her relationship with her two daughters Ming Lee and Aoki Lee
Simmons. It now re-airs on E! Entertainment Television. Season two has not aired yet.
Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25,
2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter and member of the popular R&B group TLC. She was considered by some fans as the creative talent behind TLC and contributed her own self-written raps to many
of TLC's popular singles, including "Waterfalls" and "No Scrubs". Lopes
was also a self-taught keyboardist and displayed those talents during her solo spot on TLC's headlining concert performances.
She was known for wearing a pair of glasses with a condom in place of the left eye lens, which was one of the ways the group
promoted safe sex.
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