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Rainey, Gertrude "Ma"

(Encyclopedia)Rainey, Gertrude "Ma," 1886–1939, African-American blues singer and songwriter, b. Columbus, Ga., as Gertrude Melissa Nix Pridgett. Rainey's place and...

Seeger, Pete

(Encyclopedia)Seeger, Pete (Peter Seeger), 1919–2014, American folksinger, composer, and environmentalist, b. New York City. Seeger, a son of musicologist Charles Seeger and violinist Constance Edson Seeger, step...

Henschel, Sir George

(Encyclopedia)Henschel, Sir George hĕnˈshəl [key], 1850–1934, German-English conductor, composer, and baritone. His first appearance (1877) in England was as a singer, and there he and his wife inaugurated (c....

Hillsboro

(Encyclopedia)Hillsboro. <1> City (2020 pop. 6481), seat of Highland co., SW Oh.; founded 1807. It was long a center of bell making and is known for its ...

Little Richard

(Encyclopedia)Little Richard, 1935–2020, American musician and singer, b. Macon, Ga., as Richard Wayne Penniman. One of the first rock musicians in the 1950s, he recorded such tunes as “Tutti Frutti,” “Long...

Cleveland, James

(Encyclopedia)Cleveland, James, 1931–91, African-American gospel singer, composer, and arranger, b. Chicago. Known as the King of Gospel, he was renowned for his rough baritone voice. He revolutionized gospel mus...

Fela

(Encyclopedia)Fela (Fela Anikulapo Kuti), 1938–97, Nigerian musician and political activist, b. Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, studied Trinity College of Music, London. He was the originator of Afrobeat,...

Carmichael, Hoagy

(Encyclopedia)Carmichael, Hoagy hōˈgē [key] (Hoagland Howard Carmichael), 1899–1981, American songwriter, pianist, and singer, b. Bloomington, Ind. While still a student at Indiana Univ. he was influenced by a...

Xenophanes

(Encyclopedia)Xenophanes zĕnŏfˈənēz [key], c.570–c.480 b.c., pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of Colophon. Although thought by some to be the founder of the Eleatic school, his thought is only superficially si...

Williams, Hank

(Encyclopedia)Williams, Hank, 1923–53, American country singer and songwriter, b. near Georgiana, Ala., as Hiram Williams. He is widely regarded as the leading figure in the history of country music (see country ...
 

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