Macy Gray Biography (1967-)

Macy Gray parlayed an utterly unique voice and an outlandish sense of style into R&B stardom at the turn of the millennium, appealing to audiences of all colors in search of a fresh alternative to mainstream soul. Gray was actually born Natalie McIntyre in Canton, OH, and grew up a shy, awkward youngster who was frequently teased about…

Freddie Mercury Biography (1946-1991)

Singer, songwriter, musician. Born Farookh Bulsara on September 5, 1946, in Zanzibar, Tanzania. As the frontman of Queen, Freddie Mercury was one of the most talented and innovative singers of the rock era. He spent time in a boarding school in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, where he studied piano. It was not long before this charismatic young man joined…

Dolly Parton Biography (1946-)

One of the best-known country singers in the world, Dolly Parton is known for her outsized talent, hair, and bosom. She began writing and performing songs as a girl and made her first record in 1960. She moved to Nashville, and in 1967 released the album Hello, I’m Dolly and landed a job on Porter Wagoner’s syndicated television…

Lenny Kravitz Biography (1964-)

There may have been other “retro” rock acts before him, but Lenny Kravitz was one of the first to not be pigeonholed to a single style as he touched upon such genres as soul, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk, and ballads over the years. Born in New York on May 26, 1964 (his mother was actress Roxie…

Josh Groban Biography (1981-)

Curl-topped Josh Groban is the singer with boy-next-door appeal who sang the pop hit, “You Raise Me Up.” His big career break came in 1998, when he sang “The Prayer” with Celine Dion at the Grammy rehearsals. Josh Groban so impressed Rosie O’Donnell that she invited him to appear on her daytime talk show. Then came a string…

Alanis Morissette Biography (1974-)

(born June 1, 1974, Ottawa, Ont., Can.) Canadian musician who showcased her confessional lyrics and nonconformist sound in her 1995 album Jagged Little Pill, which established her as one of alternative rock’s foremost female vocalists of the 1990s.

Morissette began studying piano at age six and composing at seven; she wrote her first songs at nine. By age 10…

Lari White Biography (1965-)

Most contestants on televised talent shows never are able to forge a lasting career, but Lari White is the exception that proves the rule. After winning on the Nashville Network’s You Can Be A Star, White went on to become one of the most popular female new country singers of the mid-’90s, breaking through into the big time…

Regina Spektor Biography (1980-)

A veteran of New York’s anti-folk scene, songwriter Regina Spektor makes quirky, highly eclectic, but always personal music. Born and raised in Moscow until age nine, Spektor listened to her father’s bootleg tapes of Western pop and rock as a young child and also learned to play piano. She and her family moved from Russia to the Bronx,…

Brandy Norwood Biography (1979-)

Though still in her teens, singer Brandy was among the biggest and brightest new stars to emerge during the 1990s; a multimedia sensation, she was a success not only on the pop and R&B charts, but also on television. Born in McComb, MO, in 1979, Brandy Norwood was raised in California, first attracting attention singing with area youth…

Lady Gaga Biography (1986-)

Singer. Born Stefania Gabrielle Germanotta on March 28, 1986, to Cynthia and Joseph Germanotta. Germanotta, now known as Lady Gaga, is an international pop star born in Yonkers, New York.

Gaga learned to play the piano by the age of four. At the age of 11, she was accepted to the Juilliard School in Manhattan, but instead attended a…

Kanye West Biography (1977-)

Rapper, record producer and singer. Kanye Omari West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 8, 1977. His parents divorced when he was three. He was raised on Chicago’s South Side by his mother, an English professor, and spent summers with his father, an award-winning photographer who became a church counselor.

West graduated from Polaris High School and completed one…