100 Notable alumni of
Berklee College of Music
Updated:
The Berklee College of Music is 79th in the world, 40th in North America, and 38th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from the Berklee College of Music sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Quincy Jones
- Occupations
- jazz trumpetermusic arrangerjazz musicianhumanitarianpianist
- Biography
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Quincy Delight Jones Jr. was an American record producer, composer, arranger, record executive, conductor, trumpeter, film and television producer and bandleader. During his seven-decade career, he received dozens of accolades, including 28 Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award as well as nominations for seven Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards.
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DJ Khaled
- Occupations
- actorradio personalitymemoiristdisc jockeymusic executive
- Biography
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Khaled Mohammed Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry artists to perform on singles and albums, for which he often serves as producer and hype man. Known as the "Anthem King", his distinctions are his booming voice presence, "motivational" abstractions, maximalist production style and numerous catchphrases.
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Steven Tyler
- Occupations
- pianistactorbanjoistcomposersinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Steven Victor Tallarico, known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer and songwriter. Tyler is best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the keyboards, harmonica and percussion. He has been called the "Demon of Screamin'" due to his high screams and his wide vocal range. He is also known for his on-stage acrobatics. During live performances, Tyler is known for dressing in colorful, sometimes androgynous outfits and makeup with his trademark scarves hanging from his microphone stand.
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Sofia Boutella
- Occupations
- danceractor
- Biography
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Sofia Boutella is an Algerian-French actress, dancer and model. Born in Algiers, she emigrated to Paris at the age of 10. Shortly thereafter, she started rhythmic gymnastics, joining the French national team at the age of 18. She began dancing in film and television shows, as well as in commercials and concerts. She was one of Madonna's backup dancers for six years, performing in numerous music videos and at the 2012 Super Bowl. As an actress, her breakthrough role came in 2012 in the British film, StreetDance 2.
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Charlie Puth
- Enrolled in the Berklee College of Music
- Studied in 2013
- Occupations
- songwriterYouTubersingermusician
- Biography
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Charles Otto Puth Jr. is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his song covers uploaded to YouTube. Puth signed with the record label eleveneleven in 2011.
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John Mayer
- Occupations
- record producerbloggerguitaristmusic artistartist
- Biography
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John Clayton Mayer is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but he left for Atlanta in 1997 with fellow guitarist Clay Cook, with whom he formed the short-lived rock duo Lo-Fi Masters. After their split, Mayer continued to play at local clubs, refining his skills and gaining a minor following. He performed at the 2000 South by Southwest festival, and was subsequently signed by Aware Records, an imprint of Columbia Records through which he released his debut extended play (EP), Inside Wants Out (1999). His first two studio albums—Room for Squares (2001) and Heavier Things (2003)—were both met with critical and commercial success; the initial spawning the single "Your Body Is a Wonderland", which won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards, while the latter peaked atop the Billboard 200.
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Bebe Rexha
- Occupations
- composersinger-songwritersingersongwriter
- Biography
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Bleta "Bebe" Rexha is an American singer and songwriter. She began her mainstream recording career as a vocalist for the pop band Black Cards in 2010, during and after which she was credited with co-writing releases for other artists—such as Eminem's Grammy Award-winning single "The Monster". She signed with Warner Records to release her debut extended play (EP), I Don't Wanna Grow Up (2015), which failed to chart domestically, but spawned the moderate international hit "I'm Gonna Show You Crazy".
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Meghan Trainor
- Occupations
- singerrecord producertelevision personalitycomposersinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Meghan Elizabeth Trainor is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold 11 million copies worldwide. Trainor has released six studio albums with the label and has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, four ASCAP Pop Music Awards, and two Billboard Music Awards.
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St. Vincent
- Enrolled in the Berklee College of Music
- Studied in 2001
- Occupations
- film directorcomposersinger-songwriterrecording artistmulti-instrumentalist
- Biography
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Anne Erin Clark, known professionally as St. Vincent, is an American musician, singer and songwriter. Her guitar-playing has been praised for its melodic style and use of distortion, and she has been listed among the best guitarists of the 21st century by publications. Rolling Stone named Clark the 26th-greatest guitarist of all time in 2023.
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Psy
- Occupations
- danceractortelevision producerrappersinger
- Biography
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Park Jae-sang, better known as Psy, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has received numerous accolades, including an American Music Award, a World Music Award, 10 MAMA Awards. He is the founder of the talent agency P Nation.
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Trey Parker
- Occupations
- film producerscreenwritertheatrical directorvoice actorshowrunner
- Biography
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Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III is an American animator, writer, producer, director, actor, and songwriter. He is best known for co-creating the animated television series South Park (since 1997) and the stage musical The Book of Mormon (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. Parker was interested in film and music as a child and at high school, and attended the University of Colorado Boulder, where he met Stone. The two collaborated on various short films and co-starred in Parker’s feature-length musical Cannibal! The Musical (1993).
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Chaka Khan
- Occupations
- singersinger-songwritercomposerrecording artistjazz musician
- Biography
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Yvette Marie Stevens, better known by her stage name Chaka Khan, is an American singer and songwriter. Known as the "Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. With the band she recorded the notable hits "Tell Me Something Good", "Sweet Thing", "Do You Love What You Feel", and the platinum-certified "Ain't Nobody". Her debut solo album featured the number-one R&B hit "I'm Every Woman" (which became a pop hit for Whitney Houston). Khan scored another R&B charts hit with "What Cha' Gonna Do for Me" before becoming the first R&B artist to have a crossover hit featuring a rapper, with her 1984 cover of Prince's "I Feel for You". More of Khan's hits include "Through the Fire" and a 1986 collaboration with Steve Winwood that produced a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "Higher Love".
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Steve Vai
- Occupations
- composersongwriterguitaristrecord producer
- Biography
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Steven Siro Vai is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for Frank Zappa, and played in Zappa's band from 1980 to 1983. He embarked on a solo career in 1983 and has released 11 solo albums to date. He has recorded and toured with Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth, and Whitesnake, as well as recording with artists such as Public Image Ltd, Mary J. Blige, Spinal Tap, Alice Cooper, Motörhead, and Polyphia. Additionally, Vai has toured with live-only acts G3, Zappa Plays Zappa, Beat (playing 1980s era King Crimson) and the Experience Hendrix Tour, as well as headlining international tours.
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Henry Lau
- Occupations
- musiciancomposerdancerrecord producersongwriter
- Biography
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Henry Lau, known mononymously as Henry, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer based in South Korea and China. He debuted in 2008 as a member of Super Junior-M and launched his solo career in 2013 with Trap. His song "It's You", released in 2017, became the most streamed Korean original soundtrack song on Spotify for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, Henry left SM Entertainment following the expiration of his contract, and subsequently joined Monster Entertainment Group.
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Ramin Djawadi
- Occupations
- composerconductorrecord producerfilm score composer
- Biography
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Ramin Djawadi is a German film score composer, conductor, and record producer. He is known for his scores for the HBO series Game of Thrones, for which he received two Emmy Awards and two Grammy Award nominations. He is also the composer for the HBO Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon (2022–present).
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Wang Leehom
- Occupations
- film directoractorrecording artistguitaristsinger
- Biography
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Wang Leehom, sometimes credited as Leehom Wang, is an American singer-songwriter, actor, producer, and film director. His music is known for fusing hip-hop and R&B, with traditional Chinese music.
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Jason Mraz
- Occupations
- composerguitaristsingermandolinist
- Biography
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Jason Thomas Mraz is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come (2002), which spawned the single "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" that peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. His second studio album Mr. A-Z (2005) peaked at number five on the Billboard 200.
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Sheila E
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterpercussionistsingerdrummer
- Biography
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Sheila Cecilia Escovedo, known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Regarded as one of the greatest percussionists of her generation, she is a multi-instrumentalist known for playing drums and percussion. She is sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Percussion". Her music incorporates a wide variety of styles, including R&B, funk, jazz, pop, synth-pop, latin pop, and salsa.
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Wyclef Jean
- Occupations
- singerguitaristsongwriterrapperrecord producer
- Biography
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Nelust Wyclef Jean is a Haitian rapper. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a New Jersey–based hip hop trio he formed in 1990 with Lauryn Hill and Pras Michel, serving as the group's lead producer and guitarist. Their second album The Score (1996) became one of the best-selling albums of all time. Following the Fugees' success, Jean launched a solo career with Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival (1997), which featured the Billboard Hot 100-top ten hit "Gone till November".
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Mike Portnoy
- Occupations
- record producercomposersongwriterdrummerrecording artist
- Biography
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Michael Stephen Portnoy is an American musician best known as the drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater.
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Rivers Cuomo
- Occupations
- singerguitaristcomposer
- Biography
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Rivers Cuomo is an American musician and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Weezer. Cuomo was born in New York City and raised in several Buddhist communities around the northeast US until the age of 5, when his family settled in Pomfret, Connecticut. He played in several bands in Connecticut and California before forming Weezer in 1992.
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Catriona Gray
- Occupations
- modelbeauty pageant contestantsingeractor
- Biography
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Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray is a Filipino model, singer, actress and beauty queen best known for winning Miss Universe 2018. The fourth Filipina to win Miss Universe, Gray was previously crowned Miss World Philippines 2016 and Miss Universe Philippines 2018, and reached the top five at Miss World 2016.
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Johnny Ramone
- Occupations
- guitaristsongwriter
- Biography
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John William Cummings, better known by his stage name Johnny Ramone, was an American musician who was the guitarist and a founding member of the Ramones, a band that helped pioneer the punk movement. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Until the band's disbandment in 1996, Johnny, along with the lead vocalist Joey Ramone, were the only two original members who stayed since its inception, and appeared on every one of the band’s albums.
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Eric André
- Enrolled in the Berklee College of Music
- Graduated with Bachelor of Fine Arts
- Occupations
- film actorcomediantelevision actoractortelevision producer
- Biography
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Eric Samuel André is an American comedian, actor, television host, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known as the creator, host, and co-writer of the Adult Swim surreal comedy series The Eric Andre Show (2012–2023). His other notable roles include Mike on the FXX comedy series Man Seeking Woman (2015–2017), Luci on the Netflix series Disenchantment (2018–2023), and the voice of Azizi in the remake of The Lion King (2019) and Stuart Clarke in the Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries Ironheart. He also performs music under the stage name Blarf.
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Diana Krall
- Occupations
- songwriterjazz singerjazz pianistsinger
- Biography
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Diana Jean Krall OC OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the U.S. On December 11, 2009, Billboard magazine named her the second-greatest jazz artist of the decade (2000–2009), establishing her as one of the best-selling artists of her time.
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Melissa Etheridge
- Occupations
- singerguitaristsinger-songwritercomposerrecording artist
- Biography
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Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200 and its lead single, "Bring Me Some Water", garnered Etheridge her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female in 1989. Her second album, Brave and Crazy, appeared that same year and earned Etheridge two more Grammy nominations. In 1992, Etheridge released her third album, Never Enough, and its lead single, "Ain't It Heavy", won Etheridge her first Grammy Award.
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Donald Fagen
- Occupations
- singerrecord producerjazz musiciansinger-songwriterpianist
- Biography
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Donald Jay Fagen is an American singer-songwriter and musician who is the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the rock band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his contributions to Steely Dan, Fagen has released four solo albums, beginning with The Nightfly in 1982, which was nominated for seven Grammys.
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Juan Luis Guerra
- Occupations
- singersongwritercomposerrecording artistrecord producer
- Biography
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Juan Luis Guerra Seijas is a Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards including 31 Latin Grammy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and one Latin Billboard Music Award. He won 3 Latin Grammy Awards in 2010, including Album of the Year. In 2012, he won the Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year. He has sold 15 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists.
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Park Bom
- Occupations
- singer
- Biography
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Park Bom, also known mononymously as Bom, is a South Korean singer. She is best known as a member of the South Korean girl group 2NE1, which became one of the most popular South Korean girl groups worldwide.
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Howard Shore
- Occupations
- composerconductorsaxophonistfilm score composer
- Biography
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Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, conductor, and orchestrator noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. He is a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg, having scored all but one of his films since 1979, and collaborated with Martin Scorsese on six of his films.
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Alan Silvestri
- Occupations
- composervoice actorconductorfilm score composer
- Biography
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Alan Anthony Silvestri is an American composer, conductor, orchestrator and music producer of film scores. He has received two Grammy Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
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Aimee Mann
- Occupations
- television actoractorcomposersinger-songwriterrecording artist
- Biography
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Aimee Elizabeth Mann is an American singer-songwriter. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects, often describing underdog characters. She has released ten albums as a solo artist.
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Ouyang Nana
- Occupations
- television actorvoice actorcellistactorfilm actor
- Biography
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Ouyang Nana is a Taiwanese singer, musician and actress. A member of the Ouyang family, known for its artistic background in Taiwan, she has primarily focused her career in mainland China, known for films Beijing Love Story (2014) and Secret Fruit (2017), TV series Yes! Mr. Fashion (2016), and variety show The Birth of An Actor (2017).
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Keith Jarrett
- Occupations
- composerrecording artistpianistjazz musician
- Biography
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Keith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a group leader and solo performer in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music. His improvisations draw from the traditions of jazz and other genres, including Western classical music, gospel, blues, and ethnic folk music.
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Natalie Maines
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterguitarist
- Biography
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Natalie Louise Maines is an American musician. She is the lead vocalist for the country band the Chicks.
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Laufey
- Enrolled in the Berklee College of Music
- Studied in 2021
- Occupations
- singerguitaristpianistmulti-instrumentalistcellist
- Biography
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Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir OTF, known mononymously as Laufey, is an Icelandic singer-songwriter and musician. Her musical style blends genres such as jazz pop, classical and bossa nova. Laufey began performing as a cello soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra at age 15. She then emerged as a finalist in the 2014 edition of Ísland Got Talent (Iceland's Got Talent) and a semifinalist on The Voice Iceland in 2015.
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Pat Metheny
- Occupations
- musiciancomposerguitaristjazz musiciansongwriter
- Biography
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Patrick Bruce Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.
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Loren Allred
- Occupations
- composerpianistactorsinger
- Biography
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Loren Rachel Allred is an American singer. She made her Billboard Hot 100 debut with the RIAA-certified platinum-selling "Never Enough" from The Greatest Showman musical. She is featured on Michael Bublé's Love album in a duet of "Help Me Make It Through the Night," and alongside David Foster as part of his An Intimate Evening PBS concert special and album. Her debut EP Late Bloomer was released on September 24, 2021.
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Billy West
- Occupations
- voice actor
- Biography
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William Richard Werstine, known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor and musician. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film Space Jam, the title characters of Doug and The Ren & Stimpy Show, and several subsequent projects. He also voiced Disney characters, including Ellyvan the Elephant in Jungle Junction, Bashful in The 7D, as well as the Futurama characters Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, and many more. In commercials, he voices the Red M&M and formerly voiced Buzz for Honey Nut Cheerios. West also voices other established characters such as Elmer Fudd, Popeye, Shaggy Rogers, Rocket Raccoon, Muttley, and Woody Woodpecker. Billy West was a regular performer on WBCN 104.1 FM in Boston, MA. during the mid-to-late 1980s, primarily appearing on Charles Laquidara's "The Big Mattress" morning show. He worked at the station until approximately 1988, when he moved to New York City to work at K-Rock (WXRK) and eventually joined The Howard Stern Show. He was a cast member on The Howard Stern Show, during which time he was noted for his impressions of Larry Fine, Marge Schott, George Takei, and Jackie Martling.
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Lisa Loeb
- Occupations
- composeractorwomen's rights activistguitaristsinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Lisa Anne Loeb is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. She started her career with "Stay (I Missed You)" (1994) from the film Reality Bites, the first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 for an artist without a recording contract. She achieved additional top-20 singles with "Do You Sleep?" in 1996 and "I Do" in 1998. Her albums Tails (1995) and Firecracker (1997) were certified gold.
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Sid Sriram
- Occupations
- songwriter
- Biography
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Sidharth "Sid" Sriram is an Indian Carnatic musician, music producer, playback singer. He is an R&B songwriter and has been working in the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi and English music industry. He regularly collaborates with his sister Pallavi Sriram, a Bharatanatyam dancer, and music director.
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Michaela Jaé Rodriguez
- Occupations
- singeractormodel
- Biography
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Michaela Antonia Jaé Rodriguez, formerly known as Mj Rodriguez, is an American actress and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Rodriguez attended several performing arts schools in her youth before being cast in a theater production of Rent as Angel Dumott Schunard, winning the 2011 Clive Barnes Award for her performance.
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Bruce Hornsby
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterpianistjazz musiciansinger
- Biography
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Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from a wide range of traditions — folk, jazz, modern classical, bluegrass, rock, and jam band styles.
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John Petrucci
- Occupations
- singerrecord producerguitaristcomposerlyricist
- Biography
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John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He produced or co-produced (often with Mike Portnoy before Portnoy's absence from the band 2010-2023) all of Dream Theater's albums from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999), and has been the sole producer of the band's albums released since A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011). Petrucci has also released two solo albums: Suspended Animation (2005) and Terminal Velocity (2020).
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Allison Scagliotti
- Occupations
- television actorfilm directoractorfilm actor
- Biography
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Allison Scagliotti is an American actress, musician and director. Her television roles include appearing in Drake & Josh, Warehouse 13, and Stitchers. She performs as a musician under the name La Femme Pendu.
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Esperanza Spalding
- Occupations
- librettistcomposerjazz musiciansingerdouble-bassist
- Biography
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Esperanza Emily Spalding, sometimes professionally known with the stylized name of esperanza spalding, is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, a Soul Train Music Award, and two honorary doctorates: one from her alma mater Berklee College of Music and one from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).
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Ximena Sariñana
- Occupations
- singersongwritertelevision actorjazz musicianfilm actor
- Biography
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Ximena Sariñana Rivera is a Mexican singer-songwriter and actress. In 2009, she received critical acclaim and a Grammy nomination for her debut album, Mediocre.
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Kelly Yu
- Occupations
- singeractor
- Biography
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Kelly Yu Wenwen is a Chinese-Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, music producer and director. She is famous for starring in the romantic film The Ex-File 3: The Return of the Exes and for singing and composing the film song OST "Decency" (Chinese: 体面; pinyin: Tǐmiàn).
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Billy Squier
- Occupations
- musiciancomposerguitaristsongwritersinger
- Biography
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William Haislip Squier is an American rock musician, singer, and songwriter who had a string of hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include "The Stroke", "Lonely Is the Night", "My Kinda Lover", "In the Dark", "Rock Me Tonite", "Everybody Wants You", "Emotions in Motion", "Love Is the Hero", and "Don't Say You Love Me". Squier's best-selling album, 1981's Don't Say No, is considered a landmark release of arena rock, bridging the gap between power pop and hard rock.
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Susan Tedeschi
- Occupations
- composersinger-songwriterguitaristsinger
- Biography
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Susan Tedeschi is an American singer and guitarist. A multiple Grammy Award nominee, she is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks' band, and other musicians.
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Tiwa Savage
- Occupations
- actormusiciansinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Tiwatope Omolara Savage, known professionally as Tiwa Savage (listen), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress. Savage sings in English, Nigerian Pidgin and Yoruba; her music is a blend of afrobeats, R&B, afropop, pop and hip-hop. Savage's contributions to the Nigerian music industry have earned her several recognitions.
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Al Di Meola
- Occupations
- jazz musicianguitaristjazz guitaristcomposerrecording artist
- Biography
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Albert Laurence Di Meola is an American guitarist. Known for his work in jazz fusion and world music, he had his breakthrough after joining Chick Corea's Return to Forever group in 1974. He launched, from 1976 afterwards, a successful and critically acclaimed solo career, noted for his technical mastery, complex compositions and explorations of Latin music. Highlights of his work are Elegant Gypsy, his Friday Night in San Francisco collaboration and the World Sinfonia trilogy.
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Gavin DeGraw
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterpianistguitaristmusician
- Biography
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Gavin Shane DeGraw is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song "I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album Chariot (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB/CW drama series One Tree Hill. Other notable singles from his debut album were the title track and "Follow Through".
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Hiromi Uehara
- Occupations
- pianistcomposerjazz musician
- Biography
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Hiromi Uehara, often known mononymously as Hiromi, is a Japanese jazz composer and pianist. She is known for her virtuosic technique, energetic live performances and blending of musical genres such as stride, post-bop, progressive rock, classical, nu jazz and fusion in her compositions. In 2021, she performed at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
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Al Kooper
- Occupations
- songwriterguitaristpianistmusic educatorrecord producer
- Biography
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Al Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. Throughout much of the 1960s and 1970s he was a prolific studio musician, including playing organ on the Bob Dylan song "Like a Rolling Stone", French horn and piano on the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and lead guitar on Rita Coolidge's "The Lady's Not for Sale". He also formed and named Blood, Sweat & Tears, though he did not stay with the group long enough to share in its subsequent popularity. Kooper produced a number of one-off collaboration albums, such as the Super Session album that saw him work separately with guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills.
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Cindy Blackman
- Occupations
- jazz musician
- Biography
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Cindy Blackman, known as Cindy Blackman Santana since she married guitarist Carlos Santana in 2010, is an American jazz and rock drummer performing since the 80s. Blackman has recorded several jazz albums as a bandleader and has performed with Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Simmons, Ron Carter, Sam Rivers, Cassandra Wilson, Angela Bofill, Buckethead, Bill Laswell, Lenny Kravitz, Joe Henderson, Joss Stone and Carlos Santana.
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Paula Cole
- Occupations
- singer-songwritersinger
- Biography
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Paula Dorothy Cole is an American singer and songwriter. After gaining attention for her performances as a vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, she released her first album, Harbinger, which suffered from a lack of promotion when the label, Imago Records, folded shortly after its release. Her second album, This Fire (1996), brought her worldwide acclaim, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard 200 album chart and producing two hit singles, the triple-Grammy nominated "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?", which reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and "I Don't Want to Wait", which was used as the theme song of the television show Dawson's Creek. Cole was a featured performer in the 1996 prototype mini-tour for Lilith Fair, and also was a headliner for Lilith Fair in 1997 and 1998. She won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1998, and that same year became the first woman to be nominated for "Producer of the Year" without a male collaborator.
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Tim "Ripper" Owens
- Occupations
- singerguitarist
- Biography
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Timothy S. "Ripper" Owens is an American heavy metal singer who currently performs with KK's Priest, Spirits of Fire, the Three Tremors and "The Tim Ripper Monster Energy Big Band". He first gained attention as the lead singer of Judas Priest and then Iced Earth. He took the nickname "Ripper" from the Judas Priest song "The Ripper" during his time in the tribute band British Steel. Like his predecessor in Judas Priest, Owens has been noted for his powerful and wide ranging operatic vocal style.
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Ingrid Andress
- Occupations
- country singersinger-songwriterrecording artistsinger
- Biography
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Ingrid Elizabeth Andress is an American country pop singer-songwriter. She has released two albums: Lady Like (2020) and Good Person (2022). She has achieved commercial success with "More Hearts Than Mine" (2019), which peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100; "The Stranger" (2020), which peaked at number 49 on Country Airplay; "Wishful Drinking" (2021), which peaked at number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100; and "Feel Like This" (2023), which peaked at number 60 on Country Airplay. She has also cowritten songs recorded by other artists including "Boys" (2017) by Charli XCX.
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Adrianne Lenker
- Occupations
- composerguitaristsingermusician
- Biography
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Adrianne Elizabeth Lenker is an American musician. She is the lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter of the band Big Thief, as well as an established solo artist. She has released several solo albums, including Abysskiss (2018), Songs and Instrumentals (both 2020), and Bright Future (2024), the latter of which earned her a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.
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Julia Wu
- Occupations
- singer
- Biography
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Julia Wu is a Chinese Australian R&B singer based in Taiwan.
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Jerry Only
- Occupations
- bassistsinger
- Biography
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Gerard Caiafa Jr., better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup except the original.
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Kiesza
- Occupations
- dancermodelsinger-songwriterbeauty pageant contestantmulti-instrumentalist
- Biography
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Kiesa Rae Ellestad, known professionally as Kiesza, is a Canadian singer and multi-instrumentalist from Calgary. In 2017, she was involved in a car accident in Toronto, suffering severe injuries that required her to take several years off to recover. During her career, she has released multiple singles, including "Hideway" and "Giant in My Heart", as well as the albums Sound of a Woman (2014) and Crave (2020). She has also toured, both as headliner and as opening act, and she has earned several nominations and won multiple awards.
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Roy Wang
- Occupations
- singersinger-songwriterrecording artistactormusician
- Biography
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Roy Wang, also known as Wang Yuan is a Chinese singer-songwriter, television host, actor, and member of boy band TFBoys. He was named by Time as one of the 30 Most Influential Teens of 2017. Wang has been a UNICEF ambassador since 2018. He set up his own charity foundation, the Yuan Foundation, that focuses on helping the elderly and children.
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Joe Zawinul
- Occupations
- composerjazz musicianpianistkeyboardistorganist
- Biography
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Josef Erich Zawinul was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to become one of the creators of jazz fusion, a musical genre that combined jazz with rock. He co-founded the groups Weather Report and The Zawinul Syndicate. He pioneered the use of electric piano and synthesizer, and was named "Best Electric Keyboardist" twenty-eight times by the readers of DownBeat magazine.
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Jan Hammer
- Occupations
- pianistcomposerrecording artistrecord producerjazz musician
- Biography
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Jan Hammer is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer. He rose to prominence while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the early 1970s, as well as with his film scores for television and film including "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the 1980s television program Miami Vice. He has continued to work as both a musical performer and producer.
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Brad Whitford
- Occupations
- guitaristsongwriter
- Biography
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Bradley Ernest Whitford is an American musician who is best known as a guitarist for the hard rock band Aerosmith for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. He has also worked as a songwriter for the group, co-composing well-received tracks such as 1976's "Last Child".
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Gillian Welch
- Occupations
- singerguitaristsinger-songwritercomposerrecording artist
- Biography
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Gillian Howard Welch is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, country and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as "at once innovative and obliquely reminiscent of past rural forms."
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Marina Satti
- Enrolled in the Berklee College of Music
- Studied scoring and film composition
- Occupations
- composersingerrecord producerorchestrator
- Biography
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Marina Satti is a Greek singer, songwriter, composer, music producer, and actress. Her music fuses traditional Greek and Balkan sounds with modern pop, hip-hop, and electronic production. She graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 2012. She released her first single, "Koupes", in 2016; and her first album, YENNA, in 2022. Her albums P.O.P and POP TOO have reached unprecedented global success, for a Greek artist. Satti represented Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with her song "Zari", finishing in 11th place.
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Vinnie Colaiuta
- Occupations
- session musiciandrummerjazz musician
- Biography
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Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Colaiuta is an American drummer known for his technical mastery who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2014. Colaiuta has won one Grammy Award and has been nominated twice. Since the late 1970s, he has recorded and toured with Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, and Sting, among many other appearances in the studio and in concert.
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John Myung
- Occupations
- composerbassistlyricistmusician
- Biography
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John Ro Myung is an American bassist and a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater.
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André Manoukian
- Occupations
- jazz pianistradio personalitysongwriter
- Biography
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André Antranik Manoukian is a French songwriter, arranger, jazz musician and actor of Armenian descent.
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Joey Kramer
- Occupations
- songwriterrock drummer
- Biography
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Joseph Michael Kramer is an American musician best known as the drummer of the hard rock band Aerosmith, which was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
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Branford Marsalis
- Occupations
- jazz musiciansaxophonistcomposerrecording artistactor
- Biography
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Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque. From 1992 to 1995 he led The Tonight Show Band.
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Esther Ofarim
- Occupations
- singer
- Biography
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Esther Zaied, better known by her married name Esther Ofarim, is an Israeli singer. She came second in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "T'en va pas", representing Switzerland. After marrying Abi Ofarim in 1958, she was half of the husband-and-wife folk duo Esther & Abi Ofarim in the 1960s. After the couple divorced, she undertook a successful solo career.
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Qveen Herby
- Occupations
- songwriterrapperentrepreneursinger
- Biography
-
Amy Renee Heidemann Noonan, better known professionally as Qveen Herby, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. Born and raised in Seward, Nebraska, she first gained fame as part of the music duo Karmin, with which she released two studio albums. Following the duo's hiatus in 2017, she began the solo project, Qveen Herby, which incorporated R&B and hip-hop influences. She released her first solo extended play, EP 1 on June 2, 2017. She released her debut album, A Woman, on May 21, 2021.
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Brendon Small
- Occupations
- voice actorcomposertelevision actorguitaristtelevision producer
- Biography
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Brendon Small is an American actor, stand-up comedian, writer, director, producer, and musician who is known for co-creating the animated series Home Movies (1999–2004, with Loren Bouchard) and Metalocalypse (2006–2013, with Tommy Blacha). He also writes the music, and is the main performer for the fictional melodic death metal band Dethklok, which began as the subject of Metalocalypse but has taken on a life of its own, with four albums and an occasional live touring band, headed by Small. Small has also released two albums under his own name, in a similar musical style to Dethklok.
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David Marks
- Occupations
- singersongwriterguitarist
- Biography
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David Lee Marks is an American guitarist who was an early and latter-era member of the Beach Boys. While growing up in Hawthorne, California, Marks was a neighborhood friend of the original band members and was a frequent participant at their family get-togethers. Following his departure from the group, Marks fronted the Marksmen and performed and recorded as a session musician.
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Daniel Wayne Sermón
- Occupations
- singersongwriterguitarist
- Biography
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Daniel Wayne Sermon is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead guitarist for the pop rock band Imagine Dragons.
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Roy Hargrove
- Occupations
- brass playertrumpeterjazz musician
- Biography
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Roy Anthony Hargrove was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved critical acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles of jazz in 1998 and 2002. Hargrove primarily played in the hard bop style for the majority of his albums, but also had a penchant for genre-crossing exploration and collaboration with a variety of hip-hop, neo soul, R&B and alternative rock artists. As Hargrove told one reporter, "I've been around all kinds of musicians, and if a cat can play, a cat can play. If it's gospel, funk, R&B, jazz or hip-hop, if it's something that gets in your ear and it's good, that's what matters."
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John Scofield
- Occupations
- guitaristcomposerjazz musiciandesignerjazz guitarist
- Biography
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John Scofield is an American guitarist and composer. His music blends jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention as part of the band of Miles Davis.
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Daniel Platzman
- Occupations
- singerrecord producersongwriter
- Biography
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Daniel James Platzman is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and composer. He is best known as the former drummer for the pop rock band Imagine Dragons.
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Betty Who
- Occupations
- singersongwriter
- Biography
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Jessica Anne Newham, known by her stage name Betty Who, is an Australian musician and singer. After independently releasing her debut single, "Somebody Loves You" (2012), and her debut extended play, The Movement (2013), she signed with RCA Records and later released her debut studio album, Take Me When You Go (2014). Her second studio album, The Valley (2017), saw the commercial success of her cover of "I Love You Always Forever", which peaked inside the top ten in Australia and reached the top of the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in the United States.
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Robert Moog
- Occupations
- musical instrument makerinventoruniversity teachermusician
- Biography
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Robert Arthur Moog was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthesizer, which debuted in 1964. In 1970, Moog released a more portable model, the Minimoog, described as the most famous and influential synthesizer in history. Among Moog's honors are a Technical Grammy Award, received in 2002, and an induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
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Leah LaBelle
- Occupations
- singer
- Biography
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Leah LaBelle Vladowski was an American singer. She rose to prominence in 2004 as a contestant on the third season of American Idol, placing twelfth in the season finals. In 2007, LaBelle began recording covers of R&B and soul music for her YouTube channel. These videos led to work as a backing vocalist starting in 2008 and a record deal in 2011 with Epic in partnership with I Am Other and So So Def Recordings. LaBelle released a sampler, three singles, and a posthumous extended play (EP).
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Cleo Laine
- Occupations
- autobiographerfilm actorjazz singerstage actorjazz musician
- Biography
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Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth was an English singer and actress known for her scat singing. She was the wife of jazz composer and musician Sir John Dankworth and the mother of bassist Alec and singer Jacqui Dankworth. Laine had popular success with singles such as "You'll Answer To Me" and appeared in a range of musical theatre productions. She received a number of awards and honours including appointment as an OBE in 1979, and a Grammy in 1986; she became a dame in 1997.
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Derek Sherinian
- Occupations
- session musicianrecord producerguitaristcomposerpianist
- Biography
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Derek Sherinian is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X and also one of the founding members of Black Country Communion, Sons of Apollo, and Whom Gods Destroy. He has released nine solo albums that have featured a variety of prominent guest musicians, including guitarists Slash, Yngwie Malmsteen, Allan Holdsworth, Steve Lukather, Joe Bonamassa, Michael Schenker, Steve Vai and Al Di Meola, and drummer Simon Phillips.
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Brad Mehldau
- Occupations
- composerjazz pianistrecording artistmusic arranger
- Biography
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Bradford Alexander Mehldau is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
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James Valentine
- Occupations
- guitaristcomposermusician
- Biography
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James Burgon Valentine is an American musician who is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the pop band Maroon 5.
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Fred Cheng
- Occupations
- television actoractorsingerfilm actor
- Biography
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Frederick "Fred" Cheng is a Canadian-born Hong Kong musician and actor. He rose to fame after competing and winning the 2013 Hong Kong singing competition, Voice of the Stars. He is currently signed to TVB management.
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Reeves Gabrels
- Occupations
- singersongwriterguitarist
- Biography
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Reeves Gabrels is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer. A member of The Cure since 2012, Gabrels is also known for his work with David Bowie and Tin Machine from 1988 to 1999. He also fronts the band Reeves Gabrels & His Imaginary Friends, which is based in Nashville.
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Bob James
- Occupations
- record producercomposerjazz musicianpianistkeyboardist
- Biography
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Robert McElhiney James is an American jazz keyboardist, arranger, and record producer. He founded the band Fourplay and wrote "Angela", the theme song for the TV show Taxi. According to VICE, music from his first seven albums has often been sampled and believed to have contributed to the formation of hip hop. Among his most well known recordings are "Nautilus", "Westchester Lady", "Tappan Zee", and his version of "Take Me to the Mardi Gras".
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Jerry Heil
- Occupations
- singer-songwriterYouTuber
- Biography
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Yana Oleksandrivna Shemaieva, known professionally as Jerry Heil (JER-ree HAY-el, Ukrainian: Дже́ррі Гейл [ˈdʒɛr⁽ʲ⁾ːi ˈɦɛjl]), is a Ukrainian singer, songwriter and YouTuber. She began her career after launching her YouTube channel in 2012, publishing vlogs and musical covers.
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Ashe
- Occupations
- musicianrecording artistsinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Ashlyn Rae "Ashe" Willson is an American singer-songwriter. She is known for her 2019 single "Moral of the Story", which was featured in the Netflix film To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (2020) and was produced by Noah Conrad with additional production from Finneas O'Connell.
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Pedro Aznar
- Occupations
- singerguitaristpianistcomposerbassist
- Biography
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Pedro Aznar is an Argentine musician and singer-songwriter. He has musical experience in jazz, Argentine folk and rock music and has a successful career as a solo artist. He is well known for giving rock songs a jazz-oriented style, by playing the fretless bass, with a big influence from Jaco Pastorius.
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Lalah Hathaway
- Occupations
- singerrecording artistjazz musician
- Biography
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Eulaulah Donyll "Lalah" Hathaway is an American singer-songwriter and music producer. Credited as the "First Daughter of Soul", she is the first-born daughter of musician and soul singer Donny Hathaway.
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Elliot Easton
- Occupations
- songwriterguitaristmusician
- Biography
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Elliot Easton is an American musician who is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the American new wave band the Cars. His melodic guitar solos are an integral part of the band's music. Easton has also recorded music as a solo artist, and has played in other bands. He is a left-handed guitarist. In 2018, Easton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cars.
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Justin Tranter
- Occupations
- singercomposersinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Justin Drew Tranter is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Sara Bareilles, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, DNCE, Citizen Queen, Kesha, Imagine Dragons, Cynthia Erivo, The Knocks, Fifth Harmony, 5 Seconds of Summer, Chappell Roan, Halsey, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Raye, Bea Miller, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Måneskin, Fall Out Boy and KATSEYE. From 2004 to 2014, Tranter was the lead singer of Semi Precious Weapons, a rock band based in New York City. Since February 2017, they have been a board member of GLAAD, an organization that promotes LGBT acceptance in the entertainment and news industries. Tranter's songs have garnered over 50 million single sales and 40 billion streams on Spotify and YouTube as of May 2021.
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Bill Frisell
- Occupations
- jazz guitaristcomposer
- Biography
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William Richard Frisell is an American jazz guitarist. He first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts, notably as a participant in the Downtown Scene in New York City, where he formed a long working relationship with composer and saxophonist John Zorn. He was also a longtime member of veteran drummer Paul Motian's groups from the early 1980s until Motian's death in 2011. Since the late 1990s, Frisell's output as a bandleader has also integrated prominent elements of folk, country, rock ‘n’ roll and Americana. He has six Grammy nominations and one win.
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Reb Beach
- Occupations
- musicianguitarist
- Biography
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Richard Earl "Reb" Beach Jr. is an American hard rock guitarist. He is a member of the bands Winger and Whitesnake.
