Origin: Washington, D.C.

Decades: 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's

One of the most gifted, visionary, and enduring talents ever launched into orbit by the Motown hit machine, Marvin Gaye blazed the trail for the continued evolution of popular black music. Moving from lean, powerful R&B to stylish, sophisticated soul to finally arrive at an intensely political and personal form of artistic self-expression, his work not only redefined soul music as a creative force but also expanded its impact as an agent for social change. Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. (in the style of his hero Sa... Read More

Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke and Smokey Robinson

Alicia Keys, D'Angelo, George Michael, Jaheim, Luther Vandross, Maxwell, McFadden and Whitehead, Paul Weller, R. Kelly, Rod Stewart, The Isley Brothers, Wham!, The Philadelphia Experiment, Citizen Cope, Spiritualized, Phil Collins, Texas, Terence Trent D'Arby, Babyface, Lionel Richie, The Jackson 5, Avant, Houston, Lloyd, Ashford & Simpson, Blaze, Next, Sam Salter, The Rascals, Jodeci, Martha and The Vandellas, Wamdue Project, The Brothers Johnson, Lewis Taylor, Troy Johnson, Dennis Brown, Seal, Marc Dorsey, Robert Palmer, Teena Marie and Ken Boothe