Legendary Singers - IMDb

Legendary Singers

by christophershobris | created - 04 Jan 2014 | updated - 16 Jan 2014 | Public

Music is part of live. But you can't have great music without great artists to write the music. Some have become so popular that they are considered legendary. People who put their lives into making music, and made sure it was good. This list will include artist from all music genres. Including rock, rap, jazz, country, and many more. Here are the most legendary singers in the music industry. Enjoy!

1. Elvis Presley

Soundtrack | Girls! Girls! Girls!

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in East Tupelo, Mississippi, to Gladys Presley (née Gladys Love Smith) and Vernon Presley (Vernon Elvis Presley). He had a twin brother who was stillborn. In 1948, Elvis and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he attended Humes High School. ...

The King of All Music. He could do it all from rock, to country. The only celebrity I've ever heard of dying on the toilet.

2. Michael Jackson

Soundtrack | Michael Jackson: Thriller

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, and entertained audiences nearly his entire life. His father, Joe Jackson (no relation to Joe Jackson, also a musician), had been a guitarist, but was forced to give up his musical ambitions following his marriage to Michael's ...

The King of Pop. His color transformation, as well as many plastic surgeries, and unique singing and dance moves make Michael Jackson a favorite for a lot of people. But some not so much.

3. Johnny Cash

Soundtrack | The Johnny Cash Show

Johnny Cash was born February 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Arkansas, to Carrie Cash (Rivers) and Raymond Cash. He made his first single, "Hey Porter", for Sun Records in 1955. In 1958 he moved to Columbia Records. He had long periods of drug abuse during the 1960s, but later that decade he successfully ...

A very troubled childhood. The King of Country. His deep, robust voice made his songs even better. There is a movie about him called Walk the Line starring Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash.

4. Burl Ives

Actor | The Big Country

Burl Ives was one of six children born to a farming family in Hunt City, Jasper, Illinois, the son of Cordellia "Dellie" (White) and Levi Franklin Ives. He first sang in public for a soldiers' reunion when he was age 4. In high school, he learned the banjo and played fullback, intending to become a...

Known for his jolly songs as well as creating some of the wonderful songs in Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

5. Ozzy Osbourne

Soundtrack | Little Nicky

One of the pioneers of heavy metal and one of its most commercially successful and iconic artists, Ozzy Osbourne was born in Birmingham, England, as John Michael Osbourne. After leaving school and having many odd jobs, he ended up in a band with Geezer Butler. This group then split, leading Ozzy ...

Known for songs like "Crazy Train", and "Let Me Hear You Scream."

6. Elton John

Soundtrack | Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Sir Elton John is one of pop music's great survivors. Born 25 March, 1947, as Reginald Kenneth Dwight, he started to play the piano at the early age of four. At the age of 11, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. His first band was called Bluesology. He later auditioned (...

Known for his unique songs in the rock genre as well as others. As known for winning an Oscar, and Golden Globe for writing the songs for the Walt Disney classic The Lion King. He is also known for being openly gay.

7. Billy Joel

Soundtrack | Oliver & Company

William Martin Joel is an American singer, pianist, composer and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his single and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released 12 pop and rock studio albums from 1971...

Known for many great songs in rock and having collaborations with Elton John.

8. Jerry Lee Lewis

Soundtrack | Grease

Jerry Lee Lewis was born on September 29, 1935 into a very religious family . His family, though not very wealthy, sold their house when he was a child to get their son a piano. He loved to play piano. He was sent to a religious school, but was soon thrown out shortly thereafter -- he did a boogie ...

One of the earlier legends of rock.

9. Patsy Cline

Soundtrack | Assassin's Creed

Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932 in Winchester, Virginia. Her brush with show business came at age four when she won a prize in an amateur tap dancing contest. By the time she entered grade school, her family was fully aware of her musical talent. On her eighth ...

I call her the Queen of Country. Her voice made the songs so enjoyable. Unfortunately, her life was cut short due to a famous plane crash that ended her life at a very young age of 28.

10. Mick Jagger

Soundtrack | Alfie

Michael Philip Jagger was born in Dartford, Kent on 26th July 1943. When he was 4 he met Keith Richards until they went into secondary schools and lost touch. But one day in 1960 they accidentally met on the Dartford train line and both realized that they had an interest in rock n roll combined ...

11. Phil Collins

Soundtrack | Tarzan

Phil Collins was born in Chiswick, London, England, to Winifred (Strange), a theatrical agent, Greville Philip Austin Collins, an insurance agent. He spent most of his early entertainment life as a young actor and model. He played the "Artful Dodger" in the West End production of "Oliver!" ...

Known for creating the band Genesis and writing songs for 2 Disney films. The first being Tarzan from 1999, as well as Brother Bear in 2005. Creating songs like "Strangers Like Me", "You'll Be in My Heart", and "I'm On My Way."

12. Lynyrd Skynyrd

Soundtrack | Kingsman: The Secret Service

Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass guitar) and Bob Burns (drums). The band spent five years ...

Known for writing and singing "Sweet Home Alabama" along with many other popular hits.

13. Alice Cooper

Soundtrack | Wayne's World

Alice Cooper was born Vincent Damon Furnier, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of a minister. He moved to Phoenix, Arizona, at a young age and still lives in the state today. At age 17, he formed a rock band called the Earwigs, who changed their name to The Spiders and then The Nazz, before finally ...

14. Jennifer Lopez

Producer | Hustlers

Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1969 in The Bronx, New York City, New York to teacher Lupe López and computer specialist David López. The two Puerto Ricans were brought to the continental United States during their childhoods and eventually met while living in New York City. Their ...

15. Hank Williams

Soundtrack | The Last Picture Show

Hank Williams was born in September 1923 in a small Alabama farming community about 70 miles south of Montgomery. His father was a railroad engineer who was also a victim of shell shock after a year of fighting in France in 1918 during World War I and spent many years in veterans hospitals. Hank's ...

16. Britney Spears

Soundtrack | Crossroads

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981 in McComb, Mississippi & raised in Kentwood, Louisiana. As a child, Britney attended dance classes, and she was great at gymnastics, winning many competitions and the like. But, most of all, Britney loved to sing. At age 8, Britney tried out for The ...

17. Willie Nelson

Soundtrack | The Dukes of Hazzard

This versatile, eclectic, rather wanderlust country crossover star known for his classic ballads ("Always On My Mind"), autobiographical road songs ("On the Road Again") and catchy rhythms ("Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys") started out life as Willie Hugh Nelson on April 30, ...

18. Tom Petty

Actor | The Postman

Thomas Earl Petty was an American musician and actor who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the late 1980s super-group the Traveling Wilburys, and had success as a solo artist.

Petty had many ...

Tom Petty grew up only 30 miles from where I live in Gainesville.

19. Frank Sinatra

Actor | The Manchurian Candidate

Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants Natalina Della (Garaventa), from Northern Italy, and Saverio Antonino Martino Sinatra, a Sicilian boxer, fireman, and bar owner. Growing up on the gritty streets of Hoboken made Sinatra determined to work hard to get ahead. ...

20. Chris Brown

Actor | Takers

Christopher Maurice Brown is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to Billboard, Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contemporaries as the "King of R&B". His musical style has been defined as polyhedral, ...

21. Madonna

Soundtrack | A League of Their Own

The remarkable, hyper-ambitious Material Girl who never stops reinventing herself, Madonna is a seven-time Grammy Award-winner who has sold over three hundred million records and CDs to adoring fans worldwide. Her film career, however, is another story. Her performances have consistently drawn ...

22. Beyoncé

Soundtrack | Dreamgirls

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born on September 4, 1981 in Houston, Texas. Her mom, Tina Knowles-Lawson designs their glittering costumes & her dad, Mathew Knowles manages Destiny's Child. Solange, her sister (they're 4 years apart) has released her debut album. She dances with her big sister during ...

23. Whitney Houston

Soundtrack | The Bodyguard

Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born into a musical family on 9 August 1963, in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of gospel star Cissy Houston (née Emily Lee Drinkard) and John Russell Houston, Jr., and cousin of singing star Dionne Warwick.

She began singing in the choir at her church, The New Hope ...

24. Hank Williams Jr.

Soundtrack | Gravity

Randall Hank Williams was born the son of the legendary Hank Williams and Audrey Williams. After the death of his father in 1953, Hank Jr. began his career in country music. The early years of his career were spent trying to overcome the legacy of his father and come into his own. This did not ...

25. Céline Dion

Soundtrack | Titanic

Hailing from the small town of Charlemagne, Québec, Céline Dion has become one of the all-time greatest singers. Céline was born in 1968, the youngest of 14 children. Early in childhood, she sang with her siblings in a small club owned by her parents. From these early experiences, Céline gained the...

26. Diana Ross

Soundtrack | The Wiz

Best known as the the lead singer of the popular 1960s singing group The Supremes, Diana Ernestine Earle Ross was born on March 26, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan, the second of six children of African-American parents Ernestine Lillian (Moten), a schoolteacher, and Fred Earl Ross, who served in the ...

27. Wynonna Judd

Soundtrack | Lilo & Stitch

Wynonna Judd was raised in various places across the country, beginning in her birth state of Kentucky. As her mother Naomi Judd continued pursuing her nursing career, the Judd family settled twice in California and later full-time in Kentucky. In 1979, Wynonna, Naomi and younger half-sister Ashley...

28. Reba McEntire

Actress | Reba

Reba Nell McEntire was born on Monday, March 28th, 1955, in McAlester, Oklahoma. The reigning queen of country music has pursued a musical career since she was 5. In Junior High school, she performed with her musical siblings, aka the Singing McEntires. A fine athlete, Reba McEntire followed in the...

29. Bob Hope

Actor | The Ghost Breakers

Comedian Bob Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, London, England, the fifth of seven sons of Avis (Townes), light opera singer, and William Henry Hope, a stonemason from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. His maternal grandmother was Welsh. Hope moved to Bristol before emigrating with his parents...

30. Jimmy Buffett

Soundtrack | Jurassic World

Jimmy Buffett was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi and grew up living beside the the Gulf of Mexico. After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi he worked his way to success in the music industry. His hits in the 1970s including "Margaritaville" and "Come Monday". He struck a chord ...

31. George Strait

Soundtrack | Pure Country

George Harvey Strait Sr. is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait's success began when his first single "Unwound" was a hit in 1981, signaling the arrival of the Neotraditional movement. During the 1980s, seven of his albums reached number one on the ...

32. Kid Rock

Actor | Joe Dirt

Robert James Ritchie or Kid Rock is an American rapper, rock musician, singer and actor from Romeo, Michigan. He performed with Joe C and Uncle Kracker for his band. He is known for his appearances on The Simpsons, Joe Dirt and Osmosis Jones. He was previously married to Canadian actress Pamela ...

33. Taylor Swift

Soundtrack | Taylor Swift: Bad Blood

Taylor Alison Swift is a multi-Grammy award-winning American singer/songwriter who, in 2010 at the age of 20, became the youngest artist in history to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In 2011 Swift was named Billboard's Woman of the Year. She also has been named the American Music Awards...

34. Jon Bon Jovi

Soundtrack | Young Guns II

Jon Bon Jovi, was born John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. On March 2, 1962, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey to parents John Francis Bongiovi, Sr. and Carol Sharkey.

Family: Jon's mother, Carol Sharkey, was a former model and one of the first Playboy Bunnies. She met Bon Jovi's father after she enlisted in the ...

35. Adam Levine

Soundtrack | Begin Again

Grammy-winning band Maroon 5's frontman Adam Noah Levine was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of Patsy (Noah), an admissions counselor, and Fredric Levine, who founded the retail chain M. Fredric. Adam's father's family is Jewish, while Adam's mother is of half Jewish (her ...

36. Christina Aguilera

Soundtrack | The Voice

Christina Maria Aguilera was born on December 18, 1980 in Staten Island, New York City, New York to musician Shelly Loraine Fidler Kearns and U.S. Army sergeant Fausto Wagner Xavier Aguilera Monge. Her father is Ecuadorian and her mother, who is American-born, has Welsh, Dutch and German ancestry. ...

37. Shad Moss

Actor | The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

Shad Gregory Moss was born on March 9, 1987 in Columbus, Ohio to Teresa Rena (Jones) and Alfonso Preston Moss. When Shad was five, he started his rap career using the nickname "Kid Gangsta." One year later, he took front stage during "The Chronic Tour" and impressed rapper Snoop Dogg, who later ...

38. Garth Brooks

Soundtrack | Frequency

Troyal Garth Brooks is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the country music single and album charts, multi-platinum recordings and ...

39. Adam Horovitz

Actor | While We're Young

After leaving his band "The Young And The Useless", Adam Horovitz joined Mike D and Adam Yauch in the Beastie Boys, opening for Madonna on her famous "Like a Virgin" tour.

Adam has also appeared in films such as Lost Angels (1989) with Donald Sutherland and Roadside Prophets (1992) with John Doe. He...

40. Lil' Wayne

Soundtrack | Suicide Squad

Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He is commonly regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, and often cited as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

41. Toby Keith

Actor | Beer for My Horses

Born July 8, 1961, Toby Keith Covel was the second child of Joan and Hubert Keith (HK) Covel. He was born in Clinton, Oklahoma, and grew up with his sister (Tonnie) and his youngest sibling (a brother, Tracy) in Moore, Oklahoma. After graduating from Moore High School; Toby did not go on to college...

42. Ye

Soundtrack | The Great Gatsby

Kanye Omari West (born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer. His musical career has been marked by dramatic changes in styles, incorporating an eclectic range of influences including soul, baroque pop, electro, indie rock, ...

43. Sean Kingston

Soundtrack | Cloverfield

Sean Kingston was born on February 3, 1990 in Miami, Florida, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Cloverfield (2008), Baywatch (2017) and The Bounty Hunter (2010).

44. Joey Tempest

Soundtrack | Pitch Perfect

Joey Tempest is world-known as the lead-singer and frontman of the mega successful hardrock band EUROPE. Starting his career in 1979 together with John Norum, Tempest achieved a nationwide success in Sweden in 1982 by recording the eponymous first album "Europe". The 1984 album Wings Of Tomorrow ...

45. Kevin Rudolf

Soundtrack | I Love You, Beth Cooper

Kevin Rudolf was born on December 27, 1983 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009), Boyhood (2014) and Step Up 3D (2010).

46. Snoop Dogg

Actor | Training Day

Snoop Dogg is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, media personality, entrepreneur, and actor.

His music career began in 1992 when he was discovered by Dr. Dre and featured on Dre's solo debut, "Deep Cover", and then on Dre's solo debut album, The Chronic. He has since sold over 23 ...

47. Peabo Bryson

Soundtrack | Aladdin

Peabo Bryson was born on April 13, 1951 in Greenville, South Carolina, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Aladdin (1992), Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Friday After Next (2002). He has been married to Tanya Boniface since July 20, 2010. They have one child.

48. Randy Newman

Soundtrack | The Princess and the Frog

Randy Newman is an American film composer and singer who is well-known for composing The Princess and the Frog, Meet the Parents and various Pixar films including the Toy Story, Monsters, Inc and Cars franchises as well as A Bug's Life. He wrote iconic songs such as "Short People", "You've Got A ...



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