Bio: One of the most popular vocalists of all time, Crosby picked up his nickname through a childhood love of a strip-cartoon character in a local newspaper. After first singing with a jazz band at high school, he sang at university with a friend, Al Rinker. The duo decided to take a chance on showbusiness success, quit school and called on Rinker’s sister, Mildred Bailey, in the hope that she could help them find...
Bio: In 1956, the 19-year-old Mathis was signed to Columbia Records where he began his career with a jazz-tinged album. A US Top 20 hit with ‘Wonderful! Wonderful!’ saw him move adroitly towards the balladeer market, and before long he was a major concert attraction, with regular appearances on highly rated American television shows. In 1957, together with his first hit, Mathis was barely absent from the US bestseller lists, and that year...
Bio: One of the leaders in contemporary country music, McBride has also won converts within more puritanical country factions for the respect she affords the roots of the music. She and her husband sold T-shirts at Garth Brooks concerts before McBride graduated to becoming his opening act. The Time Has Come, her 1992 debut album, impressed many with its cultured treatment of traditional material such as ‘Cheap Whiskey’ and...
Bio: Williams grew up in a household surrounded by musical influences from Broadway shows, before she attended Syracuse University to major in musical theatre. A mother and actress as well as singer, she has come a long way since becoming embroiled in a minor scandal over her appearance in Penthouse magazine (after becoming the first black woman to win the Miss America pageant). Four years later Williams began to pursue a recording contract, and found a...
Bio: This pop and soul singer followed the traditions of her mother Cissy Houston and cousin Dionne Warwick by beginning her vocal career in gospel. There was much diversity in her early performances, however. These included engagements as backing singer with established acts, such as Chaka Khan, as well as lead vocals on the Michael Zager Band’s single ‘Life’s A Party’. She also appeared as a model in various magazines, and as an...