Archive for Singers

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Florence Ballard

Posted in Detroit Memorial Park East with tags , , , on August 8, 2022 by Cade

June 30, 1943 – February 22, 1976

A powerful voice. Immense ambition. A tragic life. These are often the foundations for the most compelling stories.

Florence Ballard had all three. The happy-go-lucky teenager in Detroit met a kindred during high school in the form of fellow singer, Mary Wilson. The two met at a talent show and would eventually both join the new sister act to the Primes – a local group consisting of future-Temptations Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks. Ballard, Wilson, Betty McGlown and Diana Ross – as the Primettes – enjoyed some local success and turned their eyes on a Motown contract. Berry Gordy liked what he saw but encouraged them to A) finish high school and B) change their name. Florence suggested they call themselves the “Supremes.”

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Bobby Rogers

Posted in Woodlawn Cemetery (MI) with tags , , , on July 25, 2022 by Cade

February 19, 1940 – March 3, 2013

On February 19, 1940, in a north Detroit hospital, two future Rock and Roll Hall of Famers were born. William “Smokey” Robinson and Robert Rogers not only shared the same start, but several years later, they helped launch one of the biggest movements in popular music history as members of Motown Record’s first hit group: the Miracles.

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Levi Stubbs

Posted in Woodlawn Cemetery (MI) with tags , , , on July 18, 2022 by Cade

June 6, 1936 – October 17, 2008

Levi Stubbs lived most of his life in Detroit. It was a fortunate coincidence that the Motor City became the hotbed of R&B music during the time when Stubbs and friends, Duke Fakir, Obie Benson and Lawrence Payton were performing together as the Four Aims. The group signed with Chess records, changed their name to the Four Tops and went on to become one of the biggest selling acts for Motown Records. Stubbs’s soulful voice was the centerpiece of all of the Four Tops’ biggest hits.

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Paul Williams

Posted in Lincoln Memorial Park with tags , , , on July 11, 2022 by Cade

July 2, 1939 – August 17, 1973

Paul Williams was a founding member of the legendary Motown vocal group, the Temptations. Williams grew up in Alabama and began his singing career with childhood friend, Eddie Kendricks. The two formed a singing group and – though they never recorded – found enough success to get noticed in the booming R&B scene of 1960’s Detroit. After losing their manager and essentially disbanding their group, Williams and Kendricks were approached by rival Detroit singing group, The Elgins, and asked to join. The five members decided to forge ahead as equal partners in the new group and sought out a much-desired contract with Berry Gordy’s Motown Records. Once they settled on the new name, the Temptations, Gordy signed them and they got to work. Continue reading →

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Cassie Gaines

Posted in Jacksonville Memory Gardens with tags , , on May 16, 2022 by Cade

January 9, 1948 – October 20, 1977

Cassie Gaines enjoyed a typical childhood in Miami, Oklahoma. She was a cheerleader in high school and was known for her school spirit and for performing on stage. A love for performing led her to a career as a singer, ultimately landing an invitation to join the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd as one of their three backing singers…collectively known as “The Honkettes.”

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Ronnie Van Zant

Posted in Jacksonville Memory Gardens, Riverside Memorial Park with tags , , , , on April 25, 2022 by Cade

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January 15, 1948 – October 20, 1977

Ronnie Van Zant was the oldest of three musical brothers from Jacksonville, Florida. In high school, Ronnie formed a band with classmates Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Bob Burns and Larry Junstrom. The band changed names a couple of times before landing on the name Lynyrd Skynyrd – a tounge-in-cheek nod to their gym teacher, Leonard Skinner. Van Zant served as the singer and primary lyricist. Continue reading →

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Paul Robeson

Posted in Ferncliff Cemetery with tags , , , on February 7, 2022 by Cade

April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976

Paul Leroy Robeson was a staggeringly talented singer and performer. His definitive baritone voice led to landmark performances in New York, London and around the world. He starred notably in original Broadway productions of All God’s Chillun Got Wings and The Emperor Jones (both by Eugene O’Neill) and appeared in 4 different versions of Jerome Kern‘s quintessential hit, Show Boat, including the 1936 film version, which made famous his rendition of “Ol’ Man River.” Continue reading →

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Cab Calloway

Posted in Ferncliff Cemetery with tags , , on November 15, 2021 by Cade

December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994

Cabell “Cab” Calloway III was one of the most prominent jazz bandleaders of the swing era of the 1930s and ’40s. He was most closely associated with the famed Cotton Club in Harlem where he and his band started by filling in for Duke Ellington when Ellington was on tour. Cab grew up in Baltimore and often found himself in trouble for playing dice or skipping school. Eventually, he found a more positive outlet for his energies: singing. Despite his mother’s protests (she wanted him to be a lawyer like his father) Cab continued to pursue music. He met and worked with greats like Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie and moved to New York City. After a stint at the Savoy, his band broke up and he joined The Missourians and jumped to the Cotton Club.

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Donna Summer

Posted in Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens with tags , , on February 8, 2021 by Cade

December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012

The undisputed Queen of Disco, Donna Summer (LaDonna Gaines) was a steady presence in the Billboard Top 40 for more than a decade in the 1970s and ’80s. Born in Boston, Summer took a very unconventional route to international stardom. She left high school and moved to New York City to pursue a career in musical theatre…specifically, she wanted to be in the groundbreaking show Hair. She ended up landing a role in the Munich production of the show. While in Germany, she began her recording career and eventually fell in with producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte and began writing, recording and shopping new songs all throughout Europe. In 1974, the trio was able to get her single, “Love to Love You Baby” into the hands of Casablanca Records in the U.S. It became a hit and a popular early track in the emerging Disco scene.

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Percy Sledge

Posted in Heavenly Gates Cemetery with tags , on January 4, 2021 by Cade

sledge2November 25, 1941 – April 14, 2015

Percy Sledge was a popular R&B and Soul singer in the 1960s and ’70s. He worked as an orderly in an Alabama hospital in his early years. Providential encounters through the hospital led to his distinctive and soulful voice getting discovered and he was offered a record contract. Sledge’s first recording produced what would become the signature song of his career: 1966’s “When a Man Loves a Woman.” Continue reading →

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