Talent

Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born into a musical family on 9 August 1963, in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of gospel star Cissy Houston, cousin of singing star Dionne Warwick and goddaughter of soul legend Aretha Franklin. She began singing in the choir at her church, as a young child and by the age of 15 was singing backing vocals…

Nat “King” Cole (March 17, 1919 - February 15, 1965) conquered the pop charts in the Fifties and early Sixties as a warm-voiced singer of orchestrated ballads like “Mona Lisa” and “Unforgettable”, and breezy, countrified sing-alongs including “Ramblin’ Rose” and “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer”. Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1919. His mother was a church…

Bing Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby, Jr. in Tacoma, Washington, the fourth of seven children of Catherine Helen "Kate" (Harrigan) and Harry Lowe Crosby, a brewery bookkeeper. He was of English and Irish descent. Crosby studied law at Gonzaga University in Spokane but was more interested in playing the drums and singing with a local band. In the early…

Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 - January 19, 2006) was an American R&B, soul, and rock and roll singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which hit the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100. Among his best known hits are "In the…

Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally by her stage name Tammy Wynette, (May 5, 1942 - April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of country music's best-known artists and biggest-selling female singers. She was a country music icon. Wynette was called the "First Lady of Country Music", and her best-known song, "Stand by Your Man", was one…