– Essential listening: “Maple Leaf Rag” (1899)

– Born: 1868 (approximate-actual birth date unknown) Michael Ochs Archives // Getty Images Scott Joplin You may also like: The 100 best TV shows of all time Keep reading to learn about 41 Black artists music wouldn’t be the same without-and be sure to check out our curated Spotify playlist of essential listening from each. From Marian Anderson, who inspired Eleanor Roosevelt to drop out of the Daughters of the American Revolution when the group wouldn’t allow Anderson to sing in front of an integrated audience (Anderson ended up singing in front of 75,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial and was the first Black person to perform with the Metropolitan Opera in New York), to Ray Charles, who refused to perform for an all-white audience in Georgia, there is example after example of musical icons who used their platforms to make incremental changes driving toward a more perfect union. Artists highlighted in this gallery changed the course of music by doing something entirely new with it rather than simply building upon the legends who came before (although those in this list certainly did that, as well).īeyond musicianship, many Black artists throughout history also saddled additional burdens and bravery by challenging the status quo (often against all odds) and pushing for equity. To help narrow the field, we focused on artists whom scholars can definitively conclude altered the musical landscape in some dramatic fashion. Paring the list down to just 41 was a challenge (the gallery could easily include hundreds)-so there are certainly icons missing, including powerhouses like Lightnin’ Hopkins, Wilson Pickett, Mary Wells, Roberta Flack, Tina Turner, and Gloria Gaynor-each of whom has made significant contributions to music in his or her own right. To take a closer look at how Black musicians shaped American music, Stacker pored through historical documents, recordings, Billboard charts, and studied similarities in various musical acts over time to determine 41 artists music wouldn’t be the same without.

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