Musician Tribute

Tupac Shakur (1971-1996) Tupac was an American rapper and actor. He is considered by many as one of the best rappers of all time. Shakur was born in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, but relocated to Los Angeles in 1988. When he released his debut album 2Pacalypse Now in 1991, he became a central figure in West Coast hip hop, introducing social issues in the genre at a time when gangsta rap was dominant in the mainstream.Shakur achieved further critical and commercial success with Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (1993) and Me Against the World (1995). Accomplishments:  In 2003, MTV's "22 Greatest MCs" countdown listed Shakur as the "Number 1 MC", as voted by the viewers. In 2004, at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors Shakur was honored along with DJ Hollywood, Kool DJ Herc, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C., Rock Steady Crew, and Sugarhill Gang. A Vibe magazine poll in 2004 rated Shakur "the greatest rapper of all time" as voted by fans. Edi...

Buddy Holly (1936-1959) Buddy Holly was an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born in Lubbock, Texas, to a musical family during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. His style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts, and he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school. He made his first appearance on local television in 1952, and the following year he formed the group "Buddy and Bob" with his friend Bob Montgomery. In 1955, after opening for Elvis Presley, he decided to pursue a career in music. He opened for Presley three times that year; his band's style shifted from country and western to entirely rock and roll. In October that year, when he opened for Bill Haley & His Comets, he was spotted by Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, who helped him get a contract with Decca Record...

Janis Joplin (1943-1970) Janis, nicknamed "Pearl", was an American rock, soul and blues singer and songwriter, and one of the most successful and widely-known female rock stars of her era. In 1967, Joplin rose to fame during an appearance at Monterey Pop Festival, where she was the lead singer of the then little-known San Francisco psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company. After releasing two albums with the band, she left Big Brother to continue as a solo artist with her own backing groups, first the Kozmic Blues Band and then the Full Tilt Boogie Band. She appeared at the Woodstock festival and the Festival Express train tour. Accomplishments:  Joplin, a mezzo-soprano highly respected for her charismatic performing ability, was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Audiences and critics alike referred to her stage presence as "electric". Rolling Stone ranked Joplin number 46 on its 2004 list of the ...

Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) Born in Aberdeen, Washington, Cobain formed the band Nirvana with Krist Novoselic and Aaron Burckhard in 1987 and established it as part of the Seattle music scene which later became known as grunge. Nirvana's debut album Bleach was released on the independent record label Sub Pop in 1989. After signing with major label DGC Records, Nirvana found success with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from their second album Nevermind (1991). Nevermind was in part responsible for bringing both alternative rock and grunge to a mainstream audience. It has been ranked highly on lists of the greatest albums of all time by publications such as Rolling Stone and Time. Following the success of Nevermind, Nirvana was labeled "the flagship band" of Generation X and Cobain was hailed as "the spokesman of a generation." Cobain resented this, believing his message and artistic vision had been misinterpreted by the public, with his personal probl...

Amy Winehouse (1983-2011) Amy Winehouse was an English recording artist and singer-songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul (sometimes labelled as blue-eyed soul and neo soul), rhythm and blues, and jazz. Accomplishments: Among the awards and recognition for her debut album Frank, Winehouse earned an Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters for Best Contemporary Song ("Stronger Than Me"), a Brit Award nomination for Best British Female Solo Artist, and an inclusion in Robert Dimery's 2006 book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Her second studio album, Back to Black, produced numerous nominations, including two Brit Awards (Best British Album, and won her Best British Female Solo Artist), six Grammy Awards (including five wins), four Ivor Novello Awards, four MTV Europe Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, three World Music Awards, and...

David Bowie (1947-2016) David Bowie was an English singer, songwriter and actor who is often considered to be one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. He was a leading figure in popular music and was acclaimed by critics and fellow musicians, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, with his music and stagecraft significantly influencing popular music. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million albums worldwide, made him one of the world's best-selling music artists. In the UK, he was awarded ten platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, releasing eleven number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and nine gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Accomplishments: Bowie's 1969 commercial breakthrough, the song "Space Oddity", won him an Ivor Novello Special A...

Dave Williams (1972-2002) Dave Williams was an American vocalist best known as the original lead singer for the nu metal band Drowning Pool. He grew up in Princeton, Texas, living with his parents Charles Edward and Jo-Ann Williams. In 1999, he joined Drowning Pool, who had formed in 1996 and had previously performed as an instrumental three-piece. The band released their debut album with Williams, Sinner, in 2001. Williams soon gained recognition for his performances with the band; his nickname "Stage" came from Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, who gave it to him because of his known stage personality. Accomplishments: Drowning Pool rose to fame with their debut album and played at the Ozzfest in 2001. Their 2001 debut album Sinner was certified platinum within six weeks. A number of songs from the album were featured at various WWE events that year, and three tracks would be included on the soundtrack for the Funimation dub of Dragon Ball Z: Cooler'...