an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which "made the sound of rock and roll possible". He is credited with many recording innovations. Although he was not the first to use the technique, his early experiments with overdubbing (also known as sound on sound), delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention.
His innovative talents extended into his playing style, including licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques and timing, which set him apart from his contemporaries and inspired many guitarists of the present day. He recorded with his wife Mary Ford in the 1950s, and they sold millions of records.
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Emile Berliner
May 20, 1851
(2011)
a German-born Jewish American inventor. He is best known for developing the disc record gramophone (phonograph in American English). He founded The Berliner Gramophone Company in 1895, The Gramophone Company in London, England, in 1897, Deutsche Grammophon in Hanover, Germany, in 1898 and Berliner Gram-o-phone Company of Canada in Montreal in 1899
Dame Nellie Melba
May 19, 1861
(2011)
an Australian opera soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century due to the purity of her lyrical voice and the brilliance of her technique. Melba was the first Australian to achieve international recognition as a classical musician. She and May Whitty were the first stage performers to be granted damehoods of the Order of the British Empire
Sergey Prokofiev
April 23, 1891
(2011)
a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century. The logo shows one of his compositions: Peter and the Wolf.
Sayed Darwish
March 17, 1892
(2011)
an Egyptian singer and composer who was considered the father of Egyptian popular music. He was born in Alexandria on March 17, 1892. He put music to the Egyptian national anthem, Bilady, Bilady, Bilady, the words of which were adapted from a famous speech by Mustafa Kamil.
Tom Jobim
January 25, 1927
(2011)
a Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist. A primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within Brazil and internationally.
Edith Piaf
December 19, 1915
(2010)
a French singer and cultural icon who became universally regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads.
Mehmet Akif Ersoy
December 20, 1873
(2010)
a Turkish poet, author, academic, member of parliament, and the poet of the Turkish National Anthem. He was widely regarded as one of the premiere literary minds of his time, Ersoy was further noted for his command of the Turkish language, as well as his patriotism and piousness and his support for the Turkish War of Independence.
Carlos Gardel
December 11, 1887
(2010)
Singer, songwriter and actor, and is perhaps the most prominent figure in the history of tango. His birthplace is disputed among Argentina, Uruguay and France.
Dizzie Gillespie
October 12, 1917
(2010)
an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer.
Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz
John Lennon's 70th birthday
October 8,1940
(2010)
Naomi Shemer
July 13, 1930
(2010)
a leading Israeli songwriter hailed as the "first lady of Israeli song.
Robert Schumann
June 8, 1810
(2010)
German composer, aesthete and influential music critic.
Isaac Albeniz
May 29,1860
(2010)
Spanish pianist and composer best known for his piano works based on folk music idioms
Umm Kalthum
May 4, 1900
(2010)
an Egyptian singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known as the Planet of the East. More than three decades after her death, she is still recognized as one of the Arab world's most famous and distinguished singers of the 20th century.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
May 7, 1840
(2010)
Russian composer of the Romantic era. Tchaikovsky wrote music across a range of genres, including symphony, opera, ballet, instrumental, chamber and song. He wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the current classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, as well as the 1812 Overture.
Antonio Vivaldi
March 4, 1678
(2010)
Venetian baroque composer and priest, as well as a famous virtuoso violinist, born and raised in the Republic of Venice. The Four Seasons, a popular series of four violin concerti, is his best-known work and is representative of the baroque period in European art music.
Frederic Chopin
(2010)
Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He was one of the great masters of Romantic music.
Napolean Orda
February 11, 1807
(2010)
painter, composer and pianist, whose life and creativity was associated with Belarus.
Django Reinhard
January 23, 1910
(2010)
first prominent European jazz musician
Mei Lanfang's Birthday
October 22, 1894
(2009 - China)
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