The innovators: they can only be described as one of a kind—some flashy, some defiant, some "a little bit different," but all are among a collection of contributors who influenced and shaped the art of music before raising it to new height

THE HONOR ROLL

The catalog of Black music has been created by thousands of talented music makers, and those listed on this Honor Roll (that extends throughout this story) represent only a tiny portion of those African-Americans who have contributed to this massive body of work.

THE INNOVATORS

Marian Anderson Louis Armstrong Josephine Baker Leadbelly Count Basle Chuck Berry Eubie Blake James Brown H.T. Burleigh Cab Calloway James Cleveland Nat King Cole John Coltrane Sam Cooke Andrae Crouch Miles Davis Sammy Davis Jr. Bo Diddley Willie Dixon Fats Domino Duke Ellington Ella Fitzgerald Aretha Franklin Marvin Gaye Dizzy Gillespie Buddy Guy W.C. Handy Roland Hayes Jimi Hendrix D.J. Kool Herc Billie Holiday Lightnin' Hopkins Son House B.B.King Mahalia Jackson Michael Jackson Robert Johnson Scott Joplin Bob Marley Carmen McRae Charlie (Bird) Parker Prince Ma Rainey Little Richard Paul Robeson Smokey Robinson Bessie Smith Charles Tindley Sister Rosetta Thorpe Ike and Tina Turner Sarah Vaughan Muddy Waters Howlin' Wolf Jackie Wilson Stevie Wonder

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