Joe Sample
Genre: Jazz
Decades Active: 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s
One of the many jazzmen who started out playing hard bop but went electric during the fusion era, Joe Sample was, in the late '50s, a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders along with trombonist Wayne Henderson, tenor saxman Wilton Felder, and drummer Stix Hooper. The Crusaders' debt to Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers wasn't hard to miss -- except... [+] Read More
Randy Crawford
Genre: R&B/Soul/Urban
Decades Active: 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s
Randy Crawford's initial notoriety came from her fiery vocal on "Street Life," a 1979 song matching her with the Crusaders that was included on the soundtrack for Burt Reynolds' film Sharky's Machine. Crawford was born in Macon and grew up in Cincinnati; she worked in clubs as a teen, accompanied by her father. Crawford was lead vocalist in a... [+] Read More
