War is not the answer, because only love can conquer hate.

Marvin Pentz Gay born April 2, 1939 in Washington, D.C. was a singer-songwriter and musician who's career spanned from the fifties doo-wop to eighties contemporary soul.









In 2008, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Marvin Gaye at number 6 on its list of The Greatest Singers of All Time.

I'm a real rebel with a cause.

Eunice Kathleen Waymon born February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina, was a singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music.









Though dubbed the High Priestess of Soul, Nina Simone did not prefer this title. She found the title pigeonholed the music she performed.

But life is tough and if you're creative, it's tougher.

Robert Waltrip "Bobby" Short, born September 15, 1924 in Danville, Illinois, was a sophisticated singer-pianist and played the most exclusive nightclubs from Los Angeles, New York to Paris.









Despite his smooth charm and dapper elegance, quintessential cabaret artist Bobby Short considered himself a saloon singer.

There are notes between notes, you know.

Sarah Lois Vaughan (known as the Divine One,) born in Newark, New Jersey on March 27, 1924 was a Grammy award winning jazz singer.









Shortly after her death, Mel Torme summed up the feelings of all who had seen her, saying “She had the single best vocal instrument of any singer working in the popular field.”

I never was a child.

Ethel Waters, born on October 31, 1896 in Chester, Pennsylvania, was a blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress.









Waters was approved for a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004. However, the actual Star has not been funded, and as of December 2010, public fundraising efforts continue.

You can't sing about love unless you know about it.

William Clarence “Billy” Eckstine born July 8, 1914 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a singer of the American song book and bandleader of the swing era.









By the time he reached his peak popularity in 1950, he rivaled Frank Sinatra as the country's most popular vocalist. In fact he was dubbed “the sepia Sinatra,” although he was known most often as “Mr. B.”

And this bitter earth may not be so bitter after all

Dinah Washington (Ruth Lee Jones,) born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on August 29, 1924, was a Grammy winning blues, R&B and jazz singer. She was known as the "Queen of the Jukeboxes."











In 1993, She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the U.S. Post Office issued a Dinah Washington 29 cent commemorative postage stamp.