Sir James Paul McCartney is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and record and film producer who gained worldwide fame as co-lead vocalist and bassist for the Beatles. His songwriting partnership with John Lennon remains the most successful in history. After the group disbanded in 1970, he pursued a solo career and formed the band Wings with his first wife, Linda, and Denny Laine.
Vyacheslav Gennadievich Butusov, is a Russian singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of Nautilus Pompilius and U-Piter. Since 2019, he has been playing in the group 'Orden Slavy' created by him. He also has his own solo career as a singer and songwriter.
Lewis Allan Reed was an American musician, singer, songwriter and poet. He was the guitarist, singer and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. The Velvet Underground was not a commercial success during its existence, but became regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of underground and alternative rock music. Reed's distinctive deadpan voice, poetic and transgressive lyrics, and experimental guitar playing were trademarks throughout his long career.
David Robert Jones OAL, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, Bowie is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. He was acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, with his music and stagecraft having a significant impact on popular music.
Daniel Roland Lanois is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter.
George Roger Waters is an English songwriter, singer, bassist, and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served solely as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-songwriter Syd Barrett in 1968, he also became their lyricist, co-lead vocalist, and conceptual leader.
John Alec Entwistle was an English musician and songwriter who was the bassist for the rock band the Who. Nicknamed 'The Ox' and 'Thunderfingers', Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. He was the band's only member with formal musical training and also provided backing and occasional lead vocals. Entwistle was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Who in 1990.
Serj Tankian is an Armenian-American-Lebanese singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and political activist. He is best known as the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, keyboardist, and occasional rhythm guitarist of heavy metal band System of a Down, which was formed in 1994.
Edward John O'Brien is an English guitarist and member of the rock band Radiohead. O'Brien attended Abingdon School in Oxfordshire, England, where he met the other members of Radiohead. O'Brien makes extensive use of effects units to create atmospheric sounds and textures, and provides backing vocals. O'Brien's first solo album, Earth, was released in 2020, under the name EOB.
Roy Wood is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands. Altogether he had more than 20 singles in the UK Singles Chart under various guises, including three UK No. 1 hits.
John Winston Ono Lennon was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history. In 1969, he started the Plastic Ono Band with his second wife, Yoko Ono. After the Beatles disbanded in 1970, Lennon continued his career as a solo artist and as Ono's collaborator.
Jón Þór 'Jónsi' Birgisson is an Icelandic musician; he is the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He is known for his use of a cello bow on guitar and his 'angelic' falsetto or countertenor voice. He is blind in his right eye from birth as a result of a broken optic nerve from the brain. Apart from Sigur Rós, Jónsi also performs together with his ex-partner Alex Somers as an art collaboration called Jónsi & Alex. They released their self-titled first book in November 2006, which was an embossed hardcover limited to 1,000 copies. The two also released the album Riceboy Sleeps, in July 2009. They announced their separation in 2019, after having been together for 16 years.
Roberta Joan 'Joni' Mitchell is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Drawing from folk, pop, rock, classical, and jazz, Mitchell's songs often reflect on social and philosophical ideals as well as her feelings about romance, womanhood, disillusionment, and joy. She has received many accolades, including nine Grammy Awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Rolling Stone called her 'one of the greatest songwriters ever', and AllMusic has stated, 'When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century'.
Maureen Ann 'Moe' Tucker is an American musician and singer who was the drummer for the New York City-based rock band the Velvet Underground.
Stas Namin is a Russian rock musician and cult figure. He is one of the founders of Russian rock music, the creator and leader of the legendary band The Flowers, which has sold more than 60 million records on the territory of the USSR and Eastern Bloc countries over its half-century of existence, and the author of many popular songs including 'Summer Evening', 'Nostalgia for the Present' and 'We Wish You Happiness!' Namin organized the country's first independent production company,, from which many Russian stars emerged, among them the rock band Gorky Park, which Namin created. He organized the country's first pop and rock festivals, including the 1989 Peace Festival at Luzhniki Stadium with world-class headliners, the One World and Rock from the Kremlin festivals and others; the founder of the country's first private enterprises, which broke the state monopoly and gave rise to the modern Russian show business; and the founder of Russia's first non-governmental symphony orchestra, the country's first Western-style musical theatre and other groups.
Gregory Stuart Lake was an English singer, songwriter, bassist, guitarist and record producer. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP).
Neil Mullane Finn is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is currently a member of Crowded House and Fleetwood Mac. With his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz, a project that he joined after it was initially founded by Tim and others, and then became the frontman for Crowded House. He has also recorded several successful solo albums and assembled diverse musicians for the 7 Worlds Collide project; contributor Ed O'Brien, also guitarist for Radiohead, has hailed Finn as popular music's 'most prolific writer of great songs'.
Annie Erin Clark, known professionally as St. Vincent, is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. She began her music career as a member of the Polyphonic Spree. She was also a member of Sufjan Stevens's touring band before forming her own band in 2006. Her debut album is Marry Me (2007), followed by Actor (2009), Strange Mercy (2011), St. Vincent (2014), Masseduction (2017) and Daddy's Home (2021).