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See the individual biographies for Laura Nyro and LaBelle. Read more on Last.fm

George Benson is a jazz guitarist born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on 22 March 1943. He started out playing straight-ahead instrumental jazz with organist Jack McDuff. Benson got his first experience playing with his several-year stint with McDuff's group. In 1964, at the age of 21, Benson recorded his first album as leader, The New Boss Guitar, with Brother Jack McDuff on organ. Benson's next recording was It's Uptown with the George Benson Quartet with Lonnie Smith on organ and Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax. Read more on Last.fm

Cal Tjader (July 16, 1925–May 5, 1982) was an American Latin jazz musician. Unlike other American jazz musicians who experimented with the music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America, he never abandoned it, performing it until his death. Tjader (pronounced "chay-der") primarily played the vibraphone. He was also accomplished on the drums, bongos, congas, timpani, and the piano. He worked with numerous musicians from several cultures. He is often linked to the development of Latin rock and acid jazz. Read more on Last.fm

The Elgins were an American vocal group on the Motown label, active from the late 1950s to 1967. Their most successful record was "Heaven Must Have Sent You", written and produced by the Holland–Dozier–Holland team, which was a hit in the US in 1966, and in the UK when reissued in 1971. Founding members Robert Fleming, Johnny Dawson, Cleo "Duke" Miller and Norbert McClean recorded together for various small labels in Detroit prior to their Motown days Read more on Last.fm

A top group of the funk & disco era, this guitar & bass playing duo featured two brothers, and in 1977 their single Strawberry Letter 23 ( written by Shuggie Otis) was a top hit on the Pop and R&B charts. In 1980 their single Stomp! was another huge hit, reaching #1, and appearing on the album "Light Up The Night" which itself rose to number 5 on the Billboard album charts, being mentioned as number 46 on the year end "Top 100 LPs of 1980" list in Rolling Stone Magazine. Read more on Last.fm

Galliano are a London-based acid jazz group that was originally active between 1988 and 1997. The group was among the first acts to record for Eddie Piller and Gilles Peterson's Acid Jazz record label and was also the first signing to Peterson's Talkin' Loud label. The original lineup included Robert Gallagher on vocals, credited as Roberto Galliano, along with Constantine Weir on vocals and Crispin Robinson on percussion. Their early work incorporated spoken-word elements influenced by groups such as the Last Poets. Read more on Last.fm

Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became one of Motown's most successful acts during the 1960s and one of the best-selling girl groups in history, achieving twelve number-one singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. After leaving the Supremes in 1970, Ross began a solo career with the release of her debut album, "Diana Ross". Between 1972 and 1980, she recorded four top ten albums, with "Diana" being her most successful studio release. Read more on Last.fm

Born in the state of Maryland, United States, soul/R&B Jalen N’Gonda (stylized on his records as Jalen Ngonda), chose the city of Liverpool, United Kingdom, as the place in which he would flourish as a musician. It was at the age of 11 he began getting into music, inspired by his father's collection of jazz, hip-hop, soul and classical records. Since moving to Liverpool in 2014 Jalen has been playing gigs across the United Kingdom and beyond. Two years later Jalen is selling out headline shows in London and Geneva Read more on Last.fm

Kool & the Gang is an American R&B, soul, and funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964. Its founding members include brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, Woodrow "Woody" Sparrow, and Ricky Westfield. They have undergone numerous changes in personnel and have explored many musical styles throughout their history, including jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, disco, rock, and pop music. Read more on Last.fm

William DeVaughn (b 1948, Washington D.C.) is an American R&B singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known for the hit song "Be Thankful for What You Got". DeVaughn was a salaried government employee as a drafting technician (according to Casey Kasem,[citation needed] he designed sewers), part-time singer, and member of the Jehovah's Witnesses.[citation needed] He wrote "A Cadillac Don`t Come Easy" eventually re-written to become "Be Thankful for What You Got " in 1972 Read more on Last.fm