10 iconic black musicians who revolutionised the music industry

This month is Black History Month, and having done a bit of research I quickly realised that many of the essential foundations that form the music we love today were created by a number of iconic black musicians. I decided to take a closer look into the lives of these legends to see how they shaped the music industry.

There are so many names I could mention, but instead I have tried to select a few of those who’s stories I found the most interesting and/or surprising and to cover a variety of musical genres.


1. Ella Fitzgerald

Known as ‘The First Lady of Song’ and ‘Queen of Jazz’, Ella Fitzgerald was an icon of Jazz music. She held 14 Grammy awards to her name, sold over 40 million albums in her lifetime, and was considered the most popular jazz singer in the US for over half a century. She also worked with many other revered jazz musicians including Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. Some of her most famous songs include ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’, ‘Cheek To Cheek’ and ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got That Swing)’.

Along her amazing journey, Ella faced many incidents of discrimination, including from venues and clubs which weren’t interested in hiring a black woman to perform for them. This changed however, when Marilyn Monroe helped Ella get a gig at Mocambo, a famous nightclub in Los Angeles. Monroe made a deal with the club’s owner that she would sit at the front of house every night, gaining publicity for the venue, if he let Ella perform.

As well as the multiple Grammy awards, Ella was awarded the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1993 she gave her last public performance, after a highly successful music career of almost 60 years.


2. Prince

Prince is regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation. He was a multi-instrumentalist, guitar virtuoso and had an incredible vocal range. His music also broke the boundaries of standard genres including mixes of pop, psychedelia, industrial, rock and more.

He’s well remembered for his stand against the record industry and stood up for artists’ rights. He took full control over his work and direction, with his actions influencing many artists worldwide who are taking a similar approach.

Prince also revolutionised many other areas of the music industry. His music helped break the barrier of airplay on MTV at a time where African-American artists were struggling to get prominent airplay. His ‘Little Red Corvette’ rose to the top of the charts and gained considerable airplay on MTV.

Among many of his amazing achievements, Prince also became the first artist to have a top album, top single and top American film, all at the same time.


3. Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry was a true pioneer of rock and roll music, known for hit songs such as ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ and ‘Johnny B. Goode’. He refined rhythm and blues to create the elements which are strongly associated with the rock genre, inspiring subsequent rock music. For example, influences of his music can be heard in the music performed by Elvis. Berry was also famed for his ‘duckwalk’ which was a move he pulled on stage showing off his guitar showmanship and is considered to be the artist who made the move popular.

He was also one of the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after it opened in 1986 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy.


4. Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix has also been named as one of the most influential musicians in the history of rock music, having influenced many features and aspects of rock music, just like Chuck Berry who was one of his musical influences. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has described him as ‘arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music’.

At the time of his career, bands would usually have separate players for lead guitar and vocals, but Hendrix changed this trend as he would play lead guitar and sing at the same time. He was also known for playing custom guitars which were restrung to tailor to him being left handed but playing a right handed guitar, and for his heavy use of the wah-wah pedal to accentuate the notes he was playing. Many people would admire him for this ability, to play a guitar in a way only known to him.


5. Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston was an iconic singer and actress. She was certified as the ‘most awarded female artist of all time’ by Guinness World Records and is considered one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. She was also admired for breaking down the colour barrier for black women, while Michael Jackson did the same for black men, and she was the first black woman to receive heavy rotation on the MTV network. Overall Houston provided a massive contribution to the success of black artists in pop music, paving the way for today's stars such as Beyonce and Mariah Carey.

Houston’s 1991 version of the National Anthem is still considered one of the most stunning moments in American sports history:


6. Public Enemy

Public Enemy are an American hip-hop group well known for their music which contains strong political messages and focuses on concerns and topics relating to the African-American community. The group have contributed greatly to the hip-hop genre through their sonic experimentation and use of political and cultural consciousness. With their growing success, more hip-hop artists began celebrating Afrocentric themes. The group also played a huge part in the technological change of music distribution by becoming one of the first groups to release MP3-only albums, which was an unknown format at the time.

The group have faced much success from their music and political messages, with their first four albums all getting certified gold or platinum standard by the RIAA and at the 62nd Grammy Awards the group were awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.


7. Toots and the Maytals

Toots and the Maytals were a Jamaican musical group who were key players in popularising the reggae music genre. They are also one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups and their frontman is considered a reggae pioneer on par with the legendary Bob Marley.

Their 1968 song ‘Do The Reggay’ was the first song to use the term ‘reggae’ which became the start of the genre and introduced the style to a global audience. They are even credited in the Oxford Dictionary for the word ‘Reggae’. Their style and music has gone on to inspire many big names, including artist Sean Paul.


8. Frankie Knuckles

Frankie Knuckles, also known as the ‘Godfather of House Music’ was an American DJ and producer. He played an integral part in popularising and developing the house music genre during the 80s and has been dubbed as ‘one of the dozen most important DJs of all time’. His DJ sets often consisted of a cross-section of different genres which also included disco classics and rock, with a focus on select music from indie labels.

One of his friends opened a club called ‘Warehouse’ where Knuckles practiced his craft and eventually the club came to be known as ‘House Music’ potentially dubbing the genre name. Knuckles was also the first remixer to win a Grammy award for ‘Best Remixed Recording’ for his remix of Toni Braxton’s ‘Unbreak My Heart’.


9. Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s for her gospel recordings which were defined by her unique mix of spiritual lyrics and rhythmic accompaniment which were also considered a precursor of rock and roll. She was also the first great recording star of gospel music and one of the first gospel musicians to appeal to rock and blues audiences, giving her the title of ‘the original soul sister’ and ‘the godmother of rock and roll’. She’s said to have influenced artists such as Chuck Berry and Johnny Cash.

Tharpe was also a pioneer in her guitar technique, becoming one of the first recording artists to use heavy distortion on her guitar which was a stepping stone for the rise of electric blues and influenced British blues in the 1960s. Her music also helped to push spiritual music into a mainstream market and she broke boundaries by playing spiritual music in ‘dark’ places such as nightclubs.

In 2017, Tharpe was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an ‘Early Influence’.


10. Curtis Mayfield

Curtis Mayfield is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and conscious African-American music. He was noted as one of the first musicians to bring more prominent themes of social awareness into soul music and was among the first black R&B artists who merged social commentary into their work, with a strong focus on the ‘message’ in the music. He also openly sang about civil rights and black pride.

His song ‘People Get Ready’, was ranked at number 24 on the Rolling Stone’s list of the ‘500 Greatest Songs of All Time’ and was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. In 1972, Mayfield released a movie soundtrack for the film ‘Super Fly’ which addressed problems surrounding inner city minorities such as crime, drug abuse and poverty to raise awareness. In 1983, he notably became the first black artist to headline the Glastonbury Music Festival.

Despite being left paralysed from the neck down after lighting equipment fell on him during a performance in 1990, he continued his career and went on to win the Grammy Legend Award in 1994.


As I said, these are just 10 icons that I’ve mentioned, but it’s really interesting tracing back to see where different musical styles stem from, and to see how prominent they still remain today.