Walter Buddy Boy Hawkins | en

Charles Hardin Holley (born in Lubbock, Texas, USA on 7 September 1936 – 3 February 1959) was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll. The change of spelling of "Holley" to "Holly" came about because of an error in a contract he was asked to sign, listing him as Buddy Holly. That spelling was then adopted for his professional career. Although his success lasted only a year and a half before his death in an airplane crash, Holly is described by critic Bruce Eder as "the single most influential creative force in early rock and roll." His...

Armando "Buddy" Greco (August 14, 1926 – January 10, 2017) was an American jazz and pop singer and pianist. He has sold over one million records in several genres. Buddy Greco was born Armando Greco in Philadelphia. His mother introduced him to piano at the age of four. At an early age he was singing and performing on the radio and during his teens in Philadelphia clubs. When he was 16, he was hired by Benny Goodman and toured worldwide. He spent four years with Goodman's orchestra, singing, playing piano, and arranging. After leaving Goodman at the age of 20,...

Walter Anthony Murphy, Jr. (Also Known as Uncle Louie) (born 19 December 1952) is a pianist, composer, and arranger who had a massive hit with the instrumental, "A Fifth of Beethoven", a disco adaptation of some passages of the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, in 1976, when disco was at the height of its popularity. Murphy was born in 1952, in New York City, New York, USA and grew up in Manhattan. He attended the Manhattan School of Music there, where he studied jazz and classical piano. After finishing school, Murphy served as an arranger for Doc Severinsen and...

Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed Hawk and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. While Hawkins is strongly associated with the swing music and big band era, he had a role in the development of bebop in the 1940s. Fellow saxophonist Lester Young, known as "Pres", commented in a 1959 interview with The Jazz Review: "As far as I'm concerned, I think Coleman Hawkins was the President first, right? As far as myself, I think I'm the second one." Miles Davis once said: "When I heard Hawk, I learned to play ballads." One...

Buddy Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He is widely considered to be one of the best drummers of all time, known for his virtuoso technique, speed, and power. From 1966 until his death, he led a successful big band in an era when the popularity of big bands had waned from their peak in the 1930s and 40s. He received no formal drum instruction and went so far as to claim that instruction would only degrade his natural talent. He also never admitted to practicing. He claimed to play the drums only during performances and was not...