Music

Antonio Vivaldi

1678–1741 · The Four Seasons

Johann Sebastian Bach

1685–1750 · Master of Baroque composition

George Frideric Handel

1685–1759 · Messiah oratorio

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

1756–1791 · Musical prodigy, symphonies & operas

Ludwig van Beethoven

1770–1827 · Symphonies composed while going deaf

Niccolò Paganini

1782–1840 · Virtuoso violinist, the Devil's violinist

Frédéric Chopin

1810–1849 · Romantic piano virtuoso

Giuseppe Verdi

1813–1901 · La Traviata, Aida — operatic master

Richard Wagner

1813–1883 · Ring Cycle, revolutionary opera

Pyotr Tchaikovsky

1840–1893 · Swan Lake, The Nutcracker

Claude Debussy

1862–1918 · Clair de Lune, Impressionist music

Scott Joplin

1868–1917 · King of Ragtime

Igor Stravinsky

1882–1971 · The Rite of Spring, modern classical

Duke Ellington

1899–1974 · Jazz legend, big band pioneer

Louis Armstrong

1901–1971 · What a Wonderful World, jazz trumpet

Frank Sinatra

1915–1998 · My Way, Ol' Blue Eyes

Billie Holiday

1915–1959 · Strange Fruit, jazz vocal legend

Ella Fitzgerald

1917–1996 · First Lady of Song, jazz icon

B.B. King

1925–2015 · King of the Blues

Ray Charles

1930–2004 · The Genius of Soul, Georgia On My Mind

Johnny Cash

1932–2003 · The Man in Black, country music legend

Elvis Presley

1935–1977 · The King of Rock and Roll

John Lennon

1940–1980 · The Beatles, Imagine

Bob Dylan

1941–present · Blowin' in the Wind, Nobel Prize in Literature

Aretha Franklin

1942–2018 · Queen of Soul, Respect

Jimi Hendrix

1942–1970 · Greatest electric guitarist of all time

George Harrison

1943–2001 · The Beatles, My Sweet Lord

Janis Joplin

1943–1970 · Piece of My Heart, rock and blues

Jim Morrison

1943–1971 · The Doors, Light My Fire

Bob Marley

1945–1981 · Reggae icon, One Love

Freddie Mercury

1946–1991 · Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody

David Bowie

1947–2016 · Ziggy Stardust, musical chameleon

Michael Jackson

1958–2009 · King of Pop, Thriller

Prince

1958–2016 · Purple Rain, multi-instrumentalist genius

Whitney Houston

1963–2012 · The Voice, I Will Always Love You

Kurt Cobain

1967–1994 · Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit

Tupac Shakur

1971–1996 · Influential rapper, Changes

Beyoncé

1981–present · Global pop icon, Lemonade

Amy Winehouse

1983–2011 · Back to Black, soulful voice

Taylor Swift

1989–present · Best-selling music artist of the 2020s

Billie Eilish

2001–present · Bad Guy, youngest Album of the Year winner