Janis Joplin (Jan. 19, 1943 — Oct. 4, 1970) was an American singer who fronted Bay Area blues-rockers Big Brother & the Holding Company, best known for their 1968 album Cheap Thrills and the evergreen “Piece of My Heart.” She went solo with the 1969 Columbia release I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama! […]
Bonnie Tyler (June 8, 1951 – July 8, 2026) was a Welsh soul-pop singer who emerged with the 1977 album The World Starts Tonight, which spawned the UK hit “Lost in France.” She scored a transatlantic hit with “It’s a Heartache” from her 1978 second album, Natural Force. In 1983, Tyler teamed with Meat Loaf […]
Ruth Copeland (born 1946) is an English soul-rock singer who moved stateside in the late 1960s and released the 1970/71 albums Self Portrait and I Am What I Am on Invictus. After several years singing backup for Parliament, she wrapped her career with the 1976 RCA release Take Me to Baltimore. Background Ruth Copeland was […]
Martha Veléz (born August 25, 1945) is an American singer who released the blues-rock-soul albums Fiends & Angels (Sire, 1969) and Hypnotized (Polydor, 1972). Between 1973 and 1977, she released the Sire albums Matinée Weepers, Escape from Babylon, and American Heartbeat. Bob Marley produced Escape from Babylon, which includes her 1976 reggae-pop hit “Disco Night.” […]
Rita Jean Bodine is an American singer who released the 1974 soul-rock albums Sitting on Top of My World and Bodine, Rita Jean on 20th Century Records. Seven years earlier, she cut a pair of singles with girl-group The Babies. She also notched a handful of backing-vocal credits during the 1970s with appearances on albums […]
Celia Yancey (November 26, 1942 – January 16, 2021) was an American soul-rock singer who released the 1976 album Yancey on GRT (U.S.) and Bellaphon (Germany). In 1982, the album reappeared as Southern Lady on Brylen Records. Background Celia Yancey was born Celia Maxey in Brandon, Mississippi. Family recollection traced her singing gift to her […]
Ruby Starr — aka Constance Henrietta Mierzwiak (Nov. 30, 1949 — Jan. 14, 1995) — was an American soul-rock singer from Toledo, Ohio, who released one album with the band Ruby Jones on Curtom in 1971. As a solo singer, she released three albums on Capitol between 1975 and 1977. Her stage name dates from […]
