Famous Musicians

The ranked list (from #51)

1. 51Sergei ProkofievComposer of the ballet Romeo and Juliet and the children's piece Peter and the Wolf.🇷🇺Russian · Born March 23, 1891 · Died March 5, 1953
2. 52Béla BartókComposer who gathered Eastern European folk songs and wrote Concerto for Orchestra and the opera Bluebeard's Castle.🇭🇺Hungarian · Born March 25, 1881 · Died September 26, 1945
3. 53Christoph Willibald von GluckReformed opera with works such as Orfeo ed Euridice, favouring dramatic clarity over vocal showiness.Archduchy of Austria · Born July 2, 1714 · Died November 15, 1787
4. 54Domenico ScarlattiComposed around 550 keyboard sonatas, many written while serving at the Spanish royal court in Madrid.Kingdom of Naples · Born October 26, 1685 · Died July 23, 1757
5. 55Charles AznavourSinger-songwriter who wrote and performed the chanson She, and recorded more than a thousand songs in several languages.French-Armenian · Born May 2, 1924 · Died October 1, 2018
6. 56Louis ArmstrongTrumpeter and singer whose Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings reshaped jazz, later famous for "What a Wonderful World".🇺🇸American · Born August 4, 1901 · Died July 6, 1971
7. 57Marvin GayeMotown soul singer whose 1971 album What's Going On and the single I Heard It Through the Grapevine became classics.🇺🇸American · Born April 2, 1939 · Died April 1, 1984
8. 58Jim MorrisonLead singer and lyricist of the Doors, known for songs such as Light My Fire and The End.🇺🇸American · Born December 8, 1943 · Died July 3, 1971
9. 59Plácido DomingoTenor who sang with the Three Tenors and performed hundreds of operatic roles, notably Otello.🇪🇸Spanish · Born January 21, 1941
10. 60Clara SchumannCelebrated concert pianist who toured Europe for decades and championed the piano works of her husband Robert Schumann and of Brahms.Kingdom of Saxony · Born September 13, 1819 · Died May 20, 1896
11. 61Camille Saint-SaënsComposed The Carnival of the Animals and the Organ Symphony, and the opera Samson and Delilah.🇫🇷French · Born October 9, 1835 · Died December 16, 1921
12. 62Frank SinatraSinger nicknamed the Chairman of the Board, whose recordings include the signature standard My Way.🇺🇸American · Born December 12, 1915 · Died May 14, 1998
13. 63Nikolai Rimsky-KorsakovComposed the orchestral suite Scheherazade and the opera The Golden Cockerel, and was a celebrated master of orchestration.🇷🇺Russian · Born March 6, 1844 · Died June 20, 1908
14. 64Antonio SalieriCourt composer in Vienna whose operas such as Tarare were admired, later cast as Mozart's rival in Amadeus.Venetian · Born August 18, 1750 · Died May 7, 1825
15. 65Gaetano DonizettiOpera composer who wrote Lucia di Lammermoor and the comic favourite L'elisir d'amore, among more than seventy operas.Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia · Born November 29, 1797 · Died April 8, 1848
16. 66David BowieShape-shifting rock star who created the stage persona Ziggy Stardust and recorded the album Heroes.🇬🇧British · Born January 8, 1947 · Died January 10, 2016
17. 67Julio IglesiasSinger who has sold over 300 million records in 14 languages, making him Spain's most commercially successful vocalist.🇪🇸Spanish · Born September 23, 1943
18. 68Jean-Baptiste LullyCourt composer to Louis XIV who shaped French Baroque opera, creating the tragédie en musique with librettist Philippe Quinault.🇫🇷French · Born November 28, 1632 · Died March 22, 1687
19. 69Leonard CohenSinger-songwriter and poet whose song "Hallelujah" became one of the most covered pieces in popular music.🇨🇦Canadian · Born September 21, 1934 · Died November 7, 2016
20. 70LemmyBassist and singer who founded Motörhead and wrote its thunderous hit "Ace of Spades".🇬🇧British · Born December 24, 1945 · Died December 28, 2015
21. 71Jeff BeckGuitarist who succeeded Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds and later recorded the influential instrumental album Blow by Blow.🇬🇧British · Born June 24, 1944 · Died January 10, 2023
22. 72Tomaso AlbinoniBaroque Venetian composer whose oboe concertos, among the first by an Italian, and dozens of operas won him wide acclaim.Venetian · Born June 8, 1671 · Died January 17, 1751
23. 73Modest Petrovich MussorgskyComposer of the opera Boris Godunov and the piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition.🇷🇺Russian · Born March 16, 1835 · Died March 16, 1881
24. 74Adriano CelentanoSinger and showman whose energetic rock and roll style and the song Azzurro made him a lasting figure in Italian popular culture.🇮🇹Italian · Born January 6, 1938
25. 75Roger TaylorDrummer of Queen, who also sang backing vocals and wrote songs including Radio Ga Ga.🇬🇧British · Born July 26, 1949
26. 76Anton BrucknerComposer and organist who wrote nine monumental symphonies, together with sacred works such as the Te Deum.🇦🇹Austrian · Born September 4, 1824 · Died October 11, 1896
27. 77Stefania Turkevych-LukiianovychComposer and pianist recognised as Ukraine's first woman composer, who also worked as a musicologist.🇺🇦Ukrainian · Born April 25, 1898 · Died April 8, 1977
28. 78Vincenzo BelliniHis bel canto operas, notably Norma and La sonnambula, are admired for their long, flowing melodies.Kingdom of Sicily · Born November 3, 1801 · Died September 23, 1835
29. 79Arnold SchoenbergDeveloped the twelve-tone method of composition and wrote the song-cycle Pierrot Lunaire, reshaping twentieth-century classical music.🇦🇹Austrian · Born September 13, 1874 · Died July 13, 1951
30. 80Edward ElgarComposer of the Enigma Variations and the "Pomp and Circumstance" marches, including the tune behind "Land of Hope and Glory".🇬🇧British · Born June 2, 1857 · Died February 23, 1934
31. 81Herbert von KarajanConductor who led the Berlin Philharmonic from 1955 until 1989 and founded the Salzburg Easter Festival.🇦🇹Austrian · Born April 5, 1908 · Died July 16, 1989
32. 82DalidaSinger who recorded French-language hits such as Bambino and Paroles, paroles, becoming one of France's best-selling female artists.🇪🇬Egyptian · Born January 17, 1933 · Died May 3, 1987
33. 83Umm KulthumEgyptian singer nicknamed Kawkab el-Sharq, whose monthly radio concerts held audiences across the Arab world spellbound for decades.🇪🇬Egyptian · Born December 31, 1898 · Died February 3, 1975
34. 84Georg Philipp TelemannBaroque composer who wrote an enormous body of music, including the Tafelmusik collection and many cantatas, as Hamburg's music director.Roman · Born March 14, 1681 · Died June 25, 1767
35. 85Jimi HendrixGuitarist whose albums with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, including Are You Experienced, and Woodstock performance transformed electric guitar playing.🇺🇸American · Born November 27, 1942 · Died September 18, 1970
36. 86Montserrat CaballéCatalan soprano who recorded Barcelona with Freddie Mercury, a song adopted for the 1992 Olympic Games.🇪🇸Spanish · Born April 12, 1933 · Died October 6, 2018
37. 87

    JJ

    Jean-Michel JarreElectronic music pioneer whose 1976 album Oxygène sold millions, later staging huge outdoor concerts with lasers and fireworks.🇫🇷French · Born August 24, 1948
38. 88Aram KhachaturianWrote the ballet Spartacus and its Adagio, along with the lively Sabre Dance from Gayane.🇷🇺Soviet · Born May 24, 1903 · Died May 1, 1978
39. 89Carl Maria von WeberComposed the opera Der Freischütz, a landmark that helped establish German Romantic opera.Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck · Born November 18, 1786 · Died June 5, 1826
40. 90Patti SmithPoet and singer whose album Horses and the song Because the Night made her a leading figure of New York punk.🇺🇸American · Born December 30, 1946
41. 91Guillaume DufayLeading composer of the early Renaissance, he wrote the motet "Nuper rosarum flores" for the consecration of Florence Cathedral's dome.🇫🇷French · Born August 13, 1397 · Died November 27, 1474
42. 92Jean-Philippe RameauBaroque composer and theorist who wrote the Traité de l'harmonie and operas including Hippolyte et Aricie and Les Indes galantes.🇫🇷French · Born September 25, 1683 · Died September 12, 1764
43. 93Marianne FaithfullSinger who reached the UK top ten with As Tears Go By and later made the acclaimed album Broken English.🇬🇧British · Born December 29, 1946 · Died January 30, 2025
44. 94Enrico CarusoTenor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York and one of the first great stars of recorded music.🇮🇹Italian · Born February 24, 1873 · Died August 2, 1921
45. 95Demis RoussosSang with Aphrodite's Child, then found solo success with the ballad Forever and Ever.🇬🇷Greek · Born June 15, 1946 · Died January 25, 2015
46. 96Tina TurnerSinger whose 1984 album Private Dancer and hit "What's Love Got to Do with It" revived her solo career.American-Swiss · Born November 26, 1939 · Died May 24, 2023
47. 97Andrew Lloyd WebberComposer of long-running musicals such as The Phantom of the Opera and Cats, which dominated the West End and Broadway.🇬🇧British · Born March 22, 1948
48. 98Charles GounodComposed the opera Faust, which became the most enduring of his twelve stage works and a staple of opera houses.🇫🇷French · Born June 17, 1818 · Died October 18, 1893
49. 99Anton WebernComposer whose extremely concise twelve-tone works, such as the Symphony Op. 21, deeply influenced later modernist music.🇦🇹Austrian · Born December 3, 1883 · Died September 15, 1945
50. 100Brian JohnsonTook over as AC/DC's lead singer and powered the 1980 album Back in Black, one of the best-selling records ever.🇬🇧British · Born October 5, 1947