Famous Musicians

The ranked list (from #251)

1. 251Maurice JarreComposer who scored David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, winning Academy Awards for his music on three of the films.🇫🇷French · Born September 13, 1924 · Died March 28, 2009
2. 252Pau CasalsCellist who rediscovered Bach's unaccompanied cello suites and made them central to the instrument's concert repertoire.🇪🇸Spanish · Born December 29, 1876 · Died August 14, 1973
3. 253Goran BregovićComposer and former Bijelo Dugme guitarist, he wrote film scores for Emir Kusturica, including Time of the Gypsies and Underground.🇫🇷French · Born March 22, 1950
4. 254Miriam MakebaSouth African singer whose song Pata Pata brought her international fame and a platform against apartheid.🇿🇦South African · Born March 4, 1932 · Died November 9, 2008
5. 255Sviatoslav RichterPianist ranked among the twentieth century's finest, famed for towering recordings of Schubert and Prokofiev sonatas.🇷🇺Russian · Born March 7, 1915 · Died August 1, 1997
6. 256Anton RubinsteinPianist and composer who founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, the first music conservatory in Russia.🇷🇺Russian · Born November 16, 1829 · Died November 8, 1894
7. 257Alexander GlazounovComposer of the ballet Raymonda who also directed the St Petersburg Conservatory in the early twentieth century.🇷🇺Soviet · Born July 29, 1865 · Died March 21, 1936
8. 258PrinceMinneapolis musician behind the album and film Purple Rain, and hits including When Doves Cry and Kiss.🇺🇸American · Born June 7, 1958 · Died April 21, 2016
9. 259Benjamin BrittenComposer of the opera Peter Grimes and the War Requiem, and a founder of the Aldeburgh Festival.🇬🇧British · Born November 22, 1913 · Died December 4, 1976
10. 260Krzysztof PendereckiComposer whose dissonant string piece Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima made him a leading figure of the avant-garde.🇵🇱Polish · Born November 23, 1933 · Died March 29, 2020
11. 261John DeaconPlayed bass for Queen and wrote the band's hit single You're My Best Friend.🇬🇧British · Born August 19, 1951
12. 262Alla PugachevaSoviet and Russian pop icon whose signature song Million Scarlet Roses made her one of the region's biggest stars.🇷🇺Russian · Born April 15, 1949
13. 263Ludovico EinaudiPianist and composer whose minimalist piece "Nuvole Bianche" and album I Giorni found a vast worldwide audience.🇮🇹Italian · Born November 23, 1955
14. 264Charlie ParkerAlto saxophonist who, nicknamed Bird, helped pioneer bebop with dazzling speed and harmonic invention in the 1940s.🇺🇸American · Born August 29, 1920 · Died March 12, 1955
15. 265MorrisseySinger and lyricist of the Smiths, who later built a solo career beginning with the album Viva Hate.🇬🇧British · Born May 22, 1959
16. 266Zubin MehtaConductor who led the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for decades and served as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.🇮🇳Indian · Born April 29, 1936
17. 267Richard ClaydermanPianist whose gentle instrumental albums, led by "Ballade pour Adeline", have sold millions of copies worldwide.🇫🇷French · Born December 28, 1953
18. 268Paco de LucíaFlamenco guitarist whose Entre dos aguas and the live album Friday Night in San Francisco won him international acclaim.🇪🇸Spanish · Born December 21, 1947 · Died February 25, 2014
19. 269Yehudi MenuhinViolinist and conductor who first won fame as a child prodigy and later founded the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey.🇺🇸American · Born April 22, 1916 · Died March 12, 1999
20. 270Django ReinhardtGuitarist who co-founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with violinist Stéphane Grappelli, defining gypsy jazz.🇫🇷French · Born January 23, 1910 · Died May 16, 1953
21. 271Heitor Villa-LobosComposer of the Bachianas Brasileiras suites, which blend Brazilian folk music with the spirit of Bach.🇧🇷Brazilian · Born March 5, 1887 · Died November 17, 1959
22. 272France GallTeenage singer who won Eurovision for Luxembourg with "Poupée de cire, poupée de son", a landmark moment for French yé-yé pop.🇫🇷French · Born October 9, 1947 · Died January 7, 2018
23. 273

    TN

    The Notorious B.I.G.Rapper whose debut album Ready to Die and the single "Juicy" defined East Coast hip-hop in the 1990s.🇺🇸American · Born May 21, 1972 · Died March 9, 1997
24. 274Carlos GardelSinger and composer who made tango famous worldwide, with songs such as Por una Cabeza and Mi Buenos Aires querido.🇫🇷French · Born December 11, 1887 · Died June 24, 1935
25. 275Jon LordCo-founded Deep Purple and played the Hammond organ riffs on Smoke on the Water and Highway Star.🇬🇧British · Born June 9, 1941 · Died July 16, 2012
26. 276FairuzLebanese singer whose songs and musical plays with the Rahbani brothers made her a cultural symbol across the Arab world.🇱🇧Lebanese · Born November 21, 1935
27. 277David OistrakhViolinist for whom Shostakovich wrote both of his violin concertos, and a long-time professor at the Moscow Conservatory.🇷🇺Soviet · Born September 17, 1908 · Died October 24, 1974
28. 278Giorgio MoroderProducer who shaped electronic disco with Donna Summer's I Feel Love and won Oscars for his film scores and songs.🇮🇹Italian · Born April 26, 1940
29. 279Steven TylerLead singer of the Boston rock band Aerosmith, known for his powerful voice and flamboyant stage presence.🇺🇸American · Born March 26, 1948
30. 280Nadia BoulangerTeacher whose Paris pupils included Aaron Copland, Philip Glass and Quincy Jones, and who became a legendary tutor of composers.🇫🇷French · Born September 16, 1887 · Died October 22, 1979
31. 281Sofia GubaidulinaComposer of modernist sacred music, writing prolifically for chamber ensembles, orchestra and choir in the Soviet Union and later Russia.🇷🇺Russian · Born October 24, 1931 · Died March 13, 2025
32. 282Eros RamazzottiItalian pop singer who recorded the duet Cose della vita with Tina Turner, and sells albums in Italian and Spanish.🇮🇹Italian · Born October 28, 1963
33. 283

    IK

    Israel KamakawiwoʻoleHawaiian singer whose ukulele medley of Somewhere Over the Rainbow and What a Wonderful World became famous worldwide.🇺🇸American · Born May 20, 1959 · Died June 26, 1997
34. 284Dave GrohlDrummed on Nirvana's Nevermind, then formed Foo Fighters and fronted them as singer and guitarist.🇺🇸American · Born January 14, 1969
35. 285Dieter BohlenFormed the pop duo Modern Talking, whose hits included "You're My Heart, You're My Soul", and later judged Deutschland sucht den Superstar.🇩🇪German · Born February 7, 1954
36. 286RihannaSinger behind hits like "Umbrella" and "Diamonds", who also founded the Fenty Beauty cosmetics brand.Barbadian · Born February 20, 1988
37. 287SiaAustralian singer-songwriter whose hit "Chandelier" brought her wide fame and who often hides her face in public.🇦🇺Australian · Born December 18, 1975
38. 288AviciiSwedish DJ and producer whose 2013 single "Wake Me Up" brought folk-flavoured dance music to a worldwide audience.🇸🇪Swedish · Born September 8, 1989 · Died April 20, 2018
39. 289Bonnie TylerHusky-voiced Welsh singer whose power ballad Total Eclipse of the Heart became a worldwide hit.🇬🇧British · Born June 8, 1951 · Died July 8, 2026
40. 290Darius MilhaudComposer of the jazz-influenced ballet La création du monde and a member of the Parisian group Les Six.🇫🇷French · Born September 4, 1892 · Died June 22, 1974
41. 291Domenico ModugnoWrote and sang "Nel blu dipinto di blu", known as "Volare", which won Sanremo and became a worldwide hit.🇮🇹Italian · Born January 9, 1928 · Died August 6, 1994
42. 292Alice CooperShock-rock singer whose theatrical live shows and 1972 anthem School's Out made him a hard rock institution.🇺🇸American · Born February 4, 1948
43. 293Anatoliy SolovyanenkoUkrainian operatic tenor who was a leading soloist at the Kyiv opera house and became People's Artist of the USSR.🇺🇦Ukrainian · Born September 25, 1932 · Died July 29, 1999
44. 294Johnny HallydaySold tens of millions of records in France, where he was widely seen as the country's leading rock and roll star.🇫🇷French · Born June 15, 1943 · Died December 5, 2017
45. 295Paul DukasComposer whose orchestral scherzo The Sorcerer's Apprentice became his best-known work, famously featured in Disney's Fantasia.🇫🇷French · Born October 1, 1865 · Died May 17, 1935
46. 296Víctor JaraFolk singer-songwriter and theatre director whose songs, such as Te recuerdo Amanda, became emblems of Chile's Nueva Canción movement.🇨🇱Chilean · Born September 28, 1932 · Died September 14, 1973
47. 297Richard WrightKeyboardist and co-founder of Pink Floyd, whose playing shaped the sound of The Dark Side of the Moon.🇬🇧British · Born July 28, 1943 · Died September 15, 2008
48. 298Gwen StefaniLead singer of the ska-pop band No Doubt, she later released the solo hit "Hollaback Girl" and founded the L.A.M.B. fashion label.🇺🇸American · Born October 3, 1969
49. 299Anna NetrebkoSoprano who rose to international stardom in the title role of Verdi's La traviata and Mozart's Don Giovanni at Salzburg.Russian-Austrian · Born September 18, 1971
50. 300Donna SummerDisco star behind "Love to Love You Baby" and "I Feel Love", recorded with producer Giorgio Moroder.🇺🇸American · Born December 31, 1948 · Died May 17, 2012