Aretha Franklin began her career singing gospel at her father, minister C. L. Franklin’s church as a child. In 1960, at age 18, Franklin embarked on a secular career. Franklin achieved commercial acclaim and success to gain the title The Queen of Soul by the end of the 1960s decade.
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Mariah Carey was born and raised on Long Island, New York, she came to prominence after releasing her self-titled debut studio album Mariah Carey in 1990. The album went multiplatinum and spawned four consecutive number one singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Referred to as the songbird supreme by the Guinness World Records, she is famed for her five-octave vocal range, power, melismatic style and signature use of the whistle register.
Throughout her career, Carey has sold more than 200 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. In 2012, Carey was ranked second on VH1’s list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. Aside from her commercial accomplishments, Carey has won five Grammy Awards, nineteen World Music Awards, eleven American Music Awards, and thirty-one Billboard Music Awards. Continue reading
The O’Jays are a R&B and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The group is from Canton, Ohio and was formed in 1958. The O’Jays had their first chart appearance in 1963 with Lonely Drifter. In 1972 the trio of Levert, Powell and Williams signed with Philadelphia International and teamed up with producers and songwriters Kenneth Gamble and Leon A. Huff. The trio emerged to the forefront of Philadelphia soul aka the Philly Sound with the 1972 international hit Backstabbers. Continue reading
Destiny’s Child was an R&B girl group formed in 1996 and is best known as a trio comprised of Beyonce’ Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Destiny’s Child has sold more than 60 million records worldwide to date, and Billboard magazine ranks the group as one of the greatest musical trios of all time.
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Destiny’s Child was an R&B girl group formed in 1996 and is best known as a trio comprised of Beyonce’ Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Destiny’s Child has sold more than 60 million records worldwide to date, and Billboard magazine ranks the group as one of the greatest musical trios of all time. Despite critical and commercial success, the group was plagued by internal conflict and legal turmoil, including favoritism towards Beyonce by manage/father Matthew Knowles. Continue reading
Late in 1970, while on break from touring in Florida, the band recorded their cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Proud Mary. The song was released the following January and became the duo’s best-selling single, reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and selling well over a million copies. The song earned the group a 1971 Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. Continue reading
The Dance of the Village Elders are back ! This time we exercise, dance and just have fun through the zoom platform or in-person at R.A.I.N. Nereid 
The Dance of the Village Elders are back ! This time we exercise, dance and just have fun through the zoom platform or in-person at R.A.I.N. Nereid 
