Jimi Dougans
Jimi Dougans Bio from Soul 51 is an African-American singer, songwriter and percussionist. He is a founding member of The Young Senators, a musical group formed in the mid-1960s in Washington D.C. Jimi could not have anticipated the historical imprint he would make when high school classmate Frank Hooker introduced the young singer to his band The Dimensions in […]
Raymond Reeder
Without reservation, more than a few of the most popular songs of the last two decades come from the imagination of Mr. Raymond D. Reeder. Hits like R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” and Yolanda Adams’ “The Experience” have defined entire generations. As a Grammy Award winning producer, Mr. Reeder has been generating hits […]
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye was born April 2, 1939 in Washington, D.C., to church minister Marvin Gay, Sr., and domestic worker Alberta Gay (née Cooper). His first home was 1617 First Street SW, a few blocks from Anacostia River. The First Street neighborhood was nicknamed “Simple City” owing to its being “half-city, half country”. When Gaye was […]
Stacy Lattisaw
When she was a teenager in the early 1980s, Lattisaw had a string of Top 40 R&B hits, with several songs— “Let Me Be Your Angel”, “Jump to the Beat”, “Love on a Two-Way Street”, and “Miracles”—crossing over to the pop mainstream. Lattisaw recorded her first album for Cotillion Records at the age of 12 in 1979, under the direction ofrecord producer Van McCoy. However it was not until she […]
Johnny Gil
Gill was born on May 22, 1966 in Washington, D.C, his mother had four boys and his father was a minister. He started singing at the age of five singing along in church in a family gospel group called Little Johnny and “Wings Faith” which included his brothers Bobby, Jeff, and Randy Gill (himself a […]
Kenny Lattimore
Growing up in a musical family in Washington, D.C. area, Kenny Lattimore began singing early in life, winning junior-high talent shows and singing everything from R&B to classical, during his high school years. After studying architecture and city planning at Howard University, he became lead singer of the R&B group Maniquin, which released an album […]
Steve Alston
Steve is a native Washingtonian and graduate of Eastern Sr.High where singing became his passion. During those early years of singing, he and his high school group The Creations of Love were influenced and directed by the late Legends Van McCoy, AL Jefferson & AL Johnson. Moving forward Steve was later picked up by several […]
Irv Haywood
Article from Gassett.net Glenarden resident Irving Haywood said he has had a number of professions over the years — auto repairman, photographer and maker of decorative tobacco pipes. After a successful surgery gave him a new lease on life, he decided to return to his first passion: music. “It just didn’t seem to click,” Haywood […]
Eva Cassidy
Born on February 2, 1963, at the Washington Hospital Center, Cassidy grew up in Oxon Hill and later Bowie, Maryland, suburbs of Washington, DC. She was the third of four children. Her father Hugh Cassidy, a retired teacher, sculptor, musician, former army medic and world champion powerlifter, is of Scottish and Irish descent, while her […]
Shirleta Settles
A native Washingtonian, Shirleta Settles is known as “Not Just a Voice, but an Entertainer!” Not just a voice because her performances are not limited to only music. During her performances she has the innate ability to connect and include her audiences of all ages, whether singing, storytelling, drama, spoken word, staff development or as […]
