Louis Armstrong, also known as Satchmo and Pops, was an American jazz musician. Armstrong was a charismatic, innovative performer whose musical skills and bright personality transformed jazz from a rough regional dance music into a popular art form. One of the most famous jazz musicians of the 20th century, he first achieved fame as a trumpeter, but toward the end of his career he was best known as a vocalist and was one of the most influential jazz singers.

Josephine Baker, born Freda Josephine McDonald, was a French dancer, actress, and singer. She was given the names "Black Venus," "Black Pearl," and "Creole Goddess." She renounced her American citizenship in 1937 and became a citizen of France.

Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist, one of the most impressive and famous American songwriters in history. Berlin was one of the few Tin Pan Alley/Broadway songwriters who wrote both lyrics and music for his songs. Although he never learned to read music beyond a basic level, he composed over 3,000 songs, many of which left a permanent mark on American music and culture. In addition to his individual songs, he also composed 17 film scores and 21 Broadway scores.

George Gershwin was an American composer who wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works in collaboration with his older brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin. Although his younger sister Frances was the first to make money from the familial musical talents, she married young and became a fashionable housewife, at which time she gave up her own singing and dance career. George Gershwin composed both for Broadway and for the classical concert hall. He also wrote popular songs with success.

Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton was an American pianist, a bandleader, and a composer who some call the first true composer of jazz music. Morton was a colorful character who liked to generate publicity for himself by bragging. His business card referred to him as the "Originator of Jazz."

Cole Porter was an American composer and songwriter from Indiana. His works include the musical comedies Kiss Me, Kate (based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew), Fifty Million Frenchmen, and Anything Goes, as well as songs like "Night and Day," I Get A Kick Out of You," and "I've Got You Under My Skin." He was noted for his sophisticated lyrics, clever rhymes, and complex forms. Irving Berlin used to refer to "Begin the Beguine" as "that long, long song."

 

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