Popular Music Genres, THR-ḤāF
Hey, what's that sound? Music pervades many aspects of contemporary everyday life; it appears in commercials, blares from speakers in stores and restaurants, accompanies commuters on the way to work, and energizes gym-goers when their motivation is flagging. Music festivals such as Lollapalooza (in Chicago) and the Sziget Festival (in Budapest) attract enormous crowds by featuring an extensive lineup of musicians over several days. Today's music can be divided into any number of categories and subcategories, encompassing genres such as pop, jazz, rock, alternative, country, electronic, rap, and much more.
Popular Music Genres Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Threadgill, Henry
Henry Threadgill is an American improviser, composer, and bandleader, an important figure in free jazz in the late......
Tilson Thomas, Michael
Michael Tilson Thomas was an American conductor and composer of classical music, pianist, and educator who was......
Titelouze, Jehan
Jehan Titelouze was a French organist and composer whose improvisatory skills and virtuoso technique made him much......
Toch, Ernst
Ernst Toch was a composer whose works, noted for their perfection of form, fused elements from the classical tradition......
Today in History—September 14: The Writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
It was 1814, and the U.S. and the British were still fighting the increasingly pointless War of 1812. Well-regarded......
Tom Donahue
As a Top 40 deejay in Philadelphia and San Francisco, “Big Daddy” Tom Donahue opened his show with a self-spoofing......
Tomkins, Thomas
Thomas Tomkins was an English composer and organist, the most important member of a family of musicians that flourished......
Tovey, Sir Donald Francis
Sir Donald Francis Tovey was an English pianist and composer, known particularly for his works of musical scholarship.......
Travis, Merle
Merle Travis was an American country singer, songwriter, and guitarist who popularized the complex guitar-picking......
trip-hop
trip-hop, genre of atmospheric down-tempo music, influenced by movie sound tracks, 1970s funk, and cool jazz and......
Tristano, Lennie
Lennie Tristano was an American jazz pianist, a major figure of cool jazz and an influential teacher. Tristano,......
Tubb, Ernest
Ernest Tubb was an American country music singer and songwriter. His first musical influence was the yodeling of......
Turner, Ike
Ike Turner was an American rhythm-and-blues and soul performer and producer who was best known for his work with......
Tyner, McCoy
McCoy Tyner was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer, noted for his technical virtuosity and dazzling......
Uchida, Mitsuko
Mitsuko Uchida is a Japanese-born British classical pianist and conductor whose dynamic and emotional interpretations......
Uragami Gyokudō
Uragami Gyokudō was a Japanese painter and musician who excelled in depicting scenes of nature realistically and......
Urban, Keith
Keith Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian singer, songwriter, and guitarist who earned recognition both inside......
Urso, Camilla
Camilla Urso was an American musician who was recognized as one of the finest violinists of the latter half of......
Ussachevsky, Vladimir
Vladimir Ussachevsky was an American composer known for his experiments with music for the tape recorder, often......
Van Halen, Eddie
Eddie Van Halen was a Dutch-born American guitarist and cofounder of the heavy metal band Van Halen, for which......
Van Peebles, Melvin
Melvin Van Peebles was an American filmmaker who wrote, directed, and starred in Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song......
Varèse, Edgard
Edgard Varèse was a French-born American composer and innovator in 20th-century techniques of sound production.......
Vaughan Williams, Ralph
Ralph Vaughan Williams was an English composer in the first half of the 20th century, and the founder of the nationalist......
Vaughan, Sarah
Sarah Vaughan was an American jazz vocalist and pianist known for her rich voice, with an unusually wide range,......
Vaughan, Stevie Ray
Stevie Ray Vaughan was an American blues guitarist and vocalist best known for his boisterous, sometimes frenetic,......
Vieuxtemps, Henry
Henry Vieuxtemps was a Belgian violinist and composer who was one of the most influential figures in the development......
Villa-Lobos, Heitor
Heitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer and one of the foremost Latin American composers of the 20th century,......
Waldteufel, Emil
Emil Waldteufel was a French (Alsatian) pianist and one of the best-known waltz composers of his time. Born of......
Walker, T-Bone
T-Bone Walker was an American musician and songwriter who was a major figure in modern blues. He was the first......
Waller, Fats
Fats Waller was an American pianist and composer who was one of the few outstanding jazz musicians to win wide......
Walther, Johann Gottfried
Johann Gottfried Walther was a German organist and composer who was one of the first musical lexicographers. Walther......
Walton, Sir William
Sir William Walton was an English composer especially known for his orchestral music. His early work made him one......
Ward, Artemus
Artemus Ward was one of the most popular 19th-century American humorists, whose lecture techniques exercised much......
Waters, Muddy
Muddy Waters was a dynamic American blues guitarist and singer who played a major role in creating the post-World......
Waters, Roger
Roger Waters is a British musician and songwriter, best known as the former songwriter and bassist of the rock......
Watson, Doc
Doc Watson was an American musician and singer who introduced a flat-picking style that elevated the acoustic guitar......
Watts, André
André Watts was a German-born American pianist who was known for a surpassing technique and understated manner......
Webb, Chick
Chick Webb was an American jazz drummer who led one of the dominant big bands of the swing era. Its swing, precision,......
Webb, Jimmy
Jimmy Webb is an American singer-songwriter who wrote multiple easy-listening hit pop songs beginning in the 1960s.......
Weber, Carl Maria von
Carl Maria von Weber was a German composer and opera director during the transition from Classical to Romantic......
Webern, Anton
Anton Webern was an Austrian composer of the 12-tone Viennese school. He is known especially for his passacaglia......
Webster, Ben
Ben Webster was an American jazz musician, considered one of the most distinctive of his generation, noted for......
Weelkes, Thomas
Thomas Weelkes was an English organist and composer, one of the most important composers of madrigals. Nothing......
Weisgall, Hugo
Hugo Weisgall was a Czech-born American composer and educator, whose operas have been praised for their literary......
Welk, Lawrence
Lawrence Welk was an American bandleader and accordion player, whose effervescent brand of “champagne music” was......
Wells, Dicky
Dicky Wells was a leading American jazz trombonist who was noted, especially in the big band era, for his melodic......
Wells, Junior
Junior Wells was an American blues singer and harmonica player and one of the musicians who introduced electric......
Wesley, Samuel
Samuel Wesley was a composer and organist who helped introduce the music of J.S. Bach into England. The son of......
Wesley, Samuel Sebastian
Samuel Sebastian Wesley was a composer and organist, one of the most distinguished English church musicians of......
Weston, Randy
Randy Weston was an American jazz pianist and composer, noted for his use of African rhythms. Weston began playing......
Widor, Charles-Marie
Charles-Marie Widor was a French organist, composer, and teacher. The son and grandson of organ builders, Widor......
Wieniawski, Henryk
Henryk Wieniawski was a Polish violinist and composer, one of the most celebrated violinists of the 19th century.......
Wilhelmj, August
August Wilhelmj was a German violinist whose most famous work is his arrangement of the air from J.S. Bach’s orchestral......
Williams, Cootie
Cootie Williams was an American trumpeter whose mastery of mutes and expressive effects made him one of the most......
Williams, Hank
Hank Williams was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who in the 1950s arguably became country music’s......
Williams, John
John Williams is an American composer who created some of the most iconic film scores of all time. He scored more......
Williams, Mary Lou
Mary Lou Williams was a jazz pianist who performed with and composed for many of the great jazz artists of the......
Williams, Pharrell
Pharrell Williams is an American musician who was involved in a number of pop hits as part of the producing team......
Williamson, Sonny Boy
Sonny Boy Williamson was an American blues vocalist and the first influential harmonica virtuoso, a self-taught......
Wills, Bob
Bob Wills was an American bandleader, fiddler, singer, and songwriter whose Texas Playboys popularized western......
Wilson, Teddy
Teddy Wilson was an American jazz musician who was one of the leading pianists during the big band era of the 1930s......
Wolfman Jack
Possessed of one of the most distinctive voices and styles in radio, Wolfman Jack played rhythm and blues and partied......
Wonder, Stevie
Stevie Wonder is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, a child prodigy who developed into......
Wray, Link
Link Wray was an American guitarist and songwriter who is often credited with introducing the power chord (a simplified......
Wyss, Johann Rudolf
Johann Rudolf Wyss was a folklorist, editor, and writer, remembered for his collections of Swiss folklore and for......
Xenakis, Iannis
Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born French composer, architect, and mathematician who originated musique stochastique,......
Yancey, Jimmy
Jimmy Yancey was an American blues pianist who established the boogie-woogie style with slow, steady, simple left-hand......
Yanni
Yanni is a Greek-born American composer and keyboardist who was a leading figure in late 20th-century New Age music—a......
Young, Lester
Lester Young was an American tenor saxophonist who emerged in the mid-1930s Kansas City, Mo., jazz world with the......
Young, Neil
Neil Young is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known for his idiosyncratic output and eclectic......
Ysaÿe, Eugène
Eugène Ysaÿe was a Belgian violinist, conductor, and composer, the foremost interpreter of the string works of......
Yun, Isang
Isang Yun was a Korean-born German composer who sought to express a distinctly Asian sensibility by means of contemporary......
Zappa, Frank
Frank Zappa was an American composer, guitarist, and satirist of the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s. One of the great polymaths......
Zeisler, Fannie Bloomfield
Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler was an Austrian-born American pianist noted for her formidable technique and extensive......
Zorn, John
John Zorn is a U.S. saxophonist and composer. His music incorporates influences from the most diverse elements......
Zukerman, Pinchas
Pinchas Zukerman is an Israeli American violinist, violist, and conductor who earned widespread acclaim in a career......
ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, Muḥammad
Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Wahhāb was an Egyptian actor, singer, and composer, largely responsible for changing the course......
Ḥāfiẓ, ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm
ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Ḥāfiẓ was an Egyptian singer who was noted for his emotional renditions of romantic and nationalistic......