Ray Charles Robinson Sr. 
(September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004)

Singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer Ray Charles is regarded
as one of the most iconic and influential singers ever, and he was
often referred to by contemporaries as "The Genius". Among
friends and fellow musicians he preferred being called "Brother
Ray". Charles was blinded during childhood, possibly due to
glaucoma.

Charles pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by
combining blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles
into the music he recorded for Atlantic Records

    
    
    
    
  
Les Paul (Lester William Polsfuss)
(June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009)

Paul is credited with many recording innovations. His early
experiments with overdubbing (also known as sound on
sound delay) effects such as tape delay, phasing, and
multitrack recording were among the first to attract
widespread attention.

His licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques,
and timing set him apart from his contemporaries and
inspired many guitarists of the present day. Paul is the
only inductee in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
and the National Inventors Hall of Fame.   
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) 

Mary Ford and Les in their home recording studio.

Tom Jones (Sir Thomas Jones Woodward)

The singing career of Tom Jones began with a string of top-ten
hits in the mid-1960s. He has toured regularly, with appearances
in Las Vegas (1967–2011). Jones’s voice has been described by
AllMusic as a "full-throated, robust baritone"

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson)
(June 1, 1926 – August 4, 1962)

Marilyn Monroe was a model, film actress and icon. She
became one of the most popular sex symbols of the
1950s and early 1960s.

The American Film Institute ranked her sixth  on their list
of the greatest female screen legends from the Golden
Age of Hollywood.      

1959

Gladys Maria Knight is a singer/songwriter,actress,
businesswoman,  and author. A seven-time Grammy
Award–winner. Knight is known  for the hits she
recorded during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with       
her group The Pips, which also included her brother
Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins William Guest
and Edward Patten.