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Vann "Piano Man" Walls
Vann "Piano Man" Walls
American musician
1
Dave Bartholomew
Dave Bartholomew
American musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, and record producer
2
Paul Williams
Paul Williams
US blues and R&B saxophone player and composer
3
Jesse Stone
Jesse Stone
American rhythm and blues musician and songwriter
4
Cecil Gant
Cecil Gant
American musician
5
Dennis Coffey
Dennis Coffey
American guitarist
6
Roy Milton
Roy Milton
American R&B and jump blues singer, drummer and bandleader
7
Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan
American jazz, blues and rhythm and blues musician, songwriter and bandleader (1908-1975)
8
Big Joe Turner
Big Joe Turner
American blues shouter
9
The Fabulous Wailers
The Fabulous Wailers
band from Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
10
Ahmet Ertegün
Ahmet Ertegün
Turkish-American songwriter, record producer, music executive
11
Little Walter
Little Walter
American blues harmonica player
12
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets
American rock and roll band
13
Edgar Blanchard
Edgar Blanchard
New Orleans jazz musician
14
Ernie Freeman
Ernie Freeman
American musician
15
Freddie King
Freddie King
American blues guitarist and singer
16
Camille Howard
Camille Howard
American musician
17
Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown
American singer-songwriter (1928-2006)
18
The Atlantics
The Atlantics
19
Tommy Brown
Tommy Brown
American musician
20
Eddie Chamblee
Eddie Chamblee
American saxophonist
21
Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett
American singer and songwriter
22
Wild Bill Moore
Wild Bill Moore
American musician
23
Goree Carter
Goree Carter
singer
24
Chic
Chic
American rhythm and blues band
25
Wynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris
American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer
26
Sam & Dave
Sam & Dave
American soul and R&B duo
27
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
American gospel musician
28
Lucky Millinder
Lucky Millinder
American rhythm and blues and swing bandleader
29
Hal Singer
Hal Singer
American musician
30
Henry Stone
Henry Stone
American record company executive, producer
31
Bill Haley
Bill Haley
American rock and roll music pioneer (1925-1981)
32
Lee Dorsey
Lee Dorsey
American pop/R&B singer
33
Freddy Cannon
Freddy Cannon
American rock and roll singer
34
Booker T. & the M.G.'s
Booker T. & the M.G.'s
American musical group; R& B/funk band
35
René Hall
René Hall
American musician, performer, and music arranger
36
Don Covay
Don Covay
American musician
37
Al Hibbler
Al Hibbler
American baritone vocalist
38
Don Robey
Don Robey
American record producer and songwriter
39
King Curtis
King Curtis
American saxophonist (1934-1971)
40
Edwin Starr
Edwin Starr
American singer
41
Bobby Byrd
Bobby Byrd
American R&B/soul singer, songwriter, bandleader, talent scout, record producer, and musician
42
Danny & the Juniors
Danny & the Juniors
band
43
Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington
American singer, songwriter, pianist
44
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention
American rock band from California
45
Joe Hill Louis
Joe Hill Louis
American singer, guitarist, harmonica player and one-man band
46
The Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers
American musical group
47
Bill Medley
Bill Medley
American singer and songwriter, record producer
48
Laura Lee
Laura Lee
American singer
49
Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis
American singer, musician, composer, and record producer
50
Rufus Thomas
Rufus Thomas
American singer (1917-2001)
51
Leon Haywood
Leon Haywood
American singer and songwriter
52
Kid Rock
Kid Rock
American singer-songwriter and rapper
53
The Famous Flames
The Famous Flames
American R&B band
54
Allen Bunn
Allen Bunn
musical artist
Frank Culley
American musician

Frank Culley

Intro
American musician
Genres
Music

Frank Windsol Culley (August 17, 1917 – April 15, 1991), sometimes credited as Frank "Floorshow" Culley, was an American R&B saxophonist and bandleader who recorded successfully from the 1940s and was the first leader of the Atlantic Records house band.

He was born in Petsworth, Gloucester County, Virginia (though some sources give Salisbury, Maryland), and grew up in Norfolk. He learned to play the tenor saxophone, and began playing in local bands before turning professional as a member of Johnson's Happy Pals in Richmond. In the mid-1940s he formed his own band, and began recording accompaniments for artists including Wynonie Harris, on several small labels, before joining Atlantic Records as their house band leader in 1948. His band backed many of Atlantic's most successful R&B artists of the period, with the recordings often featuring Culley's pianist, Harry Van Walls. He also recorded under his own name, having a #11 R&B hit in 1949 with his version of the instrumental "Cole Slaw", originally written (as "Sorghum Switch") by Jesse Stone and also recorded by Louis Jordan. The follow-up, "Floorshow", gave Culley the nickname with which he was credited thereafter. At the end of 1949, another Culley recording, "After Hour Session", reached #10 on the Billboard R&B chart.

Culley left the Atlantic label in 1951. He later recorded, with little commercial success, for other labels including Coral, RCA Victor, Chess, and - with singer Jimmy Rushing - for Parrot. In 1955 he recorded several tracks on one of the first rock and roll LPs, Rock'n'Roll Instrumentals for Dancing the Lindy Hop, released on the Baton label, with the other tracks performed by the Buddy Tate Orchestra. The following year, Culley featured in one of the first rock and roll stage shows in New York City, hosted by Hal Jackson and which also featured The Cadillacs and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.

After continuing to perform in clubs, he retired from the music business in 1975, and moved to Newark, New Jersey, where he died in 1991.