Music of Ohio

Notable institutions

The

festival each May since 2007 until 2018.

Notable musicians

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Popular musicians from Ohio include

Blues

Blues singer Mamie Smith is thought to have been born in Cincinnati. Singer and saxophonist Bull Moose Jackson was born in Cleveland. Robert Lockwood Jr., born in Arkansas, moved to Cleveland in 1960, where he lived the later half of his life. Pianist Barrelhouse Chuck was born in Columbus. Organist Mike Finnigan was born in Troy. Singer-songwriter and pianist Tommy Tucker was born in Springfield. Jump blues singer H-Bomb Ferguson was from Cincinnati. Guitarist Sonny Moorman was born in Cincinnati. Singer Bessie Brown was born in Marysville.

Jazz

Art Tatum, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest and most influential jazz pianists of all time, was born in Toledo. Double bassist Gene Taylor, singer Teresa Brewer, and pianists Stanley Cowell and Larry Fuller were also born in "The Glass City".

Columbus-born jazz musicians include multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk, bandleader and trombonist Bobby Byrne, trumpeter Harry Edison, organist and pianist Hank Marr, organist Don Patterson, pianist John Sheridan, saxophonist Steve Potts, and bassist and composer Foley.

Zanesville jazz artists include singer and pianist Una Mae Carlisle, ragtime composer Harry P. Guy, and trumpeter Andy Gibson.

Youngstown has produced guitarist James Emery, singer, dancer, and drummer Sonny Parker, and avant-garde singer Jay Clayton.

Pianist

Composers Hale Smith and H. Leslie Adams were born in Cleveland. Operatic soprano Kathleen Battle was born in Portsmouth. Cincinnati is home to the American Classical Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Modernism

Ruth Crawford Seeger, influential modernist composer, was born in East Liverpool, Ohio. As a composer, Seeger was active primarily during the 1920s and 30s, then became an American folk music specialist from the late 1930s until her death in 1953.

Folk

In 1937-38,

Ohio folksinger and scholar Anne Grimes recorded Ohio State Ballads for Folkways Records, released in 1957.^[3]

Jim Glover of Jim and Jean is from Cleveland. Glover attended Ohio State University, where in 1959 he met and mentored Phil Ochs, who grew up in Columbus.

Singer-songwriter Fred Neil was born in Cleveland.

Popular folk group CAAMP is from Columbus, Ohio.

Bluegrass

Bluegrass singer and guitarist Larry Sparks was born and raised in Lebanon. Jerry Douglas, lap steel and resonator guitar player, was born in Warren. Singer and guitarist Harley Allen was born in Dayton. Banjo player John Hickman was born in Hilliard and grew up in Columbus. Banjo player Tom Hanway was born in Cleveland. Hotmud Family were from Dayton. The Rarely Herd are from Athens County.

Country

• Bobby Bare is from Ironton.
• Lionel Cartwright is from Gallipolis.
• David Allan Coe is from Akron.
• Earl Thomas Conley is from West Portsmouth.
• Cowboy Copas is from Blue Creek.
• Griffin Layne was born in Kettering.
• Buddy Miller is from Fairborn.
• Mark Miller, the lead singer of Sawyer Brown, is from Dayton
  .
• Johnny Paycheck is from Greefield.
• Pure Prairie League from Waverly. ("Amie" '75)
• Rascal Flatts was formed in Columbus. Lead singer Gary LeVox is an alumnus of Ohio State University.
• Marty Roe, the lead singer of Diamond Rio, is from Lebanon
  .
• Roy Rogers is from Portsmouth.
• Kim Taylor is from Cincinnati.
• Dwight Yoakam was raised in Columbus.

Polka

Cleveland is home to the Polka Hall of Fame in Euclid.

R&B, soul, and funk

Tiny Bradshaw, rhythm and blues bandleader, singer, composer, pianist and drummer, was born in Youngstown.

Blues, R&B singer

Ruby & the Romantics were an Akron-based R&B group in the 1960s. The Hesitations were an R&B group from Cleveland formed in 1965. Motown artist Sandra Tilley was born in Cleveland. Soul singer Ruby Winters was raised in Cincinnati.^[4]

During the 1970s, southwest Ohio, and

Walter "Junie" Morrison, is a musician and producer born in Dayton. Morrison was a producer, writer, keyboardist and vocalist for the funk band the Ohio Players in the early '70s, where he wrote and produced their first major hits, "Pain", "Pleasure", "Ecstasy" and "Funky Worm" (1971–1972). He left the band in 1974 to release three solo albums on Westbound Records (When We Do, Freeze, and Suzie Supergroupie). In 1977 Morrison joined George Clinton's P-Funk (Parliament-Funkadelic) where he became musical director. He brought a unique sound to P-Funk and played a key role during the time of their greatest popularity from 1978 through 1980. In particular, he made prominent contributions to the platinum-selling Funkadelic album One Nation Under a Groove, the single "(Not Just) Knee Deep" (a #1 hit on the U.S. R&B charts in 1979) and the gold-selling Parliament albums Motor Booty Affair, and Gloryhallastoopid. Morrison also played on and produced some P-Funk material under the pseudonym J.S. Theracon, apparently to avoid contractual difficulties. Morrison is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic, including lead guitarist Michael "Kid Funkadelic" Hampton, from Cleveland, and Bootsy Collins, from Cincinnati.

Originally raised in Lincoln Heights, near Cincinnati, The Isley Brothers are an R&B, soul music and funk group. They have had a notably long-running success on the Billboard charts and are the only act to chart in the Top 40 in six separate decades. In 2006, their most recent release became their ninth album to reach the Top Ten of the Billboard 200. Over the years, the act has performed in a variety of genres, including doo-wop, R&B, rock 'n' roll, soul, funk, disco, urban adult contemporary and hip-hop soul. The group has gone through several lineups, ranging from a quartet to a trio to a sextet; they are currently a duo. The original group consisted of the three elder sons of O'Kelly Isley, Sr. and Sally Bell Isley: O'Kelly Jr., Rudolph and Ronald, who formed in 1954 and recorded with small labels singing doo-wop and rock and roll. After modest success with singles such as "Shout", "Twist and Shout" and the Motown single "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)", and a brief tenure with Jimi Hendrix as a background guitar player, the group settled on a brand of gritty soul and funk defined by the Grammy-winning smash "It's Your Thing" in 1969.

The O'Jays are a Canton-based soul and R&B group, originally consisting of Walter Williams (born August 25, 1942), Bill Isles, Bobby Massey, William Powell (January 20, 1942 – May 26, 1977) and Eddie Levert (b. June 16, 1942). The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. The O'Jays (now a trio after the departure of Isles and Massey) had their first hit with "Lonely Drifter", in 1963. In spite of the record's success, the group was considering quitting the music business until Gamble & Huff, a team of producers and songwriters, took an interest in the group. With Gamble & Huff, the O'Jays emerged at the forefront of Philadelphia soul with "Back Stabbers" (1972), a pop hit, and topped the U.S. Hot 100 singles charts the following year with "Love Train".

24-Carat Black were a soul, R&B, and funk band from Cincinnati in the early 1970s who recorded for Stax Records.

Capsoul was a soul and R&B record label based in Columbus in the 1970s. It was formed by local singer William Roger "Bill" Moss and featured himself and other locals including singer Marion Black and Four Mints. In 2004, The Numero Group released the compilation Eccentric Soul: The Capsoul Label, Numero's first release; followed in 2014 by Eccentric Soul: Capitol City Soul. Prix was another small Columbus soul label which also released Marion Black. Numero released a collection of found unreleased songs and demo recordings from the label Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label in 2007.^[6] An unreleased song by local group Penny and the Quarters, "You and Me", was featured prominently in the 2010 film Blue Valentine. Cleveland's Boddie Recording Company was remembered in a 2011 collection by Numero.^[7] The Way Out Label of Cleveland was collected by Numero on Eccentric Soul: The Way Out Label in 2014.^[8]

Aurra was a 1980s soul group from Dayton, which, at the time of its biggest success, was composed of Curt Jones and Starleana Young. Aurra started off in 1979 as an offshoot of the funk band Slave. Aurra was created by Steve "The Fearless Leader" Washington which featured Curt Jones, Starleana Young, Charles Carter, and Buddy Hankerson on the first LP.

The Deele (pronounced The Deal) was a 1980s R&B band from Cincinnati, originally consisting of Indianapolis native Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds along with Antonio "L.A." Reid, Carlos "Satin" Greene, Darnell "Dee" Bristol, Stanley Burke, and Kevin "Kayo" Roberson. They have reunited in an incarnation featuring Bristol, Greene, Roberson, and Burke.

Singer Anita Baker was born in Toledo. She garnered attention for the jazz-soul hit "Sweet Love". In that song, she used real bassist and real drummer.

Men at Large from Cleveland formed in 1992.

Rock and heavy metal

Rock/pop

• Hang on Sloopy" in the summer of 1965, which became the # 1 song in America.^[9]
• Unmonumental from Athens
• Boz Scaggs from Canton
• James Gang from Cleveland
• Joe Walsh from Columbus
• Marc Cohn is from a Cleveland suburb and attended Oberlin College
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Richie Furay is from Yellow Springs
• Michael Stanley, Cleveland
• Ottawa Hills
  .
• The Teardrops, girl group from Cincinnati
• Al Jardine of The Beach Boys, born in Lima
• Tommy James of The Shondells, born in Dayton
• Scott Walker of The Walker Brothers is from Hamilton
• Kim Deal of Pixies and The Breeders, from Dayton
• Joe Dolce, had a UK Number 1 hit with "Shaddap You Face" and is from Painesville
• Glass Harp are from Youngstown
• Tim "Ripper" Owens of Judas Priest from Akron
• Members of Warrant, Jani Lane (d.2011) (Kent/Brimfield) and Steven Sweet (Wadsworth) are from the Akron area.
• Dave Grohl of Nirvana, Foo Fighters, and Them Crooked Vultures is from Warren
• Scott Weiland (d. 2015) lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver lived in a Cleveland suburb during his youth
• Haymarket Riot (band) is from Cincinnati
• Glen Buxton the guitarist for the original Alice Cooper Band was born in Akron
• Gilby Clarke and Steven Adler of Guns N' Roses were born in Cleveland
• Scott Shriner, the bassist of Weezer is from Toledo
• Red Wanting Blue from Columbus
• Granicus, Cleveland
• Patrick Sweany is from Massillon
• Foxy Shazam, "I Like It" 2012 from Cincinnati
• The X Factor in 2011, was born in Wooster
• Black Veil Brides, highest charting album was Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones in 2013, from Cincinnati
• The Toll, from Columbus
• Mushroomhead is from Cleveland^[10]
• Pat McLoughlin of The Cyrkle, born in Columbus

Garage rock

Ohio was home to a wide variety of

Ohio has produced a number of famous power pop bands. Raspberries ("Go All the Way") from Cleveland and Youngstown's Blue Ash ("Abracadabra Have You Seen Her?") are considered seminal artists in this genre.^[11] Circus from Cleveland was also a major exporter of the classic Ohio power pop sound. The Bears (aka Psychodots and The Raisins) are also considered a successful Cincinnati band. The Girls! are a power pop band from Columbus. Ohio Express did the bubblegum pop song "Yummy Yummy Yummy" in 1968.

Punk rock

A wide variety of

Hardcore punk had considerable beginnings in Ohio, most notably with Maumee's Necros, Akron's 0DFx, and Dayton's Toxic Reasons.

Indie rock

Relient K ("Be My Escape" '05) is from Canton, Wolves at the Gate is from Cedarville, Sanctus Real formed in Toledo, Phil Keaggy is from Youngstown, and Hollyn is from Waverly.

Alternative metal

Nine Inch Nails (had 4 #1 songs on the Alternative Songs chart in the mid 00s) and Filter ("Take a Picture" '00) are from Cleveland, Maynard James Keenan (musician and lead singer for Tool and A Perfect Circle) is from Ravenna, and Marilyn Manson is from Canton.

Death metal

Necrophagia is from Wellsville, Skeletonwitch is from Athens, and Woe of Tyrants is from Chillicothe.

Metalcore

Bow Wow (had 2 #3 Billboard 200 albums like Wanted in 2005). and Fatty Koo are both from the Columbus area. Tash of the Tha Alkaholiks was raised in Columbus before moving to the west coast.

Youngstown is also a prime location for underground hip hop artists, such as rappers Copywrite, Illogic, Blueprint, Pryslezz (Alexander August), Streetz Ishu (RIP), The Audiologists (Da Bopman & Zitro), KeilYn, and producer RJD2. Blueprint and RJD2 formed the alternative hip hop group Soul Position under Rhymesayers Entertainment.

Additionally, Stalley is from Massillon, John Legend is from Springfield, and Hi-Tek and Clouddead are from Cincinnati.

Electronic

• Scott Walker, Hamilton
• Elliott Sharp, born in Cleveland.
• The Golden Palominos, Cleveland
• The Numbers Band, Kent
• Mike Hovancsek, Kent

Record labels and management companies

There have been a number of record labels based in Ohio. Most prominent was