Musicians & Composers
The makers of humanity's soundtrack.
records written
Medieval era
Comtessa de Dia
1140 – 1212
Female troubadour (fl. c. 1175 or c. 1212)
Medieval era
Sordello
1200 – 1269
Italian troubadour, poet and composer
Medieval era
Jacopone da Todi
1236 – December 25, 1306
Italian Franciscan mystic
Medieval era
Gilles Binchois
1400 – September 20, 1460
Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer (c. 1400–1460)
Medieval era
John Dunstaple
1390 – December 24, 1453
English composer (c. 1390–1453)
Medieval era
Notker the Stammerer
840 CE – April 6, 912 CE
Benedictine monk and musician
Medieval era
Adam de la Halle
1237 – 1288
French poet, composer and trouvère
Medieval era
William IX, Duke of Aquitaine
October 22, 1071 – February 10, 1126
Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony and Count of Poitou
Medieval era
Bernart de Ventadorn
c. 1140 – c. 1190
12th-century troubador
Medieval era
Bertran de Born
1140 – 1215
Occitan troubadour
Medieval era
Ulrich von Liechtenstein
c. 1200 – January 26, 1275
Austrian poet and nobleman
Medieval era
Hadewijch
1200 – c. 1260
13th-century Dutch poet and mystic
Contemporary era
Dido
b. December 25, 1971
English singer and songwriter (born 1971)
Modern era
Nehemiah
August 2, 1919 – April 5, 2022
American actor and painter (1919–2022)
Modern era
Salome
b. June 21, 1939
Spanish singer
Contemporary era
Ruhul Amin
b. 1971
Film director
Modern era
A. Hameed (writer)
1934 – May 20, 1991
Pakistani film score composer
Modern era
Nanak Singh
July 4, 1897 – December 28, 1971
Indian writer (1897–1971)
Modern era
Girish Chandra Ghosh
February 28, 1844 – February 8, 1912
Bengali actor, director, and writer
Modern era
Zahir Raihan
August 19, 1935 – January 30, 1972
Bangladeshi novelist, writer & filmmaker (1935-1972)
Modern era
Altaf Mahmud
December 23, 1933 – 1971
Bangladeshi musician and freedom fighter (1933 – 1971)
Modern era
Bharathidasan
April 29, 1891 – April 21, 1964
Tamil poet, rationalist writer and Dravidian movement activist
Modern era
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala
June 17, 1903 – January 17, 1951
Playwright, songwriter, poet, writer and filmmaker (1903–1951)
Modern era
Dadasaheb Phalke
April 30, 1870 – February 16, 1944
Indian film producer, director and screenwriter (1870–1944)
Modern era
Ardeshir Irani
December 5, 1886 – October 14, 1969
Indian film director (1886–1969)
Modern era
Himansu Rai
1892 – May 19, 1940
Indian filmmaker (1892–1940)
Modern era
Devika Rani
March 30, 1908 – March 9, 1994
Indian actress (1908-1994)
Modern era
Fatma Begum
1892 – 1983
Indian actress and director
Modern era
Ruby Myers
1907 – October 10, 1983
Indian actress (1907–1983)
Modern era
Kanan Devi
April 22, 1916 – July 17, 1992
Indian actress (1916–1992)
Modern era
Pramathesh Barua
October 24, 1903 – November 29, 1951
Indian actor (1903–1951)
Modern era
Sohrab Modi
November 2, 1897 – January 28, 1984
Indian film actor, director, producer (1897-1984)
Modern era
V. Shantaram
November 18, 1901 – October 30, 1990
Indian film director and actor (1901–1990)
Modern era
Baburao Painter
June 3, 1890 – January 16, 1954
Indian film maker and artist (1890-1954)
Modern era
Prithviraj Kapoor
November 3, 1906 – May 29, 1972
Indian actor (1906-1972)
Modern era
Bal Gandharva
June 26, 1888 – July 15, 1967
Indian Marathi singer and stage actor (1888–1967)
Modern era
Jamshedji Framji Madan
April 27, 1857 – June 28, 1923
Indian film producer
Modern era
A. R. Kardar
October 2, 1904 – November 22, 1989
Indian actor and director
Modern era
W. Z. Ahmed
December 20, 1916 – April 15, 2007
Pakistani filmmaker
Modern era
Swaran Lata
December 20, 1924 – February 8, 2008
Pakistani actress (1924–2008)
Modern era
Shamim Ara
March 22, 1938 – August 5, 2016
Pakistani actor and film director
Modern era
Uday Shankar
December 8, 1900 – September 26, 1977
Indian dancer, choreographer, and actor (1900-1977)
Modern era
Rukmini Devi Arundale
February 29, 1904 – February 24, 1986
Indian dancer and choreographer (1904–1986)
Modern era
Balasaraswati
May 13, 1918 – February 9, 1984
Indian dancer (1918-1984)
Modern era
Sitara Devi
November 8, 1920 – November 25, 2014
Indian dancer (1920-2014)
Modern era
Bulbul Chowdhury
January 1, 1919 – May 17, 1954
Bengali dancer
Modern era
Begum Akhtar
October 7, 1914 – October 30, 1974
Indian musician
Modern era
Gauhar Jaan
June 26, 1873 – January 17, 1930
Indian singer and dancer (1873-1930)
Modern era
Faiyaz Khan
1886 – 1950
Indian singer
Modern era
Abdul Karim Khan
November 11, 1872 – October 27, 1937
Indian singer (1872–1937)
Modern era
Kesarbai Kerkar
July 13, 1892 – September 16, 1977
Indian singer (1892–1977)
Modern era
Iqbal Bahu
September 4, 1944 – March 24, 2012
Pakistani singer (1944–2012)
Modern era
Surinder Kaur
November 25, 1929 – June 14, 2006
Indian singer (1929-2006)
Modern era
Asa Singh Mastana
August 22, 1927 – 1999
Punjabi singer
Modern era
Munshi Raziuddin
1912 – 2003
Pakistani musician
Modern era
Allan Fakir
1932 – July 4, 2000
Pakistani singer
Modern era
Mai Bhagi
January 1, 1906 – July 7, 1986
Pakistani singer
Zahida Parveen
Indian actress
Contemporary era
Zarsanga
b. 1946
Pashtun singer
Modern era
Abbasuddin Ahmed
October 27, 1901 – December 30, 1959
Bengali singer