callings of the archive
Composer Biographies
Every archived life recorded as composer, ordered by their place in the ledger.
Modern era
Mick Jagger
b. July 26, 1943
British singer and songwriter; vocalist of The Rolling Stones
Modern era
Janis Joplin
January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970
American singer (1943–1970)
Contemporary era
Eric Clapton
b. March 30, 1945
British musician
Contemporary era
Freddie Mercury
September 5, 1946 – November 24, 1991
British singer, songwriter and musician, frontman of the rock band Queen (1946–1991)
Modern era
Roger Waters
b. September 6, 1943
English musician, co-founder of Pink Floyd (born 1943)
Modern era
Nick Mason
b. January 27, 1944
English drummer
Modern era
Richard Wright
July 28, 1943 – September 15, 2008
English keyboardist, co-founder of Pink Floyd (1943–2008)
Contemporary era
Elton John
b. March 25, 1947
British singer, songwriter and musician (born 1947)
Contemporary era
Ozzy Osbourne
December 3, 1948 – July 22, 2025
English musician and television personality (1948–2025)
Contemporary era
Bob Marley
February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981
Reggae prophet who carried one love from Kingston to the world
Modern era
Miriam Makeba
March 4, 1932 – November 9, 2008
South African singer and civil rights activist (1932–2008)
Modern era
Ravi Shankar
April 7, 1920 – December 11, 2012
Indian sitar player (1920–2012)
Contemporary era
A. R. Rahman
b. January 6, 1966
Indian composer and musician
Contemporary era
Avril Lavigne
b. September 27, 1984
Canadian singer-songwriter (born 1984)
Contemporary era
Adele
b. May 5, 1988
English singer-songwriter (born 1988)
Contemporary era
Ali Zafar
b. May 18, 1980
Pakistani singer and film actor
Contemporary era
Umer Sharif
April 19, 1960 – October 2, 2021
Pakistani film director, comedian and actor
Modern era
C. Rajagopalachari
December 10, 1878 – December 25, 1972
Indian politician and activist (1878–1972)
Modern era
Tufail Niazi
1916 – September 21, 1990
Singer
Modern era
Alla Rakha
April 29, 1919 – February 3, 2000
Indian tabla player (1919–2000)
Contemporary era
Zakir Hussain (tabla maestro)
March 9, 1951 – December 15, 2024
Indian tabla player, musical producer, film actor, and composer (1951–2024)
Modern era
Ali Akbar Khan
April 14, 1922 – June 18, 2009
Hindustani musician (1922–2009)
Modern era
Shivkumar Sharma
January 13, 1938 – May 10, 2022
Indian classical musician (1938–2022)
Modern era
Bhimsen Joshi
February 4, 1922 – January 24, 2011
Indian Hindustani classical vocalist (1922–2011)
Modern era
Manna Dey
May 1, 1919 – October 24, 2013
Indian playback singer, music director, musician and vocalist (1919–2013)
Modern era
S. D. Burman
October 1, 1906 – October 31, 1975
Indian singer and composer (1906–1975)
Modern era
R. D. Burman
June 27, 1939 – January 4, 1994
Indian musician (1939–1994)
Modern era
Naushad
December 25, 1919 – May 5, 2006
Indian composer (1919–2006)
Modern era
Ilaiyaraaja
b. June 2, 1943
Indian film composer & singer
Contemporary era
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
June 4, 1946 – September 25, 2020
Indian playback singer (1946–2020)
Modern era
K. J. Yesudas
b. January 10, 1940
Indian playback singer and musician from Kerala.
Contemporary era
Aamir Zaki
April 8, 1968 – June 2, 2017
Pakistani musician (1968–2017)
Early Modern era
Lalon Shah
1772 – October 17, 1890
Bengali poet, composer and Baul saint
Modern era
Abai Qunanbaiuly
July 29, 1845 – June 23, 1904
Kazakh poet, philosopher and composer (1845-1904)
Modern era
Komitas
September 26, 1869 – October 22, 1935
Ottoman Armenian priest, musicologist, composer and vardapet (1869–1935)
Modern era
Carlos Gardel
December 11, 1890 – June 24, 1935
Uruguayan singer, songwriter, actor; the most prominent figure in the history of tango
Modern era
Liliuokalani
September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917
Monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom (1838–1917)
Medieval era
Blanche of Castile
March 4, 1188 – November 27, 1252
Queen consort of France (1188–1252)
Medieval era
Alfonso X of Castile
November 23, 1221 – April 4, 1284
King of Castile from 1252 to 1284
Medieval era
Peter of Castile
August 30, 1334 – March 23, 1369
King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369
Contemporary era
Ramon Muntaner
September 29, 1950 – December 9, 2021
Catalan singer-songwriter and composer
Medieval era
Conradin
March 25, 1252 – October 29, 1268
Duke of Swabia, King of Jerusalem and King of Sicily (1252–1268)
Medieval era
Peter III of Aragon
1239 – 1285
King of Aragon and Valencia (1276–85); King of Sicily (1282–85)
Medieval era
Wolfram von Eschenbach
1170 – 1220
German knight and poet (1170–1220)
Medieval era
Walther von der Vogelweide
1170 – 1230
German minstrel singer (c. 1170 – c. 1230)
Medieval era
Guillaume de Machaut
1300 – 1377
Medieval French composer and poet (c. 1300–1377)
Medieval era
Guillaume Dufay
August 13, 1397 – November 27, 1474
Composer of the Renaissance (1397–1474)
Medieval era
Josquin des Prez
1455 – August 27, 1521
Composer of the Renaissance (c. 1450–1521)
Medieval era
Hartmann von Aue
1160 – 1210
Leading poet of the Middle High German period
Medieval era
Gottfried von Strassburg
1180 – 1215
Medieval German poet
Medieval era
Oswald von Wolkenstein
1377 – August 2, 1445
German poet, composer, and diplomat
Medieval era
Jaufre Rudel
1000 – 1148
Prince of Blaye and troubadour
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