Keeping in mind the long history of music and its powerful effect on the human social and cultural psyche, this brand-new volume in the Innovators series profiles the most innovative and important individuals in music history. Each of these extended biographies offers concise and informative top matter that includes an introductory summary of the person's significance; birth and death dates and places; and specialty fields. Biographies represent a strong, global, cross-gender focus, and each biography offers a sidebar focusing on the group(s)/achievement(s) for which the subject is best known. Innovators in Music spans three large volumes, examining over 350 individuals and personalities who had an influential impact on the music industry, including: Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Ani DiFranco, Peter Gabriel, Arlo Guthrie, Janis Joplin, Patti LaBelle, John Lennon, Annie Lennox, Little Richard, Nicki Minaj, Willie Nelson, Itzhak Perlman, Lou Reed, Nina Simone, Patti Smith, Michael Stipe, Kanye West, Hank Williams, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and many more.