2. ryan tedder
birth name: ryan benjamin tedder
dob: june 26, 1979 – present
place of birth: tulsa, oklahoma
Ryan Tedder is the lead singer and frontman in the band OneRepublic. Although
singing is his forte, he can also play piano, drums, bass guitar, and the glockenspiel.
OneRepublic, although they consider their music “genre-less,” can be categorized by
Alternative or soft pop-rock. Ryan wrote and produced OneRepublic‟s breakthrough
single, “Apologize” with producer and mixer Timbaland. Ryan is a 33-year-old father of
one, married to Genevieve Tedder.
Ryan is also a Grammy-winning record producer and songwriter, famed for writing
the hits “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis, “Halo” by Beyoncé, “Battlefield” by Jordin
Sparks, “Not Over You” by Gavin DeGraw, and producing Adele‟s album “21,” having
written and co-written most of the tracks on the album.
Ryan has worked with hundreds of other musicians, the most prominent artists
being Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Jennifer Lopez, Sara Bareilles, Kelly Clarkson, and Adam
Lambert. Ryan was credited with a Grammy when Adele’s “21” won the Grammy
for 2012 Best Album of the Year. He‟s vocally featured in the hit songs “So Good” by
B.o.B., “The Fighter” by Gym Class Heroes, and “Rocketeer” by Far East Movement,
just to name a few.
3. early life and influences
Raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma by a religious family, Ryan began to
learn to play piano at the age of three. Tedder's father was a musician,
and young Ryan began to sing at the age of seven. He says he
practiced singing two hours every day until the age of eighteen. A self-
taught vocalist, Tedder began honing this skill at the age of twelve by
imitating his favorite artists, who ranged from The Beatles to acts as
diverse as Peter Gabriel.
6. peter gabriel
birth name: peter brian gabriel
dob: february 13, 1950
place of birth: chobham, surrey
Peter Gabriel is an English singer/songwriter and musician famed for founding
and being the lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis in 1967. After he
left Genesis in 1975, Peter went on to have a lucrative solo career, achieving his
greatest success in the late 1980s with songs such as “Sledgehammer” and
“Solsbury Hill.” Today, at 62, he produces world music and still tours while his old
band Genesis still tours without him as well. Gabriel can sing and play the flute,
drums, oboe, harmonica, and piano.
Peter‟s 1982 hit song Sledgehammer’s music video set a new standard for art
in the music video industry, and won nine MTV Video Music Awards in 1987, a
record that stands as of 2011. He also won Best British Male Solo Artist of the
Year in 1987 at the British Music Awards. He won many Americans awards from
then forward, and nominated many times too.
OneRepublic Peter Gabriel
Won‟t Stop Solsbury Hill
7. early life and influences
Peter‟s mother, Edith Irene Allen, from a musical family, taught him to
play the piano at an early age. Before he hit the 'big time', he started
writing songs while at about 11 or 12 years old. "The first song I wrote was
called 'Sammy The Slug.' Everyone else was writing about girls, and I was
writing about slugs, which shows what I was interested in,” says Gabriel in
an interview. One of his early influences was the Beatles, whose lead
singer is Paul McCartney.
9. paulmccartney
peter gabriel‟s influence,
lead singer of the beatles and british
solo singer/songwriter
10. paul mccartney
birth name: sir james paul mccartney
dob: june 18, 1942
place of birth: liverpool, england
Paul McCartney is a British singer-songwriter who was the lead singer for the
rock/pop group The Beatles, established in 1960. He is also one of the most popular solo
performers of all time in terms of both his recordings‟ sales and attendance at his
concerts. The Beatles were famed for their hits „Here Comes the Sun,‟ „Hey Jude‟ and
„Can‟t Buy Me Love.‟
In addition to his 15 Grammy Wins, Paul was honored with a Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award in 1990. Paul is an inspiration to millions of musicians and fans
worldwide.
Peter Gabriel The Beatles
Games Without Frontiers Hello, Goodbye
11. early life and influences
Paul McCartney, raised in Liverpool, England, and was
encouraged by his father at a very early age to try many
instruments. Although he took formal lessons when he was
young, he preferred learning by ear, and taught himself the Spanish
guitar, trumpet and piano. McCartney has many musical
influences, and Fred Astaire‟s bouncy, musical ways inspired him.
This is the YouTube video where he explains that Fred Astaire is
one of his musical influences (1:42).
14. fred astaire
birth name: frederick austerlitz
dob: may 10, 1899
place of birth: omaha, nebraska
Fred Astaire was a singer, actor and musician of the eighteenth century who
sang and danced on Broadway. Although only partially a musician, his style of
music could be considered part of the soundtrack, classical or swing genre. He
could play the accordion, piano, and drums. He learned to play the accordion for the
musical revue, “The Band Wagon” on Broadway. His only “band” was the stage
band performing behind him when onstage.
Astaire has won 27 prominent awards in his life, including in 1938 being
invited to place his handprint in cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in
Hollywood, and in 1950 when Ginger Rogers presented an honorary Academy
Award to Astaire “for… his contributions to the technique of musical pictures.”
Paul McCartney https://www.youtube.co Fred Astaire
I‟m Gonna Sit Right Down m/watch?v=FD7sqGJ3N
Bg One for My Baby
and Write Myself a Letter
15. early life
Born in Omaha, Fred Austerlitz and his sister Adele were born very
talented in the acting field. Fred was very musical as a child. The
sibling pair became a performing pair onstage, singing and dancing
together. In 1917 they had changed their last name to Astaire and
began performing in musicals. Adele soon retired from musicals to
marry, and that‟s when Fred picked up and pursued music as part of his
career.
16. astaire bibliographies
• Billman, Larry (1997). Fred Astaire: A Bio-
bibliography. Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
• http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Astaire-
The-Light-Fantastic-278749.html
• http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/books/re
view/the-astaires-by-kathleen-
riley.html?_r=1&nl=books&emc=booksupdate
ema4_20120601&pagewanted=all
