8,723 articles
Vangelis (Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου)
Vangelis (Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, 1943-2022), Greek self-taught electronic composer and Oscar winner for Chariots of Fire, also scored Blade Runner, led Aphrodite's Child, and had asteroid 6354 named for him.
Vani Jairam (வாணி ஜெயராம்)
Vani Jairam (வாணி ஜெயராம்), born Kalaivani, was an Indian playback singer who sang in 19 languages and recorded 10,000+ songs; debuting with Guddi's Bol Re Papi Hara (1971), she won three National Film Awards and a posthumous 2023 Padma Bhushan, dying 4 February 2023 in Chennai.
Vanilla Fudge
Vanilla Fudge, American psychedelic rock band formed 1965–66 in the New York area (Stein, Martell, Bogert, Appice), known for slowed-down heavy covers; 'You Keep Me Hangin' On' and debut album both hit #6; proto-metal influence on Deep Purple and others.
Vanity (singer)
Vanity, stage name of Denise Katrina Matthews (1959-2016), Canadian singer and actress who fronted Prince's trio Vanity 6, scored with "Nasty Girl," recorded two Motown solo albums, and later became an evangelist.
Vanity 6
Vanity 6, also known as the Hookers project, was a Prince-assembled Minneapolis female trio (Vanity, Brenda Bennett, Susan Moonsie) whose 1982 Warner Bros. album and single "Nasty Girl" hit No. 1 on the Billboard dance chart before becoming Apollonia 6.
Varg Vikernes
Varg Vikernes (Louis Cachet), aka Count Grishnackh, Norwegian black metal musician behind one-man project Burzum, born 1973; convicted in 1994 of murdering Euronymous and church arsons, 21-year sentence; later neo-Nazi writer arrested in France in 2013.
Vargas de Tecalitlán
Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, Mexican mariachi ensemble founded in Tecalitlán, Jalisco, by Gaspar Vargas in 1897 or 1898; led later by Silvestre Vargas, Rubén Fuentes, and Pepe Martínez; famed for El son de la Negra and La Bikina.
Varijashree Venugopal
Varijashree Venugopal (born 1991, Bengaluru) is a Carnatic-trained singer, flautist, and composer known for Carnatic scat singing, her 2024 debut album Vari produced by Michael League, and a 2024 Grammy nomination for Jacob Collier's "A Rock Somewhere".
Varsha Bhosle (वर्षा भोसले)
Varsha Bhosle (वर्षा भोसले), daughter of singer Asha Bhosle, was an Indian journalist and right-of-center political columnist for rediff.com (1997-2003), Sunday Observer, and MiD-DAY; she died by suicide in Mumbai on 8 October 2012, aged 56.
Vasco Rossi
Vasco Rossi, also known as Blasco (born 1952, Zocca, Modena), is Italy's most successful rock singer-songwriter since the 1980s, from free-radio pioneer to stadium headliner, with records including Bollicine (1983) and the 225,000-spectator Modena Park 2017 concert.
Vashti Bunyan
Vashti Bunyan (Jennifer Vashti Bunyan, born 1945), English folk singer-songwriter of Just Another Diamond Day (1970); quit music after its failure, returned with Lookaftering (2005) and Heartleap (2014).
Vasundhara Das
Vasundhara Das (born 1977, Bengaluru) is an Indian actor, Hindustani-trained playback singer, composer, and entrepreneur, known for Hey Ram, Monsoon Wedding, and Drumjam, and distinct from unrelated Vasundhara real-estate projects.
Vasyl Barvinsky
Vasyl Barvinsky (Василь Барвінський, 1888 to 1963) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist, and first director of the Lviv Conservatory whose manuscripts were destroyed after his 1948 Soviet arrest.
Vasyl Yemets
Vasyl Yemets (Василь Ємець), also spelled Vasyl Yemetz, was a Ukrainian virtuoso bandurist, bandura maker, historian, and teacher who founded the first bandura chapel in Kyiv in 1918.
Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver, hard rock supergroup (2002-2008) of ex-Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland, and Dave Kushner; albums Contraband and Libertad, Grammy for "Slither".
Vengaboys
Vengaboys (Venga Boys) are a Dutch Eurodance group from Rotterdam created by producers Danski and Delmundo, known for late-1990s hits "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!", "We Like to Party!", and "We're Going to Ibiza!", with over 25 million records sold.
Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Lynn (Vera Margaret Welch, 1917-2020), the English singer known as the Forces' Sweetheart, whose wartime songs We'll Meet Again and The White Cliffs of Dover and BBC show Sincerely Yours made her a British morale icon.
Vera Sola
Vera Sola, real name Danielle Aykroyd (born 1989), is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, daughter of Dan Aykroyd; known for gothic folk albums Shades (2018) and Peacemaker (2024).
Verdine White
Verdine White (Verdine Adams White, born Verdine Adams Jr., 1951) is an American bassist, songwriter, and producer of Earth, Wind & Fire, joined June 6, 1970; brother of founder Maurice White; 6 Grammy wins, Rock and Roll and Songwriters Halls of Fame.
Verka Serduchka (Вєрка Сердючка)
Verka Serduchka (Вєрка Сердючка) is a comic drag persona, a surzhyk-speaking train attendant created and performed by Ukrainian entertainer Andriy Danylko since the early 1990s, who placed second at Eurovision 2007 with Dancing Lasha Tumbai and still tours internationally.
Vernon Reid
Vernon Reid (born 1958, London) is a guitarist and composer, founder of Living Colour and co-founder of the Black Rock Coalition; two-time Grammy winner, Rolling Stone #66 guitarist, solo albums Mistaken Identity and Hoodoo Telemetry.
Vertical Horizon
Vertical Horizon: American alternative rock band formed 1991 in Washington, D.C. by Matt Scannell and Keith Kane; known for the 1999 RCA album Everything You Want and its Billboard Hot 100 number-one title track.
Veruca Salt
Veruca Salt is a Chicago alternative rock band formed in 1992 by Louise Post and Nina Gordon, known for "Seether" and the gold albums American Thighs (1994) and Eight Arms to Hold You (1997); not the Willy Wonka character.
Verzuz
Verzuz: livestreamed song-for-song music battle series created by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland on Instagram Live in March 2020; 20 hits per artist, no official winner, later owned by Triller, then the founders, distributed via X and Complex.
Viagra Boys
Viagra Boys are a Swedish post-punk band formed in Stockholm in 2015, fronted by American-born singer Sebastian Murphy. Four albums: Street Worms, Welfare Jazz, Cave World, Viagr Aboys; satirical songs on masculinity and drugs.
Vic Chesnutt
Vic Chesnutt (James Victor Chesnutt, 1964-2009), Athens, Georgia singer-songwriter, paraplegic after a 1983 car crash; 16 albums including Little, West of Rome, and At the Cut; died December 25, 2009.
Vic Damone
Vic Damone (Vito Rocco Farinola, 1928-2018), American traditional pop crooner and actor; Mercury, Columbia, Capitol, and Warner Bros. recording artist known for "You're Breaking My Heart" and "On the Street Where You Live," praised by Sinatra for the best pipes in the business.
Vic Fuentes
Vic Fuentes is an American singer and guitarist, born in 1983 in San Diego, California, best known as frontman and chief songwriter of Pierce the Veil.
Vic Godard
Vic Godard (Victor John Napper, born 1957) is an English singer-songwriter, leader of first-wave UK punk band Subway Sect, whose 1978 single "Ambition" topped the indie chart; later a postman, he moved through Northern soul, swing, and crooner pop.
Vicki Peterson
Vicki Peterson (Victoria Anne Theresa Peterson), born 1958 in Los Angeles, is a founding member, lead guitarist, and songwriter of the Bangles, and later of Psycho Sisters, Continental Drifters, Action Skulls, and the duo with husband John Cowsill.