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Charlotte, North Carolina- Image by Carissa Rogers from

Top 10 Iconic Singers from Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is a major city and a big commercial hub in North Carolina. It is a modern city centre and is home to the famous Levine Museum of the New South, which explores post–Civil War history in the South.

What makes Charlotte interesting is that there are so many music festivals that occurs in this city annually.

It, therefore, justifies why there are a number of very iconic and famous singers who come from Charlotte. Here’s a list of some of them.

1. Dababy

DaBaby gives an interview at The Kno Show- Author; A-Side Entertainment-

Jonathan Lyndale Kirk known professionally as DaBaby (formerly known as Baby Jesus) was born on December 22nd, 1991). He is an American rapper who rose to mainstream prominence in 2019 after releasing several mixtapes between 2014 and 2018.

DaBaby’s debut studio album Baby on Baby (2019) peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200, while his second studio album, Kirk (2019), debuted at number one.

The former album featured the Billboard Hot 100 top-ten single “Suge”, while the latter featured the multi-platinum records “Intro” and “Bop”.

His third studio album, Blame It on Baby (2020), became his second consecutive number-one album in the US.

This album included his highest-charting song, “Rockstar” (featuring Roddy Ricch), which spent seven non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. If you’ve heard this song and bopped your head to its very catchy beats, then this doesn’t come as a surprise.

2. Anthony Hamilton

Anthony Hamilton- Author; Encyclopediart-

Anthony Cornelius Hamilton  is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who rose to fame with his platinum-selling second studio album Comin’ from Where I’m From (2003). This album featured the title track single “Comin’ from Where I’m From” and the follow-up “Charlene”.

Born on January 28th, 1971, he has been nominated for 17 Grammy Awards which is extremely impressive given how winning a grammy is no easy task.

Hamilton is also known for the song “Freedom” from the soundtrack album of Django Unchained co-written and sung as a duo with indie soul singer Elayna Boynton.

Hamilton started singing in his church’s choir at age 17. He attended South Mecklenburg High School where he sang in their award-winning choir under the direction of Mark Setzer.

In 1992, he met producer Mark Sparks who encouraged him to leave Charlotte and head to New York City where he signed with Uptown Records. Hamilton co-wrote the 1999 hit “U Know What’s Up” for singer Donell Jones. This continued to give him the visibility much needed

In 2000, he joined D’Angelo’s international tour in promotion of the Voodoo album, on which he was a backup singer.

On March 25, 2016, he released his sixth studio album What I’m Feelin‘ featuring guitarists Gary Clark, Jr. and Vince Gill with tracks produced by Mark Batson, Salaam Remi, and James Poyser.

After one week, the project ranked number two on the Billboard R&B chart, representing his highest career debut. Presently,  Hamilton works with the background singers the HamilTones and often performs soul renditions of hip-hop tracks.

3. Horace Brown

The record label Brown was signed under- Author; Uptown Records-

Horace Brown played a variety of instruments in his school’s marching band and got a break when DeVante Swing of Jodeci heard one of his demos.

From there he earned spots doing background vocals, some writing and producing for Christopher Williams. He then managed to get a recording contract with Uptown Records after its president, Andre Harrell saw him in a recording session.

In 1994, while with Uptown Records, Brown spurred a bit of controversy when his single, “Taste Your Love” was released.

The single was an ode to oral sex and was banned in parts of the South. Despite the press around the single, it failed to perform well on the charts. One more of his single, but was cancelled as his Uptown Records album was shelved.

Since the release of his debut album, Brown has done a couple of collaborations with artists such as Naudy, Mr. Cheeks, Lisha, Royal Flush and PrinZe Gabriel.

In 2000, he released a single “Shake It Up” on the international label Double H Production with Cut Killer and the following year, he released another single, “This Is the One” on Money Talks Entertainment with rapper Styles P.

As of 2013, he toured overseas with Keith Sweat and other R&B artists.

4. Nappy Brown

Jazz concert- Image by Sepp from

Born as Napoleon Brown Goodson Culp on October 12th, 1929 and passing on September 20th, 2008), he was better known by his stage name Nappy Brown. He was an American R&B singer.

His major hits include the 1955 Billboard chart No. 2 “Don’t Be Angry”, “Little By Little”, and “Night Time Is the Right Time”.

His style of doing music was very much recognizable. He was well known for using a wide vibrato, melisma, and distinctive extra syllables, in particular, “li-li-li-li-li.”

His songs, along with those of his peers and contemporaries, such as Little Richard and the likes were among the first wave of African-American pop music to become noticed and popular with white audiences.

It is alleged that the great Elvis Presley used to see Brown perform whenever he appeared in Memphis.

In addition to Brown’s influence on blues music, and 1950s R&B and pop, Brown’s powerful and protean voice, combined with his distinctive emotive style, is widely viewed as a key link in the development of soul music.

5. Ant- Bee

Billy James- Author; Billyjames5376-

Ant-Bee, which is the stage-name for Billy James, is an American experimental musician and writer.

In his musical work, he is a psychedelic era revivalist and a multi-instrumentalist, working with members of The Mothers of Invention; the original members of the Alice Cooper group, and Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band.

As founder of Glass Onyon PR, he has represented music artists like King Crimson, Jon Anderson, Michael Bruce, Greg Lake among others.

Billy is also a writer, and he has co-authored and authored biographies of musicians including Michael Bruce, Todd Rundgren, and others.

In the 1990s James actually performed and recorded with musicians including Michael Bruce, whose autobiography James co-authored, “No More Mr Nice Guy: The Inside Story of the Alice Cooper Group”, first published in 1996.

6. Phillip Bush

Classical musical performance- Image by TravelCoffeeBook from

Phillip Bush was born to an American father and German mother and lived in Ridgewood, New Jersey but grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina,

Bush studied at the Peabody Conservatory with Leon Fleisher, and has admitted that he still considers Fleisher his major musical influence.

Phillip Bush spent two years at Banff Centre School of Fine Arts in Canada from 1981 to 1983, where he met Steve Reich and several other musicians who were formative influences for the direction of his career.

Subsequently, he moved to New York City, and most of his career was based there. In recent years, he has made his home elsewhere in the U.S., teaching for several years at the University of Michigan and then moving to Columbia, South Carolina, where he lives today.

Additionally, Bush was the winner of the 1983 American Pianists Association’s national competition and made his New York recital debut in 1984 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

As a soloist, he has championed the work of many living composers, and has recorded the piano works of Ben Johnston and John Zorn,

Moreover, Bush is quite a regular at various chamber music festivals throughout the United States and has collaborated with many major American instrumentalists.

7. Tom Constanten

Grateful Dead band- Author; Herb Greene-

Tom Constanten,  is an American keyboardist, best known for playing with Grateful Dead from 1968 to 1970, for which made him inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was born on March 19th, 1944.

Tom Constanten wrote orchestral pieces as a teenager while growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada and briefly studied astronomy and music at the University of California, Berkeley, where he met future Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh in the summer of 1961.

Tom and Phil became roommates and dropped out. Shortly thereafter, they enrolled in a graduate-level course taught by Italian modernist composer Luciano Berio at Mills College.

Constanten also studied piano with Mario Feninger. In 1962, while living in Brussels and Â鶹APP, met Umberto Eco, and studied on a scholarship with members of the Darmstadt School.

After briefly rooming with Lesh in Las Vegas and returning to the San Francisco Bay Area, Constanten performed with an improvisational quintet formed by Steve Reich.

While Tom had successfully contributed to Grateful dead’s complex experimental music, his instrumental style was then grounded in classical technique and bore little consanguinity with the folk, blues, and country and western stylings that would largely anchor the band’s oeuvre throughout the early 1970s.

8. Tyrone Jefferson

Tyrone Jefferson, before playing a song at Blues Boulevard in Spartanburg- Author; Cada mori –

Tyrone Jefferson, born on July 5th, 1953, is an American trombonist, composer, arranger and producer. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated with popular and well-known artists such as James Brown, Public Enemy, LL Cool J among others.

In high school, Jefferson led his own band, which included a trumpet player, tuba player, tenor saxophonist, and three percussionists. During this time, he also experimented with songwriting and arranging for several instruments.

In the early 1970s, Jefferson joined the Army and completed a three-year tour in Kaiserslautern, Germany where he would ultimately meet saxophonist Norwood “Pony” Poindexter.

Upon his return to the United States, Jefferson began arranging live jazz sets at Damian’s in Augusta, Georgia.

These sets were named sittin’ in and helped solidify his place in the local jazz scene. In 1976 he was given a chance by percussionist Johnny Griggs, to join James Brown on tour as director of his band.

After his participation in the tour ended, he went on to collaborate with dozens of musicians, including James Brown, rappers Public Enemy, hip-hop artist L.L. Cool J and Gospel artist Heather Headley.

He has performed in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Europe, Japan, Morocco and the Caribbean, and at venues such as the Apollo Theater, Lincoln Center, Greek Theatre and the Staples Center.

9. Jack Lawrence

Jack Lawrence- Author; Frida Borjeson-

Jack Lawrence is an American bluegrass guitarist. Bluegrass music is a type of genre made up of American roots music. It developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. This genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys.

Jack Lawrence was actually Doc Watson’s performing partner since the early 1980s. As part of his major influences, Lawrence cites Doc Watson, Clarence White, and Django Reinhardt.

Lawrence was raised in Charlotte,  where his father began work as a sound engineer for a local music hall when Lawrence was age 10. This allowed him to meet and learn from some performers such as Buck Owens, Don Rich, Bill Monroe, George Shuffler, and Flatt and Scruggs.

While a teenager, Lawrence played in local folk and bluegrass groups. A job with luthier C. E. Ward in Charlotte introduced Lawrence to Carl Story, and landed him his first professional job in 1970.

In 1971, Lawrence joined the progressive bluegrass ensemble New Deal String Band, which also included Frank Greathouse (mandolin) and Al McCanless (fiddle).

In 1972, he joined the Bluegrass Alliance, replacing Tony Rice and joining Lonnie Peerce (fiddle), Steve Maxwell (bass), Chuck Nation (mandolin), and Garland Shuping (banjo, vocal).

This lineup recorded the album Tall Grass on the Bridges label in 1973, and Lawrence left in 1974. After a second stint with the New Deal String Band, Jack played electric guitar in rock and country bands for several years.

In 1978, Lawrence formed a folk duo with Joe Smothers. Through Smothers, Lawrence met Doc Watson and his son Merle Watson.

Lawrence released his first solo album About Time in 1997, and in 2002, he released I Don’t Need The Whiskey Anymore, which featured Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Tony Williamson, the Del McCoury Band, and Doc Watson.

In 2013, Lawrence released Arthel’s Guitar album, using Arthel “Doc” Watson’s guitar on the recording.

The album basically contains bluegrass and fiddle tunes performed with Curtis Burch and Dale Meyer (resonator guitar), Wayne Benson (mandolin), Don Lewis and Shadd Cobb (fiddle), Steve Lewis (banjo), Ron Shuffler (bass), and Jody Call (drums, percussion). The album also includes several unreleased tracks by Watson.

The collection of his very unique and versatile music is quite impressive.

10. Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs

Maurice Williams (Front centre) and the zodiacs in 1960- Author; unknown-

Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs were an American doo-wop and R&B vocal group in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Originally known as the Royal Charms, the band changed its name to the Gladiolas in 1957 and the Excellos in 1958, before finally settling on the Zodiacs in 1959.

How they came up with the name zodiac is a bit funny. Williams had just finished high school and while on the road with the band, their station wagon broke down in Bluefield, West Virginia.  This is when they came across a British-built Ford car known as the Zodiac

William’s first experience with music was in the church, where his mother and sister both performed. By the time he was only six years old, Williams was performing regularly there.

In the spring of 1959, Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs performed at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. Around that time, the group split and reformed.

One month later, in the early summer of 1959, the band recorded in a Quonset Hut on Shakespeare Road in Columbia.

The recording engineer, Homer Fesperman, recorded several tracks that the band had hoped would include a hit.

One of the last tracks that they recorded that day was “Stay,” a song that Williams had written a couple of weeks before. Williams sang lead and Henry Gaston sang the counter-verse falsetto.