At School of Rock, we are dedicated to enriching lives through performance-based music education. An important component of that education is to make our students aware of the countless individuals who have contributed to our favorite music. Rock music’s roots can be found in many genres, but particularly in blues, jazz, and gospel music. These styles originated in predominantly Black communities and were played predominantly by Black artists. School of Rock is proud to recognize and celebrate some of the most influential Black musicians to contemporary music, especially rock, over the last century.

We have created a handful of musician spotlight articles, each covering 10 different individuals, for a total of 50 artists. While we acknowledge that this list is far from complete, we hope it will serve as a useful resource for musicians and music lovers everywhere.

In addition to this list, we are also adding 75 more songs that were performed by Black artists or predominantly Black groups to our proprietary curriculum. This will ensure that all of our students are given the opportunity to study and perform the music of these incredible artists.

This list and these spotlight articles were developed and co-written by a dedicated and passionate group of instructors and staff members from our very own schools. School of Rock would like to thank the following individuals for their contributions: