North Florida Music Hall of Fame

Jacksonville “quiet-storm” R&B singer, real name Rosa Banks. Released one album on EMI-distributed Bellmark label (owned by former Stax CEO Al Bell), co-produced by Mama-do (Wiletta Smith). Now sings gospel exclusively.

Organist in late-1960s Sarasota band The Blues Messengers, which came to Jacksonville to become the Second Coming. Upon that group’s merger with the Allman Brothers, Wynans left to form Jacksonville trio Ugly Jellyroll with vocalist Gary Goddard. He later moved to Macon to rejoin former Second Coming guitarist Larry Reinhardt in Capricorn act Captain Beyond. [...]

Former lead singer of Jacksonville modern-rockers Crowsdell. Moved to NYC with that band after signing with Big Cat, a small British label distributed by Sony, in 1995. Upon Big Cat’s demise in 1998, the group foundered. Wright relocated to rural North Carolina, where she honed her songwriting skills, eventually landing a deal with Chicago indie [...]

Born Robert White, in 1915, in Lake City; Chubby Wise moved to Jacksonville at 15 to pursue a career as a fiddler. Landed a touring gig with the Jubilee Hillbillies, went on to tour with Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys; later worked with The York Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, Hank Snow, Red Allen, and the Stanley [...]

Pianist/vocalist/songwriter, born in Jacksonville in 1893; Wesley Wilson worked with Sidney Bechet, Fletcher Henderson, and Coot Grant; his songs have been performed by Billie Holiday, Lavern Baker, Dr. John, Louis Jordan, B.B. King Nina Simone, Diana Ross and others.

Born Otis Dewey Whitman in Tampa, yodeling Slim Whitman was already a top-rated country performer with 30 top-50 country singles and 19 gold albums when he bought a spread near Middleburg (southwest of Jacksonville, in Clay County) in 1957. Unbelievably huge in England, at one point he even surpassed the Beatles on the British charts. [...]

Native of DeLand, grad of Florida A&M University, Noble Watts was in the FAMU marching band with both Cannonball and Nat Adderly.  In the 1940s through the 1950s, he played tenor sax with Charles Brantley & the Honeydippers; pianist Ray Charles was also a member. Watts went on to work with such notables as Dinah [...]

Born 1917 in Jonesboro, Ark., Waterford started a career as a blues singer in Oklahoma City in 1936. He soon lit for Chicago, where he became a fixture on the Windy City blues scene.  Moved to Los Angeles in 1945, where he briefly worked alongside singer Jimmy Witherspoon in Jay McShann’s band, then returned to [...]

Jazz/R&B trumpeter; member of James Brown’s band for seven years; played on several JB hits. Teddy Washington also toured with B.B. King and as session player at TK Records in Miami. Led a house band at The Fontainbleu Hotel in Miami that included future members of KC & The Sunshine Band. Fronts his own smooth-jazz [...]

Short-lived Jacksonville Christian-rock band; released one album independently. Members included guitarist/vocalist Rocco Marshall, keyboardist Billy Powell (from Lynyrd Skynyrd), bassist Leon Wilkeson (also from Skynyrd) and drummer Mike Maple (later with Mark Farner). Also see Synergy.
Update – Rocco Marshall adds this comment
Appreciate the mention about Vision and thought I’d give just a little more info [...]

Born James Tennant in Jacksonville, Jimmy Velvet was a Paxon High student of Mae Axton’s; she arranged his appearances on Toby Dowdy’s McDuff Hayride TV show alongside fellow Axton protégé, Johnny Tillotson. Through Axton, Velvet became a friend of Elvis Presley’s and a collector of Presley memorabilia; he later founded the Elvis Museum. As a [...]

See Lynyrd Skynyrd.