1937), Grammy Award-winning singer (Asheville) Ben Folds (born 1966), singer-songwriter (Winston-Salem and Chapel Hill) Audley Freed guitarist, songwriter Nnenna Freelon (born 1964), six-time Grammy-nominated jazz singer (Durham) Blind Boy Fuller (1908–1941), blues guitarist and singer (Wadesboro) Alfreda Gerald, opera singer and classical soloist (Morganton) Don Gibson (1928–2003), country music singer-songwriter, Country Music Hall of Fame (Shelby) Rhiannon Giddens (born 1977), singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops (Greensboro) Cordae (born 1997), rapper (Raleigh) H–Z Anthony Hamilton (born 1985), soul artist (Charlotte) George Hamilton IV (1937–2014), country singer (Winston-Salem) Wilbert Harrison (1929–1994), singer, pianist (Charlotte) Warren Haynes (born 1960), Southern rock and blues singer, guitarist for Gov't Mule and The Allman Brothers Band (Asheville) Jimmy Herring (born 1962), guitarist for Widespread Panic (Fayetteville) Byron Hill (born 1952), country songwriter (Winston-Salem) Michael Houser (1962–2002), guitarist, founding member of Widespread Panic (Boone) Maria Howell (born 1962), singer (Gastonia) Stonewall Jackson (born 1932), country singer and musician (Tabor City) Caleb Johnson (born 1991), singer and American Idol Season 13 winner (Asheville) Randy Jones (born 1953), singer of Village People (Raleigh) "K-Ci" and "JoJo" Hailey (born 1969 and 1971 respectively), R&B duo of R&B group Jodeci (Charlotte) Hal Kemp (1904–1940), bandleader, composer, arranger with two number one songs (Chapel Hill) Cheyenne Kimball (born 1990), singer-songwriter, guitarist, mandolinist (Wilmington) Ben E. King (1938–2015), singer-songwriter (Henderson) Jim Lauderdale (born 1957), bluegrass and country singer-songwriter (Troutman) Dennis Lee (born 1988), singer-songwriter (Winston-Salem and Raleigh) Del McCoury (born 1939), bluegrass musician (Bakersville) Scotty McCreery (born 1993), country singer and American Idol Season 10 winner (Garner) Tift Merritt (born 1975), singer-songwriter, musician (Raleigh) Ronnie Milsap (born 1946), country singer-songwriter (Robbinsville) Dave Moody (born 1962), Dove Award-winning producer, songwriter, filmmaker (Fayetteville) Thelonious Monk (1917–1982), jazz composer, pianist (Rocky Mount) The-Dream, real name Terius Nash, R&B singer, writer, producer (Rockingham) Oliver (born William Oliver Swofford) (1945–2000), singer (North Wilkesboro) Petey Pablo (born 1978), rap artist (Greenville) Maceo Parker (born 1943), songwriter, musician (Kinston) Kellie Pickler (born 1986), singer, American Idol contestant (Albemarle) Joseph Poole (born 1976), rock musician (Charlotte) Neil Pope (born 1978), gospel singer (Asheboro) Edward Wiley Ray (born 1926), music executive, songwriter (Franklin) Del Reeves (1934–2007), country singer-songwriter (Sparta) Calvin Richardson (born 1976), R&B singer-songwriter (Monroe, Union County) Max Roach (1924–2007), jazz drummer (Pasquotank County) Porter Robinson (born 1992), electronic dance musician (Chapel Hill) Earl Scruggs (1924–2012), bluegrass banjo player (Shelby) William Self (1906–1998), organist and choirmaster (Lenoir) Woody