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Famous Detroiters
People who were born here, moved here or built their careers in Detroit: musicians, carmakers, athletes, writers, inventors, civil-rights leaders and a few notorious names. With their dates, their Detroit story and the places where they lived, worked and played, closed ones included.
- 1,940 famous people
- 270 Detroit places
- 22 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
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Music · born 1941Otis Williamssinger, founder of the TemptationsFounder and last original member of the Temptations, who grew up in Detroit and built the group out of the city's teenage vocal scene.
Music · 1939–1973Paul Williamssinger, choreographerFounding member and original lead singer of the Temptations, who also devised the group's early dance routines; he died in Detroit in 1973.
Music · 1956–2012Bob BirchbassistDetroit-born, Wayne State–trained bassist who played in Elton John's band for two decades.
Music · 1952–2025Carl Carltonsinger, songwriterDetroit-born soul and funk singer who started as "Little" Carl Carlton and later scored "Everlasting Love" (1974) and "She's a Bad Mama Jama" (1981).
Film & TV · 1931–2007Laura Devonactress, singerChicago-born actress raised partly in Grosse Pointe, who learned to act at Wayne State and was discovered in 1961 singing at Detroit's London Chop House.
Music · 1952–2010Doug Fiegersinger, guitarist, songwriterDetroit-born, Oak Park-raised frontman of the Knack, who co-wrote and sang “My Sharona,” the biggest U.S. hit of 1979.
Music · 1909–1995Josef Gingoldviolinist, teacherViolinist and legendary teacher who was concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony in the mid-1940s, between Toscanini's NBC Symphony and George Szell's Cleveland Orchestra.
Music · 1918–1979Eddie Jeffersonjazz singer, lyricistPioneer of vocalese, the art of setting lyrics to jazz solos, who was shot and killed outside Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit in 1979.
Music · born 1988Maejorrecord producer, singer, rapperSouthfield-born producer and singer who scored his first gold record while a University of Michigan student and later wrote and produced for Justin Bieber.
Music · born 1939Charles McPhersonjazz alto saxophonist, composerDetroit-raised alto saxophonist, a student of Barry Harris, who spent much of 1960–1974 with Charles Mingus and played Charlie Parker's music for Clint Eastwood's film Bird.
Business & brands · born 1971Paul Rosenbergtalent manager, record executive, former entertainment lawyerDetroit-born lawyer turned manager who guided Eminem from the local scene to world fame, co-founded Shady Records and later ran Def Jam.
Music · 1926–1978Frank Rosolinojazz trombonist, singerDetroit-born trombonist, a Cass Tech alumnus, who became a star of West Coast jazz with Stan Kenton and the Lighthouse All-Stars and wrote the standard "Blue Daniel".
Music · born 1987Kierra Sheardsinger, songwriter, evangelistDetroit-born gospel singer, daughter of Karen Clark Sheard and granddaughter of Mattie Moss Clark, with five No. 1 gospel albums.
Music · 1931–1995Junior Walkersaxophonist, singer, bandleaderSaxophonist whose Jr. Walker & the All Stars recorded "Shotgun" and "What Does It Take" for Motown's Soul label.
Music · 1898–1986Sippie Wallaceblues singer, pianist, songwriter, church organist1920s classic-blues star who moved to Detroit in 1929, served a Detroit church as organist for some 40 years, and returned to the stage in the 1960s.
Music · born 1985Laurel Haloelectronic musician, composerAnn Arbor-born electronic composer whose Detroit-influenced experiments, beginning with the Wire's 2012 album of the year Quarantine, made her a leading figure in experimental music.
Music · born 1953Earl Klughacoustic guitarist, composerDetroit-born acoustic guitarist, discovered as a teenager by Yusef Lateef, who learned at Baker's Keyboard Lounge and won a Grammy with Bob James.
Music · born 1991Dej Loafrapper, singer, songwriterEast-side Detroit rapper and singer whose soft-spoken 2014 hit “Try Me” made her one of the first Detroit women in hip-hop to break nationally in the streaming era.
Music · 1930–2009Eddie Lockejazz drummerDetroit-born drummer of the Bop & Locke act who became Coleman Hawkins's and Roy Eldridge's drummer and appears in the photograph A Great Day in Harlem.
Press & broadcasting · 1950–2026Dave Marshrock critic, editor, author, radio hostPontiac-born rock critic who left Wayne State in 1969 to help build Creem, Detroit's irreverent rock magazine, before becoming a Rolling Stone editor and Springsteen biographer.
Music · 1948–1994Fred "Sonic" Smithguitarist, songwriterMC5 guitarist who led Sonic's Rendezvous Band, met Patti Smith at Detroit's Lafayette Coney Island in 1976, and spent his life in metro Detroit.
Music · born 1975Colin Stetsonsaxophonist, multi-reedist, composerAnn Arbor–born saxophonist, trained at the University of Michigan, known for circular-breathing solo records and work with Arcade Fire and Bon Iver.
Music · 1944–1991Rob TynersingerDetroit-born lead singer of the MC5, whose incendiary live album Kick Out the Jams was recorded at the Grande Ballroom in October 1968.
Music · born 1962BeBe Winanssinger, songwriter, producerDetroit-born gospel and R&B singer, half of the duo BeBe & CeCe Winans, and a close friend of Whitney Houston.
Music · born 2000BabyTronrapper, songwriterYpsilanti rapper of the ShittyBoyz whose joke-dense, pop-culture-packed bars made him a breakout star of the Detroit rap scene and an Eminem collaborator.
Music · 1938–2005Roy Brooksjazz drummer, percussionist, bandleaderDetroit drummer who played on Horace Silver's Song for My Father, joined Max Roach's M'Boom, and after returning home in 1975 became a pillar and teacher of the city's jazz scene.
Music · 1918–2005Sixten Ehrlingconductor, pianistSwedish conductor who led the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1963 to 1973, premiered 24 works with it and helped found its summer festival at Meadow Brook.
Music · born 1948Steve HunterguitaristGuitarist who drove eight hours to audition for Mitch Ryder's band Detroit, a move that launched his career with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper and producer Bob Ezrin.
Music · born 1972Violent Jrapper, record label co-founder, wrestling promoterCo-founder of Insane Clown Posse and Psychopathic Records, the face-painted horrorcore act that built a national cult following out of metro Detroit.
Music · born 1940Bennie Maupinjazz saxophonist, bass clarinetist, flutistDetroit-born reed player whose bass clarinet is heard on Miles Davis's Bitches Brew and in Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi and Headhunters bands.
Music · 1949–2022Barbara Morrisonjazz and blues singer, educatorYpsilanti-born, Romulus-raised jazz and blues singer who first sang on Detroit radio at ten and became a mainstay of the Los Angeles jazz scene.
Music · 1942–2002Barbara Randolphsinger, actressDetroit-born singer and actress, adopted by actress Lillian Randolph, who recorded the northern soul favorite "I Got a Feeling" for Motown and toured with Marvin Gaye.
Music · born 1934Roger ReynoldscomposerDetroit-born composer, trained first as an engineer, who pioneered computer and spatial music and won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Whispers Out of Time.
Music · 1940–2013Bobby Rogerssinger, songwriterDetroit-born founding member of the Miracles (1956–2013) who co-wrote the Temptations' first hit, "The Way You Do the Things You Do".The lexicon keeps growing. Every entry lists its sources at the bottom. Dates were checked against Wikidata and Wikipedia. The texts are our own. Famous people's places among the sights ↗