Greg Abate

Greg Abate started his musical education studying the clarinet and alto sax in Woonsocket Public Schools before enrolling at the Berklee College of Music.

Upon graduating, he played lead alto with Ray Charles for 2 years in the mid 1970s before returning to Rhode Island to start his own career.

In 1981, he formed the fusion band Channel One and released his first album "Without Boundaries."

Abate's 2002 album "Evolution" and his 2014 album "Motif" both placed high on the jazz charts.

Abate is currently an adjunct professor of Jazz Studies at Rhode Island College and conducts master classes and workshops throughout the United States and Rhode Island.

Abate's latest album "Kindred Spirits" was recorded live at Chan's in Woonsocket.

Frankie Carle (1903-2001)

Carle is considered one of the most successful artists i n Rhode Island music history. He wrote "Sunrise Serenade," as a composer for Glenn Miller in 1939 and as a musician he was the featured pianist for Horace Heidt in the 1940s.

From 1944 until the end of the decade, Carle totaled 23 chart records, including two #1 hits in 1946.

He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for recording 1960 and was inducted into the Big Band & Jazz Hall o Fame inn 1989.

Frankie Carle is pictured center left.

PHOTO: Wikipedia

Bill Harley

Harley began performing in 1975, launching his career as a children's performer from Providence in 1980. In 1984, Bill and his wife created Round River Records to release Bill's first album "Monsters in The Bathroom."

Over the next three decades, Harley released three dozen best selling albums and won two Grammy Awards, the first in 2007 and the second in 2009.

In 2010, Harley was the recipient of the Rhode Island Humanities Council Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2015 received an Honorary Degree from Hamilton College.

PHOTO: Stonington Farmers Market

Carl Henry (1920-1986)

Carl Henry was the disc jockey who helped introduce Rhode Island to Rock 'n' Roll in the 1950s.

From 1952 until the end of the decade, Harley's radio shows on WRIB and WPAW exposed the sounds of Rhythm & Blues to everyone who listened .

Carl owned a record shop in Providence, "Carl's Diggins" from 1952 to 1985 while also serving a s concert promoter, bringing The Rolling Stones to Loew's State Theatre in 1964.

Carol Sloane

Sloane is a jazz vocalist who grew up in Smithfield and began her career by singing with Rhode island society band leader Ed Drew in 1951.

In the late 50s, she received national attention when she joined the orchestra of Larry Elgart,  who she recorded with for RCA Victor.

After a performance at the Newport Jazz Festival, Columbia records signed her and she recorded an album a few months later, "Out of The Blue." The album launched her solo career, which has continued for almost six decades.

Sugar Ray & The Bluetones

Raymond "Sugar Ray" Norcia is a well known, award winning blues vocalist, harmonica player and band leader.

He started his careers in Connecticut and Westerly Ri in the 70's and moved to Rhode Island in 1979 and formed The Bluetones.

The ban had success in the 80s, culminating in two national released for Rounder Records in 1989 and 1991.

After a break in which Ray joined Roomful of Blues, with whom he record  the Grammy nominated "Turn it on, Turn it up" in 1996, Ray came back to the Bluetones in 1998 to recored a series of albums.

The band celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2014.

Richard Walton (1928-2012)

Walton grew up in Providence and graduated from Brown in 1951, wrote for the Providence Journal and broadcast as a jazz disc jockey on WICE interview music starts like Louis Armstrong.

From 1955 to 1967, Walton worked in New York City as a reporter and a broadcaster, before moving back to Rhode Island in 1981 and becoming involved in Stone Soup Coffeehouse.

Walton became the first president of the Stone soup Folk Arts Foundation, which he held for 15 years, hosting and MCing every show.

Walton wrote a total of 12 books in his career while also teaching a college class.

The Fabulous Motels/ The Young Adults/ Rudy Cheeks

The Fabulous Motels and The Young Adults helped define the rock music scene in Rhode Island in the 1970s and both of those bands featured sing/songwriter Bruce "Rudy Cheeks" McCrae.

The Motels formed in 1970 performed their unique blend of music and comedy at colleges and underground clubs throughout the Northeast and New York. However, the group disbanded in 1973 when no record deal came.

McCrae then formed The Young Adults in 1975, however they broke up in 1979 after enjoying success with their indie single "Complex World."

Rudy Cheeks has since worked as a newspaper columnist, talk show personality and host of a musical comedy television show.