The music of Florida has had many influences, and the state has influenced many genres and produced many musicians.

Indigenous music

Blues

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

artists from Florida include

Piedmont blues Piedmont blues (also known as East Coast, or Southeastern blues) refers primarily to a guitar style, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melo ...

singer and guitarist

Gabriel Brown Gabriel Brown (1910–1972) was an American Piedmont blues singer and guitarist. Biography Brown was born in Florida, probably in Gadsden County, and graduated from the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College. In 1934, he performed at the f ...

and saxophonist and blues shouter Buster Bennett.

Jazz

Bebop drummer Robert Thomas, Jr. and

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

drummer Panama Francis were born in Miami. Saxophonist Archie Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale. Trumpeter Fats Navarro was born in

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

. Bassist, cellist, and composer Sam Jones was born in Jacksonville. Alto saxophonist

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", whi ...

, his brother cornet and trumpet player Nat Adderley, of Tampa, and tenor saxophonist Junior Cook of Pensacola were active in the hard bop era. Multi-instrumentalist and composer Gigi Gryce and blues and jazz singer and pianist Ida Goodson were also born in Pensacola. Pianist and singer

Billie Pierce Wilhelmina Madison Goodson, known professionally as Billie Pierce (June 8, 1907 – September 29, 1974) was an American jazz pianist and singer, who performed and recorded with her husband De De Pierce. Her style has been described as a "pote ...

, of the Goodson Sisters, was born in Marianna. Trombonist Buster Cooper was born in St. Petersburg. Saxophonist Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis was born in Bradenton.

Doug Carn Doug Carn (born July 14, 1948) is an American jazz musician from St. Augustine, Florida, formerly married to Jean Carne and known for his several albums released for Black Jazz Records. Carn is a multi-instrumentalist known primarily for his wor ...

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afri ...

recorded several albums for

Black Jazz Records Black Jazz Records was a jazz record company and label founded in Oakland, California"Black ...

in the early 1970s. Trumpeter

Pete Minger Pete Minger (January 22, 1943 in Orangeburg, South Carolina – April 13, 2000 in Pompano Beach, Florida), born George Allen Minger, was an American bebop-based trumpeter. He also played flugelhorn. He came from a musical family with his moth ...

, a South Carolina native, moved to Florida where he played with drummer

William Peeples William T. Peeples (died 10 March 2004) was an American jazz drummer. After studying bebop drumming with Ed Blackwell and "Philly" Joe Jones, he served in Korea before joining Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – Jun ...

among others and studied music at University of Miami after working with Count Basie in the 1970s. Cuban jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer Arturo Sandoval has been active in Miami since 1990. Dean Dewberry 1950-90, Jazz (American Music) Hall of Fame concert pianist, born and raised in St. Petersburg, played locally with his wife Penny Parker Dewberry in night clubs, & played with such jazz musicians as Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Dave Brubeck, Eph Resnick, and Wild Bill Davidson. Later, after becoming Christians, both he and his wife created "Jazz For Jesus" and spent the rest of their working years uplifting inmates throughout the south east, doing normal & home co-ministry with friends Horace & Marilyn Ellsworth, ministers of Looking Unto Jesus Ministries, throughout Florida and south Georgia.

Country

Florida is the home of several notable country musicians and musical acts. Country singer Mel Tillis (d.2017) was born in Darby, a small rural community in

Pasco County Pasco County is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the 2020 census, the population was 561,691. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest city is Zephyrhills. The county is named after Samuel Pasco ...

. His daughter Pam Tillis, also a country music star, was born in nearby Plant City. Slim Whitman was born in Tampa and once played minor league baseball for the Plant City Berries. The Bellamy Brothers, a duet act that hit number one on the country charts several times before reaching #1 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot 100 chart with their cross-over hit " Let Your Love Flow" in 1976, also hail from Darby. Close friend Bobby Braddock, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame with multiple number ones to his credit, was born in Lakeland, in Polk County, and grew up in nearby Auburndale. Kent Lavoie, better known by his stage name,

Lobo Lobo may refer to: Places *Lobo, Batangas, a municipality in the Philippines *Lobo, Texas, a ghost town *Lobo, Indonesia *Lobo, Cameroon, a town in Cameroon *Lobo Hill, near Belchite, Aragon, Spain * Lobo, Ontario, near London, Ontario, Canada Pe ...

, hit Number Five on the ''

'' Pop chart in 1971 with the soft rock song "

Me and You and a Dog Named Boo "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo" is the 1971 debut single by Lobo. Written by Lobo under his real name Kent LaVoie, it appears on the '' Introducing Lobo'' album. Composition Lobo recalls: "I was working on several songs, including a tune abou ...

". He was born in Tallahassee and grew up in Winter Haven. While attending the University of South Florida, Lavoie formed a band called The Rumors with Jim Stafford and Gram Parsons. Parsons was born in Winter Haven and attended exclusive The Bolles School in Jacksonville. He had a central role in the rock-and-roll scene of the 1960s, being friends or collaborating on projects with notables from Mick Jagger to Linda Ronstadt to

Johnny "Guitar" Watson John Watson Jr. (February 3, 1935 – May 17, 1996), known professionally as Johnny "Guitar" Watson, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. A flamboyant showman and electric guitarist in the style of T-Bone Walker, his recording career ...

to the Kingston Trio. He tried to rescue Michelle Phillips by helicopter from the mayhem at the

Altamont Music Festival The Altamont Speedway Free Festival was a counterculture rock concert in the United States, held on Saturday, December 6, 1969, at the Altamont Speedway outside of Livermore, California. Approximately 300,000 attended the concert, and some an ...

in 1969. One of his songs is included in '' Gimme Shelter'', a documentary about the events at Altamont. Parsons was a member of The Byrds, and was also part of The Flying Burrito Brothers. Later, with some friends from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

University, he formed the folk/country band The

International Submarine Band The International Submarine Band (ISB) was a country-rock band formed by Gram Parsons in 1965, while a theology student at Harvard University and John Nuese, a guitar player for local rock group, The Trolls. Nuese is credited with having persu ...

. Still later he toured extensively with

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

before his death, at 26. Jim Stafford, born in Eloise, grew up in Winter Haven, was a prominent country performer in the 1970s. He had his own television show, ''The Jim Stafford Show'' in 1975, as well as co-hosting '' Those Amazing Animals'' with Burgess Meredith and Priscilla Presley, and making regular guest appearances on '' The Tonight Show'' and other programs. Jake Owen had a No. 4 album on the Billboard 200 in 2016.

Rock

Jim Morrison of the Doors was born in Melbourne, spent part of his childhood in Clearwater, and attended

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

for a few years Johnny Tillotson ("Poetry in Motion") was from Jacksonville. In the 1960s, Florida rock and roll and garage bands included The Outlaws and The Tropics and The Tempests and The Royal Guardsmen (" Snoopy vs. the Red Baron", #2 on the Hot 100 in 1966) were from

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

, Tampa, and Ocala, respectively. Another Jacksonville group was The Classics IV (" Traces", #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969). Guitarist Tom Petty (d.2017) was born, and grew up, in Gainesville. Most of the members of three bands he recorded with - The Epics, The Heartbreakers, and Mudcrutch - were also from Florida, mainly from in and around Gainesville and North Florida. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had 10 #1 songs on the Mainstream rock chart. Bands of the mid- to late-1990s with strong links to Florida include Tabitha's Secret the original band that later changed its name to Matchbox Twenty, who originate from Orlando, rock band

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

(had 4 #1 songs on the Mainstream Rock chart, from Tallahassee, ( Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti attended Florida State), and Sister Hazel from Gainesville. Alter Bridge (Creed minus Scott Stapp) from Orlando had a No. 5 album on the Billboard 200 with ''

One Day Remains ''One Day Remains'' is the debut studio album by the American hard rock band Alter Bridge, released on August 10, 2004, on Wind-up Records. The album was produced by Ben Grosse, making it the band's only album to not be produced by Michael "Elvi ...

'' in 2004. Usually associated with what has become known as the new wave of popular alternative music is

Chris Carrabba Christopher Ender Carrabba (born April 10, 1975) is the lead singer and guitarist of the band Dashboard Confessional, lead singer of the band Further Seems Forever, and is the vocalist for the folk band Twin Forks. Early life and education Born ...

and his band, Dashboard Confessional from

Boca Raton Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

. Dashboard had two No. 2 albums on the Billboard 200 in 2003 and 2006. Chris Carrabba graduated from Florida Atlantic University in Boca. His former band, Further Seems Forever, is also a popular indie rock band from Pompano Beach. The band

Saigon Kick Saigon Kick is an American hard rock band from Miami, Florida, that formed in 1988. When they recorded their debut album and second album the band consisted of lead vocalist Matt Kramer, lead guitarist Jason Bieler, bassist Tom Defile, and drum ...

from Coral Springs had a top 12 Billboard hit with " Love Is on the Way" in 1992. The band The Freddy Mitchell Euphoria was formed in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in the mid 1980's. Their albums were,

Above and Below ''Above and Below'' is an installation by American artist Maya Lin, the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It is on display at and owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. ...

1984, Fallen Moons 1998 and

Animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

2005. The band Shinedown was formed in Jacksonville, and their signature songs are considered to be " Second Chance" and "

Sound of Madness "Sound of Madness" is a single by American rock band Shinedown from their 2008 album '' The Sound of Madness'' and is also the album's title track, despite the exclusion of the word "the" in the song's title. The song was chosen to be the title tr ...

". They had a No. 4 album on the Billboard 200 with '' Amaryllis'' in 2012. Shinedown has had 12 #1 songs on the Mainstream Rock Chart in the 00s and 10s. The band Cold was formed in Jacksonville, and their signature song is considered to be " Stupid Girl". The band Matchbox 20 originally known as Tabitha's Secret formed in Orlando in 1993. They are known for the album Yourself or Someone Like You 1996 , which is certified 12 x platinum in the USA and their followup ( Mad Season) in 2000. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200. Matchbox 20 had 4 #1 songs on the Adult Top 40 chart in the late 90s and early 00s. Including the hit 3am which spent 10 weeks at #1 in the late 1990s. The band Yellowcard was formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1997 before moving out to Los Angeles. Christian alternative band Tenth Avenue North is based out of West Palm Beach. Jani Lane the original lead Vocalist for Warrant grew up in Winter Park. He later opened a club in downtown Orlando "Jani Lane's Sunset Strip". Todd LaTorre the current vocalist for Queensryche grew up in Tampa Bay/St.Pete. He also was the frontman of Crimson Glory.

Southern rock

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

, Jacksonville, (had a No. 5 album on the Billboard 200 with ''

Street Survivors ''Street Survivors'' is the fifth studio album by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on October 17, 1977. The LP is the last Skynyrd album recorded by original members Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins, and is the sole Skynyrd studio ...

'' in 1977) * Molly Hatchet, Jacksonville * The Allman Brothers Band, Daytona/Jacksonville (had a No. 1 Billboard 200 album with '' Brothers and Sisters'' in 1973) *

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

, Jacksonville *

Outlaws An outlaw is a person living outside the law. Outlaws or The Outlaws may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''The Outlaws'' (1950 film), an Italian crime film * ''Outlaws'' (1985 film), a French film * ''The Outlaws'' (2017 film), a Sou ...

, Tampa *

38 Special 38 Special may refer to: * .38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, cent ...

, Jacksonville (" Caught Up in You" in 1982) In the 1970s and early 1980s Jacksonville saw a very active music recording scene with Southern rock bands such as Molly Hatchet, The Allman Brothers Band,

, The Outlaws, and

. The Bellamy Brothers also recorded their style of country music in the mid to late 1970s. Florida musicians inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

include The Allman Brothers Band,

( Ronnie Van Zant is buried in a suburb of Jacksonville. His widow founded Freebird Live), and

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer S ...

. All of these lead singers are deceased.

R&B, soul, funk, disco

Henry Stone and his label TK Records supported the local indie scene in the 1970s. T. K. Records produced the R&B group

KC and the Sunshine Band KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "That's the Way (I Like It)", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "K ...

along with soul singers

Betty Wright Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s as a teena ...

, George McCrae, Gwen McCrae, Timmy Thomas, Little Beaver, Foxy, Peter Brown, and Jimmy "Bo" Horne as well as a number of soul and disco hits, many influenced by Caribbean music. KC & the Sunshine Band gained many hits such as "Get Down Tonight", That's the Way", "Shake Your Booty", "Keep It Comin' Love" and "Boogie Shoes". Family soul singing group

Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose was an American family soul singing group, from Dania Beach, Florida, United States. It was formed in 1970 and gained popularity in the early 1970s. It was composed of siblings Carter, Eddie, and Rose Cornelius, w ...

are from

Dania Dania is the edievalLatin name for Denmark (named for the Dani tribe). Dania may also refer to: * Dania Academy, usually referred to as Dania, a business academy with eight campuses in Denmark * Dania Beach, Florida, a city in Broward County * ...

. Soul singer Linda Lyndell was born in Gainesville. R&B artists Kirby Maurier was raised in Miami and

Miramar Miramar is a place name of Spanish and Portuguese origin. It means "sea-view" or "sea sight" from ''mirar'' ("to look at, to watch") and ''mar'' ("sea"). It may refer to: Places Africa * Miramar, Port Elizabeth, see St Dominic's Priory School ...

, Sammie is from Boynton Beach, Pleasure P is from Carver Raches, West Park, and Blackbear was born in

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...

Rock recording industry

In the 1960s,

was very active in the music recording industry. Mercy recorded a Jack Sigler, Jr. original entitled "

Love (Can Make You Happy) "Love (Can Make You Happy)" is a song written by Jack Sigler, Jr. and performed by Mercy. It reached #2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where "Get Back" by The Beatles kept it from the #1 spot. On other US charts, the song also peaked at #2 on '' ...

" at the old Charles Fuller Studio on MacDill Avenue in Tampa. The Royal Guardsmen recorded "Snoopy Vs The Red Baron" at this same studio. Many bands used Charles Fuller Studios for their 45 records. The Tropics, a Tampa/St. Petersburg-based band, recorded and released "I Want More" on the Knight label and "Time" on the Columbia label as a national act and many other regional hits. The Tempests, a St. Petersburg-based band, recorded and released "I Want You Only" and "I Want You To Know" on the Fuller label. The Miami recording industry in the 1970s with Criteria Studios, which produced the recordings '' Rumours'' by

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

and '' Hotel California'' by The Eagles.

Punk rock

Florida has experienced periods in which punk rock flourished. An active scene of original Punk bands flourished in the Tampa/St. Pete area in the late 1970s, including bands such as The Straight Jackets, The Shades, the Jackers, Just Boys, The Art Holes, The Stick Figures, A New Personality and the Veal Rifles. Based in Gainesville, Fort Lauderdale/Miami,

and other cities, hardcore punk gained a widespread following. One of the first bands in this style is believed to be Roach Motel of Gainesville, but The Eat, from Hialeah, had formed around 1978-79. Miami also was home to one of the first American punk bands to release an indie single, "Silver Screen" by Critical Mass, in 1978 and still in demand by collectors today. Rat Cafeteria, U-Boats (Tampa), Sector 4, Hated Youth, and Paisley Death Camp (all from Tallahassee), No Fraud (Venice), F (Fort Lauderdale), Morbid Opera ( Miami), and Crucial Truth ( Pompano Beach) also gained an audience and some had songs compiled on the album ''We Can't Help It If We're From Florida''. Hardcore bands from Orlando 1983-1989 included: Dissent, Damage (U.S.), Zyklon-B (U.S.), The Bully Boys, Florida's Unwanted Children, Sewer Side Rouges, Declared Ungovernable, Contradiction, The Damn Maniacs, and The Genitorturers. Mid 1980s era band Black Label featured future Rose Shadows bassist John Reece as well as future Bully Boys guitarist Rusty Penrose and John Stalzer on drums. Black Label was only the 2nd band to ever play at the Orlando concert venue Electric Avenue, the bands inaugural show brought in 981 people! A feat that would never again be accomplished by any local band at that venue. Black Label released one single, the rowdy and comical "Rootbeer For Everyone" a song that was in heavy rotation on Rollins College radio station WPRK which was hosted at the time by future Genitorturers front woman Jen. Gainesville and Jacksonville had very active punk scenes in the 1990s-2000s.

Less Than Jake Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. The band consists of Chris DeMakes (guitars, vocals), Roger Lima (bass, vocals), Matt Yonker (drums), Buddy Schaub (trombone), and Peter "JR" Wasilewski (saxoph ...

Against Me! Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida, by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. That same year, Grace moved to Gainesville, Florida, which is considered the band's hometown. Since 2001, the band's lineup ...

, and Hot Water Music are from Gainesville. Yellowcard, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Inspection 12, The Softer Side, and Evergreen Terrace are from Jacksonville. Mayday Parade and Stages & Stereos are from Tallahassee. Fake Problems are from Naples. Other Hardcore, Post-Hardcore, and Metalcore bands from Florida include: Against All Authority, Anberlin " Feel Good Drag" ( Stephen Christian graduated from UCF), Underoath (had a No. 2 Billboard 200 album in 2006) and The Almost, Combatwoundedveteran,

Poison the Well Poisoning the well (or to poison the well) is a logical fallacy. Poisoning the well may also refer to: *Well poisoning, the literal meaning of the phrase *"Poisoning the Well", a ''Stargate Atlantis'' episode *Poison the Well (band), a hardcore pu ...

, Assholeparade,

A Day to Remember A Day to Remember (often abbreviated ADTR, and previously known as End of an Era) is an American rock band from Ocala, Florida, founded in 2003 by guitarist Tom Denney and drummer Bobby Scruggs. They are known for their amalgamation of meta ...

from Ocala (had a No. 2 Billboard 200 album in 2016), Sleeping With Sirens (had a No. 3 Billboard 200 album in 2013) and There for Tomorrow are from Orlando, and Shai Hulud. New Found Glory, formed in Coral Springs, had a no. 3 album on the Billboard 200 in 2004.

Indie rock

Indie bands Mortimer Nova, Surfer Blood,

Iron & Wine Samuel "Sam" Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a l ...

(had a No. 2 album on Billboard 200 in 2011), Copeland, The Drums, and The Generators are from Florida, as well as Fake Problems from Naples. Post-rock band, Windsor for the Derby was formed in Tampa. Another famous indie artist from Florida is Hanukah Harry, famous for his song

Dreidel A dreidel, also dreidle or dreidl ( ; yi, דרײדל, dreydl, plural: ''dreydlech''; he, סביבון, sevivon) is a four-sided spinning top, played during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The dreidel is a Jewish variant on the teetotum, a gamb ...

with the iconic six-part harmony.

Heavy metal

Florida was the epicentre of the emerging

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

genre in the late 1980s, particularly in the Tampa Bay area. Shaped by the producers Scott Burns and Jim and Tim Morris of Morrisound Recording, this emergent Florida death metal scene produced artists such as Death, Morbid Angel, Deicide,

Obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

Atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, Hate Eternal, Monstrosity, Assück, Nocturnus, Nasty Savage, and Acheron. The recording and commercial opportunities of the scene induced non-Floridian bands such as

Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1988, now based out of Tampa, Florida. The band has released fifteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radi ...

and Malevolent Creation to relocate to Tampa. Records produced at Morrisound include Deicide's debut album, '' Deicide'', Morbid Angel's debut album '' Altars of Madness'', '' Scream Bloody Gore'' from Death, as well as many other death metal albums. Tampa is also the birthplace of

Symphonic power metal Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...

band Kamelot and Power Metal band Iced Earth. Fort Lauderdale has produced a few metal bands as well, such as

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

, Monstrosity,

Kult ov Azazel Kult ov Azazel is an American black metal band, briefly known as Azazel. History Formed by Xaphan and Xul in 1998, under the name of Azazel, the band released a promo entitled "Forever Heaven Gone" and a MCD entitled "Order of the Fly" in 1999 ...

, and

Nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

act Nonpoint. Progressive death metal act Cynic, come from Miami as well as

Hibernus Mortis Hibernus Mortis is a band started in December, 1995 by Cesar Placeres and Ralf Varela. The band took its name from the ancient Latin translation for "Dead Winter" (''mortuus hiemis''). Starting out, the South Florida band's primary goal was to ...

and I Set My Friends on Fire.

, the band generally agreed to have created the melodic metalcore subgenre, a type of metalcore inspired by melodic death metal, is also from Miami. Orlando is the home of the bands Death, Skrape, and Trivium. Creed is also from Orlando. Mark Tremonti of Creed went on to found AlterBridge. Savatage is from the city of Tarpon Springs. Singer Jon Oliva went on to create the Trans-Siberian Orchestra from Tampa.

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

is from Jacksonville. Wage War and

We Are Defiance We Are Defiance is an American metalcore band from Ocala, Florida, United States. Founded in 2009 by former Sleeping with Sirens and Paddock Park singer Brian Calzini, the band released their only album, '' Trust in Few'', in early 2011 on Tragi ...

are a metalcore band based out of Ocala.

Pop

Backstreet Boys, '

N Sync NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to European ...

, and O-Town (who had a No. 5 album on the ''Billboard 200'' in 2001) were all formed in Orlando and managed by Lou Pearlman. Singer and actress Mandy Moore is from Orlando, while Aaron Carter (d. 2022) was from Tampa. Carter had a No. 4 album on Billboard 200 in 2000. Also from Florida,

Exposé Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website Film and TV Film * ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film * ''Exposed'' (1932 ...

from the late 1980s (who had a No. 1 Hot 100 hit with " Seasons Change"),

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

from

, and the girl group Fifth Harmony (with Camila Cabello who went solo) from Miami who had a No. 4 album on the Billboard 200 with '' 7/27'' in 2016. In the 1970s,

had five No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits including the 1975 disco song " Get Down Tonight". In 1988, Terence Trent D'Arby from Orlando had a No. 1 Hot 100 hit with " Wishing Well". In 1990, Vanilla Ice had a No. 1 Hot 100 hit with " Ice Ice Baby", and Stevie B had a No. 1 Hot 100 hit with " Because I Love You (The Postman Song)". In the 2000s, both Rob Thomas- (" Smooth" ft. Santana in 2000) and Matchbox 20- ("

Bent Bent may refer to: Places * Bent, Iran, a city in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran * Bent District, an administrative subdivision of Iran * Bent, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Rijnwoude, the Netherlands * Bent County, Colo ...

"),

- ("

With Arms Wide Open "With Arms Wide Open" is a song by American rock band Creed. It was released on April 18, 2000, as the third single from their second studio album, ''Human Clay''. The song reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 2000, be ...

"), N'SYNC- (" It's Gonna Be Me"),

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...

"The King of Latin Pop"- (two No. 1s such as "

Be With You Be with You may refer to: Film and TV * ''Be with You'' (2004 film), a Japanese romantic fantasy film * ''Be with You'' (2018 film), a South Korean film * ''Be with You'' (TV series), a 2015 Taiwanese television series Music * ''Be with You'' ...

" in 2000; he attended the University of Miami), T-Pain- (two No. 1s including " Buy U a Drank" in 2007),

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single " Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital dow ...

- (three No. 1s like"

Low Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...

" ft. T-Pain),

Sean Kingston Kisean Paul Anderson (born February 3, 1990), better known by his stage name Sean Kingston, is an American-Jamaican singer and rapper. He is known for his hit songs " Beautiful Girls", "Fire Burning", " Take You There", and his collaboration wit ...

- (" Beautiful Girls" in 2007), and

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer and songwriter.

- (" Whatcha Say" in 2009) all had a No. 1 Hot 100 hit. In the 2010s, Miami's Cuban-American

Pitbull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

has had two No. 1 hits: "

Give Me Everything "Give Me Everything" is a song by American rapper and singer Pitbull featuring Dutch DJ Afrojack & fellow American singers Ne-Yo and Nayer. Written by the former three and produced by Afrojack, it was released on March 18 2011, through Polo Grou ...

" in 2011 and " Timber". Cuban born Camila Cabello has had 2 #1 hits like in 2018 with " Havana". The late XXXTentacion had a number one hit with " Sad!" in 2018. In addition, Florida musicians with a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 include

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...

with '' License to Chill''; bands

with '' Hypnotic Eye'' (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers also had 2 #2 albums like '' Damn the Torpedoes'' in 1979),

with 2,

with two such as '' Significant Other'' in 1999, Backstreet Boys with three No. 1 albums such as '' Millennium'' in 1999, R&B/hip hop group Pretty Ricky with 1 in 2007, rapper

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...

with five No. 1 albums including '' Port of Miami'' in 2006, R&B/pop singer

with five including '' My Everything'' in 2014 (she has also had 6 #1 Hot 100 songs like " Thank U, Next" in 2018), bro-country duo Florida Georgia Line with 1 in 2014, rapper DJ Khaled with four such as '' Major Key'' in 2016, and rapper Kodak Black in 2018. Additional musicians from Florida include pop punk band We the Kings (" Check Yes Juliet" from 2008) from the Sarasota area, post-grunge band Seven Mary Three ("

Cumbersome "Cumbersome" is a song by American rock band Seven Mary Three and the lead single from their breakthrough album, '' American Standard'' (1995). It was originally included on their independently released debut, ''Churn'', in 1994. The single was r ...

" 1996) from Orlando, Christian rock band Casting Crowns (''

Come to the Well ''Come to the Well'' is the fifth studio album by American contemporary Christian band Casting Crowns, released on October 18, 2011, through Beach Street and Reunion Records. The album, which has a predominantly pop rock and rock sound, was base ...

'' 2011) from Daytona Beach, soft rock singer

Bertie Higgins Elbert Joseph "Bertie" Higgins (born December 8, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter. In 1982, Higgins had a top 40 album with '' Just Another Day in Paradise''. It spawned the hit song "Key Largo", which referenced the Humphrey Bogart and ...

(" Key Largo" 1981); eclecto-pop singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Meresha; country singer

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

Seminole Wind ''For the song see Seminole Wind (song)'' ''Seminole Wind'' is the twelfth studio album by American country music artist John Anderson, released on February 11, 1992. This is also known as his comeback album. It features the singles: "Who Got ...

" 1992) from the Orlando area; country pop singer Cassadee Pope from West Palm Beach and neotraditional country singer Easton Corbin (" A Little More Country Than That" 2010) from the Gainesville area; pop rapper LunchMoney Lewis (" Bills" 2015) from Miami, rapper Kent Jones (" Don't Mind" 2016) from Miami, female trap rapper Bhad Bhabie (" Hi Bich" 2017), r&b singer Blackbear ("

Hot Girl Bummer "Hot Girl Bummer" (stylized in lowercase) is a song by American recording artist Blackbear, released as a single through Beartrap on August 23, 2019, as the lead single from his fifth studio album ''Everything Means Nothing''. It reached number ...

" 2020) from Daytona Beach, Miami bass and hip hop group

69 Boyz 69 Boyz is an American Miami bass and hip hop duo: Van "Thrill Da Playa" Bryant, from Jacksonville, Florida, and Barry "Fast" Wright, from Orlando, Florida, United States. The group was initiated by Thrill Da Playa with the assistance of produc ...

(" Tootsee Roll" 1994) from Jacksonville; Miami bass and dance group Quad City DJs (" C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" 1996) from Jacksonville, rap rocker Kevin Rudolf (" Let It Rock" 2008) from Miami, EDM and trap DJ

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD with ...

(also in Major Lazer and Jack Ü) ("

Elastic Heart "Elastic Heart" is a song written by Australian singer Sia, featuring Canadian singer the Weeknd and American record producer Diplo, for the soundtrack of '' The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'', a film based on the novel of the same name by Su ...

" 2015) from Miami; early 2000s girl group P.Y.T. from Tampa, and dance-pop singer Willa Ford ("

I Wanna Be Bad "I Wanna Be Bad" is a song by American singer Willa Ford from her first studio album, ''Willa Was Here'' (2001). The song features a guest appearance from rapper Royce da 5'9". Ford wrote it alongside Brian Kierulf and Josh Schwartz, who both h ...

" 2001) from the Tampa area.

Latin music

There are many Latinos in Florida, and an especially high number of Cubans in cities such as Miami and Tampa. The regional Latin music industry includes a wide variety of traditional and popular Cuban styles, as well as other

Latin music genres Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. The Cuban community has produced traditional performers including Cachao and

Israel Kantor Israel Kantor, also known as Israel Sardinas, Wilfredo Israel Sardinas, and Wilfredo Israel Sardiñas Domínguez, (16 October 1949 – 1 July 2006) was a Cuban-born musician and composer who later lived and worked in the United States. Born 1949 in ...

, as well as mainstream pop stars such as

Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been ...

"the Queen of Latin Pop". In the 1980s,

and Miami Sound Machine had 3 No. 1 Hot 100 hits, including " Anything for You". Estefan graduated from the University of Miami in 1979. Estefan is the most famous musician to come from the Miami pop industry; others include

Willie Chirino Willy Chirino (born April 5, 1947, in Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Río, Cuba) is a Cuban-American musician. Early life Following the communist revolution in Cuba, Chirino came to the United States in 1960 as part of Operation Peter Pan ...

and

Albita Rodríguez Albita Rodríguez (born 6 June 1962 in Havana, Cuba), known in her music career simply as Albita, is a Grammy-winning Cuban singer, producer and composer. Albita was born in Havana, Cuba. Her parents, Martín Rodríguez and Minerva Herrera ...

. In 2017, the music video for " Despacito" by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee reached over a billion views in under 3 months. As of December 2020, the music video is the second most viewed YouTube video of all-time. With its 3.3 million certified sales plus track-equivalent streams, "Despacito" became one of the best-selling Latin singles in the United States. Reggaeton artist Bad Bunny released X 100pre in that one year later that in which in 2020 the album was ranked number 447 on Rolling Stone's

500 Greatest Albums of All Time * Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time * NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a 2013 special issue of British magazine '' NME'', available digitally or in newsstands on October 23. The li ...

list.

Miami bass

Miami bass is a booming, bass-heavy hip hop music that developed in the mid-1980s in Miami. Innovators on the scene included DJ Laz, while the scene eventually gained prominence through the Miami Bass group Luther Campbell's (" Raise the Roof (Luke song)")

2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop music, hip hop group from Miami, Florida, which had its greatest commercial success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The group's most well-known line up was composed of Luther Campbell, Luke Campbell, Fr ...

. The lyrics to Miami bass were often sexually explicit, and when 2 Live Crew began to achieve national attention, the words to their songs caused a controversy after several stores were prosecuted under

obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be use ...

laws for selling the disc, and members of 2 Live Crew were arrested for performing songs from the album '' Nasty As They Wanna Be''.

Floridian rap/hip hop

Floridian rappers include Trick Daddy (" Let's Go"), Kodak Black,

Wifisfuneral Isaiah Rivera (born March 20, 1997), professionally known as Wifisfuneral, is an American rapper from West Palm Beach, Florida. He is best known for his breakthrough mixtapes ''Black Heart Revenge'', ''When Hell Falls'', ''Ethernet'' and ''Boy W ...

, Ski Mask the Slump God, XXXTentacion,

Celph Titled Victor Mercer (born November 16, 1980), better known by his stage name Celph Titled, is an American rapper and record producer who is a member of the hip hop supergroup Army of the Pharaohs, as well as the Demigodz along with Connecticut rapper ...

, Lil Pump,

Smokepurpp Omar Jeffery Pineiro (born May 15, 1997), known professionally as Smokepurpp, is an American rapper. Originally a record producer, Pineiro later found success on the audio distribution platform SoundCloud in 2017 from his surge in popularity due ...

, SpaceGhostPurrp, Denzel Curry,

, Ace Hood, Plies (" Hypnotized"), Trina , Rod Wave, Cool & Dre,

, Jacki-O, Stack$, T-Pain,

stic.man Khnum Muata Ibomu (born Clayton Gavin, March 6, 1974), better known by his stage name stic.man and more recently as stic, is an American rapper, activist and author known for his work as one half of the political hip hop duo dead prez with M-1. ...

, Dead Prez,

, Ghostemane, YNW Melly and M-1. Nappy Boy Entertainment is a record label founded by T-Pain in Tallahassee. Valholla Entertainment is a Miami-based label and management company. Raider Klan was a hip hop collective formed in Carol City in 2008 by SpaceGhostPurrp, Dough Dough Da Don, Kadafi, Muney Junior and Jitt. They were one of the first rap collectives to integrate the style of early- Three 6 Mafia into their music, a pattern subsequently embraced throughout the hip hop scene, namely in the form of ASAP Mob and Drake. Raider Klan members and affiliates Denzel Curry, Chris Travis, Xavier Wulf and Bones pioneered the Soundcloud rap movement. Subsequent Florida rappers XXXTentacion, Ski Mask the Slump God, Lil Pump Lil Yachty,

and

brought SoundCloud rap to the mainstream in the mid-to-late-2010s. During this period, XXXTentaxion helped to define the sound of emo rap, while Ghostemane became a flagbearer for trap metal. XXXTentacion was killed in Broward county in 2018 at age 20 after attempting to purchase a motorcycle.

Florida breaks

Florida breaks is a genre of

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK ...

music originating in the 1990s in the state of Florida. It is particularly popular in the

and Orlando areas.

Dance music

Floridian dance music has included

Jimmy Bo Horne Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

and

KC and The Sunshine Band KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "That's the Way (I Like It)", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "K ...

. In 1985, the Winter Music Conference, an annual week-long dance music festival, started in Miami. It coincides with Ultra Music Festival. Music from the 1990s included Murk aka Funky Green Dogs, Planet Soul, No Mercy, and DJ Robbie Rivera.

References

{{Florida, collapsed Florida Florida