The Best Musical Artists From Ohio
Here are the best artists and bands from Ohio. Cleveland, Ohio is pretty much the rock capital of the United States as it is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well as the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. Plenty of musicians who got their start in Ohio have been inducted into these prestigious organizations, including The Isley Brothers, The Moonglows, and Bobby Womack. However, these acts only scratch the surface of what Ohio has produced over the last century. Numerous famous musical artists from Ohio have gone on to dominate the music scene around the world.
Any country fans will already know that Dwight Yoakam is originally from Columbus. Rock fans also have a claim to fame in the state. Some huge acts in the genre, such as Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, and Twenty One Pilots were born and raised around Ohio. This isn't even getting into all the blues, pop, hip hop, and electronic acts that grew up around the Buckeye State. Other popular Ohio artists and groups include John Legend, Dave Grohl, Kid Cudi, and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.
Vote up the best Ohio artists, and feel free to add any other musicians, rappers, singers, and bands with Ohio roots.
- 1Stride, Jazz
- Albums: The Tatum Group Masterpieces, The Discovery of Jazz, The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Volume 3, Body and Soul
Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist. Tatum grew up in Toledo, Ohio, where he began playing professionally and had his own radio program, rebroadcast ...more - Dark ambient, Industrial metal, Electronic music
- Albums: The Downward Spiral, The Fragile, With Teeth, Pretty Hate Machine, Year Zero
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in 1988 in Cleveland, Ohio. Singer, producer and instrumentalist Trent Reznor was the only ...more - Blues-rock, Punk blues, Rock music
- Albums: Rubber Factory, Attack & Release, Brothers, El Camino, The Big Come Up
The Black Keys is an American rock band formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording ...more - Adult contemporary music, Quiet storm, Smooth jazz
- Albums: Rapture, Christmas Fantasy, Giving You the Best That I Got, Compositions, A Night of Rapture: Live
Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. Starting her career in the late 1970s with the funk band Chapter 8, Baker released her first solo album, The Songstress, ...more - 5
The O'Jays
R&B- Albums: Back Stabbers, Family Reunion, Message in the Music
- Hip hop music, Alternative hip hop, Trip hop
- Albums: Man on the Moon: The End of Day, Indicud, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, A Kid Named Cudi, Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon
Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), better known by his stage name Kid Cudi (; often stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American singer, rapper, record producer and actor from Cleveland, ...more - Alternative rock, Indie rock
- Albums: Last Splash, Pod, Title TK, Mountain Battles, Climbing the Sun
The Breeders are an American alternative rock band formed in 1990 by Kim Deal of the Pixies and Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses. The band has experienced a number of lineup changes; Kim Deal has been ...more - Alternative hip hop, Electropop, Indie Pop
- Albums: Twenty One Pilots, Regional at Best, Vessel, Blurryface, Trench
Twenty One Pilots (stylized in all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. The band was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas ...more - Disco, Pop music, Rock music
- Albums: Wild Cherry, Super Hits, I Love My Music, Electrified Funk, Only the Wild Survive
Wild Cherry was an American funk rock band best known for their song "Play That Funky Music". - Contemporary R&B, Soul, Pop
- Albums: Get Lifted, Once Again, Evolver, Live at SOB's New York City, Love In The Future
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, producer, actor, and philanthropist. Prior to the release of Legend's debut ...more - Disco, Rhythm and blues, Funk
- Albums: Central Heating, Too Hot to Handle, Candles, Current, Hot Property
Heatwave is an international funk/disco band featuring Americans Johnnie Wilder, Jr. and Keith Wilder of Dayton, Ohio, Englishman Rod Temperton, Swiss Mario Mantese, Czechoslovak Ernest "Bilbo" ...more - Doo-wop, Rock music, Rhythm and blues
- Albums: 3 + 3 / Go for Your Guns, Body Kiss, I'll Be Home for Christmas, Soul on the Rocks, Baby Makin' Music
The Isley Brothers () are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that started as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley. The group ...more - Rhythm and blues, Funk
- Albums: Shot of Love, Fantastic Voyage, Galactic Grooves, Greatest Hits, Rough Riders
Lakeside is a funk band, best known for their 1980 number one R&B hit, "Fantastic Voyage". - Doom metal, Rock music, Grunge
- Albums: Foo Fighters, Probot, Pocketwatch, Touch, Sign of Love
David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and director. He is the founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Foo ...more - Hip hop music, Electro, G-funk
- Albums: The Many Facets of Roger, Unlimited!, Bridging the Gap, The Saga Continues..., The New Zapp IV U
Zapp is an American funk band that emerged from Hamilton, Ohio, in 1977. Particularly influential in the electro subgenre of funk, Zapp served as partial inspiration toward the creation of the G-funk ...more - Hip hop music, Electro, G-funk
- Albums: California Love, The Many Facets of Roger, Unlimited!, Bridging the Gap, The Saga Continues...
Roger Troutman (November 29, 1951 – April 25, 1999), also known mononymously as Roger, was an American singer, composer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and the founder of the band Zapp ...more - Pop music, Contemporary R&B, Rhythm and blues
- Albums: Higher, Dancin' in the Key of Life, Feel so real, Steve Arrington's Hall Of Fame, Vol.1
Stephen Ralph "Steve" Arrington (born March 5, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, drummer, record producer, engineer and minister, who grew up in Dayton, Ohio. - Urban contemporary, Hip hop music, Horrorcore
- Albums: E. 1999 Eternal, BTNHResurrection, The Art of War, Creepin on Ah Come Up, The Collection Volume One
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony is an American rap group. Consists of rappers Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone, and Flesh-n-Bone. American West Coast rapper Eazy-E signed Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to ...more - Blues-rock, Pop music, Folk music
- Albums: Tracy Chapman, Crossroads, Fast Car, Where You Live, Matters of the Heart
Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her hits "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason", along with other singles "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold ...more - 20
Eric Jerardi
Blues, Soul, Rock- Albums: Occupied
- 21Rhythm and blues, Funk
- Albums: Riding High, Good Thang, Breakin' the Funk
Faze-O was a late 1970s funk group based in Dayton, Ohio and produced by Clarence Satchell of the Ohio Players, and was the group's front band during many live performances. Their 1977 song, "Riding ...more - Rock music, Heavy metal, Hard rockGlen Edward Buxton (November 10, 1947 – October 19, 1997) was an American musician and composer, best known as lead guitarist for the original Alice Cooper group. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Buxton ...more
- Pop music, Cabaret, Jazz
- Albums: In Person, The Swingin's Mutual!, A Nancy Wilson Christmas, Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley, Today
Nancy Sue Wilson (February 20, 1937 – December 13, 2018) was an American singer whose career spanned over five decades, from the mid–1950s until her retirement in the early–2010s. She was notable for ...more - Pop punk, Rock music, Emo
- Albums: If Only You Were Lonely, The Silence in Black and White, Zero, Skeletons, Fragile Future
Hawthorne Heights is an American rock band from Dayton, Ohio, formed in 2001. Their lineup currently consists of JT Woodruff (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Matt Ridenour (bass guitar, backing vocals), ...more - Urban contemporary, Dance-pop, House music
- Albums: Finally, I'm Movin' On, Thought 'Ya Knew, Music Is Our Way of Life, Colour of My Soul
Cecilia Veronica "CeCe" Peniston (; born September 6, 1969) is an American recording artist and former beauty queen. In the early 1990s, she scored five number one hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot ...more