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List of Famous Organists
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List of famous organists, with photos, bios, and other information when available. Who are the top organists in the world? This includes the most prominent organists, living and dead, both in America and abroad. This list of notable organists is ordered by their level of prominence, and can be sorted for various bits of information, such as where these historic organists were born and what their nationality is. The people on this list are from different countries, but what they all have in common is that they're all renowned organists.
This list features people like David Bowie and Elton John.
From reputable, prominent, and well known organists to the lesser known organists of today, these are some of the best professionals in the organist field. If you want to answer the questions, "Who are the most famous organists ever?" and "What are the names of famous organists?" then you're in the right place.
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born 25 March 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 ...more
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie (, BOH-ee), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was a leading figure in the music industry ...more
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer, songwriter, record producer, and lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the ...more
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris (born May 13, 1950), better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. A prominent figure in popular music, ...more
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Art of Fugue, ...more
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and pianist. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his first hit and signature song of the same ...more
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer-songwriter, and music and film producer who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the ...more
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. A progenitor of funk music and a major figure of ...more
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. After signing with Capitol Records in 1962, Wilson wrote ...more
Robert Smith
Robert James Smith (born 21 April 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the lead singer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, primary songwriter, and only ...more
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, Basie formed his own jazz orchestra, the ...more
Gregg Allman
Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest ...more
Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( d(ə-)VOR-zha(h)k, Czech: [ˈantoɲiːn ˈlɛopold ˈdvor̝aːk] (listen); 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer, one of the first to achieve ...more
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one ...more
Greg Graffin
Gregory Walter Graffin, Ph.D (born November 6, 1964) is an American punk rock singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, college lecturer, and author. He is most recognized as the lead vocalist, ...more
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny ...more
Barbara Harbach
Barbara Harbach is a composer, harpsichordist, organist and teacher. Since 2004, she has been Professor of Music at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She founded Women in the Arts-St. Louis ...more
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, actor, and producer. Hayes was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax ...more
Anton LaVey
Anton Szandor LaVey (born Howard Stanton Levey; April 11, 1930 – October 29, 1997) was an American author, musician, and occultist. He was the founder of the Church of Satan and the religion of ...more
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. ...more
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Giovanni Battista Draghi (Italian pronunciation: [dʒoˈvanni batˈtista ˈdraːɡi]; 4 January 1710 – 16 or 17 March 1736), often referred to as Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (Italian: [perɡoˈleːzi; ...more
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (French: [ʃaʁl kamij sɛ̃ sɑ̃(s)]; 9 October 1835 – 16 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic era. His best-known ...more
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré (French: [ɡabʁiɛl yʁbɛ̃ fɔʁe]; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his ...more
Hugh Paddick
Hugh William Paddick (22 August 1915 – 9 November 2000) was an English actor, whose most notable role was in the 1960s BBC radio show Round the Horne, in sketches such as "Charles and ...more