Profile via TMDB · Courtesy of TMDB
Gil Scott-Heron
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American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author (1949–2011)
OverviewAI-generated
Gil Scott-Heron was an American singer, writer, composer, and poet born in Chicago in 1949. He performed music in the genres of pop, jazz, funk, soul, and jazz poetry. His notable works include "The vulture," "Soul of a nation," "The revolution will not be televised," and "The Last Holiday." He recorded for Arista Records, Flying Dutchman Records, and RCA Records.
Scott-Heron received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and was recognized in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was educated at DeWitt Clinton High School, Johns Hopkins University, and Lincoln University. He was married to Brenda Sykes and had four children. He died of natural causes in New York City in 2011 and is buried at Kensico Cemetery.
Synthesized by Vinony from 38 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1949
- Works
- 13
Top works
- The vulture
- Soul of a nation
- The revolution will not be televised
- The last holiday
- The Last Holiday
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Gilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jackson featured a musical fusion of jazz, blues, and soul, as well as lyrical content concerning social and political issues of the time, delivered in both rapping and melismatic vocal…
Known for
- Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music — Self (archive footage)2025
- 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything — Self (archive footage)2021
- Popular Voices at the BBC — Self (archive footage)2017
- Who Is Gil Scott-Heron?2015
- Gil Scott-Heron: Me and the Devil — Self2010
- Gil Scott-Heron & Amnesia Express: The Paris Concert — Himself2007
- How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)2005
- 5 Sides of a Coin2004
- Freedom Beat — Self2003
- Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised — Himself2003
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- United States
- Active from
- 1949
- Active to
- 2011
Discography
Member of
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 824,957
- Total plays
- 14,923,646
Tags
Gil Scott-Heron (born April 1, 1949 in Chicago, died May 27, 2011 in New York City) was an American poet and musician, known primarily for his late 1960s and early 1970s work as a spoken word performer, associated with African American militant activists. Heron is perhaps most well known for his poems/songs "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" and "What's the Word - Johannesburg" a movement hit during the 1980's South Africa college and national divestment movement in the United States of Amer
Key facts
- Born
- Gilbert Scott-Heron , ( 1949-04-01 ) April 1, 1949, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
- Died
- May 27, 2011 (2011-05-27) (aged 62), New York City, New York, U.S.
- Genres
- Soul jazz-funk jazz poetry funk proto-rap R&B progressive soul
- Occupations
- Poet singer-songwriter author musician
- Instruments
- Vocals guitar keyboards
- Years active
- 1969–2011
- Labels
- RCA Flying Dutchman Strata East Arista TVT XL JAD Records
- Parent s
- Bobbie Scott and Gil Heron
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Gilbert
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Chicago
- Place of death
- New York City
- Spouse
- Brenda Sykes
- Father
- Gil Heron
- Occupation
- recording artist
- Educated at
- DeWitt Clinton High School
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Genre
- jazz
- Instrument
- musical keyboard
- Record label
- RCA Records
- Official website
- www.gilscottheron.com
- Image
- Gil Scott-Heron - 10-03-2009 San Francisco, California.jpg
- Number of children
- 4
Show 11 more facts
- Commons category
- Gil Scott-Heron
- date of birth
- 1949-04-01
- date of death
- 2011-05-27
- topic's main category
- Category:Gil Scott-Heron
- manner of death
- natural causes
- place of burial
- Kensico Cemetery
- start of work period
- 1969-00-00
- different from
- Jill Scott
- copyright representative
- American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
- name in native language
- Gil Scott-Heron
- birth name
- Gilbert Scott-Heron
Sources (8)
via Wikidata · CC0
~30 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American jazz poet, singer, musician and author, known for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Jackson fused jazz, blues and soul with lyrics relative to social and political issues of the time, delivered in both rapping and melismatic vocal styles. He referred to himself as a "bluesologist", his own term for "a scientist who is concerned with the origin of the blues". His poem "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", delivered over a jazz-soul beat, is considered a major influence on hip hop music.
Scott-Heron's music, particularly on the album Pieces of a Man and Winter in America during the early 1970s, influenced and foreshadowed later African-American music genres, including hip hop and neo soul. His recording work received much critical acclaim, especially for "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". AllMusic's John Bush called him "one of the most important progenitors of rap music", stating that "his aggressive, no-nonsense street poetry inspired a legion of intelligent rappers while his engaging songwriting skills placed him square in the R&B charts later in his career."
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gil Scott-Heron” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.