What would the Baroque have been without Rubens? This dynamo of artistic energy infiltrated all the great courts of Europe, spreading the lush, riotous, regal style that had formed in the wake of the Renaissance. His sprawling canvases depict life on an epic scale, as if he needed extra room to inclu

Baroque art, Dramatic, Dreamy, Ecstatic, Fantastic, Intense

Carlos Santana is known for his long, drawn-out solos that soar into the highest registers of the guitar. But it would be reductive to say that Carlos Santana is a rock 'n' roll guitarist. Incorporating Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz and blues influences, his sound is undoubtedly multiple. For more tha

Classic rock, Ecstatic, Improvised, Open-ended, Pathos, Psychedelic music, Spiritual

Bessie Smith, the 6-foot, 200-pound Empress of the Blues, commanded stage and street with a fierce violence and a resonant, endless well of a voice. Born in Chattanooga, Tennesee, in 1894, Smith began her career singing on street corners. Under the mentorship of "Ma" Rainey, one of the most popular p

Ecstatic, Gritty, In-your-face, Violent

When Al Green drew himself a bath on a troubled night in 1977, he had no idea his life was about to change. All of a sudden his girlfriend, with whom he'd just had a row, burst through the door and slung a bowl of sizzling grits across his body. As he screamed in agony, she put the butt of a gun to h

Ecstatic, Pop, Religious, Rhythmic