The Great Spirit, also called Wakan Tanka among the Sioux, the Creator or the Great Maker in English, and Gitchi Manitou in Algonquian, is a conception of a supreme being prevalent among some Native American and First Nations cultures. According to Lakotah activist Russell Means a better translation of Wakan Tanka is the Great Mystery.

The Great Spirit or Great Mystery is generally believed to be personal, close to the people, and immanent in the fabric of the material world. Lakotah prayers refer to Him as Grandfather; however, not all Nations assign gender, or only one gender, to the Great Mystery. Chief Dan Evehema, a spiritual leader of the Hopi Nation, described the Great Spirit as follows:

"Old Man" is how the Great Mystery is "known" by the Blackfoot people. Old Man personally created all things and personally instructed the Blackfoot people on how to attain spiritual wisdom in daily life: Old Man is not an anthropomorphic and anthropopathic god like Jesus, nor a panentheistic deity as in Brahmanism out of which the whole fabric of existence is derived. Rather, Old Man is simply acknowledged to exist in the sense of the Aristotelian "prime mover" ("prime mover" idiom provided for the benefit of European audiences) and the traditional teachings are attributed to "him" as a source. There are specific tales regarding Old Man doing this or that or saying this or that but rather than being enshrined in a ritualistic, symbolic, or codified religion, these teachings are more used to guide individuals and communities on a moment-by-moment basis. It is not a set of laws or code of living as much as a cultural lifestyle which focuses on the daily needs of the individual and the nation rather than any "universal" speculation. [op cit.]

Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist.

Collins sang the lead vocals on several chart hits in the United Kingdom and the United States between 1975 and 2010, either as a solo artist or with Genesis. His singles, sometimes dealing with lost love, ranged from the drum-heavy "In the Air Tonight", dance pop of "Sussudio", piano-driven "Against All Odds", to the political statements of "Another Day in Paradise".

Collins's professional music career began as a drummer, originally in a band called The Real Thing with Andrea Bertorelli, who later became his first wife. Collins played drums and shared lead vocals (with Brian Chatton) in Flaming Youth which recorded one album, (Ark II). In 1970, he took over drums for Genesis, which had already recorded two albums. In Genesis, Collins originally supplied backing vocals for front man Peter Gabriel, singing lead on only two songs: "For Absent Friends" from 1971's Nursery Cryme album and "More Fool Me" from Selling England by the Pound, which was released in 1973. Following Gabriel's departure in 1975, Collins became the group's lead singer.

Douglas Spotted Eagle, is a Grammy-winning musician, noted for his live and recorded performances on the traditional Native American flute, sometimes accompanied by either traditional Navajo (Diné) singers and instrumentalists or a modern band. He is listed in The Native American Almanac as a flutist who does traditional and new age music, and in World Music By Richard Nidel as a flutist and film composer "who incorporates synthesizers into Native sounds." He is also a lecturer and publisher of instructional books and DVDs for music and video computer software.

Many call his music "modern ethnic", as it mixes jazz, new age, pop, and world beat with Native American music. Spotted Eagle received a Grammy Award for his production of Gathering of Nations Powwow, and along with numerous collaborations has released 13 albums under his own name. He was raised in Valley Junction, Iowa, and has been building flutes since he was 12 years old, and he performed traditional music as well as being a guitarist for a popular rock and roll band after his family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. He was married to a Diné woman from Bluff, Arizona. Spotted Eagle lives in Utah and works in support of youth anti-drug causes as well as being involved in the prevention of child abuse. He has been heavily involved in the Children's Justice Center as a fundraiser. He also teaches filmmaking to aspiring Native filmmakers. His recording include Canyon Speak Closer to Far Away', 'PRAY', Legend of the Flute Boy and Sacred Feelings.

Terry Alan Kath (January 31, 1946 – January 23, 1978), born in Chicago, Illinois, was the original guitarist and founding member of the rock band Chicago. He died in early 1978, eight days before his 32nd birthday, from an unintentional self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Kath was a singer and multi-instrumentalist who played lead & rhythm guitar, banjo, accordion, electric bass, and drums. During the mid-1960s he was the lead guitarist in a band called Jimmy and the Gentlemen. He also played bass in a road band called Jimmy Ford and the Executives. Kath's compatriot, James William Guercio (who later became Chicago's producer) was lead guitarist in one of two road bands performing on The Dick Clark Show; Kath was the bassist in the other band. Kath's close friend, saxophonist/flutist Walter Parazaider, also played in several bands on The Dick Clark Show. Together with drummer Danny Seraphine they worked to develop the group they called The Missing Links. Practicing at Parazaider's apartment, they soon joined up with trombonist James Pankow, trumpeter Lee Loughnane, and singing keyboardist Robert Lamm to form The Big Thing (known occasionally as The Big Sound). With the addition of The Exceptions' singer/bassist/accordionist Peter Cetera they moved to Los Angeles and signed with Columbia Records. The band was renamed Chicago Transit Authority. In 1970 the name was shortened to Chicago.

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is widely considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in music history, and one of the most influential musicians of his era despite mainstream exposure limited to just three years. After initial success in Europe with his group The Jimi Hendrix Experience, he achieved fame in the United States following his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. Later, he headlined the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. He often favored raw overdriven amplifiers with high gain and treble and helped develop the previously undesirable technique of guitar amplifier feedback.

Hendrix helped to popularize use of the wah-wah pedal in mainstream rock, which he often used to deliver tonal exaggerations in his solos, particularly with high bends, complex guitar playing, and use of legato. As a record producer, he also broke new ground in using the recording studio as an extension of his musical ideas. He was one of the first to experiment with stereophonic phasing effects for rock recording.^{[citation needed]} He was influenced by blues artists such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Albert King and Elmore James,rhythm and blues and soul guitarists Curtis Mayfield and Steve Cropper, and the jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery. Hendrix began dressing and wearing a moustache like Little Richard when he performed and recorded in his band from March 1, 1964 through to the spring of 1965. In 1966, he stated, "I want to do with my guitar what Little Richard does with his voice".