Music of Ohio

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is located in Cleveland, Ohio. Ohio musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame include The Isley Brothers (from Cincinnati) in '92, Bootsy Collins (from Cincinnati) in '97, The Moonglows (from Cleveland) in 2000, The O'Jays (from Canton) in '05, Chrissie Hynde (from Akron) of The Pretenders in '05, and Bobby Womack (from Cleveland) (d.2014) in '09. This state is also the home of four major symphony orchestras which are located in Cleveland, Akron, Cincinnati, and Dayton as well as a "pops" orchestra, the Cincinnati Pops. Columbus has hosted the annual three-day hard rock Rock on the Range festival each May since 2007 until 2018.

Popular musicians from Ohio include Neil Giraldo, Trippie Redd, Mamie Smith, Dean Martin, Dave Grohl, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun of Twenty One Pilots, Frankie Yankovic, Doris Day, The McGuire Sisters, The Isley Brothers, Bobby Womack, Howard Hewett, Shirley Murdock, Boz Scaggs, John Legend, Marilyn Manson, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of The Black Keys, Griffin Layne, Joe Dolce, Benjamin Orr of The Cars, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, William "Bootsy" Collins, Stefanie Eulinberg of Kid Rock's Twisted Brown Trucker Band and Devo.

Doris Day (from Cincinnati; d.2019) had a #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit in 1945 with "Sentimental Journey". Dean Martin had a #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit with "Everybody Loves Somebody" in 1964. The O'Jays had a #1 Hot 100 hit with "Love Train" in 1972. The Ohio Players had 2 #1 Hot 100 hits, including the funk song "Love Rollercoaster" in 1976. Wild Cherry had a #1 Hot 100 hit with "Play That Funky Music" also in 1976. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony had a #1 Hot 100 hit with "Tha Crossroads" in 1996. John Legend had a #1 Hot 100 hit with "All of Me" in 2014. Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods had a #1 Hot 100 hit with "Billy Don't Be A Hero" in 1974. In addition, Ohio musicians with a #1 album on the Billboard 200 include the R&B group The Isley Brothers (from Cincinnati) with 2 #1 albums, including The Heat is On in 1975, folk singer Tracy Chapman with her Tracy Chapman album in 1988, Nine Inch Nails with 2 #1 albums including With Teeth in 2005, Marilyn Manson with 2 including Mechanical Animals in 1998, The Black Keys with Turn Blue in 2014, and Twenty One Pilots (from Columbus) with Blurryface in 2015 and Breach in 2025. Country group Rascal Flatts (from Columbus) has had 4 #1 albums including Me and My Gang in 2006. 98 Degrees (from Cincinnati) had a #2 album on the Billboard 200 with Revelation in 2000.

Blues singer Mamie Smith is thought to have been born in Cincinnati. Singer and saxophonist Bull Moose Jackson was born in Cleveland. Robert Lockwood Jr., born in Arkansas, moved to Cleveland in 1960, where he lived the later half of his life. Pianist Barrelhouse Chuck was born in Columbus. Organist Mike Finnigan was born in Troy. Singer-songwriter and pianist Tommy Tucker was born in Springfield. Jump blues singer H-Bomb Ferguson was from Cincinnati. Guitarist Sonny Moorman was born in Cincinnati. Singer Bessie Brown was born in Marysville.

Art Tatum, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest and most influential jazz pianists of all time, was born in Toledo. Double bassist Gene Taylor, singer Teresa Brewer, and pianists Stanley Cowell and Larry Fuller were also born in "The Glass City".

Cleveland has an important place in jazz as a stop on the club circuit. Artists from Cleveland include Freddie Webster, a trumpeter cited by Miles Davis as an early influence, and Tadd Dameron, a prominent pianist, composer, and arranger of the bop era. Benny Bailey was a trumpeter who followed Dameron and in turn influenced Cleveland jazz musicians in his wake, including Albert Ayler, avant-garde jazz saxophonist, who was born in Cleveland Heights. Also from Cleveland are vocalist Jimmy Scott, pianist Bobby Few, saxophonist Ernie Krivda, saxophonist Joe Lovano, guitarist Bill DeArango, pianist Shelly Berg, bassists Ike Isaacs and Albert Stinson, pianist and composer Hale Smith, cellist Abdul Wadud, trombonist and bandleader John Fedchock, saxophonist Rich Perry, trumpeter Frances Klein, and trumpeter and flugelhornist Bill Hardman. The Jazz Temple was an important jazz venue in Cleveland from 1962-63.

Columbus-born jazz musicians include multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk, bandleader and trombonist Bobby Byrne, trumpeter Harry Edison, organist and pianist Hank Marr, organist Don Patterson, pianist John Sheridan, saxophonist Steve Potts, and bassist and composer Foley.

Zanesville jazz artists include singer and pianist Una Mae Carlisle, ragtime composer Harry P. Guy, and trumpeter Andy Gibson.