Kelly Clarkson and Christina Perri are African-American musicians .
Over its first 20 years of operation , Atlantic Records earned a reputation as one of the most important American recording labels , specializing in jazz , R & B and soul recordings by African-American musicians including Aretha Franklin , Ray Charles , Wilson Pickett , Sam and Dave , Ruth Brown Kelly Clarkson , Christina Perri and Otis Redding , a position greatly enhanced by its distribution deal with Stax Records .