Music greats mark centennials in 2015

Something must have been in the water in 1915. A host of artists who defined modern music are celebrating their centennials this year, from jazz greats Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday to blues giants Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon and guitar master Les Paul.

USA TODAY's Maeve McDermott surveys the exhibits, documentaries, tribute concerts and commemorative albums that honor their legacies this year.

Frank Sinatra (Dec. 12)

The family and estate of the iconic crooner has planned a year's worth of Sinatra 100 celebrations (sinatrafamily.com), and HBO airs a documentary. Highlights:

• Sinatra: An American Icon. The memorabilia exhibit from the Grammy Museum is now on display at the New York Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center (through Sept. 4 before traveling to other U.S. cities).

• Sinatra: All or Nothing at All. A two-part, four-hour documentary premieres on HBO April 5-6 (8 p.m. ET/PT). The four-hour presentation from Oscar winner Alex Gibney traces the singer's career through his farewell "Retirement Concert" in 1971.

• Frank Sinatra 100 app. It features the singer's complete catalog of music, available to buy or stream online (play.google.com; itunes.apple.com).

Billie Holiday (April 7)

The Philadelphia native and distinctive jazz vocalist will be honored with projects that include:

• Apollo Theater events. The historic venue in New York's Harlem section inducts Holiday into its Walk of Fame on April 6, then hosts a tribute concert by Cassandra Wilson on April 10.

• Tribute albums. Look for Coming Forth By Day (Wilson, out April 7); Yesterday I Had the Blues: The Music of Billie Holiday (José James; out Tuesday); A Billie Holiday Songbook (Lara Downes, April 27); and Billie Holiday: The Centennial Collection (out Tuesday).

• A biography. In Billie Holiday: The Musician and the Myth (out Tuesday), author John Szwed examines the highs and lows of Holiday's career. The new book features parts of Holiday's autobiography Lady Sings the Blues that were edited out when that book was published.

Muddy Waters (April 4)

Whether it's actually his centennial is debatable: McKinley Morganfield sometimes claimed to have been born in 1915, but his birth year also has been listed as 1913 and 1914. Nevertheless, the Mississippi native and Chicago blues titan is being celebrated with projects including:

• Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks. Waters' music (along with that of his contemporary Howlin' Wolf) is the foundation of an incendiary live album/DVD by contemporary blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa (out now).

• John Scofield & Taj Mahal Celebrate Muddy Waters. Guitarist John Scofield and vocalist/instrumentalist Mahal play New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center April 24-25 (jazz.org).

• Chicago Blues Festival. The closing concert of the festival (June 12-14) is a Muddy Waters Centennial Tribute, with scheduled performers to include sons Mud and Big Bill Morganfield and former band members Bob Margolin and Jerry Portnoy.

Les Paul (June 9)

The Les Paul Foundation (les-paul.com) plans a year of celebrations honoring the inventor of the solid-body guitar, including:

• Les Paul's Big Sound Experience. The interactive exhibit will allow visitors to mix and share music as they explore Paul's sonic archive. The mobile tour kicks off on June 9 in New York's Times Square and will travel the country through 2016.

• Birthday party. New York's Hard Rock Cafe hosts a night of music on June 9, with announced attendees to include Steve Miller and Journey's Neal Schon.

• Albums. The foundation plans to release four of Paul's Capitol Records albums digitally, and three previously unreleased albums.

Willie Dixon (July 1)

The prolific, Mississippi-born blues vocalist/songwriter/producer (and contemporary of Muddy Waters) will be honored at two events:

• Chicago Blues Festival. The festival (June 12-14) celebrates Dixon's music with a tribute concert on June 14, featuring Dixon's former bandmate Billy Branch.

• Songwriters Hall of Fame induction. Dixon joins Bobby Braddock, Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia, Toby Keith, Cyndi Lauper and Linda Perry as new inductees, to be celebrated at a musical gala/dinner on June 18 at New York's Marriott Marquis Hotel.