By Ray McDonald The Beatles released “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” on June 1, 1967 in the United Kingdom. It hit the United States the following day. I was seven years old that summer, and remember walking through our local department store record section with my mother. “Sergeant Pepper” copies were stacked like cord-wood, […]
Mulgrew Miller, Gone Too Soon
Posted May 29th, 2013 at 8:39 pm (UTC+0)
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Mulgrew Miller, one of the best and most prolific jazz pianists of his generation, has died of a stroke. Nate Chinen, in the New York Times, reports: “Mulgrew Miller, a jazz pianist whose soulful erudition, clarity of touch and rhythmic aplomb made him a fixture in the postbop mainstream for more than 30 years, died […]
A Lucky Star, Still Burning Brightly
Posted May 21st, 2013 at 9:01 pm (UTC+0)
By Ray McDonald Last week, I noticed that Huey Lewis and the News were celebrating the 30th anniversary of their album “Sports.” This got me thinking of all the other musical milestones from the year 1983, and once I started investigating, I was impressed. Bon Jovi formed in 1983. So did Megadeth, the Flaming […]
That’s Dr. Hootie to you…
Posted May 21st, 2013 at 8:55 pm (UTC+0)
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By Katherine Cole Put down the keyboard, no need to send the outraged missive. I know that Darius Rucker was the lead singer of the group and there really was no one named “Hootie” in Hootie and the Blowfish. But there is a Dr. Darius Rucker and his latest hit is “Wagon Wheel.” The rocker […]
Four Songs for Mother’s Day!
Posted May 9th, 2013 at 4:10 pm (UTC+0)
By Katherine Cole In the US, we celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May—a bit later than our friends in the UK and several European and Middle Eastern countries, but earlier than some. But no matter which day you’re honoring Mom, there are plenty of songs for the occasion. In fact, there are […]
R.I.P. George Jones
Posted April 26th, 2013 at 5:10 pm (UTC+0)
By Katherine Cole George Jones, arguably the greatest country singer ever, died today. It’s not like we didn’t know it was coming. The Grand Ole Opry member and Country Music Hall of Famer was 81 years old and lived what you might call “a hard life.” But it was still a shock to see […]
Start Them Up!
Posted April 25th, 2013 at 7:24 pm (UTC+0)
By Ray McDonald Let’s play a game, shall we? Let’s assume that the Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary tour, which starts on May 3 in Los Angeles, will be their final outing. It could very well be: the youngest member, Ronnie Wood, is 65, while elder statesman drummer Charlie Watts is 71 and has been grumbling […]
What A Feeling!
Posted April 19th, 2013 at 6:20 pm (UTC+0)
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By Ray McDonald There was no shortage of pop-rock topics to blog about this week: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame held its 2013 Induction Ceremony on April 18. The Canadian rock band Rush finally made it in after years of stonewalling by critics, and that would have made a great post. And then […]
Remembering Scott Miller
Posted April 19th, 2013 at 2:55 pm (UTC+0)
By Katherine Cole Scott Miller died this week at 53. Critics and fellow musicians would refer to the former Loud Family singer as “one of America’s most underappreciated songwriters.” He was he kind of artist who devoted fans just knew would be HUGE… if only more people had the chance […]
The Odd Couples
Posted April 12th, 2013 at 8:59 pm (UTC+0)
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By Ray McDonald On April 8th, Brad Paisley and LL Cool J triggered a spasm of public indignation by releasing a duet called “Accidental Racist.” I’ll cover the song in a few minutes – and I’ve posted the video at the bottom of the blog – but first: Brad Paisley and LL Cool J? […]
