Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Country Music Legend Ray Price Dies At 87

8:06pm December 16, 2013

by Blake Farmer

Country music singer and songwriter Ray Price died Monday at the age of 87 at his ranch in Texas. Price was a Grammy Award Winner and who had more than 100 country hits in his decades-long career. A 1996 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, he was credited with pioneering a shuffle beat and walking bass line that became standard in Texas dance halls.

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Music & Culture

Fresh Air Remembers Jazz Pianist Jimmy Amadie

2:39pm December 16, 2013

With a career derailed due to severe hand problems, Amadie found a way to play the music he loved.

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With new songs and covers, La La Brooks' All or Nothing isn't just an attempted career comeback.

Music & Culture

A Former Girl-Group Singer Goes 'All Or Nothing'

2:33pm December 16, 2013

by Ken Tucker

With new songs and covers, La La Brooks' All or Nothing isn't just an attempted career comeback.

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Music & Culture

Holiday Music To Bring Folks Together

1:40pm December 16, 2013

by Kevin Whitehead

This Thanksgiving there were a lot of articles online about arming yourself with good information before arguing politics at seasonal dinners. With so much contention in the air, maybe music can help bring folks with opposing views together.

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Since recording in the 1970s and '80s, Nigerian William Onyeabor has dropped off the music map.

Nine Months In Nigeria, One Brilliant, Difficult Funk Musician

6:07pm December 15, 2013

by NPR Staff

Nigerian funk musician William Onyeabor has been a mystery for years. Since recording in the 1970s and '80s, he has completely dropped off the music map. When Luaka Bop Records wanted to assemble some of his work, the road to securing a signed contract took on its own twists.

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Jim Hall performs at the 2013 Newport Jazz Festival.

Music & Culture

Fresh Air Remembers Jazz Guitarist Jim Hall

7:57pm December 13, 2013

The guitarist, composer and arranger died in his sleep Tuesday at 83. Hall was known for a subtle, lyrical playing style, a gift for innovation and collaborations with a host of talented musicians in a career that stretched more than seven decades. Hear an interview from 1989.

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Gregory Porter's latest album is entitled Liquid Spirit.

Music & Culture

'Singing Just To Me': Gregory Porter On Musical Inheritance

2:14pm December 13, 2013

by NPR Staff

The jazz artist, who turned to singing when an injury ended his football career, claims three people as his main influences: his minister mother, his absentee father, and Nat King Cole. He discusses his musical life and the new album Liquid Spirit with NPR's Audie Cornish.

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Music & Culture

Yes, Yeezus Dominated 2013 Hip Hop, But Many More Gems Were Made

6:44pm December 12, 2013

This week we're looking back at the year in music through the lens of NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums of 2013. It's the annual list assembled by our in-house experts, including NPR music editor Frannie Kelley and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, producer and founding member of the rap group A Tribe Called Quest. The pair host NPR's Microphone Check.

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Ella Fitzgerald sings with bandleader Chick Webb in Asbury Park, N.J., in 1938.

Music & Culture

Ella Fitzgerald's Early Years Collected In A Chick Webb Box Set

9:44am December 12, 2013

by Kevin Whitehead

"This is it," Webb said of Fitzgerald. "I have a real singer now. That's what the public wants."

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Music & Culture

Indie-Pop Albums That Make The Cut Are More Than Mere Collections

12:30pm December 11, 2013

by Stephen Thompson

This week we're looking back at the year in music with a peek at NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums of 2013. It's the annual list assembled by our in-house experts, including NPR music writer and editor Stephen Thompson. He tells Audie Cornish about his picks in the world of indie pop.

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