How Bessie Smith Influenced A Century Of Popular Music
Bessie Smith's songs are tales of liberated women who are not afraid to speak openly about what they want, what they need and what they are tired of.
Music Features
From The Tent Show To The Parlor: Bessie Smith's Travels In Her Time
Bessie Smith could wrap the blues around anything. She was the voice of freedom and of dislocation, heard by black audiences on the vaudeville circuit and white ones at Manhattan parties.
Spacebase Was The Place: The Life Of Ras G, Blunted Saint Of The L.A. Beat Scene
The prolific and beloved musician, born Gregory Shorter Jr., died last week at the age of 40 — but not before helping found a musical movement in his hometown that has since spread worldwide.
'We're A Winner' Married Black Pride To An Irresistible Beat
Curtis Mayfield's previous songs for The Impressions had often been broadly inspirational — but here, he aimed his pen directly at black listeners, pledging that better times were ahead.
Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Green River' At 50: Our Essential Guide To Early CCR
On the 50th anniversary of the band's landmark album Green River, we dig into how the band formulated its singular sound, its legacy and how Creedence's music still resonates today.
The Motherlode
A collection of glowing reviews, heartfelt remembrances, poems and tributes in celebration of the legacies of the eight women we're honoring in the third season of Turning the Tables.
Turning The Tables: 8 Women Who Invented American Popular Music
These women made some of the most significant music of the past century. They originated genres, broke political boundaries, nurtured generations of followers and in most cases, became icons.
A Puerto Rico Protest Song: 'Afilando Los Cuchillos'
The song "Afilando Los Cuchillos" was a major feature during the protests in Puerto Rico that led to the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Rossello last week.
In U2's 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For,' A Restless Search For Meaning
Inspired by gospel, the standout from U2's American experiment, The Joshua Tree, has become a rock 'n' roll hymn, even finding its way into real-life church services.
Resurrected Stones Film Finds Pivot Point In Rock History
In December of 1968, some of the biggest names in rock and roll came together to film The Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus. The film was recently given a 4K restoration.