Music

Music & Culture

Aldo Ciccolini, An Italian Pianist With A French Soul, Dies At Age 89

12:45pm February 02, 2015

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Pianist Aldo Ciccolini was born in Naples, but he had a French spirit, championing music by Erik Satie, Debussy and Ravel. He died overnight Saturday at age 89.

Music & Culture

Court Awards Sly Stone $5 Million In Lost Royalties

11:39am February 01, 2015

Singer Sly Stone has been awarded $5 million in damages and lost royalties. He claimed his manager and lawyer didn't pay him royalties between 1989 and 2000.

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Charley Patton was the grandaddy of the Delta blues musicians, according to Jack White: "He's the one that all the other blues musicians looked up to. He's almost the beginning of the family tree."

Music & Culture

In A Few Fateful Years, One Record Label Blew Open The Blues

1:20pm January 31, 2015

by Tom Cole

Music was an afterthought for Paramount Records, a short-lived label founded by a furniture company. But in its final years, it gave vital exposure to the artists who would come to define Delta blues.

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Music & Culture

Music Review: Dengue Fever's 'Deepest Lake'

6:29pm January 30, 2015

by Banning Eyre

Named after the mosquito-borne disease, LA's band Dengue Fever combines psychedelic rock with Cambodian pop. For over a decade, the six member band have managed to stay relevant by sticking to this offbeat idea and introducing new sounds.

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Singer-songwriter Rod McKuen poses for the media before presenting actress-songwriter Dolly Parton the "Johnny Mercer Songwriter Award" at the 2007 Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremonies held in New York in 2007.

Songwriter, Poet Rod McKuen Dies At 81

8:54am January 30, 2015

by Doreen McCallister

Rod McKuen is credited with more than 200 albums and more than 30 collections of poetry. He died on Thursday after a lengthy illness.

Everybody can play the kazoo, practically no skill required — but only two places in the U.S. make them.

Music & Culture

Buzz Bin: A Proper Look At Where Kazoos Come From

2:10pm January 29, 2015

by Karen Michel

They're the instrument anyone can play — but only two places in the U.S. make them, and only one makes the colorful plastic kind most people know. Karen Michel pays a visit to the latter.

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Music & Culture

At The BBC, The Beatles Shocked An Institution

6:46pm January 28, 2015

Between 1962 and 1965, The Beatles were featured on 53 BBC radio programs. For The Beatles: The BBC Archives, Kevin Howlett had to search for many of these recordings, and they weren't easy to find.

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Adam Namm (left) is the U.S. ambassador to Ecuador and a member of Samay Blues Band. He performs regularly with the group and says its a way to breakaway from traditional diplomacy.

Singing The Blues, A U.S. Envoy Hopes To Boost Ties With Ecuador

12:31pm January 28, 2015

by John Otis

In South America, left-wing governments hostile to the U.S. are tossing out diplomats or shunning them entirely. In Ecuador, U.S. Ambassador Adam Namm is using music to do something about it.

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Steve Reich, with a phase-shifting pulse gate, photographed in New York in 1969.

Music & Culture

Fifty Years Of Steve Reich's 'It's Gonna Rain'

7:14pm January 27, 2015

by Tom Huizenga

In 1965, a happy accident with tape machines, and the words of a Pentecostal preacher, helped launch the celebrated composer's career.

Music & Culture

Punch Brothers May Look Like A Bluegrass Band But Their Sound Is Unique

11:27am January 27, 2015

by Vince Pearson

Punch Brothers sing of distraction and isolation in the digital age on their new album The Phosphorescent Blues. While the group may look like a typical bluegrass band, the sound is all their own.

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