Music

John "Jabo" Starks (left) and Clyde Stubblefield laid the grooves on many of James Brown's biggest hits. Here, they clown around on the cover of their joint DVD, Soul of the Funky Drummers.

Music & Culture

The Original Funky Drummers On Life With James Brown

5:05pm January 05, 2015

by NPR Staff

Clyde Stubblefield and Jabo Starks should have been rivals: James Brown hired both of them to do one job. Instead, they stuck together, and laid the foundation for modern funk drumming in the process.

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A Tale Of Dueling Ebola Songs: One From Britain, One From Africa

3:14pm January 05, 2015

by Eleanor Beardsley

African musicians have recorded a fund-raising song to help fight Ebola. They say it truly reflects what's happening in their homeland — unlike the Brit pop Ebola song "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

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Music & Culture

At The Peak Of Her Powers: Barbara Lynn's 'Complete Atlantic Recordings'

2:10pm January 05, 2015

Fresh Air rock historian Ed Ward has a look in to a vital part of Lynn's career.

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John Fry, founder of Ardent Studios, died in December after nurturing some of the best music to ever come out of Memphis.

Music & Culture

A Light Goes Out In Memphis: Remembering John Fry

12:20pm January 04, 2015

by Rick Clark

Music producer Rick Clark remembers John Fry, co-founder of Ardent Studios, who died last month after 50 years of nurturing some of the best music to ever come out of Memphis.

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James Brown performs onstage at the TAMI Show on December 29, 1964 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in California.

James Brown On Film: An Admiring And Unflinching Look At 'Mr. Dynamite'

8:22pm January 03, 2015

by Eric Deggans

The new HBO documentary Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown traces the singer's career through the words of writers, musicians and former employees.

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Across six decades, the combination of innovative design and talented players has helped the Stratocaster not only persevere, but rule. John Mayer had the Fender Custom Shop design this one in 2009.

Music & Culture

Weapon Of Choice: Why The Stratocaster Survives

12:06pm January 03, 2015

by Robert Goldstein

When an instrument sounds as good playing Daft Punk as it does Lawrence Welk, you know it's got something. The Strat just turned 60, but it's barely aged a day.

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The Music That Makes Choreographers Move

11:59am January 03, 2015

Peggy Hickey, Jamaica Craft and Mark Morris are all in the business of taking music and making it visible as dance. They share some of their favorite songs of 2014.

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Wilko Johnson (left) and Roger Daltrey play a benefit for Pancreatic Cancer UK in London.

Music & Culture

Wilko Johnson Set Out To Make One Final Album, But It Didn't Work Out That Way

6:23pm January 02, 2015

by Alex Cohen

Facing a fatal diagnosis, Wilko Johnson made what was to be his final album with singer Roger Daltrey of The Who. Then doctors intervened. "Maybe," Daltrey says, "there's a Part 2 to this record."

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Billy Joel, Popular Song, PBS, And Needing A Piano

2:36pm January 02, 2015

by Linda Holmes

A PBS concert special looking at the legacy of Billy Joel brings some great stuff, some less great stuff, and a chance to reflect.

At 84, acclaimed jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal is still recording and touring

Music & Culture

Ahmad Jamal, 'A Musical Architect Of The Highest Order,' Keeps On Building

6:48pm December 31, 2014

by Karen Michel

At 84, the acclaimed jazz pianist is still recording and touring. Among his many achievements is one that often eludes even the most beloved jazz artists: mainstream popularity.

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