Music

Music & Culture

Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing

1:04pm February 13, 2014

Our public radio panelists share their favorite new tracks for October. Download music from the brilliant singer-songwriter Bill Callahan, songwriter to the stars Dev Hynes, Philadelphia rapper Freeway, jazz iconoclast John Zorn, Odd Future-affiliated soul outfit The Internet and more.

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Music & Culture

In Session: Frank Wess' 'Magic 201' Offers One Last Lesson

12:35pm February 12, 2014

by Kevin Whitehead

There's something tender and specific about the ways elders like Frank Wess shaped their notes.

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Ed Sullivan smiles while standing with The Beatles on the set of his variety show on Feb. 9, 1964.

Music & Culture

The Beatles' Yearlong Journey To 'The Ed Sullivan Show'

4:25pm February 10, 2014

by Paul Ingles

Even as they reached the Top 10 in Britain, appeared on TV and had young women swooning by the thousands across the pond, their first singles in the U.S. were released on tiny independent labels and went nowhere. What went wrong, and finally right, in the leadup to the night of Feb. 7, 1964.

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Music & Culture

Hangin' Tuff: Eric Church Takes A Chance On 'The Outsiders'

1:41pm February 10, 2014

by Ken Tucker

Church uses the power he's accrued from hit records to make exactly the kind of album he wants.

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The Shadows on stage in the 1960s. The British rock act, formed as a backing band for singer Cliff Richard (center), was among the U.K. acts who stayed behind as The Beatles and others were cresting in America.

Music & Culture

The Other Guys: 5 Bands Missing From The British Invasion

12:59pm February 10, 2014

by NPR Staff

The Beatles may have opened the gates for British acts to find success on the American charts — but Lenny Kaye, guitarist of the Patti Smith Group and curator of the legendary '60s rock compilation Nuggets, says plenty of worthy groups simply never made the trip.

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Members of The Beatles play in the snow outside Washington, D.C.'s Coliseum where they were scheduled to perform before a sell-out audience in 1964.

Music & Culture

Fresh Air Celebrates The 50th Anniversary Of The Beatles' Arrival

3:33pm February 07, 2014

On Feb. 7, 1964, the Beatles touched down at JFK airport. To mark the day, we'll listen back to a 1995 interview with Ringo Starr and a 2001 interview with Paul McCartney.

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Music & Culture

Violin Worth $5 Million Makes A Safe Return Home

7:55pm February 06, 2014

by Mitch Teich

Police in Milwaukee have recovered a Stradivarius violin and arrested three suspects in its theft. The instrument, said to be worth approximately $5 million, was stolen in a brazen armed robbery from the concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra late last month. Mitch Teich of WUWM in Milwaukee reports on the violin's recovery.

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Music & Culture

Before He Joined Congress, A South African Janitor's Disco Past

5:12pm February 06, 2014

by Milo Miles

Penny Penny put down his broom and picked up a mic for his 1994 debut, now reissued.

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Opera singer Renee Fleming will sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" live on Sunday night.

Opera Star Renee Fleming Brings Grace To The Super Bowl

12:00am February 02, 2014

by Scott Simon

Renee Fleming will sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl on Sunday in New Jersey. She is the first opera star to be asked. NPR's Scott Simon remembers how Fleming has performed under pressure many times, including when she sang "Amazing Grace" at the ruins of the World Trade Center after 9/11.

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Music & Culture

Too Much Of A Good Thing? Jane Ira Bloom's Beautiful Ballads

4:08pm January 31, 2014

by Kevin Whitehead

On Sixteen Sunsets, the soprano saxophonist varies and honors melody like Billie Holiday.

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