Music

Music & Culture

'Fresh Air' Celebrates July 4 With The Late Flat-Picking Guitar Player Doc Watson

1:29pm July 04, 2018

by Terry Gross

Watson, who died in 2012, was a pioneering bluegrass, country and folk guitarist and singer who changed the way people thought about mountain music. Originally broadcast in 1988 and 1989.

Queue Listen Now

Officers of the 5th U.S. Cavalry near Washington, D.C., in 1865. Julia Ward Howe was inspired to write "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" after a visit with Union troops in the thick of the Civil War.

Music & Culture

One Song Glory

12:10pm July 04, 2018

by Andrew Limbong

The refrain — "Glory, glory, hallelujah" — shows up at labor protests, conservative rallies, church services and football games. It turns out the song, originally a war march, is flexible by design.

Queue Listen Now

Albums clockwise from upper left: Crosby, Stills & Nash self-titled, Fleet Foxes, self-titled, Patti Smith, Horses, Stevie Wonder, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie, Brandi Carlile, self-titled, Run-D.M.C., self-titled.

Music & Culture

First Album, First Song: The 150 Best Lead-Off Tracks

9:03am July 04, 2018

by Bruce Warren

From rock and soul to R&B and rap, we've collected 150 lead-off tracks into one playlist.

Music & Culture

The Thistle & Shamrock: Dear Jean

9:00am July 04, 2018

Artists celebrate Jean Ritchie (1922-2015) by singing the songs she taught them.

Brent Cowles performs "Cold Times" for KUTX.

Music & Culture

Brent Cowles Experiencing 'Cold Times' In Hot Texas

7:00am July 04, 2018

by Matt Reilly

Colorado singer Brent Cowles performs a bare-boned rendition of "Cold Times."

Leon Bridges' "If It Feels Good (Then It Must Be)" is one of our favorite songs of 2018 (so far).

Music & Culture

Listen To NPR Music's Favorite Songs & Albums Of 2018 (So Far)

7:00am July 04, 2018

by Lars Gotrich

Whether you're on the beach or hard at work counting down the hours to a neighborhood cookout, you need some new tunes.

Bad Bunny's "Estamos Bien" tops our list this week, and shows that the Latin trap singer hasn't forgotten where he comes from.

Music & Culture

Bad Bunny's Double Knockout: Our Favorite Latin Songs This Week

7:00am July 04, 2018

On this week's playlist, Bad Bunny blesses us with not one but two summer bangers and De La Ghetto throws it back to childhood romances with the help of Maluma and Wisin.

Vocalist Freddy Lim of Taiwanese metal group Chthonic performing at Download Festival in Leicestershire, England, in 2013.

'Born Independent,' Taiwan's Defiant New Generation Is Coming Of Age

4:23pm July 03, 2018

by Rob Schmitz

Much of Taiwan's older generation sees itself as exiles from China. Younger people, including a metal vocalist-turned-legislator, identify the island as home — a free society independent from China.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Ray LaMontagne On World Cafe

3:44pm July 03, 2018

by Talia Schlanger

LaMontagne shares life stories, including how he met his wife at 8 years old, and performs songs from his latest album 'Part of the Light.'

Richard Swift worked with everyone from The Shins to The Black Keys, but his earliest single signaled something special.

Music & Culture

Richard Swift Was A Sonic Revelation, Right From His First Single

3:26pm July 03, 2018

by Lars Gotrich

The singer-songwriter and producer's retro-the-to-future sound never felt old, but lived in and lived through. One fan recalls hearing Richard Swift's debut 7-inch.