Dana Spiardi

“Do you not get it, lads? The Irish are the blacks of Europe.” That’s a wonderful line from The Commitments, a sweet little film about a ragtag assortment of Dubliners who form a soul band. Just think about it: like African Americans, the Irish have lived The Blues for

The popular music of North America is seasoned with the blood and sweat of every race and nationality: Anglos, Africans, Hispanics, Jews…rockers of all ethnic mixes. But what about the native peoples of North America? Many rock fans know that Cher, Rita Coolidge, and Robbie Robertson have native roots.

Thirty-seven years ago today, Dylan's "Desire" was the #1 album in the country. Here's to a great LP, and the woman who gave it that special sound. Man, I can't tell you how many times my shrink has had to listen to

The government of Richard Nixon spent many years, blew bushels of money, installed tons of surveillance equipment, and employed dozens of CIA and FBI men in its efforts to deport America-loving peacenik John Lennon, who they considered a major threat to the U.S. due to his left-wing political activism

The Smothers Brothers - Dick and Tom - are hailed as freedom-of-speech heroes for their battles with CBS network executives who censored, and eventually cancelled, their trippy 1967-69 "Comedy Hour." But few followers of music and TV history are aware that Johnny Cash also stood up to the

As I slowly wind down from the excitement of seeing the legendary Glen Campbell perform his fabulous hits last night at the Byham Theater in Pittsburgh, I think back to those days when his "Goodtime Hour" was the hot show on prime time TV, and the time he