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Henry Carrigan

THE READING ROOM: Loretta Lynn Recounts Support and Sass from Her Friend Patsy Cline

THE READING ROOM: Loretta Lynn Recounts Support and Sass from Her Friend Patsy Cline

Loretta Lynn says she feels like Patsy Cline is watching over her sometimes, especially when life gets hard or when she feels like she’s ready to give up and lose sight of the many blessings she’s been given in life. In her new memoir, Me & Patsy Kickin’

THE READING ROOM: Where Politics and Country Music Collide

THE READING ROOM: Where Politics and Country Music Collide

Some listeners these days like their concerts to be politics-free zones. They want the shows they attend to be entertaining, and they’re there for the music; they leave their political debates at the door to the venue, and they won’t hesitate to tell artists to “Shut up and

THE READING ROOM: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jazz

THE READING ROOM: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jazz

Martin Luther King, Jr. once called Mahalia Jackson his favorite singer. She was with him before and after he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Washington Memorial on August 28, 1963. King asked her to sing the familiar spiritual “How I Got Over” before his address, and

THE READING ROOM: Top Music Books of 2019

THE READING ROOM: Top Music Books of 2019

It’s been a good year for music books, and thank goodness, for they have been a refuge in an otherwise stormy publishing world that’s focused on the corruption rampant in American politics. Almost every book in my list below could have occupied the first spot here, though I

THE READING ROOM: New Janis Joplin Biography Brings the Focus Back to the Music

THE READING ROOM: New Janis Joplin Biography Brings the Focus Back to the Music

In June 1967, a young singer and her band took the stage at the Monterey Pop Festival. It was Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company’s first large-scale public performance, but her performances riveted the crowd and introduced to the world a blues singer who pulled every

THE READING ROOM: More Books That Tell the Country Music Story

THE READING ROOM: More Books That Tell the Country Music Story

Last week, I provided a short list of books that offered readers a little guidance in digging deeper into the topics covered in Ken Burns’ PBS series, Country Music. As with all series like this, Burns can hit the high notes, but seldom has time or space to tease out

Brothers, Sisters, and Music for All People on Brittany Howard’s ‘Jaime’

Brothers, Sisters, and Music for All People on Brittany Howard’s ‘Jaime’

A little more than halfway through Brittany Howard’s album, a clarifying moment comes with the song “13th Century Metal.” The song opens with Robert Glasper’s funky little synthesizer riff, a hypnotic, repetitive phrase that recurs throughout the song as it lays the foundation for Howard’s stunning and