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Henry Carrigan

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

Sharing the Stage: Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill on Four Decades of Friendship

Sharing the Stage: Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill on Four Decades of Friendship

This month, longtime friends and musical collaborators Rodney Crowell and Vince Gill release new albums within a week of each other. Each album takes its title from the singer’s home state: Crowell’s Texas is out today and Gill’s Okie lands Aug. 23. We used this occasion to

THE READING ROOM: Songwriters Celebrate Ray Wylie Hubbard

THE READING ROOM: Songwriters Celebrate Ray Wylie Hubbard

A few years ago, Ray Wylie Hubbard reflected on his life and the evolution of his songwriting and music in a humorous, candid, and cinematic memoir a life … well, lived (Bordello Records). He told the now-famous story — which he repeats in the introduction to The Messenger: The Songwriting Legacy of