The Most Detailed Look Yet at Chris Bell Before and After Big Star
Chris Bell’s untimely death in 1978 not only robbed the world of his musical greatness, but also froze his artistic assets. A full appraisal of his art was retarded by the paucity of available recorded material that lingered for many years after his passing. Big Star’s debut, #1
2017: The year of the Hitchcock (Robyn)
Even for an artist as consistently productive and aesthetically satisfying as psychedelic folk troubadour Robyn Hitchcock has been over the past four decades, 2017 was an especially rewarding year. For those paying attention, Hitchcock is seemingly everywhere - in concert, in print, participating in podcasts, radio programs, cable TV, music
Grandpa’s Music is Alive and Well: A Struggle for Identity in Country Music
Bill C. Malone opens his 2010 book Country Music, U.S.A., stating that country music “defies precise definition, and no term (not even ‘country’) has ever successfully encapsulated its essence” (Malone 2010, 1). In the past century, the ‘country music’ genre has comprised several different sub-genres, including hillbilly, old-time,
Changing Tradition: A History of Grand Ole Opry General Managers
Country music in America has long marketed towards and embodied an eclectic blend of common folk: typically, southern, lower-class, God-fearing, hard-working, blue-collar white men, found in Appalachian homes and hollers scattered well beneath the Mason-Dixon line. From the earliest decades of the twentieth century, families across the United States would
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Still Shouting
Her message was heavenly, but her guitar conjured up the devil's music. Sister Rosetta Tharpe sang gospel, but when she plugged in, pure rock and roll came pouring out. She laid the groundwork and lit the pathway for generations of rockers. Chuck Berry incorporated some of her licks.
Your 50 Favorite Albums of 2017
One of the most surprising elements of the results of this year's annual ND Year-End Readers Poll was the number of artists who wouldn't necessarily fall into the category of roots music. No Depression readers, you lifted Ryan Adams — who hasn't felt like Americana