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
Box Set Traces Evolution of the Bakersfield Sound
Buck Owens and Merle Haggard are the poster boys for the unique sound of their hometown, but wagonloads of musical pioneers were churning up the Bakersfield, California, dust before them two good ol’ boys rode out of town toward brighter lights.
For The Bakersfield Sound, 1940-1974, Bear Family Records
In ‘Dolly Parton’s America’ Podcast, Jad Abumrad Finds the Substance Behind the Sparkle
You could fill hours of airtime with a retelling of Dolly Parton’s life story.
Maybe you’d start with her childhood in the Smoky Mountains, where she was one of 12 children in a family that struggled to make ends meet. Then you’d move into her career-building
EASY ED'S BROADSIDE: Moby Grape Is Still Afloat
If you've followed my articles and columns at No Depression through the past ten-plus years, you likely know that I have a special place in my heart for Moby Grape. When an argument breaks out about the genesis of Americana music, among those of us who argue
Chris Knight Crafts Haunting, Unforgettable Stories on 'Almost Daylight'
Chris Knight is a storyteller. Since releasing his self-titled debut in 1998, Knight's been telling unforgettable tales in a matter of minutes. Chris Knight opens with the classic "It Ain't Easy Being Me," which begins: "There ought to be a town somewhere
Trigger Hippy Starts Fresh on ‘Full Circle & Then Some’
Theologian Kosuke Koyama once wrote that "there is a powerful trend in our world today to turn away from the traditional toward the revolutionary." Koyama points out that no matter how much you move toward the "supersonic aircraft," the traditional "ox cart" will not