Above is a great video of Duke Ellington performing one of the most important jazz pieces ever, the beautiful “Mood Indigo.” John Lamb is the bassist and...
ZZ Top: “I Gotsta Get Paid” and “La Grange”
In 1994, ZZ Top was offered $1 million apiece by Gillette to shave their beards for a television commercial. The good news is that both lead guitarist Billy Gibbons and bass player Dusty Hill refused. The irony is that the only clean shaven person in the band is drummer Frank Beard.
Bob Marley and the Wailers
Marley is one of the most compelling and influential musical personalities and performers of the 20th century, and it's no exaggeration to say that The Wailers are The Beatles of Reggae. Check out "Stir it Up."
It's Really Hard Not to Like Courtney Barnett
Apparently, her fellow Australian musicians indeed are fond of her. Many made cameos in her video "Elevator Operator."
Louis Armstrong
There is no American musician more important than Armstrong. It's a combination of talent, where history put him and, above all, an indomitable spirit. Check out a duet with the great Danny Kaye.
He went in and out of style while he was alive, but Johnny Cash now is an icon. Streissguth, a professor at LeMoyne College, has written extensively about Cash and country music.
Valerie June Hockett was born in Tennessee, lived in Memphis and has relocated to Brooklyn. You are in for a treat if you aren't familiar with her.
The Many Worlds of Valerie June
'Hit the Road Jack,' which was written by Percy Mayfield, clocks in at about 2 minutes. That's not long--but enough to be one of Charles' three number ones.
Quite a Trip: Ray Charles Hits the Road in His Shortest Number One Hit
Leon Russell
In addition to writing great songs, Russell was a member of The Wrecking Crew and pivotal to Mad Dogs and Englishmen. Check out a long studio session video which also features the great JJ Cale.
Fifteen Great Musical Moments from Non-Musical Movies
It's ironic that a song often is pivotal in a movie that is not primarily about music. Check out some special moments
Ginger Baker: Great Drummer, Bad Guy
He, along with Keith Moon and a couple of others, defined the instrument for rock. To say Baker was not a beloved figure is an understatement, however.
New Releases: Just Posted at TDMB
Eugene Earl Bostic – who dropped the first name as a performer – was an alto saxophone player who lived from 1913 to 1965. He does not have a very high profile today...
One of the best places to find a certain type of pop music is in television commercials. These songs generally have great hooks and a unique and distinctive sound. The...
The Daily Music Break is going to publish an eBook entitled “Beyond Boundaries: Great Music Beyond Eras and Boundaries” next week. The eBook contains about...
MetroNews, a site in West Virginia, posted an interesting feature this week on the premiere of a documentary about old time music in and around Clay County, which is in...
The sense from “Feel Good Blues” is that this was the Count Basie Band just having a whole of fun. There are smiles all around and Basie talks over the music...
There is confusion between two sources on when Nina Simone’s debut album, “Little Girl Blue,” was released. On This Day in Music says that it was...
I’ve often wondered how “Americana” is distinguished from other genres of American music. The answer seems to be that the powers-that-be have done...
Taj Mahal is a national treasure. Two albums of his that I recommend are “Giant Steps”/”The Old Folks at Home” and “Ohhh So Good ‘n...
The last three paragraphs of this post were published a few years ago, though I changed them to not look odd after Dr. John’s death. With some exceptions, The...
The seventy-fifth anniversary of D-Day (my dad was at Omaha Beach) and the deaths of Leon Redbone and Dr. John got me thinking about the passage of time. A measure of...
“All Down the Line,” a great Rolling Stones song, probably is in the band’s second tier in terms of popularity and recognition. It’s not...
One of the most unique and, happily, positive stories in recent music history is that of Doc Pomus. It wasn’t easy. The bottom line is that Pomus overcame...
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