Songwriter, Poet Rod McKuen Dies At 81
Rod McKuen is credited with more than 200 albums and more than 30 collections of poetry. He died on Thursday after a lengthy illness.
Music & Culture
Buzz Bin: A Proper Look At Where Kazoos Come From
They're the instrument anyone can play — but only two places in the U.S. make them, and only one makes the colorful plastic kind most people know. Karen Michel pays a visit to the latter.
At The BBC, The Beatles Shocked An Institution
Between 1962 and 1965, The Beatles were featured on 53 BBC radio programs. For The Beatles: The BBC Archives, Kevin Howlett had to search for many of these recordings, and they weren't easy to find.
Singing The Blues, A U.S. Envoy Hopes To Boost Ties With Ecuador
In South America, left-wing governments hostile to the U.S. are tossing out diplomats or shunning them entirely. In Ecuador, U.S. Ambassador Adam Namm is using music to do something about it.
Fifty Years Of Steve Reich's 'It's Gonna Rain'
In 1965, a happy accident with tape machines, and the words of a Pentecostal preacher, helped launch the celebrated composer's career.
Punch Brothers May Look Like A Bluegrass Band But Their Sound Is Unique
Punch Brothers sing of distraction and isolation in the digital age on their new album The Phosphorescent Blues. While the group may look like a typical bluegrass band, the sound is all their own.
When Pop Broke Up With Jazz
For the first half of the 20th century, Tin Pan Alley songwriters like Irving Berlin and the Gershwins dominated pop music. By the the 1950s, tastes had changed, and the music changed with them.
From Prog-Rock Pioneer To Kitsch King: Remembering Demis Roussos
Greek songman Demis Roussos lived an enormously colorful life, from his start as a prog-rock pioneer to being held captive by Hezbollah terrorists. He died Sunday at age 68 in Athens.
Not My Job: We Quiz Funk Legend George Clinton On The British Parliament
Clinton, the founding father of funk, is the creator of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic. We'll ask him three questions about another kind of parliament — namely, the British Parliament.
Producer Cosimo Matassa Always Believed In New Orleans
In the '60s, musicians left New Orleans, major labels lost interest, and Motown and Memphis took over the black music charts. But one producer didn't give up.