Blind Lemon Jefferson remains a shadowy figure. As with Charley Patton, only one photograph of him exists. Like Robert Johnson, he died under mysterious circumstances, found frozen to death on a Chicago street in 1929. With his mixture of blues […]
Robert Randolph is perched on the edge of the stage at St. Louis nightclub Mississippi Nights, so close to the crowd down front that at any minute the unruly throng might reach up and pull him in, along with his […]
In sorrow she can lure you where she wants you Inside your own self-pity there you swim In sinking down to drown her voice still haunts you And only with your laughter can you win — Joni Mitchell, “Roses Blue” […]
Sam Phillips didn’t invent rock ‘n’ roll; no one person could ever lay claim to such a complex series of events. Phillips, however, comes closer than anyone to actually deserving the title “Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Born in hard […]
Shelby Lynne knew exactly what she wanted for her new album. She knew she would write every song. She knew she would record it at home, with just her guitar, her voice and a bass player (adding a few light […]
During the summer of 1991 Steve Turner played guitar in the best band in the world. He’s still a member in good standing of Mudhoney, but the band at whom the word grunge was first thrown ceased to be critic’s […]
The thing is, you see, Thad Cockrell couldn’t help it. “Some people,” he says, “are blessed with blue eyes, and that’s out of their control; I was blessed with the love of country music.” The music — in a phrase […]
When she first heard the quirky harmonies and jagged rhythms of Joni Mitchell’s Blue in a college dorm room, Valorie Miller knew she was hearing something special. She just didn’t realize it was the key turning in the door to […]
Lee Underwood was Tim Buckley’s lead guitarist and friend. They met in 1966 when Tim was 18, the year he scored a record contract and sired Jeff Buckley pretty much simultaneously. That child was a barely noticed bump in the […]
Randy Weeks lives in Santa Monica, four blocks from the Pacific Ocean. Not in some fancy beach house, mind you: “I live in a little shack that they used to keep rakes in but is now fixed up, and myself, […]
