Deep Roots Magazine

Deep Roots Magazine

Roots Music and Meaningful Matters

 
 

 

‘It Must Have Been the Mistletoe’: Mandrell Knew It Was Cool Before It Was Cool

"It Must Have Been the Mistletoe,' written by JUSTIN WILDE and DOUG KONECKY, has become a contemporary seasonal standard, but it wasn't an easy sell. The story behind the song follows.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Revisiting Dire Lullabies to Great Effect with Linda Ashman and Simona Mulazzani

LINDA ASHMAN's ROCK-A-BYE ROMP, with illustrations by SIMONA MUJAZZANI, is an early 2016 treat. Jules's review of same is another early 2016 treat.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Sing to Me, Sing to Me…

Having made so many memorable statements in her career, 84-year-old ANNIE ROSS delivers one of her finest on TO LADY WITH LOVE, in memory of her mentor-friend BILLIE HOLIDAY, with Pizzarellis Bucky and John on guitars.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Manhu: Last Guardians of an Ancient Tradition

MANHU, a quintet from the Yunnan province in Southwest China, are guardians of an ancient but living musical tradition. In the scintillating VOICES OF THE SANI, they offer unique insight into the music of the vanishing Sani cul...
by David McGee
 

 

 
Carl Perkins featured

The Original Cat’s Missing Link

Recorded, and discarded, in 1990, the album titled Some Things Never Change, finally released in 2025, might well have changed CARL PERKINS's late-career trajectory, if anyone had ever heard it back then.
by David McGee
 

 
 

It’s All Too Beautiful: Nellie McKay Sounds Off on…Everything

NELLIE MCKAY is never at a loss for words--about animals, the '60s, her new album (MY WEEKLY READER)--and she told it as it is in a lively TALKING ANIMALS interview with DUNCAN STRAUSS
by David McGee
 

 

 

The Cleansing Moment(s)

MARC COHN & BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA walk the road to salvation, and take us with them, on the JOHN LEVENTHAL-produced gem, WORK TO DO, one of 2019's finest albums
by David McGee
 

 
 

Video Moments for the Ages

A few memorable moments courtesy JERRY REED and STEVE GOODMAN, gone but hardly forgotten
by David McGee