Deep Roots Magazine

Deep Roots Magazine

Roots Music and Meaningful Matters

 
Recent Articles
 

 
Duke Robillard featured

In Heavy Rotation: Blues & Resistance

Vintage blues with a modern twist from DUKE ROBILLARD and hIS ALL STAR BAND; messages socially conscious and comforting alike from ERIC BIBB;l and TODD CURRY's gospel message, 'kNOw Peace,' in Heavy Rotation
by David McGee
 

 
 
Maria Muldaur featured

THE DEEP ROOTS ELITE HALF-HUNDRED, 2025

The Best of the Rest, the Deep Roots Elite Half-Hundred for 2025 is online! Blues, gospel, classical, folk, bluegrass, Christmas albums, classic soul, soundtracks...all present and accounted for in chronicling the music that me...
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
 

 
 
Lord is There cover2

Deep Roots Albums of the Year, 2025

REGINA VANDERJEIK's gospel masterpiece leads the way. Joining her at the top: BUDDY GUY, DANNY GATTON, THE TWANGTOWN PARAMOUS, DUDLEY TAFT, SIERRA HULL, CHRISTOPHER TIN, LANCE COWAN, ABBA via RAMEAU, and PARCHMAN PRISON inmates.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Where Senior and Hospice Dogs Find TLC

An interview with JENNIFER LANGSTON, founder of Golden Ears, is a specialized refuge for senior and hospice dogs, with a stated mission to provide the dogs with dignified end of life comfort and care.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Remembering Raul Malo, Pt. 2

Interviews with RAUL MALO as his solo career unfolded, from 2001’s Today to 2010’s Sinners & Saints. Herewith the second part of the Deep Roots tribute to a generational artist, who passed away on December 8, 2025. 
by David McGee
 

 

 

Remembering Raul Malo, Pt. 1

The cancer that took RAUL MALO on December 8 will never still one of the most majestic voices of our time. In Pt. 1 of our tribute to Raul, archival reviews capture him solo and with The Mavericks in the spirit of the season.
by David McGee
 

 
 

The Deep Roots Yuletide Baedeker 2025

The annual DEEP ROOTS YULETIDE BAEDEKER is online, with links to new and vintage content published in Deep Roots over the years--a holiday bonanza of vintage music, animated evergreens, holiday-themed films, holiday fiction, ho...
by David McGee
 

 

 

In Trim: Bruce Brown’s Endless Epic

Writing for Longboard magazine in 2005, PAUL HOLMES captured the entire epic saga of the making of BRUCE BROWN's THE ENDLESS SUMMER.
by David McGee
 

 
 

America’s Shame, Japan’s Gain: An Animatronic Ray Charles

Well, it's happened. Japan has beaten America to the technology punch again, this time with an animatronic Ray Charles singing away outside Osaka Castle Park. But who's that man the box over in the corner?
by David McGee
 

 

 

Bob Marovich’s Gospel Picks

BOB MAROVICH finds another gospel treasure trove in new CDs from the WARDLAW BROTHERS, SWEETEVERAFTER, RENEE AUSTIN and others.
by David McGee
 

 
 

To The Birthday Bard, Ever Young at 450

Commemorating Shakespeare's 450th birthday, the ULSTER ORCHESTRA, under the direction of conductor JoAnn Falletta, offers two timeless Bard-related compositions by JOHN KNOWLES PAINE.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Gospel News & Notes – May 2013

A star-studded lineup led by SMOKEY NORFUL and VICKIE WINANS heads the 28th Chicago Gospel Music Festival on June 20-23. This year's theme: 'The Year of the Choir.'
by David McGee
 

 
 

How to Win Charts and Alienate People

In this two-part excerpt from his memoir, JUST REMEMBER: FIELD NOTES FROM A MUSIC BIZ LIFE, MICHAEL SIGMAN recalls the fallout from Record World's decision to publish sales-based charts, and how The Who changed the magazine's f...
by David McGee