Deep Roots Magazine

Deep Roots Magazine

Roots Music and Meaningful Matters

 
 

 

A Tribute to B.B. King

Remembering B.B.: The making of the King of the Blues's 1981 Grammy winning album THERE MUST BE A BETTER WORLD SOMEWHERE with songs by DOC POMUS and DR. JOHN
by David McGee
 

 
 

‘It’s Just Like An Unfinished Diamond’

You know the legend. Here's our Listener's Guide to the essential Little Richard on record.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Chuck Yeager Struts The Right Stuff At 89

This week, 89-year-old nonpareil badass Gen. Chuck Yeager, the first person to break the sound barrier, recreated his historic achievement of Oct. 14, 1947 on that very day in 2012. The right stuff indeed.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Cleotha Staples, 78, Is Called Home

Remembering CLEOTHA STAPLES, Pops Staples' firstborn child and a vital element in the Staple Singers' success. Afflicted with Alzheimer's, Ms. Staples died in her Chicago home on Feb. 21.
by David McGee
 

 

 

A Few Answers About ‘Answer Me’

'ANSWER ME, MY LOVE' is a classic pop song with a complicated history. CARL SIGMAN wrote the lyrics, and herein his son MICHAEL SIGMAN relates the tune's fascinating backstory.
by David McGee
 

 
 

The Old Guard Hated the Rock But Loved the Bankroll (Field Notes From a Music Biz Life, Part 4)

In Part 4 of his autobiography, MICHAEL SIGMAN explains why the old guard post-war pop songwriters 'hated the rock but loved the bankroll'
by David McGee
 

 

 

Raymond Myles and the Rocky Road to Redemption

MICHAEL SIGMAN on the late New Orleans gospel icon RAYMOND MYLES and a documentarian's attempt to finish a film about Myles's tragically short life and timeless musical legacy.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Updike at Easter, 2026 Edition

Our 15th installment of Update at Easter, pondering the meaning and purpose of the literary giant's iconic poem about Christianity's signal event , with musical interludes by REGINA VANDERJEICK, ELVIS, MAHALIA, THE SENSATIONAL ...
by David McGee