eric bibb blues people2

The Elite Half Hundred of 2014 (Part 1)

THE ELITE HALF HUNDRED OF 2014 (PART 1)--Numbers 1-25 of our half hundred best albums of 2014, excluding the Albums of the Year
by David McGee
 

 
 
sammy anthony featured

Video Moment for the Ages

From BURT BACHARACH's 1972 TV special, ANTHONY NEWLEY and SAMMY DAVIS JR. in once-in-a-lifetime golden moment, assaying classic selections from the Anthony Newley-Leslie Bricusse songbook.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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Voicemail Transcriber Gives New Meaning to Pop Lyrics

As currently constituted, voicemail transcription, a promising but troubled technology, is giving new meaning to pop lyrics. Contributing editor MICHAEL SIGMAN files a first-person report on same.
by David McGee
 

 
 
beverly kenny come swing

‘The Cry of Anguished Protest, The First of Many Wrought From Me’

From The Bluegrass Special archives: an updated feature on the enigma that was the late BEVERLY KENNEY: Her voice was soft and cool, her eyes were clear and bright, but she's not there.
by David McGee
 

 

 
bruce pete featured

Video Moment for the Ages

From the Seeger Sessions tour, 'Bring 'Em Home.' Thank you, Bruce. God bless Pete Seeger.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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‘Perhaps the Richest Body of Stories by Any North American Writer of His Generation’

THE LIBRARY OF AMERICA is publishing a two-volume set of John Updike's Collected Stories. CHRISTOPHER CARDUFF, the estate-appointed editor of Updike's posthumous publications, discusses the project.
by David McGee
 

 

 
updike featured copy

Updike at Easter, 2022 Edition

Our 11th annual installment of 'Seven Voices on Seven Stanzas' brings together new voices and those of earlier contributors to contemplate the greater meaning of John Updike's provocative poem, 'Seven Stanzas at Easter.'
by David McGee
 

 
 
bobby sharp2

Bobby Sharp, Heart Unchained

Remembering BOBBY SHARP, who passed away on January 28. Sharp wrote Ray Charles's #1 R&B/#9 pop hit of 1962, the classic 'Unchain My Heart.'
by David McGee
 

 

 
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Hailing An American Treasure

From TheBluegrassSpecial.com's December 2010 issue, Chip Stern's insightful, impassioned missive concerning the life and music of Dave Brubeck on the occasion of the master's impending 90th birthday.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Turning 65 with ‘Crazy’

As his 65th birthday looms, contributing editor MICHAEL SIGMAN reflects on a classic song his father, CARL SIGMAN, wrote in 1949, 'Crazy He Calls Me.' It, like Michael, has led a charmed life.
by David McGee
 

 

 
chokepear featured

How Mr. Chokepear Keeps A Merry Christmas.

From a December 25, 1841 issue of the British humor and satire magazine PUNCH, a story satirizing a heartless one-percenter's self-absorbed Christmas rituals.
by David McGee
 

 
 
obama newtown

‘It is past time we wipe this stain of violence from our land’

REALITY CHECK--RFK on gun violence; Pete Seeger, 'Where Have All the Flowers Gone,' President Barack Obama on the Newtown school shootings
by David McGee