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Reality Check

On April 5, 1968, the day after MARTIN LUTHER KING's assassination, ROBERT F. KENNEDY addressed 'The Mindless Menace of Violence' in a speech in Cleveland that resonates ever louder in 2015, after Charleston.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Pianist-Entrepreneur-Innovator

Pianist-entrepreneur-innovator LARA DOWNES is back with her most ambitious project, EXILES' CAFE, focusing on the concept of music written in exile. The album, though, is only the beginning.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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‘Her Death is Akin To a Library Burning Down’

Remembering REGINA RESNIK, whose death on August 8 was, says FRED PLOTKIN, 'akin to a library burning to the ground.' A personal reminiscence of an amazing life ensues.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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The Elite Half Hundred of 2015, Part 1

TONY BENNETT & BILL CHARLAP lead this year's Deep Roots Elite Half Hundred selections of 2015's top albums (excluding our Album of the Year selections). Part 1 covers the Top 25.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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Brooklyn, Blintzes, Baseball and Ballads With Johnny Mercer (Field Notes From a Music Biz Life)

In chapters 6 and 7 of his memoirs, MICHAEL SIGMAN recalls his father CARL SIGMAN's songwriting apprenticeship with JOHNNY MERCER and how the rocky course of his adolescent years seemed to parallel his dad's hit songs.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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The Deep Roots Elite Half-Hundred of 2017 (Part 2)

Part 2 of the Elite Half-Hundred of 2017 features albums by JUNIOR SISK & THE RAMBLERS, DENNIS JOHNSON, DUDLEY TAFT, MUSICA SECRETA, RAPHAEL PICHON & PYGMALION, MAC WISEMAN and others.
by David McGee
 

 

 
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Updike on Easter (2018 Edition)

The Deep Roots Easter tradition continues with the 2018 edition of "Updike on Easter: Seven Voices on 'Seven Stanzas," being a septet of opinions on the import of Updike's powerful poem.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Video Moment of the Week

NU-BLU has released the second of three new videos of songs from its tenth anniversary album, appropriately titled TEN, this one being a warm, soothing bluegrass love song, 'It's a Good Day to Be With You.'
by David McGee
 

 

 
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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
 

 
 
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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
 

 

 
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Remembering Mr. Earl: They Often Called Him Speedo…

REMEMBERING EARL 'SPEEDO' CARROLL and MICKEY BAKER--Earl Carroll and Mickey Baker had but one big hit each, but both are major early rock 'n' roll hits. As a singer and showman, Carroll's influence extended into the dawn of sou...
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Video Moment for the Ages

From January 21, 1965, LESLEY GORE with a knockout performance of the Jeff Barry-Ellie Greenwich tune 'The Look of Love' and Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Hello Young Lovers.'
by David McGee