Looking back at the 1968 TV special that made Elvis Presley matter again
Just how far removed from cultural relevance was Elvis Presley in 1968? When Singer — the maker of sewing machines — brokered a deal with NBC to sponsor three TV...
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Digging into the Beatles’ 50th anniversary ‘White Album’ box set where it began: Abbey Road
A telephone rings in a corner of Giles Martin’s private mixing room at Abbey Road Studios, catching the latter-day producer of Beatles recordings by surprise. “That never rings,” he says,...
Chicago’s John Prine, Stevie Nicks, Def Leppard among 15 acts nominated for Rock Hall of Fame induction
The slate of final nominees for 2019 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame runs from pop-R&B superstar Janet Jackson and influential German techno band Kraftwerk to English...
Tom Petty’s death is still a hard reminder for aging rockers about the downside of life on the road
When Tom Petty was rushed to a hospital one year ago in full cardiac arrest, two words immediately sprang to many minds: Not again. Weeks later, the Los Angeles County...
‘Tom Petty — An American Treasure’ box set is ‘a labor of love’ for fans from family members and band mates
Adria Petty opens her laptop and shares with a visitor home movie footage that her father shot in 1980. Her face lights up as the video and film director takes...
Mavis Staples remembers Aretha Franklin, in her own words
Soul-gospel singer Mavis Staples, a peer and longtime family friend of Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, spoke to pop music writer Randy Lewis from her home in Chicago on Friday...
The voice was incredible, but Aretha Franklin at the piano was also pure magic
Aretha Franklin’s visits to Los Angeles were relatively few and far between throughout her career, a function of her aversion to flying. Typically, she would travel to gigs the old-school...
As ‘Yellow Submarine’ returns to theaters, a look at how the Beatles film “crossed generations”
There aren’t a lot of people who are handed the key to one of music’s most beloved properties and told, essentially, to go have fun with it. But that’s pretty...
Buddy Guy to receive Americana Assn. Lifetime Achievement Award
Veteran blues man Buddy Guy will add a lifetime achievement award from the Americana Music Assn. in September to his long list of awards and honors. The association will present...
When pop music got big: 1968 and the birth of arena rock
Most of them probably didn't know it when they took the stage at their biggest concerts, but Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, the Who, Paul McCartney, Kansas, Queen,...