Posts tagged "tuesday tunesday"
Tuesday Tunesday: Nat King Cole

Tuesday Tunesday: Nat King Cole

Nat King Cole “Nature Boy” On this day in 1948, Nat King Cole recorded “Nature Boy,” which remained a #1 song on the charts for two months. Cole was born in Alabama, but grew up in Chicago. His introduction to music came in the form of classical piano works, his favorites being Bach and Rachmaninoff....
Tuesday Tunesday: The Fendermen

Tuesday Tunesday: The Fendermen

The Fendermen “Mule Skinner Blues” When Jim Sundquist and Phil Humphrey met as students at the University of Wisconsin in the late 1950s, they became friends and ultimately formed a two-man band which they called “The Fendermen” because, well, they both played Fender guitars. They connected their instruments to the same amplifier, and it really...
Tuesday Tunesday: Dr. John

Tuesday Tunesday: Dr. John

Dr. John “Kingdom of Izzness” Dr. John is a New Orleans born and bred musician with a focus on bluesy zydeco boogie woogie in a style all his own–like Tom Waits met Captain Beefheart and the Temptations in a Louisiana swamp and had a voodoo curse placed on him. Dr. John rose to prominence in...
Tuesday Tunesday: Skip James

Tuesday Tunesday: Skip James

Skip James “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues” If you love the roots of the blues, you love Skip James, the Edgar Allan Poe of American blues. Skip was born in 1902 in the Mississippi Delta, smack dab in the heart of the blues. He grew up working as a laborer who built levees, and he...
Tuesday Tunesday: Charles Bradley

Tuesday Tunesday: Charles Bradley

Charles Bradley “Why is it so hard” What do you get when you cross James Brown with Otis Redding and a dash of Marvin Gaye? Why, Charles Bradley, of course. Bradley is one of the most soulful artists around these days, and he brings the 1960s-70s soul back to life with such natural ease you’d...
Tuesday Tunesday: Mississippi Fred McDowell

Tuesday Tunesday: Mississippi Fred McDowell

Mississippi Fred McDowell “Louise” Born onto a Tennessee farm in 1904, Mississippi Fred McDowell is the essence of the blues. You can hear the pain from his life in his guitar just as easily as his voice. McDowell was largely unknown until Alan Lomax discovered him in 1959 when Lomax was preserving history through recordings....
Tuesday Tunesday: Fats Domino

Tuesday Tunesday: Fats Domino

Fats Domino “Blue Monday” Fats Domino is one of the happiest bluesmen of all time, as shown by his ear-to-ear smile in nearly every video and photograph taken of his performances. Domino’s effortless skill and vocal rhythms are truly legendary, particularly in his hometown of New Orleans. Fats Domino enjoyed huge success when he was...
Tuesday Tunesday: Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Tuesday Tunesday: Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears “Sugarfoot” Austin band Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears is a tour de force mashup of James Brown and American blues that takes the listener to places modern bands fear to treat: the past. In a mainstream world where “old” music somehow became “bad” music, Black Joe Lewis found...
Tuesday Tunesday: Yo-Yo Ma

Tuesday Tunesday: Yo-Yo Ma

Yo-Yo Ma Attaboy Yes, Yo-Yo Ma made a bluegrass album. Yes, it rules. Yo-Yo Ma is one of the most famous cellists of the modern age, certainly of those living. Known mostly for his extremely wide musical range reaching classical formal pieces, to avant garde styles, to even bluegrass. What I love most about Yo-Yo...
Tuesday Tunesday: Pokey LaFarge

Tuesday Tunesday: Pokey LaFarge

Pokey LaFarge NPR Music Tiny Desk Session Pokey LaFarge is one of the greatest folk revivalists around. His full voice and great demeanor pour out of his work like headlines from a newsboy. Not only him, but his accompanying players each bring their own sense of subtle charm steeped in old-time two-stepping. LaFarge will make...
Tuesday Tunesday: Bill Monroe

Tuesday Tunesday: Bill Monroe

Bill Monroe “Uncle Pen” You may remember Bill Monroe from the article regarding his 100th birthday. Due to his influence, I found it only fitting that he should also receive a dedication in this segment as well. Bill Monroe is a legend in the bluegrass and folk music world, as well as around anyone who...
Tuesday Tunesday: T-Bird and the Breaks

Tuesday Tunesday: T-Bird and the Breaks

T-Bird and the Breaks “Monkey Wrench / Plenty of Soul” Perhaps one of the most quintessentially cool bands still around, T-Bird and the Breaks is the ideal modern rhythm and blues group insofar as you’re seeking that true roots sound. The thumping bass, the punctuating brass, the melodic backup singers, the crunching guitar, and the effortless...