The R&B singer and songwriter made it look easy, even when it wasn’t.
Tom Maxwell
Shelved: Fiona Apple’s Extraordinary Machine
How the songwriter’s abandoned third album became two albums.
A History of American Protest Music: Come By Here
How cultural appropriation and erasure turned an African American spiritual into a white campfire sing-along.
Remembering Singer Nancy Wilson
The influential singer’s voice cut across genres and decades, and it will continue to.
Shelved: The Lady of Rage’s Eargasm
Rapper Robin Allen’s hit song bypassed the hip-hop boys club that held her debut solo album back.
Remembering Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks
The Buzzcocks’ enduring influence might have surprised punk frontman Pete Shelley, but not his fans.
Shelved: Jimmy Scott’s Falling In Love Is Wonderful
Greed and contractual disputes kept one beloved jazz singer’s masterpiece off the shelf for 40 years, and sent him into retirement.
Shelved: The Sound of Big Star’s Self-Destruction
As the band dissolved, they managed to capture their destruction in some dark, powerful music.
Shelved: Bill Evans’ Loose Blues
An album that took five months to record sat in the vault for 20 years before finally getting pressed to vinyl.
Remembering Pioneering Studio Engineer Geoff Emerick
Emerick engineered more than The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. He helped re-engineer the way music got made.
