Generations of musicians got their start busking the streets of the Deep Ellum neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. After a decade of ‘hobo-ing’ around cities like New Orleans, Paris, and New York, Charley Crockett discovered it was his turn.
american music
The Enduring Myth of a Lost Live Iggy and the Stooges Album
In 1973, Columbia Records professionally recorded the infamous band for a planned concert record. Columbia never released it. Maybe they never recorded it.
Shelved: Sonny Rollins Live at Carnegie Hall
The saxophone colossus recorded two concerts at the same venue fifty years apart. Only one recording emerged from the vault.
Accidental Music History: How Jeff Gold Saved Rare Iggy & the Stooges Recordings from the Dump
Sometimes this is how musical history gets saved.
Fruitland
Privately made records enjoy a cult following among collectors, but few are as legendary as Donnie and Joe Emerson’s 1979 LP Dreamin’ Wild.
You Don’t Own Me
Some fans prefer small club shows, others like arena rock shows, but do we care what the bands prefer?
Link Wray’s Rustic Masterpieces
Link Wray is best known for his rock instrumentals, but in the early 1970s, he and his brothers recorded three albums in a chicken shack that sound like nothing else in his massive oeuvre.
Beyond “Rumble”: Talking with John O’Connor About the Other Link Wray
Journalist John O’Connor talks about writing his epic Oxford American magazine feature on musician Link Wray.
An Oral History of Detroit Punk Rock
In Detroit’s empty buildings and troubled streets, restless kids squatted, ran punk clubs, pressed their own records, and made their own magazine. They mostly stayed out of trouble.
The Making of Nirvana’s Most Vulnerable Album
An oral history of the night Nirvana recorded “Unplugged,” their most tender, original live performance.