Anita Baker started her career in the late 1970s as a member of the funk band Chapter 8. After branching out on her own, she hit the big time in 1986 with her second album, Rapture. The album sold millions of copies, generated a handful of massively successful singles (including the Grammy award-winning Sweet Love),…
Rusted Root came from Pittsburgh, PA. It started as a house band but became something more, as shown by how it has sold more than three million records. Strictly speaking, Rusted Root still exists. However, it has been on hiatus since the mid-2010s. Still, interested individuals have seven studio albums and other material to check…
Richard Marx aspired to be a musician and even recorded a demo tape while in high school. Somehow, the tape reached Lionel Richie, who called Marx telling him to move to Los Angeles and start a music career, after his high school education. Richie even took the extra step of convincing Marx’s parents that the…
On July 23, 1971, Alison Krauss was born in Decatur, Illinois. but was mostly raised in Champaign. After a stint at a fiddling competition, her mother enrolled her at a state fair and the progressive road leading Krauss to a successful career as a country music recording artist had officially begun. By 1986, Krauss completed…
The face of country music is changing…and it has tattoos on it. His name is Jelly Roll, and he is taking the genre by storm. Born Jason DeFord in 1984, the Nashville native cut his teeth on the hip-hop circuit before earnestly pursuing the sound synonymous with Music City. The reception from country music has…
Cheese has been a critical part of the human experience since prehistoric times. It helped that it was tasty. However, much of cheese’s popularity came from it being an excellent way for people to make more food available when needed. Not every place is suitable for agriculture. Luckily, cattle and other livestock can graze on…
Since breaking onto the scene in the 1970s with her eponymous debut album, Carly Simon has become one of the most popular singer/songwriters of all time. She’s won two Grammy Awards, countless other awards, and released some of the most affecting pop music of the last 50 years. Here, we take a look back at…
James Brown might not have been the easiest person to work with or the nicest man to live with, but even his biggest critics would have to concede that the “Hardest Working Man In Show Business” was one of the finest artists of the 20th century. He created funk, influenced countless genres, became one of…
If you’re a Kiss fan, you’ll know that the band has been rocking out for over 40 years now. For those who weren’t alive in the 70s, you’re in for a treat. These 10 songs will introduce you to some of their most popular material. From early classics like “Black Diamond” to later hits like…