John Mayall, who died today aged 90, was a true giant of British music. He, almost single handedly caused the revival of interst in the blues inthe UK in the late 1960’s. When I was growing up his ‘Blues From Laurel Canyon’ album was the vinyl that everyone who was interested in the blues wanted […]
Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor (Pathetique)
Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 by Beethoven, commonly known as Sonata Pathétique, was written in 1798 when the composer was 27 years old, and was published the following year. It has remained one of his most celebrated compositions. Beethoven dedicated the work to his friend Prince Karl von Lichnowsky. Although commonly […]
The Donnas
The Donnas were an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1993. The band consisted of Brett Anderson (lead vocals), Allison Robertson (guitar, backing vocals), Maya Ford (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Torry Castellano (drums, percussion, backing vocals). Attending the same school, They all became friends by eighth grade and formed as a […]
Aldous Harding
Hannah Sian Topp, known professionally as Aldous Harding, is a New Zealand indie folk singer-songwriter, originally based in Lyttelton, New Zealand. Harding comes from a musical family, her mother is folk singer Lorina Harding. As of 2020, she is based in Cardiff, Wales, where she had previously lived with partner and collaborator H. Hawkline. One […]
Pauline Black
Belinda Magnus better known as Pauline Black, is an English singer, actress and author. She was born in October 1953, in Romford, Essex to an Anglo-Jewish teenage mother and Nigerian father. She was adopted by a white middle-aged couple and given the name Pauline Vickers. Her biological father, Gordon Adenle, had come to London from […]
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart (September 5, 1929 – July 18, 2024) was an American comedian and actor. He was known for his deadpan and stammering delivery style. Beginning as a stand-up comedian, he transitioned his career to acting in television. He received numerous accolades, including three Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. […]
St. James Infirmary
“St. James Infirmary ” is an American blues and jazz standard that emerged, like many others, from folk traditions. Louis Armstrong brought the song to lasting fame through his 1928 recording, on which Don Redman is named as composer; later releases credit “Joe Primrose,” a pseudonym used by musician manager, music promoter and publisher Irving […]
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
“I Heard It Through the Grapevine” is a song written by Norman Whitefield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966. Barrett Strong had the basics of a song he had started to write in Chicago, where the idea had come to him while walking down Michigan Avenue that people were always saying “I heard […]
Lenka
Lenka Eden Kripac is an Australian singer-songwriter and actress best known for her song “The Show”, from her debut album, Lenka. The daughter of Czechoslovak jazz trumpet musician Jiří Křipač and Eden, an Australian schoolteacher, Lenka was raised in the Australian coastal town of Bega until age seven, when her family moved to Sydney. There […]
Serenade
A Serenade in its oldest usage, which survives in informal form to the present day, is a musical greeting performed for a lover, friend, person of rank or other person to be honoured. The classic usage would be from a lover to his lady love through a window. It was considered an evening piece, one […]