Posts by Alby

I haven't seen "Get Back" yet, but I've noticed two common elements in many of the reviews I've seen -- it's really long, and there's an amazing moment when, as…

I have to thank the Spotify algorithm for introducing me to Ted Hawkins, whose tragic life story is even more incredible and diverse than his repertoire was. Hawkins was born…

I keep discovering stuff on YouTube I never would have searched for. I don't even remember what I was looking for when I ran across Naudo Rodgriguez (some sources spell…

Happy Thanksgiving! Or, as they call it à Paris, jeudi. American culture is consumed everywhere, so Parisians are aware of Thanksgiving, but only expat Americans celebrate it. In some regards,…

Mark Knopfler wrote this song, which appeared on his band's 1985 mega-hit album "Brothers in Arms," about the difficulty of conducting long-distance relationships by telephone. Speaking from experience, even 35…

Guest post by Nathan Arizona UK Americana sounds like a contradiction, but don’t tell the British. A lot of fans and websites there are devoted to both contemporary and classic…

If John Wesley Harding were as popular with the public as he is with other musicians, he'd be a household name. Or would Wesley Stace be a household name? The…

People who love soul music have to deal with the fact that artists stopped making it about the time that disco gobbled up R&B and funk in its Hustle-dancing wake.…

The French apparently have a weird idea of American music, at least if what they play in the local supermarché is any guide. This 1959 novelty single, for example, written…